Newcastle’s abysmal performance from the forwards at Aston Villa epitomised their season in 90 minutes, as they still look for goals, having just one between them so far this campaign.
After the game, Steve Bruce was asked about his strikers, for what seemed like the umpteenth time, with the question popping up after every game nowadays.
The Shields Gazette quote Bruce as saying: “We have to keep persevering. Every time they don’t [score], I’ll be asked the same question. They have to stay confident, stick with it. Unfortunately, all of them are lacking goals. We have to keep working away at it.”
One thing that can be said for Bruce, is he is loyal to his players. He believes in them, and wants to give them the opportunity to rectify things.
Unfortunately, that loyalty may ultimately cost him his job at Newcastle.
It is one thing to back them, and have faith that it will all be okay in the end. But there has to be a breaking point – a line that must be drawn in the sand, beyond which enough is enough.
We are quickly approaching the halfway point of the season, and our attacking three have scored just one goal between them.
To put that into context, Yoshinori Muto – who is clearly not good enough for the Premier League – has played one full League Cup game, and had 101 minutes of league action, and he has the same number of goals as our other forwards have managed all season.
So from 11 Premier League goals, the forwards have contribute 9.09 per cent of our tally. Our defenders, on the other hand, have contributed 63.6 per cent.
That is simply not good enough, and unacceptable for a top flight side. It is also the sort of statistic that will see a side relegated.
Defenders should not be expected to score goals every week
While every team’s defence chips in with goals throughout a season, they cannot be relied on to continually bail the side out. They cannot, and should not, be expected to bear the burden of responsibility at both ends of the pitch.
Bruce’s loyalty can be admired, but it will be exposed as foolish if he persists with it much longer.
Everyone can see it is not working, and changes are needed – everyone except the person who needs to see it most, it seems.
If he wants to stick with Joelinton, that’s fine, but change the formation, and those players around him, to get the best from him.
He should be playing with a second striker to help him, and abandon using Allan Saint-Maximin in a limited role on the wing, by giving him a free role behind the front two.
That way, he can influence the game more, and get the best out of those in front of him.
Miguel Almiron must be taken out of the side, and used as an impact substitute, at least until he gets his goal. Plugging away with him is not working, and it is going to cost both himself and the side, in the long run.
These are basic decisions a manager is paid to make. As much as he may not want to change it, failure to do so, may see his job on the line.
If he continues to have blind faith that it will turn around, we may be cemented into the bottom three, staring relegation in the face before it does.
If that is the case, Mike Ashley may well decide the fans were right, and agree Bruce is not the man for the job after all.
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