Rose will blossom again and prove his critics wrong, insists Bruce
Manager says England full-back has something to prove at Newcastle, writes Luke Edwards
Not since Michael Owen and Scott Parker in the summer of 2005 have Newcastle United signed an established England international, although it is difficult to ascertain whether the capture of Danny Rose is a coup or more evidence of a player in decline. There is no doubt Rose has been through a tricky period. It is what happens next that intrigues. Unsettled for some time at Tottenham Hotspur, Rose had made no secret of his desire to head back north to be closer to his family in Leeds. No longer at ease with life in the capital, he wanted out. But at the age of 29, he has done more than move clubs, Rose is heading into uncharted territory. No longer regarded as one of the country’s best full-backs, he is now disparaged as a player whose best years are behind him, criticised by pundits and shunted to the fringes by Jose Mourinho. He has much to prove.
That, though, is why Newcastle manager Steve Bruce was keen, recognising some are at their best when they feel they have been unfairly treated or harshly judged. He does not see a player winding down, merely one who has lost form and confidence. “I think it was common knowledge that things weren’t hunky-dory [at Spurs]”, said Bruce, who will have to decide whether Rose is fit enough to line up at Arsenal today given his last start for Spurs was more than a month ago.
“You’re always monitoring a situation like that. What helped enormously was Danny being a northern lad. And he wants to play. It became very easy. The player was surplus to requirements at Tottenham… Danny wanted to be here, that helped.
“I hope that he’s been one of the better ones of the transfer window, certainly for a club like ours to get England’s left-back, which he was until October [is impressive].”
Bruce knows Rose has been damaged by a sour end to 13 years at Spurs, which is why Newcastle have been able to sign him when few would have thought it possible a few months ago. But that does not mean he cannot be re-motivated and rebuilt on Tyneside. It is a low-risk gamble for Newcastle, given it is initially a loan until the end of the season, and a fresh start for Rose as he looks to play his way back into the England team ahead of the European Championship.
Rose was singled out while on international duty for an acidic attack from ITV pundit Roy Keane. Never one to worry what impact his words will have on their target, the former Manchester United captain labelled Rose’s performance in England’s shock 2-1 defeat by the Czech Republic in October as “abysmal”.
When he added that Rose would not improve over the next three or four years, he was effectively saying he had never been good enough to play at that level. Keane had also singled out Rose for special mention after an unimpressive display for Tottenham earlier this season.
Bruce, who used to have Keane round to his house for dinner when the Irishman first arrived at Manchester United, was not perturbed when his former team-mate’s comments were brought up. “Roy said that about him?” he replied with eyebrows raised. “Did he, really? Look, Roy is entitled to his opinion like we all are, but I think we’ve got a really, really talented left-back – left wing-back, whatever you want to call it – through the door.
“We’ve added some quality. I don’t really pay much notice to stuff like that because everybody is entitled to their opinion and with Roy, when he is at his belligerent best, he is box-office…”
Bruce will back his own judgment and feels Newcastle’s other January loan signings – midfielder Nabil Bentaleb from Schalke and wing-back Valentino Lazaro from Inter Milan – also have something to prove.
“Rose and Bentaleb couldn’t wait to get here,” he added. “Bentaleb because there had been a change in manager and he suddenly wasn’t playing. Same for Rose. All of them, for some reason, have something to prove.
“We want hungry players. The problem we have, if they do well, is keeping them. But I’m confident it won’t be a problem.”