Newcastle United fans want to see the club hand Steve Bruce his termination notice.
Steve Bruce was appointed as head coach of Newcastle United in July, 2019, and he is still in the role after 16 months. Most fans will agree that Bruce is fortunate to still be employed at Newcastle United, but is his time running out?
Despite recent statements from the front office declaring their support for Bruce, my personal opinion is that the next five games will decide his fate. Dropped points against teams like West Brom and Fulham over the next couple of weeks will not be tolerated by the Toon Army.
Newcastle United have not developed any consistency under Bruce, and the team still has no identity. The former Sheffield Wednesday boss continues to experiment with different shapes, but nothing is working. So, how has he lasted this long?
Terrible Bottom Three
One reason why Bruce is still employed on Tyneside is because some other teams in the Premier League are simply awful in terms of quality. For the second consecutive season, the teams in the bottom three are extremely woeful on both ends of the pitch.
With nine games in the books this season, there are still three teams that are yet to win a single game, and last year five teams had at least 19 losses on their record. Others’ struggles only benefit Bruce.
No Player Complaints
Another key reason why Bruce has been in this role for 16 months is because the players are not speaking out against him. In fact, several players have made public statements praising Bruce, his experience, and his open communication with players.
Why is that? Let’s face it, most of us know the answer to this: several players would be benched or shipped out under talented, progressive managers. Now that many players have also received new deals with higher weekly wages they are more inclined to accept the current state of the team.
Some of you might point to the case of Miguel Almiron as being an outlier. The player’s agent has fired shots at Bruce and how his tactics are pushing Almiron out the door, but the front office don’t care about that.
From their perspective, Almiron is a player who failed to perform in England, and his departure would serve as one less reminder of the “Rafalution” era.
Final Word
The fans of this great club deserve much better than Bruce. Supporters never wanted him to fail at Newcastle United, but he is clearly not the man to take this club forward.
Luck has carried the team in far too many games, and these ultra-defensive tactics constantly place the Magpies at a disadvantage. For now, only a takeover would see Bruce pack his bags. That, or a painful losing streak by Christmas.