da betobet： It was far from a merry Christmas at St. James' Park, but the ex-Bournemouth boss has done enough in his tenure to command more time

da lvbet： It's been a winter of discontent in the north east, with Newcastle's premature Champions League exit preceding a terrible run of form that has finally dampened the feel-good mood Eddie Howe had generated at St. James' Park. Their downturn in form has been so sharp that there are even murmurs that the hugely-popular manager's job is on the line.

Since bowing out of Europe, Howe's side have been sent packing from the Carabao Cup and suffered three Premier League defeats in a row. The early part of December wasn't much better, as the Magpies lost to Everton and Tottenham in consecutive games by a combined aggregate score of 7-1. Lose to Manchester City on Saturday and last season's fourth-place finishers could even find themselves in the bottom half of the table after the mini-winter break.

But would it be the right decision to abruptly part company with the man who has lifted the gloom and brought so much happiness to the Geordies? GOAL breaks down the situation…

GettyChampions League hopes wilting away

A run of six defeats in nine league games – including dire losses to Luton and Nottingham Forest – has left Newcastle down in ninth, and a seemingly insurmountable 11 points behind fourth-placed Arsenal with four teams between them and a Champions League slot.

However, despite some alarming results, Newcastle are actually just six points worse off than at the same point in 2023. The problem they have is that a number of teams that underperformed last season, such as Liverpool and Tottenham, are back with a vengeance, while in-form Aston Villa and West Ham are surprise packages at the top end of the table.

The key, obviously, will be to arrest this slide immediately. This squad has already demonstrated it is capable of finding its groove, with their charge to a top-four place fuelled by a run of eight wins in 10 games at the back end of 2022-23.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesSet the bar too high

The irony here is that Newcastle are paying the price for their extraordinary overachievement last season, and they now find themselves ahead of schedule.

Howe was only appointed in 2021, one month on from the Saudi Private Investment Fund's (PIF) takeover at St. James' Park, and comfortably guided the club to Premier League safety; the notion of reaching the Champions League as early as the following campaign would have been unfathomable.

But that was what came to pass as the Magpies secured a dream return to European football's top table well ahead of schedule. The problem now is that the bar has been set too high, with the expectation that Newcastle should be able to repeat the feat at this relatively early stage in the Saudi-backed project in the north east.

Getty Images Man City the blueprint

Indeed, the timeline Saturday's opponents Manchester City have followed since their own Middle Eastern takeover was surely the blueprint for Newcastle's new owners.

Remarkably, the current treble-winners only squeaked into the old UEFA Cup based on fair play in Sheikh Mansour's first year at the helm in 2008-09, and it was another two years before they returned to Europe's secondary club competition.

It wasn't until 2011-12 that they finally reached the promised land of the Champions League and, of course, it would be more than a decade before they would claim their first crown in the competition.

Although it's worth noting that even Sheikh Mansour's fortune is dwarfed by the unimaginable wealth of the PIF, Newcastle effectively secured a top-four place at the first time of asking having swerved relegation in 2021-22. If they are unable to repeat the trick this season, it should not necessarily be viewed as a failure.

Getty/GOALFalling at the first hurdle

Lofty expectations ultimately came back to bite Newcastle in that Champions League campaign, contributing to their current malaise and the pressure Howe finds himself under in something of a vicious cycle.

There was huge anticipation when the Magpies were drawn alongside European big-hitters Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund in the so-called 'Group of Death', but any belief that a group of players that was vastly inexperienced at that level would – or indeed – progress was perhaps misplaced.

Howe's side would bow out of Europe altogether, winning just one group game and finishing rock bottom as their thumping victory over PSG on matchday two proved to be a false dawn.

This wasn't a failure, but rather a sharp learning curve, and yet more evidence that Newcastle were well ahead of schedule in qualifying in the first place. Looking at the other glamourous, storied names in their group, they finished squarely where any level-headed football follower would have predicted.