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Michael Chopra now says Steve Bruce is the liar – Embarrassing row escalates further on Saturday

5 years ago
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Saturday has seen the row between Steve Bruce and Michael Chopra go up another couple of notches.

After the complete shambles at Norwich, former Newcastle striker Chopra said he had spoken to ‘senior players’ at the club (see below) and they’d told him what a mess it was now under Steve Bruce, with Rafa Benitez no longer in charge.

On Friday we saw just how hopeless the PR department is at Newcastle United, just like the rest of the club under Mike Ashley.

At his Friday press conference, Steve Bruce introduced the subject of what Michael Chopra had said earlier in the week.

Clearly not all of his own work, the club’s PR department had provided him with the stats/script, with Steve Bruce saying: ‘I’m not taking notice of someone who’s played 20 games and scored one goal here. Someone with a bit of credence, I can understand. We can all take criticism as long as it’s constructive. When it’s complete lies, that’s when its disappointing.’

Difficult to understand exactly what there was to gain from relighting this fire, comments that were already old news from the start of the week.

To nobody’s great surprise, the Steve Bruce/NUFC PR department have simply made it into an even bigger story/mess.

On Saturday morning, Michael Chopra using his Twitter account to answer back.

The former player saying that it is Steve Bruce who is the liar and putting his comments alongside an image which tells us that ‘Newcastle United are yet to complete a pass inside the opposition box’ this season so far.

Michael Chopra via Twitter:

“After reading Steve Bruce’s comments about me.

“I would just like to make him aware that I have played more than 20 times and scored on more than one occasion for my boyhood club, so now HE is now telling lies.

“Also the so called tactics you are working on seem to be working according to the stats.

“I’m a lifelong football fan of my boyhood club which makes it my right to have an opinion along with the rest of the geordies out there!”

Steve Bruce press conference – Friday 23 August 2019:

“The Michael Chopra thing was blown out of all proportion.

“It’s laughable, really.

“I’m just surprised that people take any attention of him.

“Some of the stuff is just fabricated and lies.

“When it’s like that, you think why is that making national headlines – which is total rubbish.

“I’m not taking notice of someone who’s played 20 games and scored one goal here.

“That disappoints me. Someone with a bit of credence, I can understand.

“We can all take criticism as long as it’s constructive.

“When it’s complete lies, that’s when its disappointing.

“I always knew the only way I can shut a few people up is by getting results.

“It’s not for me to comment on what’s been said but there’s often a storm in Newcastle. It’s two games and I just want it to be fair and responsible.

“I know the only way I can shut people up is by winning games and I know the quicker the better.”

Michael Chopra on 20 August 2019 speaking to Talksport:

“I have spoken to some senior players at the club – I won’t mention their names – and under Benitez everything was drilled into them on the training pitch: the team shape, how they were going to play – every day.

“Bruce has come in, and some of the players don’t know their jobs – they are not really working on their shape.

“At Newcastle for two or three years those players have overachieved under Benitez but I don’t think some of the players are good enough for the Premier League. So they need coaching.

“They need coaching – they are not good enough.

“The attitude from the (Newcastle) players (at Norwich) was disgusting.

“Once the first goal went in some of them dropped their heads and you’re expecting to go to Norwich and at least to try get a point, or three points.

“They are a newly-promoted team who have come into the Premier League and you’d expect Newcastle to be doing better than how they did.

“I feel sorry for Bruce because he’s a Geordie.

“A lot of Newcastle fans want a Geordie as a manager but it’s a difficult time because he’s coming to replace Benitez.

“People say the fans aren’t behind him but once he got the job you’ve got 47,000 fans turning up for the first game and 2,000 fans going to Norwich.

“I think they are backing Bruce as much as they can.

“Newcastle fans don’t want to see their club relegated, they don’t want them to fail.

“There’s a big problem with Ashley but I believe fans are getting behind Bruce at this moment in time.”

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