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Steve Bruce has an Alan Pardew moment – Selling Sean Longstaff? “That won’t happen”

5 years ago
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We are yet to hear from Alan Pardew as to his thoughts on Steve Bruce’s arrival at St James Park but no doubt we won’t have to wait too long for his expert view.

In the meantime though, the new NUFC head coach has evoked memories of when Alan Pardew first arrived at Newcastle United.

Having been sacked from his League One job (Southampton), Newcastle fans were astonished when Mike Ashley gave him the job on 9 December 2010.

Ashley had sacked Chris Hughton despite Newcastle being safely in mid-table and only weeks earlier having hammered Sunderland 5-1 and then winning 1-0 at the Emirates with an Andy Carroll header.

Mike Ashley claimed the sacking was because he wanted a more experienced manager but rumours circulated that Hughton was refusing to sell any of Newcastle’s best players if bids came in, which hadn’t impressed the club’s owner.

Alan Pardew was seen as a joke choice to replace Hughton who had done an excellent job, many supporters believing that the choice of the new manager was largely due to the fact that he would do as he was told and was happy to have no real power due to his desperation for the job, including no say on transfers.

Pardew’s reaction to this was to make very clear that he was the main man and was in charge, summing this up, with persistent rumours that Mike Ashley was going to sell Andy Carroll, Alan Pardew stated repeatedly that the striker would not be sold and in mid-January 2011 stated:

“Andy Carroll is not for sale.

“I am going to say it for one last time…he is not for sale.”

Two weeks later, Mike Ashley sold Andy Carroll.

This was a homegrown Geordie number nine who had just turned 22 and after scoring 17 goals in the Championship season, had scored 11 in 19 Premier League appearances that season. Mike Ashley sold Carroll and didn’t replace him.

Alan Pardew humiliated.

Moving forward eight and a half years and Steve Bruce has been desperate to tell people that he is in charge and insisted that he has ‘control of transfers’…

When we asked Newcastle fans whether they believed this to be the case, only 4% thought so.

Rather bizarrely, Steve Bruce has even tried to claim Joelinton is a signing he has been involved in, when the reality is that it was set up long before he arrived at Newcastle.

The fact Mike Ashley has insisted that he only has the title of ‘Head Coach’ has made absolutely clear that like Steve McClaren, he is only here to coach and pick the team.

Despite this, Steve Bruce has done an Alan Pardew and drawn a line in the sand over another promising young Geordie player.

Asked on Wednesday about the possibility of selling Sean Longstaff, the NUFC Head Coach declared:

“We don’t want to sell our best young players, that is for sure.

“So that won’t happen (Sean Longstaff being sold).

“I’m very confident.”

Hopefully like Alan Pardew, Steve Bruce won’t be regretting these words in two weeks time when the transfer window has closed.

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