Eddie Howe will miss Newcastle’s Premier League game against Manchester United on Sunday due to illness and responsibility has therefore fallen on assistant manager Jason Tindall
Jason Tindall will take centre stage on Saturday when he fills the shoes of Eddie Howe for Newcastle‘s Premier League game against Manchester United. The Newcastle assistant will be on the touchline at St James’ Park, with Howe recovering after being hospitalised by illness on Friday night.
Tindall replaced Howe for the pre-match press conference on Friday and it was confirmed on Saturday that the Magpies boss had been ruled out of the game having “felt unwell for a number of days”. In a statement, Newcastle said: “Medical staff kept Eddie in hospital overnight for further tests, which are ongoing. He is conscious and talking with his family, and is continuing to receive expert medical care.”
It means that Tindall and fellow assistant Graeme Jones will be in charge for the 4.30pm kick-off against United. Tindall is a familiar face, having worked side by side with Howe at Bournemouth and Newcastle.
The 47-year-old former defender has earned a reputation for ruffling feathers by playing the bad cop – or ‘Mad Dog’, as he’s become known – to Howe’s much more understated good cop. He has previously clashed with Aston Villa boss Unai Emery and Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola – and was even sent off for his role in a 20-man bust-up in the tunnel against Villa in December.
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‘Centre of attention’
Towards the end of the 2022/23 season, Tindall became something of a viral figure of fun on social media after fans noticed him apparently overshadowing Howe on the touchline. His tendency to shake hands with the opposing manager ahead of Howe saw an account on X called ‘Jason Tindall desperate to be the centre of attention’ pick up plenty of followers.
Howe was quick to play down the significance of the so-called story. “He’s a good looking guy,” Howe said. “So when people take pictures of him he gives off a bit of a smile. He is an energetic personality – he’s definitely more of an extrovert than I am, but that’s why we work. But he’s a serious coach – he wants to help the players and the team to be successful.”
He added: “We’re both very active on the sidelines. I’ve encouraged Jason to be that way. We were very much a partnership when we started in management and we try to do everything we can to help the players out. We’re situated at the front at the end of the games and he naturally makes his way over because he’s usually to my left.”
‘I do not give a s***’
It’s safe to say that Tindall himself isn’t too concerned how he’s viewed by others. “It’s not my intention to attract attention if that makes sense,” he told the Telegraph recently. “People say I’ve got too high a profile for an assistant manager, how that has come about, but again, I don’t take any notice of it or think I’m going to do this to gain more attention.
“It’s part of my character, I don’t care what people think [including opposition managers]. I know who I am, the job I do and the influence I have over a lot of things. And the only thing I care about is doing my job the best I can for Newcastle United.
“I don’t care if I’m upsetting people along the way. People will probably judge the way I look, what I wear and how I behave. None of this is new to me. The reality is I do not give a s*** what people think and what people say because I’m confident in my own skin, I’m confident in what I do. If you don’t know me, what you think doesn’t matter in the slightest.”
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