Steve Bruce thinks he can fool all of the people all of the time – Embarrassing latest comments
Steve Bruce watched on as Newcastle United made it nine games without a win.
A run of games now encompassing seven defeats and two draws, with exits from both domestic cups.
Yet another match as well where the opposition goalkeeper will be embarrassed to pick up his wages.
It is now just the one goal in almost twelve hours of football.
The performance was woeful, zero attacking threat and easily carved open at the other end.
To listen to Steve Bruce though, he honestly thinks that he can fool all of the people all of the time.
The Newcastle United Head Coach declaring: ‘Well, the first half you know, we got ourselves in decent positions and didn’t take advantage of it….there was a big improvement [on Sheffield United] in the first half.’
I honestly think that he relies on the fact that the vast majority of people who will hear / read his quotes, won’t have watched the actual 90 minutes. He relies on the media / journalists to just repeat his words without any kind of analysis or challenge whatsoever…and you know what, that’s what happens 99.9% of the time. That is what encourages Steve Bruce to think he can keep getting away with it.
Steve Bruce counts ‘decent positions’ as getting into the final third, Newcastle never ever looked like scoring. The overall match stats say that Newcastle had four shots in total, one on target, I honestly can’t remember the one on target, but it certainly wasn’t an almost goal.
Monday night was the seventh time in eighteen Premier League matches where Newcastle didn’t have a single shot on target in the first half. Whilst this game simply added to the running total of the majority of PL games this season having two or fewer shots on goal in the entire match.
If there was any improvement, then it is the equivalent of a marathon runner improving his best time from three days six hours and eight minutes, to three days six hours, seven minutes and fifty nine seconds.
Describing how they ended up losing, Steve Bruce states: ‘Unfortunately we have got caught just after half-time and it has won them the match.’
You would honestly think that Newcastle had been undone by a single breakaway moment in what had otherwise been a hotly contested match.
The reality of course was no goal threat from Newcastle, whilst Arsenal won by three and it could easily have been five or six.
Aubameyang missed an open goal from five yards out when hitting the post, some brilliant saves from Darlow, superb last ditch blocks from defenders to prevent what looked certain goals. Yes, just the normal really.
If Arsenal had needed to win by six or seven, then in that second half I think they would have done it, instead they got to the point where they had won the game, made some subs, then strolled the rest, whilst still creating chances.
Steve Bruce even had the nerve to revisit the shambles that was the Sheffield United defeat, claiming he had been unlucky / cheated, Bruce saying: ‘You know, we weren’t good enough in the first half against Sheffield United. I have to say though, we were still beaten when we had ten men and we were beaten by a dubious penalty.’
The thing is though, that it was only pure luck and the Blades having no goalscorers, that kept this game from being really really humiliating. Yet again Newcastle offered zero goal threat, particularly with 11 men on the pitch, whilst Sheffield United had chance after chance with only the usual suspects preventing a hammering – Karl Darlow, the woodwork, excellent last gasp defending, wasteful finishing from the opposition.
Steve Bruce also makes out that on Monday night Newcastle United were playing some brilliant team…
In Premier League and domestic cup matches this season, apart from the two games against Newcastle, Arsenal hadn’t kept a single clean sheet until Crystal Palace last Thursday.
Leaving aside the two wins over Newcastle, in their other eight most recent home matches (in PL and domestic cups), Arsenal have won only once, with two draws and five defeats.
Steve Bruce brags about playing two strikes and claims this has been the case in half the matches this season, as though this is some sign of great attacking intent, it is not, it is anything but.
Andy Carroll is so immobile it is embarrassing and having him on the pitch just so Karl Darlow can boot the ball up to him is a tactic that is never going to work. It isn’t as though Steve Bruce then puts in a plan for midfielders to swarm around and beyond Carroll for a flick on and chances created. It is just boot the ball up the pitch and lose it.
Worst of all, by playing Carroll as ‘two up front’ then means that our sole goal threat, Callum Wilson, is the one who has to then chase back into full-back positions and wherever to be an extra defender, instead of being on the shoulder of the last man, just in case by accident Newcastle produce a chance for him.
Last night, Newcastle United were up against very moderate opposition who aren’t playing with great confidence / conviction, yet Newcastle didn’t have any goal threat and Arsenal strolled to a victory that could and should have been far worse.
Yes it was different BUT only a different way of losing, with different clueless tactics to normal and absolutely no plan on how to score a goal yet again.
Steve Bruce talking to Sky Sports after Arsenal 3 Newcastle 0:
“Well, the first half you know, we got ourselves in decent positions and didn’t take advantage of it.
“But I didn’t see that coming, to be two down within an hour.
“We’ve been caught, just after half-time, high up the pitch, and been punished.
“Two passes and they are in on goal with us
“And we have repeated it five minutes later.
“You know, that’s the situation we found ourselves in.
“But we are having a difficult moment at the moment, that little bit of confidence ebbs away at you.
“And you know, we are on a difficult run of course and the only way through it, is to keep working away and hope that results change and bring that little bit of confidence back.
“We’ve done all week, trying to get people in the box and trying to score a goal and unfortunately we have been punished, it is why we have probably been deep in the past to avoid situations like that [Arsenal scoring on counter-attack].
“It is getting that balance right and unfortunately throwing bodies forward, trying to score a goal, trying to win a match, unfortunately we have been punished.”
‘How do you think the 4-4-2 worked tonight?’
“Well, we’ve played it a lot this season you know, we have got the ability to change
“You know, we have played the two strikers and won the five games we have won, we’ve played two strikers, so it’s not just alien to us, we have played it probably 50% of the games this year.
“The one thing we have to do, to win a match, is to score a goal, you know.
“And unfortunately at the minute, you know, we’ve defended well, like we have done in the first half in particular, you know, but we need to be a bit more creative in the final third.
“We are missing arguably our best player [ASM] at that, which has been a big miss to us, hopefully his return will give us something going forward in the next few weeks, or whatever.”
‘Was there a slight improvement on Sheffield United?’
“Yes, there was a big improvement in the first half, that is for sure, you know.
“You know, we weren’t good enough in the first half against Sheffield United. I have to say though, we were still beaten when we had ten men and we were beaten by a dubious penalty.
“So, you know, a lot has been written about it, and I understand the first half performance, but I seen more improvements today, especially the first half.
“Unfortunately we have got caught just after half-time and it has won them the match.”
Stats from BBC Sport:
Arsenal 3 Newcastle 0 – Monday 18 January 8pm
Goals:
Newcastle:
Arsenal:
Aubameyang 50, 77 Saka 60
(Half-time stats in brackets)
Possession was Arsenal 66% (67%) Newcastle 34% (33%)
Total shots were Arsenal 20 (7) Newcastle 4 (1)
Shots on target Arsenal 6 (1) Newcastle 1 (0)
Corners were Arsenal 7 (5) Newcastle 2 (1)
Referee: David Coote
Newcastle United:
Darlow, Krafth, Lascelles, Clark, Lewis, Shelvey, Matty Longstaff (Hendrick 78), Almiron (Anderson 87), Joelinton, Carroll (Murphy 69), Wilson
Unused Subs:
Dubravka, Hayden, Ritchie, Manquillo, Yedlin, Sean Longstaff
(3 Positives and 3 Negatives from Arsenal 3 Newcastle 0 – Read HERE)
(Arsenal 3 Newcastle 0 Match Report – This Is What Happens When The Luck Runs Out – Read HERE)
(Arsenal 3 Newcastle 0 – Match ratings and comments on all the NUFC players – Read HERE)
(Arsenal 3 Newcastle 0 – Instant NUFC fan/writer reaction to Monday’s defeat – Read HERE)
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