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Opinion

Somebody speaking sense on Talksport about Steve Bruce and Newcastle – No, honestly

2 years ago
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I just happened to hear a bit of Martin Keown speaking on Talksport.

It was a clip on Twitter showing him talking about Steve Bruce and Newcastle United.

One thing is for sure, he won’t be getting invited back on.

Apparently, Martin Keown must have accidentally not received the script and / or rules of engagement.

He was actually talking sense!

Rather than simply trolling Newcastle fans and talking in ridiculously meaningless grand terms as you usually hear on Talksport [‘Steve Bruce is a great manager…experienced…from Newcastle etc etc], Martin Keown actually looking at what has happened in the past year.

Small details like…not winning a single one out of eight matches so far this season.

Only winning two of seventeen Premier League matches from December 2020 to April 2021, which Martin Keown actually underplayed, as it was two wins in nineteen PL games and two wins in twenty one in all competitions!

Martin Keown gives credit for Steve Bruce winning five of the final eight PL matches last season BUT does point out that the last two of those wins were against Fulham and Sheffield United who had been already relegated long before.

These past ten months it has been only seven wins in thirty seven games (all competitions).

In the last 34 PL games, Newcastle have conceded more (62) goals than any other PL club.

In the last year, nobody has managed less Premier League points than Newcastle, who have accumulated 41 points in 41 PL games, only Southampton getting so few with 41 points as well.

Anyway, good on Martin Keown for swimming against the tide on Talksport and actually basing what he says on some kind of reality!

Martin Keown speaking on Talksport:

“What I’d like to do…if we look at the record of Steve Bruce [at Newcastle United].

“There has been a problem for a long time.

“I looked at the period between December [2020] and April [2021] of last season, they managed two wins from seventeen matches.

“They did unbelievably at the end of the season, they won five out of eight, but if you look at those teams, two of them were already down – Fulham, Sheffield United.

“They played West Bromwich Albion, they got out of trouble at the end of last season.

“They haven’t won a game yet this season.

“So whether or not there was a new consortium coming in or not, Steve Bruce was on borrowed time.

“It has been toxic for too long.

“The fans haven’t been behind the manager.

“You could say it’s not the manager’s fault but actually he has played his part, because he hasn’t had a fantastic record there.

“You could say he hasn’t had enough money to spend and you might say well look, rue the fact that he is not going to be given the wealth and support that the next manager is going to get.

“But it is the next chapter now and it is how they close that.”

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