While Steve Bruce is keeping Newcastle United’s head above water, he will not be sacked. He has a rolling contract that necessitates a compensatory payout. Mike Ashley is happy while Newcastle are a Premier League club and up for sale. There may be updates on that in January.
But this situation is getting a little more critical as Newcastle’s miserable run continues. They have now won seven of their last 37 matches in all competitions. Over their last 38 league games, a full season, they have taken 37 points. If that’s not necessarily form that would lead to certain relegation, it’s as near as dammit.
After Saturday’s defeat to Wolves, Bruce claimed that Newcastle failed to get what they deserved. There’s something in that: they had chances to score against Wolves and should have comfortably beaten Watford last weekend. But ever since Bruce was appointed, the accusation from his critics is that Newcastle’s underlying numbers were worse than their results suggested. That luck is now balancing out.
The trust of the majority of supporters has now gone. The trust of the players is repeatedly the subject of leaks to the written press. Newcastle are winless, sit second-bottom of the Premier League and are yet to play five of the Big Six and neither of Everton or Brighton, the two surprise successes of the season so far. Were this any other club, they would surely be considering the international break to be the perfect time to make a change.
Newcastle’s results so far
- Newcastle 2-4 West Ham
- Aston Villa 2-0 Newcastle
- Newcastle 2-2 Southampton
- Man Utd 4-1 Newcastle
- Newcastle 1-1 Leeds
- Watford 1-1 Newcastle
- Wolves 2-1 Newcastle
This is an extract of The Score, Daniel Storey’s weekly verdict on all 20 Premier League teams’ performances. Sign up to receive the newsletter here
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