Chris Waddle believes that Eddie Howe should have the ultimate say on transfer business at St James’ Park – and has pleaded with Newcastle United chiefs to let him be allowed to get on with his job.
The former Newcastle favourites has been an interested spectator as the quotes of sporting director Paul Mitchell became global football news over the international break. But he feels that Howe’s near-impeccable record should be enough to keep him in a strong position.
Waddle said: “The problem in modern football is when an owner gets far too involved in the day-to-day running of the club and is told what they want to hear by executives that they employ. There tends to be a lot of voices trying to get their attention, it’s a bit like a Royal Court where advisers are trying to be favoured.
“When that happens, there are problems, and we’re seeing those at Chelsea at the moment. Different owners, different points-of-view, lots of advisers and Sporting Directors.
“Manager’s should be left to manage football clubs. Of course, they need to be held accountable, but at the same time, let them do their job. If Eddie Howe tells his owner or the executives at Newcastle that wants a certain player, and the Sporting Director disagrees, then that’s a big, big problem for a manager.
“Eddie Howe gets paid to manage a football club and win games. If he wants a specific player, it’s because he thinks that player will help him get better results. He doesn’t want to be given players that he hasn’t picked, or picks from the Sporting Director.
“You can’t have a disagreement between your Sporting Director and manager. I’m a firm believer that the manager should be the one who leads on recruitment or has the final say.”
And for Waddle, there is only one man who should have the final word on transfers at St James’ Park. The ex-England star said: “If you employ a manager, I don’t care whether you are Madrid or Macclesfield Town, you have got to let the manager get on with his job.
“Mangers know the game, they know it’s a results business, and if a manager doesn’t hit his objectives, then he knows he will be shown the door. It’s as simple as that.
“You don’t employ a manager and then bring in a Sporting Director to tell them what systems to play; players to buy. Owners and clubs are becoming obsessed with projects these days, but a project should be built around a good manager.
“Running an elite club with resources isn’t rocket science. You need a vision from the top down and total alignment, and the most important piece of the jigsaw is having a top-class manager to hold it all together.
“That’s what Newcastle have in Eddie Howe, but it feels like his voice isn’t the most important at the club. Big managers have their say, and they do what they do, and that’s why they’re successful. They live and die by the decisions they make. If you’re a manager and you’re not calling the shots on transfers, that’s a massive problem. How can you do your job properly?
“Everyone at Newcastle is behind the boss, not the board. The fans love Eddie Howe at Newcastle and appreciate what he brings to the football club.”
Waddle stated he wasn’t impressed by fans being asked to wait for another three to five years for success, something that had been pledged before by Alan Pardew and Derek Llambias during the Mike Ashley era.
Waddle added: “Mitchell’s comments are just another way of appealing to the fans to be more patient. Listen, the five-year plan hasn’t happened. Newcastle did qualify for the Champions League, but they didn’t strengthen the squad. The squad couldn’t manage the demands of four competitions.
“It was just too much for that squad they had. That should have been a big wake-up call for the club. If you look at Manchester City, Arsenal, they’ve got a lot of players. Newcastle were probably thinking, we need to go down this road. It’s more difficult to do that now without Champions League football and the new financial restrictions.
“You can’t spend money willy nilly. You have to balance the books, and the most effective way to do that is selling academy players. “The Champions League was a great opportunity to turbo charge the five-year plan, but it doesn’t look like its moved on.
“We’re kind of starting again. If Newcastle don’t qualify for the Champions League, or even the Europa League, then I think it will be very difficult to convince certain players to stay for another year.”
Waddle was speaking in association with casinoaaps.com ahead of Newcastle’s trip to Wolves on Sunday.
