Newcastle United will be without their new head coach Eddie Howe during their league game against Brentford at St James’ Park. He tested positive for coronavirus over 24 hours before the game.
Eddie Howe was appointed as the coach of the club over a week ago, weeks after the club sacked Steve Bruce. The former Bournemouth coach is seen as the coach who could build a new Newcastle United under the reign of new owners.
Recall that a Saudi Arabia-backed consortium bought over the club for £305 million in October. Since the members of the consortium who are said to be worth over £300 billion took over the club, the club’s supporters have been having tall dreams for the club.
Due to how tall their dreams for the club are, the supporters of the club influenced the sack of coach Bruce. Afterward, the club tried to get a top coach but couldn’t and had to settle for Eddie Howe during the November international break.
Since November 11, Howe has been preparing some of the players who were not on international duties, for the game against Brentford. The game would have been his first game in charge of the club if he did not test positive for coronavirus.
In a statement he shared to announce that he has tested positive for the virus, Eddie Howe said his ill-health did not affect the preparation of the team for the league game against Brentford.
He said: “I’m very disappointed that I won’t be there with you all at St. James’ Park tomorrow, but it is incredibly important that I follow the guidelines and self-isolate.
“I’d like to reassure everyone that I feel fine, and while this is unwelcome news for me, I know it hasn’t derailed our preparations for what is an important game.
“I have been, and will be, in constant communication with my coaching team and the players, both tomorrow and during the week, and I know they will be giving everything on and off the pitch.”
As it stands, Eddie Howe will self-isolate for 10 days based on the UK government’s coronavirus protocol. Based on this development, the coach will not be available for the league game against Arsenal on Saturday, November 27.
In his absence, his assistant coaches, Jason Tindall and Graeme Jones would take charge of the team for both the game against Brentford which will kick off at 16:00 later today, November 20 and the game against Arsenal next weekend.
Even though Newcastle United will be without their head coach, they are expected to beat Brentford to stand a better chance of surviving relegation. They are currently sitting on the 19th spot on the league table with 5 points in 11 games, 5 points below safety.
According to bookmakers, Newcastle United have a 36 percent chance of beating Brentford while the visitors who are sitting on the 14th spot with 12 points in 11 games have a 35 percent chance of beating their host. The possibility that the game would end in a draw is 29 percent.
#NUFC head coach Eddie Howe will be absent from the club’s next Premier League match after testing positive for Covid-19 during a routine test on Friday.
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) November 19, 2021
Meanwhile, Newcastle managing director Lee Charnley has left the club as the new owners plan to appoint a chief executive officer in his place.
A club statement said: “Newcastle United can confirm that its managing director, Lee Charnley, has left the club following a handover period with the new ownership group.”
#NUFC can confirm that Lee Charnley has left the club following a handover period with the new ownership group.
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) November 19, 2021
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