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Eddie Howe isn't particularly renowned for his emotional outbursts, but he unleashed his feelings as he galvanised Newcastle to victory over Manchester United in 2023. Howe boasts a solid record against United and is now being mentioned as a possible successor to Michael Carrick. Following five years in the north-east, Howe departed the Magpies and was succeeded by Matthias Jaissle during the summer. Nevertheless, he could be set for a Premier League return should United part ways with the beleaguered Carrick.
Howe secured victory in just eight of his 21 clashes with United, although six of those came during his final eight matches as Newcastle manager. The Magpies fell to United in the League Cup final in February 2023 before the sides met several months later afterwards, when Howe used Erik ten Hag's own comments against him to motivate his squad to victory.
"My final message today: I'm going to do something I rarely do," said Howe in footage from Amazon Prime Video's 'We Are Newcastle United' docuseries. "But I felt upon hearing the comments, I needed to relay it to you. So comments from their [United's] manager.
"'They have the lowest ball-in-play time in the league and are quite successful at slowing the game down. It's an annoying team to play against, so we have to find a way to play against them. So it's up to us that we get the speed in the game and we are also dependent on the refereeing as well'.
"Why am I telling you that? If they want a quick game coming here, let's f*****g give it to them. Let's blow them away with our running, let's be intense in every action that we do, let's make it a quick game. Let's go."
Newcastle proceeded to defeat United 2-0 that afternoon. Late strikes from Joe Willock and Callum Wilson sealed the victory, which also sparked a run of three successive Newcastle wins in their head-to-head encounters.
Howe carries a reputation for being measured in his demeanour and rarely allowing his emotions to overwhelm him on the touchline. United boss Carrick could be characterised as similarly even-tempered, though that hasn't delivered much success at Old Trafford recently.
A 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Como in the Champions League on Tuesday has extended United's winless streak to seven matches. That's fuelled more serious speculation about Carrick being replaced in the coming weeks, with Howe amongst the leading contenders to take over.
While it's scarcely approaching the intensity of Sir Alex Ferguson's legendary hairdryer treatment, Howe's address demonstrated a particular talent for understanding what to communicate and how to deliver it.
A managerial shake-up appears all but certain for United should their current slump in form continue. And some supporters may draw comfort from witnessing Howe display such passion.
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