CHANGE TOON

Bruce: We can’t carry on in the same theme

when Palace keeper Vicente Guaita was only troubled by two long shots: “Maybe we have to change things.”

Asked what exactly he could change, the former Sunderland manager said: “A change of formation, a change of personnel.

“Our Achilles heel all season has been that we haven’t scored enough.

“We had the lion’s share of possession, but too often when we get in the last third, we miss the pass or overhit the thing or take the wrong option. We don’t do the basics well enough to give ourselves an opportunity.

“Strikers need service. We don’t cross the ball enough. You can’t just say that we needed to sign a striker in the transfer window because a lot of clubs were in the same situation.

“There wasn’t anybody out there who would have made us any better, so what was the point? We have to score a goal.

“We’ve gone three games now. In the last game and a half we haven’t looked a threat.

“There are options that we will look at. Our big signing Joelinton gets the ball all over the pitch. Maybe we’ve got to change the balance.”

That’s Joelinton – one goal all season since his £40million capture from Hoffenheim.

Had it not been for the excellence of goalkeeper Martin Dubravka, this would have been an even worse result for Bruce’s men. First he superbly tipped over Gary Cahill’s header, and then pulled off an even better save to keep out Scott Dann’s effort.

Joelinton had a 30-yard shot saved by Guaita, but Palace were creating all the problems – and somehow Christian Benteke headed wide. When Newcastle gave away yet another free-kick on the edge of their area, and Patrick van Aanholt curled it beautifully past Dubravka (left).

The worrying thing was that there was never any real sense that Newcastle were going to rescue this game.

And in stoppage time, Valentino Lazaro was sent off for pulling down Wilfried Zaha when the Palace striker was going through. It summed up a wretched day.