Matthias Jaissle on the touchline coaching.

With Eddie Howe leaving Newcastle, who is Matthias Jaissle and is he the right man to be the next Newcastle manager?

 

 

The Situation

    Earlier today, Eddie Howe left Newcastle by mutual consent, he was a saviour to the club and won their first major trophy in generations and got them Champions League football twice. However, last season was a disappointing one in which they finished 12th with 17 losses. Al Ahli and former RB Salzburg manager Matthias Jaissle is expected to take over at St James' Park and replace the legendary Eddie Howe.

Why has Howe Departed?

    There are a number of factors on why Howe has decided to leave the club. Firstly he was struggling to get results and the team wern't performing week in, week out. Sources are also saying that the 48 year old was drained and exhausted from managing the team and wants to take a break from football for a bit. Additionally, he was getting frustrated at the transfers, specifically the loss of control on who they signed and the board going for young, unproven players and this left Howe concerned on how the team would compete. Finally, he was becoming irritated that Newcastle was becoming a selling club and selling their best talent, such as Elliot Anderson and Alexander Isak to abide with PSR rules.

Eddie Howe on the touchline as Newcastle manager.

Image: Getty Images

Who is Matthias Jaissle?

    Matthias Jaissle is a manager and former player, who is 38 year old. He is currently the Al Ahli manager in Saudi Arabia but has previously coached RB Salzburg over in Austria. He is set to become the new manager at Newcastle for the beginning of next season, leaving his role in Saudi Arabia.

How does Jaissle Play?

    Jaissle plays a modern, high intensity style of football that heavily uses constant press and vertical transitions upfield. As previously mentioned, when out of possession, Jaissle's sides constantly press the opposition and go for the ball immediately after it is lost. The goal is to win the ball as close to the opposing goal as close as you can to quickly launch an attack on the confused defenses. At Al Ahli, he played a modern 4-2-3-1 formation to accommodate the talent, especially out wide that he had. When in possession, Jaissle orders his fullbacks to push very high and wide to allow the wingers to cut in and join the attack, additionally, this creates overloads out wide to allow the fullbacks to cross the ball into the box. A key principle of his game is through balls over long balls and avoids aimlessly lumping the ball up the pitch. Instead, he overloads the midfield and use quick passes and high volumes of through balls to slice open defenses.

A visualisation on how incoming Newcastle manager Matthias Jaissle plays.

How will he fair in the Premier League

    The Premier League is the best league in the world and a massive step up from the Austrian or Saudi league and the passion from the fans, especially from Newcastle, the biggest club in the North East by far, is unmatched and he will have a mountain to climb to be a good successor to the one and only Eddie Howe. Newcastle have one of the best fan bases in the World and he will be under pressure from the start. Additionally, he has never experienced the physicality and shear quality in the league and fans will be worrying that Jaissle will not be ready and will struggle coping with the intensity of the Premier League. However, on the other hand, he is a forward thinking manager who plays in the modern style and could take Newcastle that extra step as if he can get that Saudi system out of his players at Newcastle, they will be a strong outfit and will be able to compete with any team. 

Final Words

    With Eddie Howe gone, Newcastle are set to appoint Matthias Jaissle as their new head coach. His modern style has worked at Salzburg and Al Ahli and it could definitely work at Newcastle, but will the the passion from the fans and the intensity in the Premier League be too much?