"Judge me" - Eddie Howe launches strong defence on Newcastle transfer strategy

There seems to be a lot of confusion about who is in charge of transfers at Newcastle United, and it feels as though Eddie Howe has muddied the waters a bit more this morning.

Arguments on social media about who is in charge of recruitment are fairly common amongst fans, with the anti-Howe sections of the fanbase using poor recruitment as a stick to beat him over the head with, while the 'Howe In' crowd will defend him by saying that he's not in charge of transfers.

The truth lies in the middle. It would be absolute insanity if Howe had no input into the recruitment process, as it's he and his coaching staff who have to integrate the new players into the team and to get the best out of them on the pitch.

Sporting directors still have to work alongside the manager. They're there to take the pressure off, to get the deals done and help find the right style of players for the manager. That's what was missing last summer, and that's why things went off the rails.

Eddie Howe isn't accepting that his recruitment has been poor

Eddie Howe launched a defence of his transfer strategy in his pre-match press conference on Friday after he was questioned on the success of some of his more recent signings.

While some suggest that Howe always opts for domestic options, not overseas arrivals, the boss insists that every player signed have been "chased and endorsed" by him; whether it's foreign imports like Bruno and Woltemade, or Premier League additions such as Elanga and Ramsey.

"I think from my perspective, we've recruited players here since I've been here in the same way. So, although we've had different sporting directors, the processes haven't changed.

"So, when we recruit a player, what’s fundamentally important is that me and the coaching team like that player and can see a way that we can get the very best out of him in our team. Signing a player that doesn't fit that criteria, I think, is unhealthy.

"And the club have been really good in helping me sort of mould the squad as I want to. So I think I always say judge me by every signing that we've made since I've been here, not just by one or two that people want to sort of beat me with a stick with.

"Across the board, I think we've recruited really well. Of course, there will be question marks on certain players. I understand that comes with the territory. But I'm really proud of our recruitment.

"There's a lot of work that's gone into it. But all the players that we've signed, whether it's abroad or domestic based, have been chased and endorsed by myself."

Imagine if Howe had zero input into recruitment

The Howe Out brigade has already used these quotes as a 'Gotcha' online, trying to make out like Howe has total control over transfers, so everything is his fault.

If only it were that simple. Imagine if Howe had zero input into the recruitment process and Ross Wilson just went off and signed a bunch of players in the summer, threw them at Howe and expected results.

If a chef sent out the head waiter to buy something to make an exquisite seafood dish, and they came back with micro chips, a sausage roll and tinned tomatoes. There has to be input from whoever is putting the dish together.

Eddie Howe has to have the sign-off on the players who come in, but that also doesn't mean he gets exactly what he wants. Look how many strikers we tried to sign in the summer before we landed on Yoane Wissa and Nick Woltemade. Some things are out of his control.

It's too easy to use recruitment as a negative, but there's also far too much that goes into it for it to be a fair argument.