Newcastle told to appoint Jose Mourinho after ‘wheels come off the Geordie revolution’

Richard Keys has suggested that Newcastle United need to replace Eddie Howe with Jose Mourinho if they are to guarantee trophies in the near future.

The Geordies lost 3-2 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Monday night in a disappointing display against one of their closest rivals in the Premier League.

Richard Keys: What’s happened to the Geordie revolution?

11th-placed Chelsea closed the gap on 10th-placed Newcastle to one point with Mauricio Pochettino’s side having a game in hand.

Injuries have severely impacted Newcastle this season with Antony Gordon the latest star to suffer after going off in the first half with a knee issue.

But Keys has offered no sympathy and reckons the Magpies could do with appointing former Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham boss Mourinho, who has been linked to Newcastle in recent months after leaving Roma.

Keys wrote on X: “What’s happened to the Geordie revolution? It was great to see the Toon mixing it with the big boys last season. Why have the wheels come off so quickly? Is it time for phase 2? And Jose? There are no guarantees of a trophy in football – unless you employ him.”

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And Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher thinks Howe’s side look like “a team who are almost ready for the end of the season” after watching them against Chelsea.

“I adored Newcastle last season. It was their intensity, and it took me back to when Jurgen Klopp first came in at Liverpool where people were running everywhere,” Carragher said on Sky Sports.

“They didn’t have as many games and they’ve had injuries this season so what happens is you’re using the same players who are fit, then that sort of intensity drops also.

“It looks like a team who are almost ready for the end of the season. If I just looked at that performance and I didn’t know this team, that is not acceptable the way they defended. This is an average Chelsea team, let’s not forget that.”

Jamie Carragher reveals ‘unbelievable’ Newcastle stat

Carragher added: “Pope is a big part of this team. He’s one of the best shot stoppers in the Premier League and he sweeps up behind that high line and press that we’ve seen. It is a big part, but it’s not just about that. There’s more to it.

“If you look at shots faced in the game, you go from the fourth-best in the league to 15th. That’s not just the goalkeeper, that’s to do with the set-up in the team. The save ratio you would expect to be down.

“The one that stands out is conceding three-plus goals, being the worst in the league – eight times in the last 14 games. That is unbelievable. This is for a team who, last season, were fantastic defensively.

“In the past, when you look at Eddie Howe’s teams – and a different level of team with Bournemouth – if they keep going as they are, they’re on course to conceded 60-plus goals and that will have happened six times in seven years as a manager.”