One of the vast number of complaints from Newcastle United supporters this season comes from the lack of excitement ‘Bruce-ball’ provides. Whether it’s Fulham at home or Manchester City away, the manager opts to instruct his side to give opponents possession of the ball, sit back and then attempt to forge chances on the counter.
It’s surprising to think, given the collective guile of Miguel Almiron, Callum Wilson, and Allan Saint-Maximin, that the team should not press on the front foot and demand more of their opposition. But manager Steve Bruce clearly sees the more viable option being that of a 42% average rate of possession in the league; in fact away from home Newcastle boast the lowest at 36.2%. The whole model makes for a mind-numbingly boring experience.
The whole season has acted out as some excruciating exercise for supporters who have to sit and try and engage on some sort of level with their side. It means that the only semblance of enjoyment to be had comes from their French playmaker.
The breathtaking star – whose new contract he signed last autumn has him at the club until 2026 – recently said in a press conference: “My ambition is to go up with the club. It’s what I say always when we talk with the players and everything – we have a good team, you know, but in the Premier League, it’s not enough to only have a good team.
“Every team has some good players and play well. The most important is to do exactly what you do in training in the game. If in training we play really, really great football, we have to the same in a game.”
Saint-Maximin clearly has some intention with Newcastle, but if he is to keep up the performances, offers will some come flooding in.
The winger creates 1.8 chances per-90 minutes. He completes 5.3 take-on per-90, with a success rate of 64%,- but away from the stats and figures, Saint-Maximin offers a spectacle like no other in the Premier League is capable of right now – his gushing, slick moves have defenders on the floor and fans’ mouths wide open. His recent match-winning performances have been a reminder of what the team miss when he is not in the side, a character whose zeal and charisma is so at odds with his grey, listless club, it makes his presence all the more enigmatic.
Newcastle, for all their shoddiness, are not a selling club. It would drive a hard bargain to see the attacker move from the northeast in the summer window – but more so than knowing that the owner would perhaps not be willing in reinvest the money gained from the 24-year-old, Newcastle fans would be missing out on the single key component driving them to watch their clubs’ games at present.
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