Under fire from fans, but boss has top backing
NEWCASTLE United owner Mike Ashley has not even had a conversation about changing the manager at St James’ Park.
Despite social media noise surrounding Steve Bruce’s position, the feeling is the ex-Manchester United captain is more than capable of leading the team to a respectable Premier League place at the end of the 2020/21 campaign.
Not for the first time, Bruce delivered a win on Friday night just when it was needed and, while it was not pretty, United showed they can live with teams outside of the top six.
For the second time in 2020, Bruce abandoned playing with five at the back.
However that does not mean it will not return at some stage.
Bruce does not believe there is any other way of squaring up to sides in the top six and Newcastle have to try to stay in games if they are to have a chance of success.
His outlook is no different to Rafa Benitez when he was in the job but Bruce’s unpopularity with a large section of fans means every detail is criticised from comments in press conferences to his mannerisms in the dugout.
In the aftermath of criticism last week - after parking the bus against
Chelsea - Bruce answered questions about the ugly statistics which had brewed since the start of the season.
Neither Ashley or managingdirector Lee Charnley will take much notice of stats or style of play, only results.
After Newcastle’s 10th Premier League game of the season they are in with a chance of reaching the halfway point of the so-called “Magic 40” before Christmas with 14 points collected so far.
Talk of dressing-room unrest has been played down by Bruce but he did feel the need for an open and frank discussion with his squad this week to clear the air.
By that time he had already decided to revert back to the old fashioned but effective 4-4-2 formation that won the game at Palace.
Newcastle look iffy when they play with a five-man defence sometimes but as the club’s former manager Glenn Roeder once told me: “No player should have any qualms about what their role is in a 4-4-2 system.”
The simplicity of the formation suited Newcastle down to the ground at Selhurst Park.
When Jamal Lewis and Javier Manquillo got forward, the midfielders dropped back to cover while Callum Wilson and Joelinton linked up well late on.
Bruce heads back to his old club Aston Villa on Friday night and needs to come up with a plan to contain the likes of Ross Barkley and Jack Grealish in the engine room while also conjuring up more ammo for Wilson again.
Defeat for Bruce at Villa will set the cycle of negativity off again but success or even eking a point out of the clash at Villa Park would put Newcastle on course for a less daunting home game with West Brom.
As far as season-on-season progress is concerned, the Magpies are five points better off than they were after 10 games last season.
Newcastle are chugging along in unspectacular fashion but the results overall are not causing any panic down the corridors of power