There have been hints being dropped all week about the potential involvement of striker Dwight Gayle for Newcastle’s game against Wolves on Sunday, as Steve Bruce ponders changes.
The manager has continually talked up Gayle, and keeps banging on about how he tried to sign him on occasions at his other clubs, stating how “delighted” he is to finally have him.
The same player was deemed not good enough last season, and farmed out on loan by then manager Rafa Benitez, but suddenly, he is being touted by Bruce as the saviour of the club.
It is blind faith, and a sign of sheer desperation from the manager, as he hopes for something… anything… to work in the goal-scoring department.
It often seems Bruce forgets he is in charge at a club like Newcastle, and while we may have fallen from grace in recent years, we are still a big club compared to the majority he has managed before.
Because he saw Gayle as the answer at one of his other clubs, does not mean he will be hitting the net from all angles in the Premier League.
Stark difference between Championship and Premier League stats for Gayle
As we wrote previously, Gayle has made an identical number of appearances in both the Championship and the Premier League, and the stats show, from those games, his goal tally ratio between the second tier, and the top division is 3:1 in favour of the lower league.
But desperate times make for desperate measures, and while Gayle is not seen as the answer by some fans, others feel differently.
Here are a few of the mixed responses to Keith Downie’s Tweet suggesting Gayle will be involved on Sunday:
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