The impressive Premier League table since Newcastle appointed Eddie Howe
Eddie Howe was brought in as Newcastle United manager to replace the outgoing Steve Bruce in November 2021 and has made a huge impact on the club.
Newcastle have had their ups and downs over the course of Howe’s three years at the helm, but if you zoom out and take a look at his tenure with a wider lens it’s hard to argue he’s not done a very good job up on Tyneside.
When Howe was appointed as Newcastle’s new boss, they were 19th in the table and Premier League survival looked a tall order.
But Howe’s Magpies finished the 2021-22 season in 11th place after picking up 49 points. Thanks to excellent form in the final months of the season, they registered their best points tally in the Premier League since the memorable iconic 2011-12 season – an incredible return given they’d picked up just one win before Christmas that season.
This would have been unthinkable back when newly-appointed Howe watched from the stands as Newcastle played out a 1-1 draw to Brighton in early November 2021.
The Tyneside outfit had failed to win their opening 11 matches under Bruce and Howe failed to win any of his first three. No Premier League side in history had previously managed to stay up after failing to win any of their first 14 matches.
In fact, the 44-year-old former Bournemouth coach took some time to deliver results. A narrow 1-0 victory at home to relegation rivals Burnley was Newcastle’s only win of his first nine matches in charge.
At the turn of the year, Newcastle sat 19th – only one point better off than bottom-placed Norwich – with just 11 points taken from 19 games.
The following season, Howe led the Magpies back into the Champions League for the first time since 2002-03 with a fantastic fourth place finish in the Premier League.
Things have plateaued a little bit since then, but with the general consensus being that the fourth-placed finish was a slight overachievement, it’s fair to say that the trajectory is still upwards.
How would the table look if it began when Howe took over? Even including his slow start to life in the dugout at St. James’ Park, Newcastle have picked up more points than Manchester United, Aston Villa and Chelsea.
READ NEXT: 9 former Newcastle players we can’t believe are still playing in 2024
TRY A QUIZ: Can you name Newcastle United’s XI from Eddie Howe’s first game in charge?
We’ve taken a look at how the Premier League table would look if it began from when Newcastle announced Howe as their new manager three years ago.
Note: all teams have played 112 games unless specified, and we’ve only included the 14 sides that have remained in the top flight throughout Howe’s time in charge.
1. Man City – 273, GD +191
2. Liverpool – 241, GD +133
3. Arsenal – 240, GD +126 (played 113)
4. Tottenham – 194, GD +64
5. Newcastle – 190, GD +52 (played 113)
6. Man Utd – 187, GD +9
7. Aston Villa – 182, GD +29
8. Chelsea – 172, GD +33
9. Brighton – 160, GD +14
10. Brentford – 145, GD -4
11. West Ham – 136, GD -31
12. Crystal Palace – 133, GD -12
13. Wolves – 124, GD -59
14. Everton – 117, GD -63