Having already claimed Eddie Howe could be sacked at end of season – John Barnes downplays Newcastle again | OneFootball

After Newcastle United won the Carabao Cup Final at Wembley, the John Barnes reaction was bizarre.

He suggested that Newcastle United could now lose all their remaining matches and that if this did happen, then Eddie Howe could be sacked.

Quite why this suggestion should be the first thing somebody would think of when a club’s manager had just delivered their first domestic trophy in 70 years, is totally off the scale.

Especially when this idea is put forward by somebody who played for Newcastle United back in the day.

The only reasonable explanation for John Barnes attempting to put such a dampener on Newcastle’s trophy win, has to be that Barnes was so gutted that his beloved Liverpool had been so outclassed and lucky to lose only 2-1, only days after having been similarly outclassed and knocked out of the Champions League by PSG.

Now John Barnes has been talking about Newcastle United once again, or rather, not talking about NUFC…

John Barnes now asked who he thinks will finish top five in the Premier League?

“Liverpool, Arsenal, Man City, Chelsea and Forest.

“Maybe not in that order but I think Liverpool and Arsenal would be the top two and then you can pick any three from [Man] City, Chelsea and Forest.”

So John Barnes downplaying Eddie Howe and Newcastle United once again, despite what looks a decent run-in for NUFC and the fact that with a game in hand (home to Palace) on all the other Champions League competitors, United are effectively fourth now, if you believe they will be getting three points from that game in hand.

I suppose no real surprise that John Barnes doesn’t see Newcastle United as a contender for the top five. After all, if you are thinking Newcastle could lose all of their last ten matches and have Eddie Howe sacked, why would you be considering United for Champions League qualification…?

John Barnes asked by Poker Scout who could/should be manager of the year?

“I think that Nuno Espirito Santo at Nottingham Forest could rival Arne Slot for manager of the year.

“If you look at what they [Forest] have done and the consistency they’ve shown, and the fact that they haven’t been lucky.

“They’ve got a good game plan, they’re organised, they’re well-drilled, they don’t have the household names of players – individuals you would think should be higher and should be doing much better than they are. They are a really great team, and the players all complement each other. Nuno deserves great credit for finding that balance.

“Those two for me have been the standout managers.”

When talking about manager of the year, if it is purely based on only Premier League matches, then whoever finishes top of the table, should in almost all seasons be manager of the year.

However, if we are talking about which manager of a Premier League club based on results in all competitions, then for sure, it shouldn’t be necessarily the case this season.

This is especially if Mikel Arteta or Unai Emery win the Champions League, I think Emery in particular should be rated above Arne Slot if Villa manage that. Villa are still able to do an FA Cup and Champions League double, plus an outside chance of finishing top five in the Premier League.

Nuno and Forest are still in the FA Cup as well, if they win that and finish top five, even third. Whilst Eddie Howe is the only manager to so far be guaranteed to have won a trophy by the end of this season and could also take Newcastle top four or five…