Steve Bruce endured a miserable holiday season as Newcastle struggled on and off the pitch to leave disgruntled fans in rebellious mood once again.
A coronavirus outbreak which forced the closure of the club’s training ground at the end of November is still having a significant impact, while the brand of football Bruce’s team has served up has been thrust firmly under the spotlight.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the big questions at St James’ Park.
How are the Magpies faring on the pitch?
Leicester hang on to go 3️⃣rd in the #PL table ?#NEWLEI pic.twitter.com/F4BTm9Gwsm
— Premier League (@premierleague) January 3, 2021
Not as well as they would like, but it could be worse. After 16 games, they have 19 points and sit in 15th place in the table, eight points clear of Fulham – who have a game in hand – in the bottom three, and four adrift of 11th-placed Arsenal. The concern is that only two of those points have come from their last five games and that, aside from an opening day win at West Ham and a spirited performance in a 0-0 home draw with champions Liverpool, they have rarely looked convincing even in victory. That, coupled with a tame surrender against Sky Bet Championship Brentford in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals, has added fuel to the fires of Bruce’s detractors.
Have Bruce’s critics got a point?
Happy birthday Steve Bruce! ??
Posted by Newcastle United on Wednesday, December 30, 2020
Does he have the players to play more exciting football?
Are there any mitigating factors?
✍️ #NUFC are delighted to announce the signing of Callum Wilson from @afcbournemouth on a four-year deal!
Welcome, Callum! ?
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) September 7, 2020
There are. The squad Bruce inherited from Benitez, whose departure was in part due to his lack of control over recruitment, needed to be improved in terms of quality and it still does. He was allowed to spend heavily by the club’s recent standards last summer, but three of his recruits – Wilson, the stand-out success to date, Ryan Fraser and Jamal Lewis – came from relegated sides and Jeff Hendrick arrived on a free transfer from Burnley. To compound his problems, Covid-19 has robbed him of skipper Jamaal Lascelles and Saint-Maximin for an extended period, while Federico Fernandez, Fabian Schar, Isaac Hayden, and Emil Krafth are among those playing while dealing with the after-effects of the virus.
Are Newcastle fans being unreasonable?
Whatever happened to that takeover?
