LV Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 Rafa wanted players with good character and bought well. Hence the team spirit. Shelvey might love Brewcey but that’s because he doesn’t have to train hard or run much. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theregulars Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 It’s so tiresome how black and white it has to be for most people. He has done some good things, but against a backdrop of pretty low expectations and a lot of apathy. However, he’s still what most of us thought he’d be at absolute best - mediocre, uninspiring and lacking in long-term plan. The football is unsustainably bad if you understand most normal modern metrics (we are criminally reliant on our diamond in the rough goalkeeper, for a start). That’s before we get to the fact that no actual Newcastle fan would get into bed with Ashley that gratefully and try to temper ambitions. It was even evident after the last game - “if you’d have told me we’d be just 2 points of arsenal with 8 games left....” - it’s the same banal and really transparent attempts at spin for the purpose of self-preservation you see in the government briefings. It’s unconvinced and awkward and it’s super telling that he has to keep doing it and getting his white English drinking buds from 90s Man United to do the same. I just think it’s a really fair solution: he got to manage a club way out of his league but for Ashley, enhanced his reputation, earned some good money and can now cry off about how hard done by he was and get a few more managerial gigs out of it. Nonetheless, in the interests of balance, I think some highlights have been that he’s clearly got a tune out of Shelvey, the players are willing to throw themselves about and “put it in” for him and he has, undeniably, played some part in making the side difficult to beat in most games. I don’t even think it’s rude or harsh - thanks for being an acceptable steward at the fag end of a largely crap time for the club, you didn’t embarrass us or yourself really and you helped us stay up / got us to mid table or whatever the end result is. Cheers, no hard feelings, but the situation has changed and unfortunately we have higher ambitions that we think we need a more successful manager to satisfy. Here’s lots of money for your inconvenience. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LV Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 He has embarrassed himself for pretending to love the club and then taking this gig under this toxic regime. No one who truly loved the club would have taken the job. Simple really. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Decky Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 Bruce was appointed on the cheap in typical Ashley era fashion. See Pardew, McClaren, Kinnear, Hughton and John fucking Carver. It paid off a couple of times, Pardew with one season and Hughton, but in general its been a disaster and Rafa was an exception. Bruce is a cheap and cheerful yes man for Ashley and should be binned off asap when the takeover is complete. He has done well given the circumstances but don't forget how shit it was going before he reverted back to Rafa's defensive shape from last season, that is when the results began to change. He is also statistically the worst manager in PL history and has a horrendous track record of managing clubs at this level, so why in the fuck would we let him manage us under our new era? Why waste a season and tens of millions of pounds in our first season with new owners? It's fucking crazy. All his supporters will forget all about him after a couple of weeks under the new manager so who cares? Bin him off and move on, nothing else needs to be said really. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest chopey Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 10th choice wasn't he? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 He hasn’t ‘done well given the circumstances’. He took over a squad primed to push for the top 8 and had £60m added to the attack. Yes he lost Perez & Rondon, but it’s taken him 30 games to finally play the forwards in positions that suits all of them. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Decky Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 He hasn’t ‘done well given the circumstances’. He took over a squad primed to push for the top 8 and had £60m added to the attack. Yes he lost Perez & Rondon, but it’s taken him 30 games to finally play the forwards in positions that suits all of them. Look I hate Bruce as much as the next person but he lost both our top scorers from last season, he didn't have the full summer to work with the squad and the club was surrounded in negativity from day one. The striker bought to replace those goals also couldn't hit a barn door. So yeah the circumstances were difficult, especially given the fact that he is a poor manager. The club that was pushing for the top 8 had a brilliant manager, still had our 2 top scorers and had the full backing of the supporters, it wasn't the same club once all that was taken away. We're 11 points clear of 18th with 8 games to go, most people last August would have predicted us to be 20th at this stage. I predicted this season to be a complete disaster and he has kept us up quite comfortably, so I would say he has done well yeah, but that doesn't change the fact that I want him gone and replaced. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 If he’d played a left-footer on the left, a right-footer on the right (like Rafa did with Almiron/Atsu, Perez & Rondon second half of last season), I’m figuring this season’s front three would have a fair few more goals and assists between them. We saw from the chances created and goals scored on Sunday that those three can play together. Instead he’s hidden behind the 5-2-3 formation, even though the formation was the same, the tactics were different because he didn’t play the ball playing CBS, the wing-backs were deeper, the wide forwards were also deeper and on their wrong sides. He’s got it badly wrong this season, been bailed out by a top class keeper and goals from set-pieces. Had he just played Almiron left, ASM right, we could have been in the running for Europe now. Would have only taken a couple of more wins. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cronky Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 He hasn’t ‘done well given the circumstances’. He took over a squad primed to push for the top 8 and had £60m added to the attack. Yes he lost Perez & Rondon, but it’s taken him 30 games to finally play the forwards in positions that suits all of them. Look I hate Bruce as much as the next person but he lost both our top scorers from last season, he didn't have the full summer to work with the squad and the club was surrounded in negativity from day one. The striker bought to replace those goals also couldn't hit a barn door. So yeah the circumstances were difficult, especially given the fact that he is a poor manager. The club that was pushing for the top 8 had a brilliant manager, still had our 2 top scorers and had the full backing of the supporters, it wasn't the same club once all that was taken away. We're 11 points clear of 18th with 8 games to go, most people last August would have predicted us to be 20th at this stage. I predicted this season to be a complete disaster and he has kept us up quite comfortably, so I would say he has done well yeah, but that doesn't change the fact that I want him gone and replaced. So what has Steve Bruce ever done for us? Nothing! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Edgar Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 Instead he’s hidden behind the 5-2-3 formation, even though the formation was the same, the tactics were different because he didn’t play the ball playing CBS, the wing-backs were deeper, the wide forwards were also deeper and on their wrong sides. He’s got it badly wrong this season, been bailed out by a top class keeper and goals from set-pieces. Had he just played Almiron left, ASM right, we could have been in the running for Europe now. Would have only taken a couple of more wins. Solid assessment this. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RS Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 He should be kept on in some capacity purely as the human equivalent of a sprig of lucky heather. A good manager,some Saudi investment and Bruce’s luck could see us vying for the champions league, Euros and the World Cup. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmojorisin75 Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 Instead he’s hidden behind the 5-2-3 formation, even though the formation was the same, the tactics were different because he didn’t play the ball playing CBS, the wing-backs were deeper, the wide forwards were also deeper and on their wrong sides. He’s got it badly wrong this season, been bailed out by a top class keeper and goals from set-pieces. Had he just played Almiron left, ASM right, we could have been in the running for Europe now. Would have only taken a couple of more wins. Solid assessment this. yep nailed it, absolutely spot on, and worse it was absolutely obvious to anyone watching what needed to happen Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 I don’t think it’s as clear cut as saying that Bruce was hiding behind 523, he tried something else earlier in the season and quickly became clear it wouldn’t work. Think losing Rafa, Perez, and Rondon really broke the players confidence and we had to maintain stability in defence and rebuild offensively as we got points on the board and got more confidence. Wouldn’t be surprised if we went on to be top 6 form for last 9 games now. Want him gone but he’s done better than we all expected in what has practically been a caretaker manager role. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjohnson Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 all it would take for the whole illusion of pundits defending him to be shattered would be a simple question to each of them.... Would you want him managing your club? The awkward uncomfortable silence would be right up with there like a post Brent joke scene in The Office.... lots of looking at feet, avoiding eye contact, and the slightest excuse to change the subject Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strawberry Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 Guys can we even argue if someone says Bruce is better than Rafa or Poch. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottishMagpie Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 Really don't get this "he's done better than expected so deserves credit" argument at all. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strawberry Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 If we stuck with him we will be like Man city with Hughes. Things were not as competitive as today so we will be linging around 9th and 10th for the next two years the pundits don't care if we do that as long as the one of their dinosaur British coach is employed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happinesstan Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 TBH I think the pundits just don't want to upset a fellow ex-pro. Once he's gone, and replaced with a proper manager, he'll never be spoken of again. Unless the new guy does worse, in which case they may have a point. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
samptime29 Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 Aye, it's incredible how people can just gloss over the fucking awful stuff. How anyone can look at set piece goals and our GK being our highest passer (lol) and saving the most shots in the PL, and think its some sort of tactical plan is beyond me. And as someoone mentioned earlier, he doesn't like Schar/Lejeune, so we are reverting to JL/FF/. Both good CBs but I like having a ball playing CB in our side. If anyone wants basically a perfect distillation of Bruce look at the Everton game where Lejeune scored. Of course the set pieces are a tactic. We've clearly worked on them, and we're scoring more goals from them. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
samptime29 Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 Really don't get this "he's done better than expected so deserves credit" argument at all. Would you say he's done okay then? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottishMagpie Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 Really don't get this "he's done better than expected so deserves credit" argument at all. Would you say he's done okay then? Define 'okay'? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shearergol Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 The commentators said the other day that both Sheff United and Newcastle were firm favourites for relegation at the start of the season, despite that being utter bollocks. We were actually 9th favourites for relegation, but it's being used to justify Bruce doing a great job. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
samptime29 Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 Really don't get this "he's done better than expected so deserves credit" argument at all. Would you say he's done okay then? Define 'okay'? Satisfactory but not especially good. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pilko Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 He's managed to keep us up, which is the bare minimum you'd expect. That puts him ahead of McClaren and Carver who took us to the cliff edge. "Okay" in the realms of what Ashley's ownership restricts us to is probably midtable safety. "Okay" under new ownership may well end up being top 8, top 6 etc. before long. I don't like Bruce and want him peddled ASAP. I'm just relieved he hasn't relegated us like I expected him to. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Choppy Chop Chop Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 He's managed to keep us up, which is the bare minimum you'd expect. That puts him ahead of McClaren and Carver who took us to the cliff edge. "Okay" in the realms of what Ashley's ownership restricts us to is probably midtable safety. "Okay" under new ownership may well end up being top 8, top 6 etc. before long. I don't like Bruce and want him peddled ASAP. I'm just relieved he hasn't relegated us like I expected him to. Well put, my thought exactly Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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