What Bruce must do at Newcastle to win over club’s sceptical fans
New manager arrived amid a supporters’ backlash, writes but now is time to stay calm and positive
He was the club’s big-money summer signing, the symbol of a supposedly more ambitious Newcastle United and the main source of hope things might get better after a traumatic summer on Tyneside. That is an enormous amount of pressure for a 23-year-old to carry as he tries to forge a new career in a new league and there has been little evidence so far that he is going to have an immediate impact.
Like Bruce, who desperately needed an early win to quell the discontent surrounding his appointment, Joelinton needed a goal to get him up and running, but has missed chances against Arsenal and Norwich.
The simple header he failed to score at Carrow Road was particularly costly, as the home team took the lead moments later and his confidence visibly suffered before he limped off with a hip injury. Newcastle supporters desperately want their new No 9 to do well, but patience is in short supply and there are already malcontents suggesting the club have wasted their money.
It always tends to take South American players a while to settle in the Premier League and Bruce needs to protect his young centre forward. He needs to keep Joelinton motivated and happy. The moment the youngster starts to doubt himself, his manager needs to reassure him that he is not letting anyone down, the goals will come and that he has faith in him.
Joelinton is a good player, he was highly regarded in Germany and Hoffenheim were delighted with his progress. Bruce needs to get that player performing in a black and white shirt. Kindness and support, rather than conflict, is the only way to do so. one of the fastest players in the Premier League, but has not built up a partnership with Joelinton and tends to do most of his best work away from the opposition penalty area. He is too easy to send away from goal and is dropping too deep to collect possession. Newcastle need to find a way to get him on the ball in more threatening positions, one on one with defenders. If Almiron worries defences, he will draw players to him and create space for others. He then needs the awareness to release the ball at the right time.
“He’s very slight, but he’s quick and he is a natural footballer, a really good player,” said Bruce. “If we get him further up the pitch, hopefully he will score goals. I know it [MLS] is a different league but he scored goals for fun when he was playing in the USA. He just needs a goal.”
He is not the first Newcastle manager to get carried away with the idea that the team need to play attacking football. Bruce has tried to change the style of play, make them a team who look to get on the front foot and win by overwhelming the opposition with the energy of their offensive play.
It has not worked. Newcastle lacked the required intensity to make that game plan effec ve against Norwich, and against Arsenal at home they were not able to sustain it.
After three years playing for the cautious and rigidly structured Benitez, Bruce’s more adventurous plan appears to have confused his players and the 3-5-2 formation has not worked. The confusion is not because the players do not understand what they are doing, they simply are not used to playing that way and did not have a full pre-season with the new manager to practise. This suggests that, in the short term at least, Newcastle need to switch back to a flat back four, with two holding midfielders, to give them a more solid base. Newcastle’s defence has made far too many errors, so Bruce needs to get that right first. Keep games tight, make it difficult for opposition teams to break them down in open play and look to attack in bursts rather than apply constant pressure. This is not the time to worry about aesthetics or any romantic notion of what a Newcastle team should represent, it is the time for pragmatism.
All the best Newcastle managers have had the ability to keep cool under pressure, to block out the noise in a footballcentric city. Bruce must learn to do the same because he is almost trying too hard. He knows he was not the man the supporters wanted and is under enormous pressure, but he must relax. It was never going to be easy, but he wanted the challenge and must absorb the criticism and keep it from the players. The training ground has to be a positive place, rather than one plagued by fear of failure. Newcastle’s former goalkeeper, Steve Harper, once described Newcastle as bipolar, such are the contrasting emotions that follow victories and defeats. Bruce knew that, but now he has to find a way to manage it. He needs to forge a siege mentality. It is Newcastle United against the world. Sir Alex Ferguson did that brilliantly when Bruce played for him at Manchester United and this situation requires something similar. Newcastle are being attacked from all angles and they need a leader who fights for them in public and keeps spirits high behind closed doors.
And, when the criticism comes, he needs to put himself in the firing line, shrug it off and speak less emotionally publicly. He must sound calm and assured, so his players follow suit.
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