Andy Howe's departure from Newcastle United might seem like merely the latest piece of noise from the club's recruitment department, but it also offers an interesting insight into the direction Newcastle are now heading in.
The former senior football executive has now left the club after five years on Tyneside, bringing an end to a period in which Newcastle's recruitment structure has undergone significant change.
But with Ross Wilson now firmly in place and the club taking a noticeably different approach to its squad building, Howe's exit could ultimately be less about one individual and more about Newcastle moving into another phase of their long-term project.
Not an isolated departure
No matter what you think of Andy Howe, whether his role was solely rooted in nepotism or whether you simply don't believe he was good at his job - the reality is his departure is less about him and more about the club's new hierarchical structure and recruitment focus.
Steve Nickson also departed the club this summer, in a move which was much more frowned upon than Andy Howe's has been. The club rejigged the sporting-director and recruitment structure and there has been a broader reshaping of the footballing department within Newcastle United.
Of course, Ross Wilson was the main addition, with much of the change coinciding with the sporting director putting his own stamp on the department.
Newcastle's recruitment failures
There's no doubting that Newcastle had a lot of success with the old recruitment approach, but last summer was perhaps the most obvious warning sign the club could have had that they had hit a roadblock.
The sheer number of failed signings that fell into a similar bracket of player to those we had signed in previous years was enough evidence to understand that, when someone new came in, they'd quickly realise changes were needed.
It must be noted that we can't even necessarily blame everything on the recruitment team themselves, given everything that happened with the Isak saga, but there is no doubt that the actual approach itself was no longer sustainable.
The Magpies were targeting a similar sort of profile to what had served them well, those who weren't yet at a top club but that were showing upside which could see them reach that level. The issue was that most of them were too well-known and they were often players already in the Premier League who the 'big six' clubs were sniffing around.
The new era
With Ross Wilson now firmly in control and Matthias Jaissle arriving as Eddie Howe's replacement, the club made it increasingly clear that we would see a shift in recruitment focus.
It's not necessarily that the likes of Andy Howe are the reason the old system failed, although many would say that is the case, it is that his departure represents the final disappearance of a recruitment structure that Newcastle have now clearly moved beyond.
As we know, this summer looked very different. A much younger, less established but higher-ceiling core of players were targeted and signed, with 'Newcastle 2.0' resembling much more the sort of structure that has served the likes of Brighton and Brentford so well than a club trying to directly compete in the market with the top clubs.
That doesn't mean that the Magpies will never spend money on an established name ever again, but at the present moment, whilst the club are trying to figure out exactly how to best bridge the gap and sustain success, looking for low-cost, high-potential options appears the best route.
Sean Steur is probably the clearest example. The Dutchman arrived at 18 years old, after making just 25 Ajax first-team appearances and being told he'd be spending his time in the U21s this season. The likes of Aladji Bamba, Bazoumana Toure and Ewen Jaouen were also signed, all of which with a view to significant development rather than being the finished article immediately.
The recruitment was not simply about replacing the players who left, it was about bringing in players who can create a higher ceiling going forward - alongside the marquee signing of Nico Gonzalez of course.
It is also a model that makes sense given the financial restrictions Newcastle are operating under and the need to stay inside SCR whilst the commercial side of the club grows with a view to challenging at the top later down the line. Ross Wilson has spoken about the importance of player trading to competing at the top end of the Premier League, while the club's new recruitment policy has increasingly focused on those who could have massive resale potential.
The significance of Howe's departure
That is where Andy Howe's departure becomes particularly significant.
His exit doesn't prove his responsibility for some of the previous shortcomings, nor is it an admission that everything the club did to get to this point was wrong - that can't be the case given the success had thus far.
What it does show is just how much of the structure that existed during that period has now changed. Dan Ashworth left. Paul Mitchell came and went. Steve Nickson has now moved on. Eddie Howe's influence on the transfer strategy was significantly reduced before his eventual departure and now, Andy Howe, one of the most recognisable (for better or worse) names of the previous setup, is gone too.
The new structure needs time
The temptation will, of course, be to conclude whether the new strategy works based purely on this crop of players alone. But that would be missing the point.
The club are looking to build something from the foundations up that looks very different from the team that qualified for the Champions League twice and won the Carabao Cup. The previous model required every signing to be good enough to immediately improve a Champions League-level first team. That made recruitment incredibly difficult.
Instead, the plan is now to sign players who will either remain as the club builds towards the next phase of the project, consistently competing for and winning trophies. Whether that be with their own contribution on the pitch or their financial value off it.
Andy Howe's departure will certainly not be remembered fondly anyway, but there's a big chance that it won't even be remembered for anything he did individually.
It may actually be remembered because it was the final departure of the 'out with the old, in with the new' summer that Newcastle had, and perhaps the final piece in the puzzle of really putting 'Newcastle 2.0' into practice with an entirely clean slate.
Add us as a preferred source on Google