‘Eddie Howe didn’t know’: BBC pundit critical of Yasir Al-Rumayyan’s actions at Newcastle

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Chris Sutton has claimed that Yasir Al-Rumayyan’s decision to go into the Newcastle United dressing room was ‘strange’, as he told BBC Radio 5 Live Sport.

The former striker thinks it also ‘undermines’ someone like Eddie Howe, ‘didn’t know’, what Al-Rumayyan was going to do.

After Newcastle were knocked out of the FA Cup by Cambridge United, Al-Rumayyan, whose Public Investment Fund group owns 80% of the club, opted to go into the St James’ Park dressing room.

He was joined by Amanda Staveley and her husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi, as Howe revealed after the game.

It’s the first time that the Saudi-led owners have done this and it seems as though they were trying to spread some positivity amongst the group.

Even though the man in Newcastle’s dugout didn’t have an issue with it, Sutton thinks he would have still been ‘surprised’ by it because he didn’t initially expect it.

“What about the owners going into the Newcastle dressing room after the game?” said Sutton.

“I don’t know what was said in the dressing room. But I don’t know how Eddie Howe really would feel about that. That’s a strange move to make, I do think. I mean Eddie Howe didn’t know it was going to happen. He was surprised by it.

“Really they should be asking Eddie’s permission. I mean it’s their club, but they should be asking the manager’s permission. Do you think it’s a good idea? Do we think we should be doing that?

“He (Howe) has come out and sort of backed it and said ‘that’s fine’. I mean he has to for harmony. But I think it undermines him.”

In truth, if Newcastle were flying high and everything was rosy in the garden, then there probably wouldn’t be too much of an issue.

But because the Magpies are in deep trouble and things became worse over the weekend, then it’s pretty easy to take a negative slant regarding this situation.

From the perspective of the Newcastle fans, they won’t care one jot, as long as Howe is being backed and they are winning on the pitch.

At this moment in time, they aren’t winning and only Kieran Trippier has been snapped up by the club, but it seems as though Chris Wood is going to join them.