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Who is Matthias Jaissle? What Newcastle fans can expect from Howe's replacement
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NewsDesk
Original post · 6 Aug
When Newcastle confirmed Eddie Howe was on his way out of St James' Park, plenty of fans reacted the same way: who exactly is Matthias Jaissle? If you haven't followed Austrian or Saudi football closely, that's fair enough. Here's what the 38-year-old German brings with him.
From Red Bull's academy to a domestic double
Jaissle played for Hoffenheim before moving into coaching, taking in a spell in Denmark and an academy role at Red Bull Salzburg. His first senior job was at FC Liefering, and he stepped up to the top job at Salzburg in the summer of 2021.
It went well quickly. He won the double in his first season and retained the league in his second, working with the likes of Karim Adeyemi and Benjamin Sesko while competing in the Champions League. Newcastle CEO David Hopkinson has described him as a "rock star".
He then moved to Al Ahli in the Saudi Pro League in 2023, spending the past three years in the Gulf and winning the Saudi Super Cup in Hong Kong last year.
How his teams actually play
Being steeped in the Red Bull school means an emphasis on high pressing and relatively direct play, looking to move the ball forwards when possible. But his Salzburg side also kept plenty of possession, and he's wary of being boxed in. "You have to develop your game, you have to always make progress," he told Sky Sports.
That's shown up in his formations. At Salzburg it was often the narrow 4-4-2 with wingers coming inside that Ralf Rangnick made a Red Bull trademark. In Saudi Arabia he switched to a 4-2-3-1, building with either a 3-2-5 or 2-3-5 shape - structures that are now common in the Premier League.
For Jaissle, though, the shape is secondary. "It is not about formations that much. It is more how you want to play, how you want to attack, how you want to defend. If you understand that... the formation is not that important," he explained.
He also wants goalkeepers involved in build-up play, saying the position "is not a position by itself any more," and he favours "all-rounders" - defenders who attack, attackers who defend, players comfortable in several roles.
What Newcastle fans can expect
Back in a 2023 interview for Sky Sports' Future of Football series, Jaissle predicted a lot of what's since happened in the English game: more physical, more dynamic, more focus on set-pieces. "Only the most professional players will survive at the top, top level," he said.
He's also managed multi-cultural squads before - Salzburg's nationalities were into double figures - and puts a lot of weight on the personal side. "The communication and the connection with the players is always the base for leadership," he said, adding that he prioritises one-on-ones and is careful not to overwhelm players with too much tactical information.
For bettors, a managerial change usually shakes up the assumptions built into a club's markets - things like top-four odds, relegation prices and the manager's own sack race lines tend to move once a new appointment lands and the first few results come in. It's worth keeping an eye on how bookmakers reprice Newcastle before reading too much into early numbers.
The short version: a young, well-regarded coach with a strong trophy record at Salzburg, three years of experience abroad, and a flexible, front-foot style. Whether it translates to the Premier League is the question every Newcastle fan will be asking on day one.
Sources:
We'll fold any fallout from this into the UK online casinos thread as it develops.
From Red Bull's academy to a domestic double
Jaissle played for Hoffenheim before moving into coaching, taking in a spell in Denmark and an academy role at Red Bull Salzburg. His first senior job was at FC Liefering, and he stepped up to the top job at Salzburg in the summer of 2021.
It went well quickly. He won the double in his first season and retained the league in his second, working with the likes of Karim Adeyemi and Benjamin Sesko while competing in the Champions League. Newcastle CEO David Hopkinson has described him as a "rock star".
He then moved to Al Ahli in the Saudi Pro League in 2023, spending the past three years in the Gulf and winning the Saudi Super Cup in Hong Kong last year.
How his teams actually play
Being steeped in the Red Bull school means an emphasis on high pressing and relatively direct play, looking to move the ball forwards when possible. But his Salzburg side also kept plenty of possession, and he's wary of being boxed in. "You have to develop your game, you have to always make progress," he told Sky Sports.
That's shown up in his formations. At Salzburg it was often the narrow 4-4-2 with wingers coming inside that Ralf Rangnick made a Red Bull trademark. In Saudi Arabia he switched to a 4-2-3-1, building with either a 3-2-5 or 2-3-5 shape - structures that are now common in the Premier League.
For Jaissle, though, the shape is secondary. "It is not about formations that much. It is more how you want to play, how you want to attack, how you want to defend. If you understand that... the formation is not that important," he explained.
He also wants goalkeepers involved in build-up play, saying the position "is not a position by itself any more," and he favours "all-rounders" - defenders who attack, attackers who defend, players comfortable in several roles.
What Newcastle fans can expect
Back in a 2023 interview for Sky Sports' Future of Football series, Jaissle predicted a lot of what's since happened in the English game: more physical, more dynamic, more focus on set-pieces. "Only the most professional players will survive at the top, top level," he said.
He's also managed multi-cultural squads before - Salzburg's nationalities were into double figures - and puts a lot of weight on the personal side. "The communication and the connection with the players is always the base for leadership," he said, adding that he prioritises one-on-ones and is careful not to overwhelm players with too much tactical information.
For bettors, a managerial change usually shakes up the assumptions built into a club's markets - things like top-four odds, relegation prices and the manager's own sack race lines tend to move once a new appointment lands and the first few results come in. It's worth keeping an eye on how bookmakers reprice Newcastle before reading too much into early numbers.
The short version: a young, well-regarded coach with a strong trophy record at Salzburg, three years of experience abroad, and a flexible, front-foot style. Whether it translates to the Premier League is the question every Newcastle fan will be asking on day one.
Sources:
We'll fold any fallout from this into the UK online casinos thread as it develops.
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