Bruce: No respect at all. He’s the Rodney Dangerfield of football, Rodney Dangerfield being the famous American comedian whose catchphrase was ‘I get no respect, no respect at all!’ But meanwhile, despite all the moaning, considering the resources at his disposal, Newcastle are actually doing as well as can be expected, at the least, they certainly aren’t doing badly.
In their first ten games, Newcastle have won 14 points with a 40% win percentage, not the greatest until you consider that in 2019/20 they’d only won 3 points, and before that, Benitez only won 3 too, though he equalled Bruce’s first ten game total in our first season after promotion. Bruce and Benitez have had similar league finishes, both have played a similar style, counterattacking football with a big target man up front which isn’t the most exciting to watch, and yet one was almost worshipped and the other is treated with disdain, but why? (more…)
It’s not all bad for Newcastle right now. It’s fair to say it hasn’t been much fun to be Newcastle United fan for the past decade and beyond.
Given the stature of the club, the iconic ground, the history and the huge fan base, demanding a team that can be competitive in the Premier League shouldn’t be too much of an ask.
Of course, we all know that hasn’t happened. Instead, the Magpies have endured a difficult spell that has seen no chances of silverware, falling down to the Championship twice. (more…)
The Bellagraph Nova Group in Paris.As Phaedrus once wrote:“Things are not always what they seem; the first appearance deceives many; the intelligence of a few perceives what has been carefully hidden.”
I have thought of Phaedrus’s wisdom more than once when investigating prospective new owners of Newcastle United. Who can forget Rick Parker’s infamous Mackem ‘fakeover‘ where a Sunderland supporting scallywag posed as ‘Richard Parkinson,’ a £250 million textile baron and offshore investor from Ponteland who declared an interest in buying the club for £90 million, promising to turn Newcastle United into a fan’s trust and reinstalling Alan Shearer as manager with a large transfer kitty. Then there was Barry Moat, the mysterious ‘Capital Group’ and several others… (more…)
Steve Bruce: Not a lot of respect from fans. In a recent interview with Natalie Gedra for Brazilian ESPN, Newcastle United forward, Joelinton, spoke about several aspects of his time on Tyneside. One of those was his observations about the fans’ treatment of Steve Bruce since he became the Magpies’ manager in July 2019. On this he said:
“When he [Bruce] arrived, he came under a lot of pressure, part of the crowd didn’t want him because of his old work. A nice guy, a hard worker, but who demands, and is a friend, always with word of encouragement. The fans acted badly with him as soon as he arrived. He’s doing his best. For me, he’s a great coach.”
To say that Bruce’s welcome after the departure of Benitez was ‘muted’ would be an understatement, it was verging on hostile. Even now, after a 3-0 victory against a team (Sheffield United) who were 5th in the Premier League, and the second best behind Liverpool in terms of goals conceeded going into the game, a fan on this site reacted to the Magpies’ performance as follows: (more…)
Would UEFA close the door on Newcastle? When a football club takeover involves a cast of characters including the World Trade Organization, the United States Trade Representative, Amnesty International, Saudi Arabian Pirates, Neil Kinnock, a Middle East proxy war, the fiance of a brutally murdered journalist, a former World Chess Champion, FIFA, UEFA, AFC, The Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, the Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and many others it could only be for one club, Newcastle United.
At this time, the Saudi led consortium’s bid to take over the Magpies hangs on the (much delayed) decision by the Premier League as to whether the prospective buyers are ‘fit and proper’ people to take over a Premier League club. Many column inches and web pages (mostly drivel) have been wasted on it. However, there is another aspect of the deal which doesn’t seem to have been thought of at all. What I mean is that overcoming the Premier League hurdle will not necessarily be the end of the story if the new regime have ambitions for the Magpies to compete in UEFA competitions such as the Europa League and the Champions League. (more…)
