Journalist Matthew Renton has slammed ex-footballer Stan Collymore for his ‘bonkers’ comments about Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe.
Collymore recently spoke to CaughtOffside and argued that the club could consider sacking Howe if they finished in the top four at the end of the season and bring in someone with more experience in top-level European competition.
Newcastle have had an outstanding season under Howe and have only lost once throughout their Premier League campaign so far, netting 32 times along the way.
What makes this season even more impressive is considering where the Magpies were a year ago, as they found themselves 19th in the league.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Renton stated that what Collymore said ‘doesn’t make any sense’ and labelled it as ‘silly’.
He said: “I need to talk about this mental, mental topic that came out a few days ago.
“Stan Collymore, ex-Liverpool striker and now-pundit for several platforms, is saying that Eddie Howe should be sacked at the end of the season if Newcastle get top four.
“Bonkers, absolutely bonkers statement from Stan Collymore.
“They reckon if Eddie Howe manages to get Newcastle from a relegation battle last year to top four this year, it can actually lose him his job. Wild thought, that.
“Doesn’t make any sense to me, that. He’s just making silly statements.”
TIF Thoughts on Renton’s comments…
We believe that even mentioning the idea of Eddie Howe getting sacked is entirely laughable when he’s turned Newcastle from relegation fighters to contenders for a position in the top four in such a short space of time.
The Magpies have not featured in the Champions League since the 2002/03 season. Elsewhere, Howe has also taken the club to a League Cup semi-final for the first time since 1976.
When you consider the Newcastle boss is only 45, he’s a manager who will be in the game for a long time, and the only way he can gain European pedigree himself is if he’s given the chance he will have fully earned at St James’ Park.
Bringing in a new manager in the summer would also risk disrupting the mood of the squad. Howe is clearly well-loved at the club and there’s real team unity among the Magpies’ players and management at present, so we agree with Renton that Collymore’s claims make little logical sense.