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Opinion

How does Steve Bruce explain this last 23 Premier League games form table?

3 years ago
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You have to hand it to Steve Bruce.

No, really, you do.

He will say absolutely anything, to try and deflect blame.

Sadly, the media who cover Newcastle United, with rare exceptions, are totally happy to play along with him.

Quite bizarre the lack of really quizzing Steve Bruce about the absolute stinking football he puts out for Newcastle fans to watch and a quite abysmal run of form.

The latest Premier League masterpiece was that apology for a football performance at Tottenham, for the second PL game in a row, not a single shot on target in the entire 90 minutes. Only that hilarious penalty decision allowing Callum Wilson to get a shot on target from 12 yards out in the 97th minute and steal a completely undeserved point.

Steve Bruce launched an all out defence (very apt) of himself on Tuesday, explaining (yet again) to his NUFC media mates, that it is actually Newcastle fans who are to blame, not him.

What he wants to get across, is just how unreasonable Newcastle fans are, making out that we act totally differently to fans of other clubs.

Making unfair demands and a total over reaction over single games, or a couple of results / performances.

Today Steve Bruce declaring at his pre-Newport County press conference, referring back to Sunday’s match against Tottenham:

“What I understand now…and this is the most difficult part of all here, is that everything I do [as Newcastle United Head Coach] is analysed.”

Well Steve, how about you take a look at this Premier League form table below, it shows the points totals for the past 23 PL games of the 17 clubs who were also in the top tier last season:

56 Liverpool

49 Man City

44 Man Utd

39 Arsenal

39 Everton

38 Chelsea

37 Southampton

37 Tottenham

35 Wolves

33 Burnley

32 Leicester

26 Sheff Utd

26 Crystal Palace

26 Aston Villa

24 Brighton

23 West Ham (GD -1)

23 Newcastle United (GD -15)

For Newcastle United, the last 23 Premier League games date almost the past nine and a half months, all the PL matches that followed the very fortunate 1-0 home win over Crystal Palace on 21 December 2019, when Miguel Almiron scored his first ever goal for the club in the 83rd minute.

Since that match, no Premier League club has accumulated less points than Steve Bruce and Newcastle United, West Ham have also managed just 23 points in their last 23 PL matches but have a 14 goals better goal difference.

The thing is as well, when you look at the only five PL games Bruce has won in these nine and a half months, it surely gets even more worrying:

18 January 2020

Newcastle 1 Chelsea 0 (Hayden scored the winner in 94th minute, with only NUFC’s second effort on target)

7 March 2020

Southampton 0 Newcastle 1 (the score was 0-0 until Southampton went down to 10 men)

21 June 2020

Newcastle 3 Sheff Utd (the score was 0-0 until Sheff Utd went down to 10 men)

1 July 2020

Bournemouth 1 Newcastle 4 (NUFC easily beating the soon to be relegated team)

12 September 2020

West Ham 0 Newcastle 2 (NUFC score with their only two efforts on target, the Hammers hit bar twice and have more possession, corners and shots on target)

Steve Bruce wants everybody to believe that Newcastle fans are deluded, blowing with the wind, only one poor result and / or performance sending us completely over the top. Proving how impossible it is to manage at St James Park.

If only that was the big problem at Newcastle United…

No Steve, Mike Ashley is of course the all encompassing evil that is killing our club and has been doing so for over 13 years BUT you my friend, are also part of the problem. You are not up to the job and look to blame the fans in order to deflect justified criticism.

Whilst I think Newcastle were lucky to win at least three of the five PL games they have won since 21 December 2019, I honestly can’t think of a single one where I have thought we were unlucky not to win. Indeed, most of the eight draws carried a lot of luck for Steve Bruce including the Spurs one on Sunday, whilst many of the numerous defeats saw Martin Dubravka perform miracles to keep the score down, a mantle now passed to Karl Darlow.

Quite frightening as well that in the 14 months Steve Bruce has been at the club, Mike Ashley has allowed a £100m net spend in the transfer market, yet all we get from Bruce is excuses and seeking to blame the Newcastle supporters, accusing them of being unreasonable and unfair in ‘analysing’ performances and results.

If anything, the Newcastle fans are too accepting and tolerant of the rubbish Steve Bruce has served up, Bruce also benefiting from the fact that many NUFC supporters think, what is the point of kicking off about the latest puppet manager / head coach, when the big problem is Mike Ashley and even if he got rid of Steve Bruce, it would just be another Bruce, McClaren, JFK, Carver or Pardew that we would see replace the Head Coach.

Any other set of fans would be absolutely kicking off at the terrible results of these past nine and a half months and the tactics and style of football that are even worse.

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