Meet the most hated assistant in English football

Do you know who is the assistant manager in Manchester United? Or maybe in Chelsea? Have you ever noticed Mikel Arteta‘s right hand man? Sure, we all know Nicolas Jover, who is a set-piece specialist, but he is not an assistant manager. In general, ‘number two men‘ in the Premier League are rare to spot, unless you watch Newcastle United games. Even if you watched only one game, and even if that game was not against Liverpool or Aston Villa, you sure noticed a guy who is very emotional and who is sharing technical area with Eddie Howe. That guy is called Jason Tindall, and he is by far the most popular assistant manager in the country, at least in terms of visibility. He is probably the most hated one as well, at least among other coaches. His boss and Newcastle players just love him.

(@Stu Forster/Getty Images/Gallo Images)

But what about the man himself? His views on his ‘popularity‘ are clear.

“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. 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“ said Tindall for The Telegraph.

(©Reuters/Lee Smith/Gallo Images)

In July 2023, a new rule has been implement in the league. It was ruled that only one coach can stand in the technical area at a time. No problem for all 19 teams, apart from Newcastle, as both Howe and Tindall are always on the touchline, giving instruction, nobody else. It even provoked former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp to joke about the Magpies duo. When asked if he will be affected by this new rule, he simply said: “I think it's only a problem for one team: Newcastle. Sorry!"

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But the new rule didn‘t necessarily mean that Howe will be the only one in the technical area, on the contrary. Both men agreed that they would share the time spend on the sidelines 50-50%, which is another proof how important Tindall is to Howe.

“We are together that whole time, from 8am to 6pm. We’ve been together like that for 17 years, we’ve been side by side a hell of a long time. We have always shared the same office, we’ve always worked on top of each other, we discuss everything. I’ve spent more time with Eddie than anyone else in my life, without a doubt. We’d include our wives in that. We are different personalities, completely different characters. He’s an introvert, I’m the extrovert, that’s obvious, but we have an excellent working relationship. We are totally honest with each other. We have different opinions, we disagree, but I will always respect that he has the final say“ he said.

But during games, it things get heated, Tindall is the one who gets involved in argument, and staying true to his “I do not give a s*** what people think“ statement, he was caught in arguments with Jurgen Klopp, Unai Emery and Mikel Arteta, multiple times. After all, he is called ‘Mad dog‘.

“I don’t exactly know what that Mad Dog thing is or why it came about. It’s probably to do with the way I am on the sidelines. I’m very, very passionate, I’ll do anything to win and that’s probably a good thing. Eddie isn’t very emotional on the touchline and I think it is important that I am the way I am. If I wasn’t, that is something he would probably have to be and there is so much other stuff that is important on a match day that he needs to focus on. I take that side of things away“ he explained.

In August 2023, Tindall thought that Jurgen Klopp‘s constant complaints to the fourth refree were potentially hurting Newcastle, so he had no problem 'shushing' him during the game. Liverpool ended up winning at St. James park with 10 men on the field, which was the sweet revenge for the German. In February 2025, Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran was sent off after a foul on Fabian Schar which caused a big confrontation on the sidelines. Off course, Tindall was involved, as well as Unai Emery and his lead analyst Victor Manas, who was expelled as well as Howe‘s right-hand man. The Villains failed a complain, and even mentioned Tindall wearing ‘a Wham shirt‘, but the regulatory commission “found the charge against Jason Tindall to be not proven", while Manas got a two game suspension.

“Unai is a top manager and you can’t knock what he has achieved in his career and he is doing an incredible job at Aston Villa. If he decides not to shake my hand, I’m not in control of that. I left my hand there and you know, that is what I will always do. If someone refuses to shake it, that is down to them and has nothing to do with me. We’ve had disagreements on the touchline, a couple of times, in the tunnel, if they want to take offence at me, that is up to them. I’ve got no problem with that. I respect all managers, I know how tough the job is. Jurgen Klopp is one of the best managers around and I have a huge amount of respect for him. Sometimes I upset people and if it upsets people, I can’t do anything about that. My only thought process is I’m Newcastle United and I will do anything to win. I’m there for Eddie and the players, that is it, that’s all that matters” explains Tindall. Watch for him on the sidelines in tonight‘s game against Leicester.

PREMIER LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 31

Saturday

Everton - Arsenal 1-1 (0-1)

/Ndiaye 49 (p) - Trossard 34/

Crystal Palace - Brighton 2-1 (1-1)

/Mateta 3, Munoz 55 - Welbeck 31/

Ipswich - Wolverhampton 1-2 (1-0)

/Delap 16 - Sarabia 72, Larsen 84/

West Ham - Bournemouth 2-2 (0-1)

/Fullkrug 61, Bowen 68 - Evanilson 38, 79/

Aston Villa - Nott.Forest 2-1 (2-0)

/Rogers 13, Malen 15 - Jota Silva 57/

Sunday

Brentford - Chelsea 0-0

Fulham - Liverpool 3-2 (3-1)

/Sessegnon 23, Iwobi 32, Muniz 37 - Mac Allister 14, Diaz 72/

Tottenham - Southampton 3-1 (2-0)

/Johnson 13, 42, Tel 90+6 - Fernandes 90/

Man. United - Man. City 0-0

Monday

22:00: (6.50) Leicester (4.30) Newcastle (1.50)

***odds are subject to change***