Howe was FAILED by Newcastle United owners - he should have walked away earlier

In late March, David Hopkinson, chief executive of Newcastle United, was asked about Eddie Howe’s future. And this is how he replied: “I don’t have a stance on his future. I expect to have a great run to the end of the season and we’ll talk about the future when it is time.”

It is a wonder Howe did not walk out of St James’ Park there and then.

What Hopkinson should have said is that the club has a manager who has taken them from the lower reaches of the Premier League to TWO Champions League campaigns and has helped them to a first domestic trophy in 70 years.

He should have said Howe, over a period of four and a half years, has brilliantly managed a club that is notoriously difficult to manage, and that they would be doing all they can to make sure he was happy to lead them for many seasons to come.

Instead, he did not ‘have a stance on his future’.

Howe had given life and soul to re-energising a great institution and that was his thanks. That was an ill-advised interview from Hopkinson.

The chief executive might claim to have just chosen the wrong words. But more significantly, Howe was let down by actions, as well as words.

The club had little choice but to take Liverpool’s £125million for Alexander Isak and in Anthony Gordon’s case, it is hard to stop a player going to Barcelona. You can even make a compelling argument that £100million for Sandro Tonali was too good an offer to turn down, although losing one of his best players to Tottenham, who had just finished 17th, must have been a very bitter pill for Howe to swallow.

But by the looks of it, they are about to sell Bruno Guimaraes, their talisman. That was probably the final straw for Howe, who has seen the Saudi owners promise the moon, but, since Howe's magic produced a trophy, delivered very little against what they promised

The executives and owners will argue that it is hard to keep players who want to leave and that they have to trade - buy AND sell - to comply with the Premier League’s financial regulations. Fair enough.

But it is the job of the executives and the owners to make sure the marquee players do not want to leave. When they want to leave in numbers, the executives and owners are not doing something right.

Which is why, in a way, Howe’s tenure might have come to a natural end, and the suggestions are that his departure has been amicable. He is such a respectful character that Howe - who is likely to be succeeded by Al-Ahli’s 38-year-old German manager, Matthias Jaissle - is not likely to say anything different when he does talk about leaving a job he clearly loved for a long time.

It's understood Howe had wanted to leave for two weeks, with an exit plan in place since early in pre-season.

Neither Newcastle CEO David Hopkinson and sporting director Ross Wilson were shocked by his departure today. Howe's exit is deemed an "energy thing", and club sources insist that it is NOT about politics or transfers or the players that have been signed in the last month or so.

But Howe's comments at Ashton Gate, after being trounced 4-1 by Bristol City in a pre-season friendly on Wednesday night, particularly on Guimaraes - declaring wistfully "what will be, will be" - suggested different.

Some fans might point to a turbulent season that saw Newcastle finish 12th in the Premier League as evidence that his time on Tyneside was coming to an end. No matter that they made it to the last 16 of the Champions League and to the Carabao Cup semi-finals.

When you look beyond the fact that Jaissle is coming from the Saudi Pro League, it will be an intriguing appointment if it happens.

But you can’t help feeling Howe could have created a dynasty in Newcastle and that it is a shame it is over.