Jonjo Shelvey saw plenty of ups and downs during his time on Tyneside, putting him in a better position than most to offer a verdict on how some of their managers over the past decade took to the job.
Shelvey spent seven years at Newcastle United, arriving in the final weeks of Steve McClaren's reign and leaving just over a year after Eddie Howe made the move to St James' Park.
In the interim, Newcastle were relegated despite Rafa Benitez's best efforts, bounced back into the Premier League, then faced increasingly loud fan protests during Steve Bruce's time in charge before the Saudi takeover precipitated Howe's arrival in 2021.
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"Fans loved Rafa"
Shelvey had kind words about all his former gaffers, telling FourFourTwo: "The fans loved Rafa and were sorry to see him go.
"Whoever replaced him, whether it was Steve or someone else, they were always going to struggle to win them over.
"I really loved Steve – he’s a great guy, and I can pick up the phone to him now and ask for advice.
"If you actually look at Steve’s record, it’s about the same as Rafa’s at Newcastle in terms of places and points. He did a good job with the resources he had.
"Being a former Sunderland manager probably didn’t help him, but I have so much admiration for him."
Shelvey admits that he would have liked more time to have worked under Bruce's successor, however.
He said: "I just wished I’d met Eddie when I was a bit younger, because he was amazing. The level of detail in his work was mental, he knew so much.
"He’s a great guy and his training sessions were unbelievable, because they got you so fit.
"Even if you weren’t in the team, you were actually buzzing to go into training, as you got something out of it. For games, everyone knew their roles.
He had a great partnership with Jason Tindall. They were chalk and cheese, but worked so well together. Jason loved to have some banter and a bit of fun, he loved his clothes, but Eddie was the total opposite and was completely focused on football."
