Who is Matthias Jaissle? - The Eddie Howe replacement at Newcastle United

So, what a start to a normal Thursday morning it has been for Newcastle United, then. After we all watched that game of “football” last night, we expected our Thursday to bring news of a new keeper at best, and silence at worst. 

Roll forward to Thursday afternoon and it looks like the club could have signed Matthias Jaissle as the new manager, with Eddie Howe set to leave after five years at the club. 

But this begs the obvious question. Who even is Matthias Jaissle, why is he coming here, and is it good news?

Oh, and I’ve spoken with a very trusted German source (my friend) and his name is pronounced “YICE-luh.” Also, look out for “Matze”, which is basically the German version of “Matt”. 

Also, Jaissle has his own website, so be prepared to see some end-of-season reviews. He also has an Instagram account, though it’s nothing too special. 

Career so far

Let’s get the basic stuff out of the way first. Matthias Jaissle is the current Al-Ahli manager in Saudi Arabia. This is one of the PIF-owned clubs in the league. But don’t let that put you off; Matthias Jaissle is highly regarded for his work at Red Bull Salzburg, and for what he has done at Al-Ahli. 

After a playing-career-ending injury when he was at Hoffenheim (just a few years before Joelinton joined), Jaissle quickly moved into management. His first first-team role after two roles at the RB Leipzig youth setup was with Brøndby IF in Denmark as the assistant manager, before a short stint with AKA Salzburg U18 and then his first real job at FC Liefering.

Now come his two breakout roles. Firstly, Salzburg. He joins in the 21/22 season, and quickly becomes a game-changer for the side. This is a Salzburg side with the likes of Adeyemi, Mohamed Camara, Brenden Aaronson, and Luka Sucic. Jaissle joined the club in a season where they lost Patson Daka to Leicester and Enock Mwepu to Brighton, alongside a host of other names. 

But this was no season to settle in; no, Jaissle won it all, nearly. The side won the Austrian league by 15 points, and claimed the Austrian Cup in the process. It was also the side's best-ever Champions League season, reaching the knockout stage after a second-place finish behind Lille. They would go on to lose to Bayern Munich 8-2 on aggregate, but we will ignore that.

The following year, the club would retain the Austrian league title, though lose out to Sturm Graz in the Austrian Cup QF stage. The next year in the CL was much harsher, coming third in a group with Chelsea and AC Milan. They would end up losing 2-1 on aggregate to Roma in the knockout stage of the Europa League. 

Al-Ahli 

Jaissle got his big chance when he moved to the Saudi League to manage Al-Ahli; in fact, he would join in “that summer” where the club spent big. Firmino, Mahrez, Kessie, Mendy, Ibanez, Veiga, oh, and an unknown French player called Allan Saint-Maximin. Needless to say, it was a big summer.

On the pitch, the club would finish third in the league, gaining qualification to the AFC Champions League. 

Next season, the side would sign Ivan Toney, and Galeno, and with these new signings, they would start to dominate. While their league form saw them drop to 5th, the side would instead go on to win the AFC Champions League, the first in the club's history.

The 25/26 season would again see the side fail to claim the Saudi League title, missing out by just 5 points. However, it was back-to-back AFC Champions League titles for the side, with Jaissle cementing himself as a legend. 

Jaissle and Newcastle: More than just a PIF deal

The first thing that needs to be cleared up. Matthias Jaissle is coming to Newcastle from a PIF-owned club, but this is not Liam Rosenior 2.0. Matthias Jaissle is one of the most highly regarded young coaches in the world. 

In fact, there were rumours of Chelsea being interested in him this summer, so he’s not a nobody, and you don’t win six trophies by 38 without getting noticed. 

But he is a “PIF man”, so that will hang over him at first. But what is Jaissle as a manager, and what does he mean for Newcastle United?

It’s also worth noting that Jaissle is on a reported £10m a year in Saudi, making him one of the best-paid managers in the world. 

Style of play

The easy way to describe his style is high press. Specifically, it’s defined as high press, with vertical attacks at high transition. The playbook is often compared to Ralf Rangnick. In fact, it comes from the man himself: “I want stress on the opponent as soon as possible. And when we win the ball, I want to go as quickly as possible towards the opponent's goal. I'm very vertical in that approach.“ Jaissle told The Athletic in January.

He also doesn’t have a set formation, though you will see a 4-2-3-1 talked about, with the use of two holding DMs and a 10. This would be a shift from what Howe has done, though one the side is probably prepared for. At Al-Ahli, he used a few different formations: 4-3-1-2, 4-3-3, and 4-2-2-2. So the likely case is that he will adapt to the squad, which is something a lot of fans will be very happy to read. 

A note on one key detail about his style as a manager. In his two lead manager roles, he has taken charge of two very different dressing rooms. At Salzburg it was young, hungry, and full of dreams. At Al-Ahli, it was the opposite: older players, egos, coming from big European leagues looking to win things, and get paid well doing it. Mahrez, Firmino, Toney, these are winners, and players that would have taken a strong hand to manage, especially at just 35 at the time. 

Closing thoughts

Much of this article is basically just my opinion, but let’s end with a few more. 

On paper, Jaissle looks like an ideal appointment. Yes, there are some concerns that he is a “PIF man”, but I think given what he has done in Saudi the past few years, and in Austria before, it’s a coincidence at best, and a money saver at worst.

The problem now is time. Jaissle will get three weeks with the squad before Liverpool. The good news is that he will get to take charge of at least four matches, which gives him a chance to see the squad. On the squad, ignoring Bruno, only Dan Burn (England) and Tino (injury) are not training, and with new players joining, there is a lot to learn. 

In review, I think it’s about the best we could hope for considering the season is about to start. There are about 100 worse options, but given how bad this pre-season has gone and all the negativity around it, it might be best that the club starts fresh.