Newcastle were diabolical in their humiliating defeat at Leicester, with the hapless and blatantly inept Steve Bruce the architect behind such an abysmal display.
He also pointed to the fact that this season’s points total after seven games is better than last year’s under Rafa Benitez, and then pointed to the fact that Rafa “didn’t get any stick” but Bruce is.
So if ‘Big Sam’ thinks it is too soon to blame Bruce, when will it be the right time? When we are adrift from those outside the relegation zone? When we need a miracle to escape the drop? Or when we are awaiting the release of the Championship fixtures in June?
It is ridiculous to say it is too early to blame a manager who constantly picks the wrong team, gets his tactics wrong and clearly fails to motivate his players.
I am sorry, but that is precisely when it is time to point the finger at Bruce – before it is too late to take action to rectify the situation.
There is an easy answer to why Rafa was absolved of blame by fans
And there is a very simple reason why Rafa did not get any grief from the majority of fans, despite a poor start – the fans all had faith in the Spaniard’s coaching ability to get us through it, as was proved.
Can anyone – Allardyce included – hand-on-heart say that they think Bruce is a manager, head coach, or whatever you want to call him, who you can look at, and think he has the ability to save the situation?
Of course the players need to accept some blame for the performance at Leicester, but the buck stops with the man who picks them, and comes up with the game-plan in the first place. And that man is Steve Bruce.
Newcastle fans were quick to respond on social media. Here are a few of those replies:
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