Newcastle vs. Southampton - Eddie Howe: Pre-Match Press Conference

It’s been a week off for the lads so they better come back to action with their batteries fully recharged.

The last time we watched Newcastle was, well, last Tuesday when the folks attacked Soton away from home and put them against the ropes after beating them 1-0.

The Magpies get into the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-finals looking hella strong and in possession of a rather sweet one-nil lead to build upon, at home, which is something we love.

Howe took to the microphones and addressed the most pressing questions by the media on Monday, ahead of the matchup against Southampton at St James’ Park scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 31.

We gotta start where we gotta start. The man, the myth, the legend Anthony Gordon’s signing getting addressed by Eddie Howe on his presser:

“[Gordon] is very quick, a dynamic player. He’s versatile and can play on both sides.”

“I believe he will fit our style of play. He is an incredible athlete and has the ability to run box to box at very high speed.”

“I think he has the athletic durability that we want in our wide players.”

“He’ll give us a lot. He’s a young player with huge potential to have a big impact on our season.”

“The best is yet to come from him. He can add something different for us.”

“He has the passion that the fans will feed off but Anthony will have to earn that support.

Now, for what actually matters the most—yes, you guessed it right—and which will go down tomorrow at St James’ Park:

“I’ve drilled this into the players: ‘this game is by no means over, this tie is not over, it’s very much in the balance’.”

“We’re going to need a top performance and we’re going to need the crowd with us from minute one until the end.”

“We’ve trained well and the players are in a good place. The rhythm you get from playing a game is sometimes better than resting, though.”

“The boys have been together this week and the preparation has been good. Currently we’re very pleased.

Howe was asked about his gameplan for tomorrow’s clash and the possibility of watching Alexander Isak playing from the get-go:

“I’ve certainly got decision to make in a few positions and that is great from my perspective that we have competition building.”

“We’re looking and analysing training as well. I’ve got a big call to make.”

Howe was asked if Allan Saint-Maximin could leave before the winter transfer window closes tomorrow:

“Absolutely not.”

“Saint-Maximin is here to stay, and is an integral part of my team.”

Then, Howe pretty much confirmed the (sad) departure of Jonjo Shelvey, who seems to be on his way to signing a deal with Nottingham Forest:

“Jonjo I believe is talking to Forest. I don’t what stage (the negotiation) is at currently.”

“He’s been a huge player this football club over the last seven years and he’s been an important part of my squad.”

“I certainly don’t want to lose him but I have to understand the players’ wishes with his contract coming to an end.”

“I’m sure Jonjo has thought long and hard about what he wants and what he sees.”

“I can’t speak highly enough of him and my interactions with him. He was huge last season and he’s been the focal point of the team.”

“Unfortunately this season we haven’t seen him. I’ll be sad to see him go.”

Howe kept on going, explaining why Jonjo is leaving Newcastle halfway throughout the season:

“It would be very difficult to keep Jonjo currently with where he wants his career to go.”

“You can keep players that want to leave but you have to take every situation independently and try and judge everything.”

“It’s a very difficult situation because from a footballing perspective I definitely want to keep Jonjo but there’s his situation to think about.

Truth be told, selling Jonjo now before it’s too late to bag some cash in return is the right move to make, let alone considering how much his role has diminished over the last few months with Willock and Longstaf starting weekly in the middle of the park.

Of course, those statements were followed by questions related to the arrival of a player to replace Jonjo’s talents:

“We’ll see what we can do in the market to see if we can bring someone in.”

“It has to be the right player.”

“In terms of permanent signings, that will be very difficult but we’ll look for a loan situation.”

Howe also confirmed the departure of goalie Karl Darlow, who will be joining Hull City after the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-finals:

“Karl will be involved with us tomorrow and then we’ll see where we are after the game.”

The transfer market will grab most of Tuesday’s headlines while the Carabao Cup tie between Newcastle and Southampton might get a bit relegated in the worldwide news cycle. Not here, folks.

NUFC is one game away from making it to a goddam final, so you better get hella pumped up about this one, lads. The Magpies host Soton already having a strong 1-0 lead earned on the road a week ago in a game that our men dominated on their way to victory.

Here’s hoping for another win—or a goalless draw, we won’t complain about that!—tomorrow so we can all really taste a final for the time in five centuries before we move on to plan our Champions League coverage ahead of next season’s group stage.

Howay!

• Date: Tuesday, January 31st
• Kick-off: 20:00 BST / 15:00 EST
• Location: St James’ Park, Newcastle (England)
• Broadcasts: DAZN (CAN) — ESPN+ (USA) — SKY GO Extra, Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Football, TalkSport Radio UK, BBC Radio 5 Live, Sky Ultra HD (UK)

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