On a day when Ipswich’s long, inevitable relegation was rubber stamped, normal service was resumed at Newcastle as Eddie Howe exchanged hospital grapes for his trademark managerial chewing gum and returned to the home technical area to see Newcastle rise to third in the Premier League.
By the second half the after-effects of the pneumonia that had seen Howe miss Newcastle’s past three matches and hospitalised him for several nights were perhaps taking their toll as, unusually, he spent long periods sitting down in the dugout. Despite taking a bit of time to hit their stride, Howe’s players ultimately proved far too good for visitors reduced to 10 men by Ben Johnson’s 37th-minute dismissal.
