Newcastle United were in position to pick up a crucial victory at home vs. Wolves yesterday vs. Wolves. They controlled a lot of the action and had more shots and shots on target. But, an equalizer from Ruben Neves saw the match end in a draw.
On that goal from Neves, there was clearly some confusion regarding assignments around the pitch. Matt Ritchie had just come on as Emil Krafth exited with an injury. With players shuffling around, Neves found space in the box to put a header past Martin Dubravka.
After the match, captain Jamaal Lascelles said he wasn’t too sure about the instructions following the third substitution and that he was looking to have a conversation about it in the dressing room following his interview.
In his post-match comments, Steve Bruce stepped up and played the blame game. Interrupting the interviewer’s questions multiple times, he said that Ritchie didn’t get the instructions out there in time on the conceded goal.
Steve Bruce plays the blame game after Newcastle United’s draw vs. Wolves.
Also regarding that play, he suggested that Dubravka should have done better and that the Magpies should have stopped the cross.
He also stated the injuries disrupted his club’s play and that they could use more luck in the injury department. Both are true, but that’s often Bruce’s go-to excuse after a winless result. Specifically with Miguel Almiron’s injury, writer Liam Kennedy indicated in a tweet that Bruce said that he feared for the worst in his interview with Sky before saying to the written press that it was too early to speculate.
It’s not that everything that Bruce said was wrong because, in fairness, he was right about a good portion of it. But, it’s the fact that as the manager of the club, you shouldn’t be throwing a veteran player like Ritchie under the bus rather than taking responsibility yourself.
Before the match, he got defensive when being questioned about laughing with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on the pitch following Newcastle’s loss vs. Man Utd last weekend.
With his seat extremely warm and the Bruce Out crowd growing by the day, his deflecting of responsibility and his occasional combativeness with the media continue to show that he’s not the right guy for the job and should no longer be at the helm of Newcastle United.