Eddie Howe
Meticulous, empathetic, relentlessly demanding. He turns groups into missions. For OM’s aims, deny his clean game-state—he thrives if structure breeds belief.
Eddie Howe’s Newcastle arrive with a clear operating system: high press, quick territory gains, and sharp restarts from wide-to-central combinations. The football is insistent rather than romantic—possession that accelerates, set pieces that punish, distances compacted to suffocate exits. For OM on 25 November 2025 at the Vélodrome, it’s a night to manage field position with precision and deny their surge windows.
A Genuine Competitor in Domestic Coaching
From rescuing Bournemouth on minus points to ending Newcastle’s trophy drought, Howe converts structure into results. His teams are drilled in game-state control: press to create short fields, attack the box with runners, reset shape instantly. Expect Newcastle to value territory over sterile control, using pressure and set plays to tilt momentum in repeatable phases.
Tactical Preferences
- 4-3-3 that flattens to 4-5-1 out of possession; wing-driven width with interior rotations
- Aggressive high press and counter-press; short exits to bait and play through the first line
- Third-man runs in half-spaces; cutbacks and low deliveries preferred to aerial volume
- Set-piece focus (throws/corners/free-kicks) as repeatable chance creation; strong second-ball scheme
Challenges for Olympique de Marseille
Newcastle aim to lock our first pass and own the middle third; lose that duel and their next wave starts closer to our box. Full-backs step high to pin our wingers, freeing inside lanes for midfield runners arriving at the penalty spot. Their press is layered: if our first exit is loose, the counter-press reloads with better territory. Set pieces extend pressure cycles—one clearance rarely ends the phase.
Opportunities and Threats
- Exploit the far-side corridor immediately after regain when a full-back is advanced
- Set curved press traps on their 6 when centre-backs split—block return lanes, jump the inside pass
- Protect the cutback zone (penalty spot + inside-right channel); track late midfield runs early
- Force early long diagonals to drop their press height and compete for second balls
- Attack behind the stepping centre-back after wall passes—time diagonal runs before they reset
- Minimise cheap set pieces near our box; organise for second contacts, not just first headers
Management
Howe’s authority is calm and exact: video-led clarity, defined roles, consistent standards. Adjustments are minimal but targeted—one trigger off, one height lowered, one matchup flipped—and the rhythm shifts without visible drama. Players buy intensity because the asks are precise.
Youth Integration
He integrates energetic profiles to keep the press honest late and maintain distances between lines. Rotations are functional: legs for pressure phases, profiles for half-space combinations, size for set-piece margins.
Conclusion
OM’s plan is precision over volume: secure the first exit, deny the penalty-spot cutback, and hit the vacated far-side lane before Newcastle reset. Manage minutes 15–30 and 60–75 with cold discipline, limit set-piece volume, and force longer build. If we turn their intensity into distance to cover, the Vélodrome does the amplification.