Saturday’s results look certain to have sealed Newcastle’s fate. Now, their relegation to the Championship is all but confirmed. Despite the best efforts of manager Rafa Benítez, a Sunderland win against out-of-form Everton on Wednesday will relegate the Magpies before they kick another ball.
Saturday’s performance against relegated Villa was typically lacklustre, with the attack in particular completely toothless. But it’s pointless looking at the mistakes of this season. What’s important now is to look to the future.
With the reported get-out clause in Benítez’s contract, Newcastle may find themselves in a familiar situation in the near future—searching for a new manager. Reports in the media seem to point to a choice between two high-profile names: Nigel Pearson and David Moyes. With Aston Villa also searching for a new man to steer them back to the top flight, it’s important that Newcastle make the right choice.
Nigel Pearson
Pearson probably deserves some credit for Leicester City’s title success. A late flurry of wins last April secured Leicester’s survival and earned him manager of the month. More importantly, it arguably led to an incredible flow of momentum that, with the help of Ranieri, has brought them unprecedented success.
Unfortunately for Pearson, his son’s misdemeanours cost him his job, and he’s been out of work since. So would he be a good appointment for the Magpies? He knows the club well, having served as an assistant manager under Glenn Roeder and staying on as coach under Sam Allardyce. He even had two spells as caretaker manager, one of which included a miserable 6-0 drubbing by a Cristiano Ronaldo-inspired Manchester United.
His style of play is similar to that of the current Leicester side—quick counter-attacking play built on a solid defence. Arguably, this is just what Newcastle need. However, it’s hard to imagine him being a popular appointment. He would be associated with the unpopular reigns of Roeder and Allardyce and has been labelled by some journalists as a bully. His infamous ‘ostrich’ outburst would likely not be tolerated by the fickle Toon Army.
David Moyes
Moyes has a point to prove after less than stellar spells at Manchester United and Real Sociedad. He’s already proved that he can bring success to a side without a huge budget. His Everton sides were consistently in the top half of the table and often challenged for European places and in the cup competitions—something Newcastle fans have been craving.
However, his defensive style of play is unlikely to win many plaudits amongst the attack-minded Geordie faithful. In addition, there have been rumours of him moving north of the border to manage Celtic, the side with whom he began his playing career.
However, he is probably a less divisive figure amongst fans, and his record is marginally better. Admittedly there is almost nothing between the two. Moyes’ wins percentage stands at 43.79%, whilst Pearson is only slightly lower at 43.21%.
It’s a tough call but, given his record with Everton, Moyes may just edge it. Of course, in an ideal world Rafa Benítez would stay on as manager, but this is Newcastle United, and an ideal world doesn’t seem to exist.
