Newcastle United fans and pundits are far from a match made in heaven.
Week after week, someone in the media makes some sort of outlandish claim about the Magpies.
Whether it’s hyping up the qualities of Steve Bruce or discussing what Newcastle fans think they should achieve, more often than not the pundits get it so very wrong.
Unsurprisingly, that was the case yet again after Sunday night’s defeat.
The Magpies lost 3-1 to Manchester United, gifting a very average Red Devils side three points.
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Newcastle played well in the first half, but crumbled after the interval.
The game was live on BT Sport, with Paul Scholes and former Toon midfielder Jermaine Jenas on punditry duty.
After the final whistle, host Jake Humphrey read a comment from a fan that said: “We don’t have it in for Steve Bruce personally. We just judge our club on the stats and the points.”
Jenas was brash in his reply, saying: “They don’t, because if they finish up in the Premier League next year they’ll still have a problem. And the stats will tell them they’re a Premier League team, and they won’t be happy still.”
I mean, where do you begin?
Ex-Newcastle midfielder Jenas embarrasses himself
Firstly, Newcastle don’t look like they will be in the Premier League next season at this rate.
Fulham are currently three points behind, and are playing with confidence. Meanwhile, Newcastle look anything but.
Despite an improvement in recent weeks, the stats speak for themselves.
Only Sheffield United and West Brom have lost more games this season. In their last 16 games, Newcastle have won just two.
Jenas was right in some respect. Newcastle fans will not be happy if we manage to finish 17th and survive.
But we won’t be happy just because we don’t like Steve Bruce.
Finishing 17th would represent regression for the club, something pundits constantly fail to ignore when it comes to Bruce’s tenure.
The football hasn’t been good enough. For a long time, the football was absolutely rotten.
We turned up to the worst team in the league and played five at the back. That sums it all up.
Multiple players have regressed since Bruce took over as manager, such as Jamaal Lascelles and Sean Longstaff.
These are just a handful of reasons why fans are unhappy with Bruce.
It’s not personal at all. Although that will be the narrative from the mainstream media whenever he does leave.
He’ll barely be out the door and someone will say ‘he was never accepted because of his past with Sunderland’.
If Newcastle survive, whether it’s comfortable or not, Mike Ashley will be happy. All he wants is for Newcastle to be a Premier League club to protect its value.
But Toon fans are sick of just existing. We want some ambition. A reason to watch. Something to cheer. Anything.
You would think that Jenas would have more sympathy considering he used to play for the club, but clearly not.
Instead he’s just another ill-informed, clueless pundit who gets a larger platform than he deserves.