Prior to the season starting, on paper, fans had plenty of reasons to be excited about the 2020-21 Premier League campaign. The performance in the first game of the season also generated some optimism, but things started to go downhill a few months later.
Steve Bruce earned the label of being a lucky manager last season, but that luck started to run out, and the impact of his tactics was there for all to see over the last two months. An eleven-game winless streak, which included some embarrassing defeats and performances, created a toxic environment.
The arrival of assistant coach Graeme Jones, who I firmly believe is the one truly calling the shots in training, has helped turn things around with his fresh ideas. The Magpies are clearly capable of taking the game to most opponents, but why did it take this long to implement?
The answer is simple: Steve Bruce. Up until the arrival of Jones, Bruce had no idea what his best shape or best team was. In a recent interview for NUFC TV, midfielder Isaac Hayden professionally expressed his frustration with how the season has played out thus far, and Bruce should lower his head after these comments.
Isaac Hayden’s assessment on the current state of Newcastle United is spot on.
"If we are being honest, this season probably hasn’t been good enough with the standard of players we have got in the dressing room.[…]Teams like Aston Villa, West Ham, Southampton have pushed on and we haven’t quite done that."
The Toon Army has been saying this for months and now it has finally come out of the mouth of a regular starter. Is that not a large enough red flag for Lee Charnley and Mike Ashley?
Newcastle United have plenty of talent in the dressing room, and many would argue that this is a top ten team in terms of quality, but Bruce has been that clueless that he dragged this team into a relegation battle.
Will the Toon go down this season? No, but only because the teams currently in the bottom three have been absolutely terrible. Newcastle United deserve much better leadership for the players they have. Bruce needs to go. Plain and simple… Bruce needs to go.