Toon fans have every right to have doubts about Howe

NEWCASTLE

- By LEE RYDER

Ben Foster and Pat Nevin give their opinions on Match of the Day

United deserve better than to be patronised by TV pundits when it comes to how they should feel about the club they watch every week.On Sunday night, Match of the Day 2 duo Ben Foster and Pat Nevin warned of the dangers of changing managers and how Newcastle would be better sticking with Eddie Howe.

Not for the first time in recent weeks, there was a bit of 'careful what you wish for' about their words.

Foster suggested that if Newcastle were to part ways with Howe, there would be 'so many' top teams sniffing around to snap him up. Unfortunately, that's not the argument, though, is it?

Those who have watched Newcastle every week will tell you that the diagnosis of the black and whites isn’t some knee-jerk reaction.

It isn’t even completely about Howe, but it is his name above the door, and shortcomings have been going on all season.

Cracks were papered over by cup runs and a run to the latter stages of domestic competitions, and the last 16 of the Champions League was respectable. Sitting in 14th place with just 12 wins from 32 matches, that’s worthy of a conversation.

This hasn’t just come about in the last couple of weeks. It’s been going on all season. Losing to newly promoted Sunderland twice, Brentford (a), West Ham (a), Wolves (a) and now Crystal Palace, to name but a few days of despair. Chucking leads away at St James’ Park against the Bees, Everton, and an awful Spurs team at home are also right up there.

Something is not right about the way a team and squad that has cost millions and millions of pounds to assemble are operating right now.