Yesterday, stories began to come out about a dust-up at Newcastle United training between Steve Bruce and Matt Ritchie. The veteran was justifiably frustrated about being made the scapegoat by Bruce over the weekend and reportedly called the manager a “coward”.
The reporting included that Bruce was bumping his shoulder into Ritchie and that the situation seems like it was quite heated. Not surprisingly, the players seemed to side with Ritchie in this dispute. Taking the high road, Ritchie has reportedly already apologized for his role in the dust-up.
It’s not out of the ordinary for tempers to run high within a sports team, especially one that’s struggling. But, this situation is a sign on a much larger problem for the Magpies.
Even though the Bruce Out shouts are getting deservedly louder, Steve Bruce has no fear of negative consequences right now at Newcastle United. No matter how poorly his club plays, how rude he is at press conferences or training, his seat doesn’t seem to get any warmer these days.
With no fear of negative consequences, Steve Bruce feels like a made man at Newcastle United.
Despite the club plummeting into the relegation battle with a crucial run of matches in March, there have been no indications that Mike Ashley is planning to show him the door. The Newcastle owner has been unpredictable at times in the past, but whether it’s the cost of firing him or a lack of focus on NUFC operations, he seems inexplicably comfortable with Bruce managing his team.
Imagine having the audacity to lash out at a player that you threw under the bus while you’ve managed to steer this club towards the second division. Now, he’s continued to alienate his players ahead of a massively important match vs. West Brom this weekend.
Hopefully, this group of players will continue to fight on behalf of the fans and the city because they certainly won’t be giving their all in honor of the manager.