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Newcastle United star declares team can get ‘easy top half finish’

3 years ago
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Jamal Lewis has only played six minutes of Premier League football in the last seven months.

Steve Bruce totally sidelining his £15m buy since February, with not a single start and only that six minutes in a brief substitute appearance.

Watching on with the Newcastle United fanbase though, the Northern Ireland international has come to a ‘slightly’ surprising double conclusion, especially after such a woeful start to the season.

Jamal Lewis declaring: ‘I think this [Newcastle United] team is capable of an easy top half finish, stringing performances together that the fans love.’

Hmmm. I think fair to say we have seen very very little proof to back this up in Steve Bruce’s 79 Newcastle United matches so far.

Indeed, for a non-biased (non-deluded…?) view from those who only deal in hard facts and relying on their viewpoint to make money from it, the bookies have a very different take on what we could be looking at this season at St James Park.

When it comes to finishing top half of the Premier League, Betfair have Newcastle United priced at 7/1, only a one in eight (12%) chance of ‘an easy top half finish’ this season. However, when it comes to the chances of relegation, the bookies (Betfair) have Newcastle priced at only 6/4 – rating NUFC a 40% chance of going down for a third time under Mike Ashley’s ownership.

As things stand, Newcastle United are in a total mess and Steve Bruce looking clueless in terms of how to correct form which has seen three defeats and a lucky draw in the opening four matches. Whilst Mike Ashley coming out with his ridiculous statement on Friday hardly helps matters.

One of the major problems is the fact that Steve Bruce has turned Newcastle’s defensive discipline into a shambles. Under Rafa Benitez, Newcastle only conceded 47 and 48 Premier League goals, with Steve Bruce it has truly fallen apart and after 58 and 62 goals conceded in his first two seasons, Bruce is on course to see his team leak over 100 PL goals this season if continuing the current rate of eight goals in three matches.

As for Jamal Lewis talking of Steve Bruce and his players soaring into the top half of the table, Bruce was ten points behind that target in his first season and then that became 14 points off top half in 2020/21.

With the team’s defending such a mess, particularly in the wing-back positions, Jamal Lewis will no doubt be hoping for a recall. However, he will have to do far better than what he showed when playing in the League Cup defeat to Burnley.

For Jamal Lewis, he has a key game with Northern Ireland against Switzerland on Wednesday night in their latest World Cup qualifier, before then potentially getting a recall to face Man Utd and Ronaldo on Saturday at Old Trafford…

Jamal Lewis speaking to the Northern Echo:

“I think this [Newcastle United] team is capable of an easy top-half finish, stringing performances together that the fans love.

“Obviously with the fans coming back, being strong at home and hard to beat, we can create some great memories this season.

“I think the top half is a viable target for us but executing it is different.

“We need to talk less and string these performances together.

“Of course you have to understand the underlying frustrations [of Newcastle United fans].

“Without the fans the game would be nothing, so you have to respect their feelings and understand where they’re coming from.

“As a player, I’m only in control of a certain amount of things, my performance on the pitch and how I can affect my team-mates and help get results on the pitch.”

Looking ahead to Northern Ireland v Switzerland on Wednesday night:

“I love playing at Windsor Park so much.

“I don’t know how such a small crowd generate so much noise.

“The boost they give us is honestly like a twelfth man on the pitch.

“We’re all looking forward to using them as a driving force to getting a great result.”

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