Steve Bruce 'Shocked' by Eddie Howe's Exit from Newcastle
Steve Bruce has admitted he is “shocked” by Eddie Howe’s departure from Newcastle United and fears the club is drifting away from the ambitious project it promised supporters.
Bruce, who managed Newcastle between 2019 and 2021 and still calls himself a fan, questioned both the timing of Howe’s exit and the transfer strategy now unfolding at St James’ Park.
“We’re all shocked at the timing of it. He's done a magnificent job,” Bruce told the Shields Gazette, laying bare his disappointment. “A lot of Newcastle fans, and I can still say I'm one of them, are going to be totally disappointed and a little bit disillusioned really with what's happening.”
The unease, Bruce believes, did not begin this summer. He pointed back to the handling of Alexander Isak’s situation over the past year as an early warning sign that all was not well behind the scenes.
“It started a year ago. The Isak situation wasn't great for the football club at all,” he said.
Newcastle’s ownership had set out a bold target after their takeover: to win the Premier League by 2030. That pledge fired up a fanbase starved of silverware. Now, in Bruce’s eyes, the direction of travel looks very different.
“Newcastle made this pledge that, by 2030, they're going to try and win the Premier League,” he said. “Unfortunately, it looks as if they've got to go down a different route, it doesn't look as if it's the same club as it was maybe two, three years ago, and the one thing you can't be doing is keep selling your best players.”
That line cuts to the heart of his concern. For Bruce, a club that wants to challenge at the very top cannot repeatedly cash in on its leading lights without paying a sporting price.
Howe’s future, though, may still lie at the highest level of the game. With the Football Association weighing up options for the England job, his name has inevitably entered the conversation. Bruce did not dismiss that prospect, but he made clear where he stands on who should lead the national team.
“As far as I'm concerned, to be managing our national team, I think you should be English. That's my personal opinion on it,” he said. “We've got some really, really talented managers around.”
Thomas Tuchel has been strongly linked with the England role and has already been at the centre of fierce debate after a major tactical decision against Argentina, a call Bruce referenced directly.
“Listen, Tuchel is a fantastic manager as well, he made a big call (against Argentina), but let's not forget we were five minutes away from a World Cup final,” Bruce said. “Give him a bit of slack, but he did make a big call, didn't he?
“We're all scratching our heads with it and he has to live with that decision.”
As for what comes next, Bruce sees Howe’s story as far from finished and leaves the door wide open to an international future for the former Newcastle boss.
“But for his replacement, is Eddie going to replace him down the line? Who knows what football brings anymore.”
