Newcastle should set a December 21st deadline for Bruce

Newcastle United are in crisis mode at the moment and Steve Bruce should start worrying about his job security.

I was expecting Newcastle United to lose against Leicester City on Sunday, but not to get blown out of the water 5-0 a week after their abysmal performance against Brighton. Seven games into the season and the Magpies are already making the case for being relegation favorites with five points from seven games and a goal differential of -9, which is the second worst in the Premier League.

Newcastle United have some new faces in the squad after completing some summer transfers, but for the most part the team has remained unchanged since the Rafa Benitez era. Under Benitez, the Magpies had the best defensive record outside the top six and scored enough goals to earn a mid-table finish two seasons in a row. Under Bruce, the team has already conceded at least three goals on three occasions and are struggling to create any chances because of alarming possession statistics.

This dramatic change has triggered fear into the hearts of supporters and although the players deserve a good bit of criticism for their laziness this season, Bruce’s tactics are turning Newcastle United into a laughing stock. For this reason, I am hoping the club’s front office learned from their mistake of waiting too long to sack Steve McClaren and come up with alternative solutions for the managerial role before it’s too late. This is why I’m proposing that Mike Ashley and Lee Charnley hand Bruce a deadline of December 21st to turn things around.

Why December 21st?

Most of you probably agree with my opinion that an ultimatum needs to be set for Bruce, but some of you might think December 21st is too much time. Let me explain why I think this is the perfect deadline to set for the former Sheffield Wednesday manager.

Firstly, the Magpies’ schedule becomes “favorable” between October 27th and December 21st. Aside from playing Manchester City on November 30th, Newcastle United will face six bottom-half clubs, four of which will take place after the Toon travel to the Etihad Stadium. This will be the perfect opportunity for Newcastle United to pick up some crucial points before the second half of the season begins, but we need to see how well Bruce can prepare his squad in these winnable games. So far, losing to Norwich City and drawing with Watford and Brighton is not an encouraging sign, but hopefully things will change.

Secondly, December 21st is the 18th matchweek of the season and if Newcastle United still look like relegation favorites, a new manager – assuming one gets hired immediately – would have several games to turn things around and fight for 17th place. Benitez came close to avoiding the drop in the nine games he was given to change things, but nine games is not enough for any manager. That being the case, Newcastle United should be clear with Bruce and inform him that his deadline to deliver some positive results is December 21st.

Who knows, the Magpies could continue to struggle even more over the next few weeks and Bruce might be shown the door before December. However, I’m hoping that Newcastle United will pluck some feathers and get enough points to give Bruce until December to show us what he can do with this team.