Bruce may never be equal of Benitez at Newcastle but criticism of him is disgraceful
The new manager is already the target of vitriol as he attempts the difficult task of following the revered Spaniard at St James’
For the past two years I have made a confident prediction about Newcastle United; they will not be relegated. Rafa Benitez was the reason. This was based on simple logic. He was the best and most successful manager working in the bottom half of the Premier League. It was a natural assumption that over 38 games he would navigate his team to the necessary number of points.
Benitez’s sadly predictable departure in the summer has removed that security blanket, so Newcastle fans have spent the past few months in a familiar state of high anxiety.
While Benitez was at St James’ Park, those fans had hope. Instead of channelling all their emotions in a negative direction against owner Mike Ashley in the ongoing off-field battles, they had the consolation of believing they were in safe hands on the pitch.
Now that glimmer of light has been extinguished it feels like Newcastle are returning to the pre-benitez era, where it was not only the board the supporters could not tolerate, but also the coach. Steve Mcclaren and Alan
Pardew were not wanted when they were appointed and the mood never changed.
Pardew could not even shake off the “Cockney mafia” jibes when he finished fifth and was named manager of the year in 2012.
There was a different vibe around the popular Benitez because of what he represented – a sexy, Champions League-winning name with a glowing CV and the promise of things getting better.
Yet Benitez was an anomaly in the North East. Look at the list of Newcastle managers since Bobby Robson was sacked in 2004. I could not believe it when Newcastle lured Benitez. Neither could the supporters and they sometimes behaved that way, deferring to his every word as if they dare not question such an esteemed manager. He was empowered to speak in a manner those before him were not and certain performances – particularly the most timid – were tolerated in a way they would not be if another, less prestigious name made his side play in the same way. He left for a mega deal in China with supporters directing their fury at the board for not blinking in contract talks. That is the power of a reputation.
For Steve Bruce, the opposite is true. Bruce knew he was walking into a hurricane on Tyneside following Benitez. After three Premier League games he probably thinks it is even more tempestuous than imagined. I fear, rather like Pardew, there is nothing he can do to change minds.
Bruce enjoyed a victory away to Tottenham Hotspur last weekend. In fact, it was probably Newcastle’s best away result since their last promotion – not even Benitez won at a top-six venue. At any other club such a result would be acknowledged as reassuring – the first step in winning over fans. Instead, Bruce’s moment of triumph seemed to be received with as much cynicism as jubilation. “He won using Rafa’s tactics,” was one of the more ridiculous accusations directed at Bruce, as though setting up a team to be defensively organised and steal a goal on the counter-attack is some kind of radical blueprint.
If managers such as Rafa are to be heaped with praise for executing such a plan against the best teams in the country, it is hypocritical not to do likewise for Bruce. Judge the game, not the man.
I have sympathy for Newcastle fans who want and demand more for their club. Whenever we discuss Newcastle we explore similar territory, Ashley unable
– or, more likely, unwilling – to do what is necessary to maximise the potential of his purchase.
When you read about Sunderland on the verge of receiving investment from a consortium led by the world’s 25th-wealthiest man, you have to ask why similar bids do not materialise at Newcastle? The accusation that Ashley is setting an unrealistic price has merit.
But some of the criticism aimed at Bruce since he joined is disgraceful. I read elements of the coverage of the Carabao Cup exit to Leicester City – an unlucky defeat on penalties against a superior Premier League side
– and its tone was far more negative than when Newcastle lost to Nottingham Forest in the same round a year ago. When you look at social media it feels like some fans want their team to lose to prove them right.
It would be a cliche for me to write: “Give Bruce a chance.”
Supporters will make their judgment on a managerial appointment and it is pointless to tell anyone to be excited when they evidently are not. If I were a Newcastle supporter I would feel similarly underwhelmed by Ashley’s choice of coach. The 20 Premier League jobs are among the most sought after in the world and – with respect to Bruce – Newcastle fans will have looked around Europe and considered there
must be a candidate who would have caught their imagination more than an ex-sunderland manager. Had an up-and-coming manager such as Steven Gerrard or Patrick Vieira been convinced to take on the challenge, there would have been a buzz similar to Frank Lampard’s return to Chelsea.
That does not mean we should entirely dismiss the possibility Bruce can perform well. The bar is not set amazingly high. Benitez did a good job, not an extraordinary one.
What exactly is Bruce following? The target for the past two seasons has been to keep Newcastle in the Premier League. They did so finishing 10th and 13th but they were in the bottom three at the halfway stage in both those campaigns so let’s not pretend it was anything more than a relegation fight. The miserable cup record – which has lasted decades – continued and the style of football was at best pragmatic. The performance we saw from Newcastle against Liverpool at the end of last season should have been more frequent at St James’ Park.
Set aside the recent history of Newcastle, the loathing of Ashley and the despair at Benitez’s departure, and it seems those supporters directing vitriol at Bruce before he has been given a fair crack at the job are shooting the wrong target.
Bruce’s overall management record deserves respect. Let’s not forget he walked away from a Premier League job at Hull City after leading them to promotion because he could no longer work with the owner. It underlines his integrity. Sheffield Wednesday supporters may argue otherwise given his decision to leave them for his boyhood club, but 99 per cent of managers would have done the same.
Just as the broader problem at Newcastle was not Benitez, it is not Bruce. Nor was it Pardew, Mcclaren, Glenn Roeder, Alan Shearer or Kevin Keegan.
Bruce’s appointment reflects where Newcastle are as a club and have been for too long – in that tier of teams battling to stay in the Premier League who will never challenge for the European places without better and more expensive recruitment.
As a shrewd and political football operator, Benitez was able to present himself as a potential cure to the ills of the Ashley reign and the fans went with it.
I fear for Bruce because he is already being presented as a symptom of the toxicity of the regime. Most new managers can expect a brief honeymoon period. All Bruce has heard since he was appointed is a section of his own supporters looking ahead to the inevitable divorce.
Fans deferred to the Spaniard as if they could not question such an esteemed manager