All we are saying is give Bruce a chance!
Posted on August 28th, 2019 | 2 Comments |
After two lost games using Steve Bruce’s preferred 3-5-2 formation it was obvious that things weren’t working and at the start it seemed that Bruce’s team had come out with more attacking intent this time with a formation which looked more like an attacking 3-4-3 with Joelinton leading the line alongside Almiron and Saint-Maximin.
Despite the attacking formation, Newcastle rapidly retreated into something which looked more like a 5-4-1 against a side which totally dominated possession (80%). What we did see however was a tight, very well drilled defensive performance which constantly frustrated the home side, with a man of the match performance from defender, Paul Dummett.
As a testament to this, despite Tottenham having 80% of the ball, Newcastle United actually had more chances according to the BBC with Spurs only making two to Newcastle’s three. This lack of chances made for Tottenham this season was pointed out by Tottenham blogger Dan before the game in the ‘opposition view’ match preview he did for us last week, but I digress.
Getting back to the Magpies, I think it is fair to say that Rafa Benitez’s illustrious record led to we fans giving him a break, along with the understanding that he was working on a very tight budget under our notoriously parsimonious owner. On the other hand, with his less than illustrious CV, poor old Steve Bruce was laid into by fans after only two games.
Whilst it is true that Bruce was a typically underwhelming Ashley appointment, it is not his his fault and two games is a ridiculously short period of time to judge him; it is Mike Ashley’s fault and to his credit, Bruce certainly managed to turn things around against Tottenham after a disppointing start to the season, after all, it took us twelve attempts to win our first Premier League game under Benitez last season.
We don’t know for sure what might happen this season, remember Leicester? Remember when we ended up in Europe under a similarly underwhelming ‘journeyman’ manager? Maybe you even think that Newcastle can pull off a miracle as Leicester did a few years ago, if you do you can also bet on them to win the Premier League. Various online betting sites have included the team in the list for a potential winner. Their odds are 2500/1, which means that you can earn yourself a fortune if they win it. If you are feeling lucky, you can always check them out and bet on the latest odds.
On the other hand, a rocky period for Newcastle has led the online bookmakers to make them one of the favourites to be relegated from the Premier League. The odds for that to happen are 6/5. But, since they do have a nice potential, and their future is uncertain, Newcastle’s odds to finish in the Top 10 are 8/1.
Whatever happens, the buck stops, or it should stop anyway, with Mike Ashley. Whoever else has been involved in the club’s failures since he took over the club in 2007, Ashley is the common thread which runs through all of it, not Dennis Wise, Joe Kinnear, Steve McClaren, John Carver or any of the other ill-advised appointments Ashley has made in the last twelve years who drew the ire of fans, and it won’t be Steve Bruce either.
NUFCBlog Author: workyticket
workyticket has written 1095 articles on this blog.
One win doesn’t make any difference. Look at his poor win percentages at all his other clubs (bar Palace where his “loyalty” saw him jump before he could ruin it) he’s a crap manager and always will be.