The Fish

My Dad's from Glasgow, I grew up near Blyth, I fucked off to Leeds Uni. I'm basically a better version of Mark Knopfler.

Realistically, we're not going to convince Declan Rice to leave West Ham and join us right now. I would be more worried about Newcastle signing the best of European up and coming talent, than I would be about us signing James Tarkowski or whomever. We're not yet at the stage where we can cherry pick the best players in the same way Liverpool, Man City or Man Utd can, so what's their worry? There's only 4-5 clubs we could nick a player from, so I cannot imagine that 19 clubs will get together to stop us signing PL talent.

This is it, his gossamer thin skin is stretched over a fragile ego. A man whose belief in himself is on the wane, but who’s ego won’t let him back down in light of justified criticism.

If he, at any point, refers to it as a "Super Computer" I am not interested.

He take credit for keeping you a chair?

There'll be the lack of Bruce's negative impact for a start. There'll be a breath of fresh around the place. There'll be no Shelvey either.

I'm not concerned, but trying to give you miseries a little hope.

One thing to mention, if we were to go down (no bed wetting here) it'll only delay the progress by a year or so.

Good post(s).

Bruce's 'tactic' was "get it to Allan". Reportedly ASM's nickname was "Plan A". No surprise to see ASM's a fan.

The idea of a person in place who comes up with, then executes long term plans is sound. You can get the wrong person in place, of course, but if you get it right it can reduce the missteps below them. For example, if your DoF thinks that, for the next 5 years you need to be playing pragmatic football he'll guide the scouts to find organised, defensive players and efficient attackers, he'll guide recruitment of managers who play that style and coaches who understand that system. He won't flit from a cavalier attacking manager like Keegan, to a patient possession based manager like Dalglish, back to Sexy football Gullit. He won't sign Joelinton with no idea who the manager will be, let lone how that player would fit into the system. He won't sell Cabaye without a suitable replacement in mind. Look at Lange at Villa. They knew they were selling Grealish, so they replaced him in the aggregate with Bailey, Buendia and Danny Ings.

Long post, quite ranty, ignore if you like. The job of the manager is to organise the players, keep them as fit as possible, manage their personalities, manage up, manage the press, manage the fans. Bruce did little of any of that and whatever he did do, he didn’t do well. There’s been 2 years of pundits pointing out the huge gaps between defence and midfield, midfield and attack. Two years of criticism of the players, the on field organisation, the system. Yet hardly any of Bruce. He’s done a good job, we’ve been told. That performance against Spurs could have been dumped in the first season under Bruce and you’d not tell the difference, so little has changed. Not one of the players has improved under Bruce and the attacking, midfield and defensive units have regressed dramatically. We went from having a top-half defensive record, to bottom in almost every metric. We went from organised if a little too pragmatic, to clueless and so easy to play against. The players look knackered every game, with loads of days off surely not helping. He's brought players back too soon after injury. He's had a bust up with Ritchie, blamed him for not passing messages, he's let Darlow find out he's not playing through the press, there've been more reports of training ground bust-ups and confrontation than under any other manager I can think of. The only part of his job he’s done fairly well is managing up. He convinced Ashley to alter the approach and spend money on proven Premier League players like Wilson, Fraser, Hendricks and also on Lewis. But of those, only Wilson has been a real success, the others might be good, but haven't featured regularly. And Ashley sharp went back to parsimony. Bruce says we had no money despite over £90m net transfer spend in 5 windows. Benitez had about £-5m net spend over 6. Bruce said in Edwards' piece that there wasn't the money for an overhaul. That squad didn't need an overhaul, it was a midtable squad that needed refining. He’d insist he could take the criticism, but would react angrily to journalists asking about yet another holiday in the Algarve. He said he’d maintain his dignity, then have pops at Howe, or Benitez. He’d talk about fans expectations, and trot out talksport cliches like signing Alan Shearer level players. He blamed the press for fan negativity. Dismissed criticism as keyboard warriors and histrionics, but then said those fans he spoke to were supportive. All the while his chums in the media were defending Steve Bruce the man, while damning the team he's responsible for managing. Now, apparently, our defenders are Championship standard, despite spending more time in the Premier League than they did in the 2nd tier. Apparently our midfielders aren't up to it, despite being linked with Man Utd, or England previously. Some of them will point to the league positions or points tally and demand to know what the issue was. But long stretches of terrible form (2 wins in 22?), patently obvious problems in the team selection, shape, system. Terrible performances were pretty commonplace like Norwich (3-1) two games after his first full preseason in 2019, or Leicester 5 games later, twice against Brighton (20/21 3-0), the 1-0 loss to a Sheffield side that hadn’t won a game or kept a clean sheet all season, all the way through to the last 8 games. Football fans aren’t blind to these things. The bloke was outdated a decade ago, the criticisms levelled at him by Sunderland, Villa, Hull fans still ring true to this day. Bright start to the games, gradually retreat, disorganised system, no leadership on or off the pitch. That’s why they were supportive of Hughton, of Benitez. You might not get as excited by their system, but at least there fucking is one. Through it all he was saying things like 'dust wuhselves down', 'roll up wuh sleeves', because that's all he knows to do, or that he’s going to do it 'his way' despite having been in the job for 18 months. Even now, after 97 games, I couldn't begin to tell you what 'way' he's trying to have them play. Newcastle paid £4m to Shef Wed so they could appoint Steve Bruce, and paid Steve Bruce £8m to get shot of him. There’ve been bigger wastes of money by Newcastle United, but not many.

Well, thinks for thanking of me.

I will fight you.

He started it.

Yeah they are. Loads more. It's shocking how much more they're worth by virtue of being captain. I'm sorry you're too monomaniacal to realise it. How's that for a fucking apology? Now would you please run along to your 1975 styled wanking shed, but before you go, please do bore the shit out of us some more with your pithy player acronyms.

Had to google them Fucking Hell, give me Miranda Hart over this shit any day of the week* The Grumbleweeds - YouTube *don't though.

He said, Ctrl-Shift-Tabbing back from RTG The spenk

First they turn his son bisexual now this? It's the Liberal Elite Fascist Wokerati, yet again!

Aye, back in your box.

JWP would probably command a £50m fee by himself. Ings can't be registered for another club this season. You're a dolt. Lists are fun

Cheers.

a) you wouldn't get Ings and Ward-Prowse for £50m. Ings had only just joined Villa and Ward-Prowse is the Southampton captain. b) I sought clarification and your reply was "Aye, reet", so stick that in your mackem-obssessed balloon knot and swivel. Oh, and at least I can work the fucking quote feature, you gormless spenk.

From Caulkin in the Athletic [quote] Steve Bruce’s Newcastle reign: Strained, uncomfortable, mutinous – and, finally, over Chris Waugh and George Caulkin 38m ago 48 Steve Bruce left Tyneside with words of thanks. Finally, he was gone. There was little satisfaction, little fulfilment and no fondness, but at least there was a tone of reconciliation. It has been so hard, so toxic for everybody, so messy, so awful to watch and it has stretched on for so long, but finally, goodbye. Everybody knew it needed to happen, including Bruce himself. On Sunday, as the team failed again — a stubborn remnant of the old — supporters chanted for the head coach’s dismissal for the sixth game in succession. In a recent poll by Newcastle United Supporters Trust (NUST), 94.3 per cent voted that Bruce should “walk away in the club’s best interests”. In this new, expansive world, the positive to be taken from Bruce’s 27 months in charge is in bridging administrations. With the pandemic raging, with the takeover stalling on regulatory approval, Newcastle stayed up and got through. When they met Bruce last week, the new owners made a point of expressing gratitude. It was also an era when joy withered. From the start, it was strained. From the start, Bruce was defined by what he represented rather than who he was — a Geordie coming “home” — and it made him a lord of discomfort. There were two queasy, difficult, seasons and a third dashing towards disaster, with a tally of seven wins from his final 38 fixtures. It was untenable, it was intolerable and it is over. Finally, over. At the turn of the year, when Newcastle’s post-lockdown downturn became a plummet, Amanda Staveley’s advisors surveyed the landscape. “Bruce goes,” one said. “Minute one, day one.” By March, dissent was overwhelming. After Newcastle’s miserable 3-0 defeat away to Brighton & Hove Albion, there was an expectation within the dressing room that Bruce would be sacked. “Decisions that are glaringly obvious just get left until too late,” said one first-team source. Fanzines and websites demanded his dismissal. Banners called for his removal. But this was Mike Ashley’s world and the word went out — Bruce stays. Newcastle dragged themselves back from the precipice — they finished 12th — but as they failed to win any of their opening nine matches of 2021-22, a fissure became a chasm. Chants of “We want Brucie out” became routine. That was never going to happen under the previous owner. In May, Ashley thought arbitration, originally scheduled for July, would signal the end of his 14-year tenure. It is understood that at Ashley’s behest, Bruce’s contract was reshaped into a three-year rolling deal, with a payout of around £8 million. Call it the former owner’s parting gift. Bruce thought about quitting that summer, he says, but did not. Fast-forward to now and the breakneck speed of Newcastle’s limbo lifting and the lingering nature of Bruce’s departure. Despite an acceptance from Staveley, Mehrdad Ghodoussi and Jamie Reuben that change was required, decision-making snarled. Company structures are not in place, processes are not established and everything must go back to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), 80 per cent owners of Newcastle. With no replacement-in-waiting, with no definitive succession plan, with reports being drawn up on how Newcastle should be run from a footballing perspective and with PIF known for its considered approach, Bruce not only remained in place beyond “minute one, day one,” he got to week two. The man who, fairly or not, had come to personify Ashley’s stagnation, was in the dugout against Tottenham Hotspur. Bruce hung on long enough for the Tottenham game – his 1,000th as a manager (Photo: Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images) In private, even the head coach had accepted that prospect was distant. Hours before the deal was announced, Bruce had taken training as usual, ahead of giving his players some time off and returning to his Cheshire base. One source described him as looking “remarkably jovial” when he gathered the squad together to tell them that, if this was to be his last session in charge, they were going to enjoy it. Then, on a match day when the city felt reinvigorated and supporters re-energised, there were two reminders of why this was not quite a clean break: Sports Direct signage around the ground and Bruce’s continued presence on the touchline. His 1,000th game in management, a testament to longevity, passed without pomp. There was no presentation on the pitch, no acknowledgement of his achievement. Instead, once his team capitulated in familiar fashion, he was subjected to chants of, “You’re getting sacked in the morning” from Spurs and Newcastle supporters. As he attempted to conduct his post-match interviews pitchside, he was heckled by one inebriated fan in the executive boxes. A former senior figure at Newcastle, present on Sunday, described getting rid of Bruce as the “easiest decision in the history of football”. They added, “But keeping him on for their first game was one of the most baffling.” With Newcastle second-bottom and winless, three points adrift of safety and having conceded the most goals in the Premier League (19), change was beyond necessary. On Wednesday morning, Newcastle finally said Bruce had left by “mutual consent”. In a club statement, Newcastle said they “would like to place on record their gratitude to Steve for his contribution and wishes him well for the future”. Bruce said: “This is a club with incredible supporters and I hope the new owners can take it forward to where we all want it to be.” It was confirmed that Graeme Jones, the assistant appointed in January, has been placed in “interim charge”. “He’s been waiting to be put out of his misery for months,” says one insider. Only in Ashley’s world would Bruce have been appointed in the first place and stayed as long as he did. It is a different world now. Alan Shearer knew what was coming. Ashley’s Newcastle was painfully cyclical, the same mistakes on rinse and repeat. Shearer had warned Bruce, a close friend, he would be “mad” to take the job. In July 2019, the situation was so volatile. Rafa Benitez, adored by the fanbase for symbolising hope, had left, citing a breakdown in trust and lack of ambition. Around 10,000 fans gave up their season tickets. Throughout the tumultuous Ashley era, Newcastle’s fanbase had still turned up. That eternal bond loosened and chaos ensued. Newcastle were scrambling. Three weeks after confirming Benitez’s exit and with threadbare options, they approached Bruce, who regretted turning down the opportunity to succeed Sir Bobby Robson in 2004. Not only was Bruce a former Sunderland manager, but it was also four years since he had last coached in the Premier League. There were inaccurate reports that Bruce was the club’s “11th choice”, leading Ashley to insist “Steve was one of a shortlist of three”. The truth lay somewhere in between. “It wasn’t planned,” a source says, “but he became the most viable solution.” Sheffield Wednesday were paid a startling £4 million in compensation. This was an appointment of convenience. Bruce, awarded an “initial three-year contract” on £1 million a season, was always supposed to be Ashley’s last head coach. He was besieged from the beginning, seen by many supporters as a reversion to type by Ashley. “I always knew this job was going to be tough,” Bruce admitted later, “but maybe it’s tougher than I thought.” Arguably, Bruce’s greatest shortcoming was that he was not Benitez. But for Ashley, that was Bruce’s greatest strength. “Ashley doesn’t want a manager whingeing in the press,” a source said. “He wants Newcastle to run itself.“ Bruce accepted he was “not going to be everybody’s cup of tea” but failed to fully appreciate the perception that would fester. Despite insisting he was “no puppet”, Bruce was viewed as Ashley’s man. His reluctance to question the club’s direction accentuated that but it allowed him, mostly, to build a stronger relationship with Ashley. They did not meet or speak regularly, only around half a dozen times, but Bruce tried managing upwards. He was immediately placed in a position of weakness. Although he signed them off, none of the major summer arrivals in 2019, including Joelinton, a £40 million record buy repeatedly rejected by Benitez, were Bruce’s picks. “There was no thought about whether Bruce was the right manager for these players,” a source says. “There was no ‘big idea’.” Joelinton arrived for £40 million in the same summer as Bruce (Photo: Owen Humphreys/PA Images via Getty Images) Joelinton managed two league goals in 2019-20. One insider referred to his acquisition as “fucking atrocious”. Still, Bruce had hailed a “remarkable” window, not the last time he was undermined by his own pronouncements. “Bruce was really frustrated with the business,” says an insider. “But he didn’t complain like Rafa.” To an extent, it worked. The following summer, Bruce was listened to. He was afforded “no-risk” signings, the most important being Callum Wilson for £20 million. “That was probably Bruce’s high point at Newcastle,” a source says. Again, Bruce praised Ashley for “flexing his muscles”. But midfield remained a weakness, while his defence was ageing; neither was strengthened. Just as Benitez’s belligerence could only take him so far, Bruce’s diplomacy had limits. He extracted concessions, but never enough to transform on-field fortunes. By last summer, with Ashley still determined to depart, Bruce knew his budget was meagre. Joe Willock belatedly returned, but the rare (for Newcastle) £25 million fee paid via instalments restricted further business. Bruce, who still wanted a midfielder and a centre-back, praised Ashley for “breaking all of the rules”. When Bruce agreed a deal to sign Hamza Choudhury on loan, Lee Charnley, the managing director, blocked it. That led to a farcical deadline day; Charnley told agents Newcastle’s window had “categorically” concluded, while Bruce was still trying to resurrect transfers. Bruce, via media reports, made his dissatisfaction clear. Newcastle responded by admonishing him in an extraordinary statement, declaring that “all parties were aware” of the situation. The first Bruce learned of this was at his villa in the Algarve, Portugal, where he had retreated for a long weekend — “mentally exhausted”, according to those close to him, who feared Bruce had all but given up. Repeatedly, Bruce vowed he would never “walk away”. Supporters accused him of greed, merely waiting for his pay-off, but Bruce felt he owed his players to stick it out. “Eventually, like everyone before, Bruce was shafted by the owner,” an insider says. “It almost broke him.” The 3-0 capitulation at Brighton felt like the end. To everyone except Ashley and Charnley, that is. Ashley had no interest in paying compensation to the coach he appointed to keep Newcastle up long enough to be sold, despite growing resentment. The dismal defeat at Newcastle was the low point of last season and left Bruce teetering (Photo: Clive Rose/Getty Images) On reflection, Bruce may point to the COVID-19 outbreak at Benton last November as the real start of his demise. Before then, despite all the grumblings about tactics, identity and aesthetics, Bruce had (enough) positive results to fall back on. In 2019-20, Newcastle never found themselves in the relegation zone after October and finished 13th. Then, when a depleted side narrowly defeated second-bottom West Bromwich Albion in December 2020, they were 11th. But, as a source puts it, “COVID fucked them”. The players affected by illness reached double figures and some were still dealing with after-effects months later. Most damaging were the impacts on Allan Saint-Maximin, the team’s talisman, and Jamaal Lascelles, the captain. The downward spiral that followed — Newcastle won just two of the next 22, a dismal run that included an embarrassing League Cup exit against a second-string XI from Championship side Brentford, a 1-0 loss at previously winless Sheffield United, and that dire Brighton defeat — should have proven terminal. There was a recovery — only three defeats in their final 13 games — but Bruce’s standing among supporters and some players was irreparably diminished. Positive results during the first 18 months of Bruce’s tenure ensured existential footballing issues could be overlooked, at least partially. But, once the points dried up, there was nothing to cling to. By last summer, despite saying the opposite in public, Bruce contemplated resigning, encouraged by family to leave. Did he really need this gruelling, loveless existence? “I thought after finishing 12th and 13th, and matching the previous manager (Benitez), then it was: ‘Can I take it forward? Can I get any better than this?’” He stayed, but respite did not come. Better did not come. “A new broom sweeps clean,” Bruce had said about his job prospects, post-takeover. Later than expected, the big tidy-up is underway. ”I expected the negative reaction to Rafa leaving… but I was shocked by the reaction to Steve. He doesn’t deserve it. He’s one of their own…” This was Ashley. “YOU ARE NOT ONE OF US — LEAVE NOW.” This was Wor Flags, the fans’ group. Perhaps the saddest element of Bruce’s time at Newcastle is how he arrived and left a stranger, after struggling to reintroduce himself. The notion that fans only care about Geordies is nonsense. Shearer and Sir Bobby Robson were feted not just because of their heritage, but because they were talented. They got it. Like Sir Bobby, Bruce spent the majority of his career away from the north east, becoming associated with two rivals — Sunderland, as a manager, and Manchester United, as a multiple title-winning captain. There was another difference. Sir Bobby’s previous posting was PSV Eindhoven, Bruce’s was Sheffield Wednesday. Robson had won trophies across Europe, taken England to a World Cup semi-final. In the dugout, Bruce had won nothing aside from a clutch of promotions. Fairly or not, he represented mediocrity. Fans loved Benitez because he spoke their language — ambition, stature, history. When Newcastle’s hierarchy refused to “do things right”, he called them out. Bruce understood what he was following, but it was as if he, not Benitez, was talking in an alien tongue. When he called out “histrionics” and “mass hysteria” from supporters and cited “keyboard warriors”, it was as if he was embracing the biggest, misrepresentative cliches of all about Newcastle. In mitigation, social media was brutal, and there were unacceptable Twitter threats. Bruce was kept abreast of this by his more tech-savvy children. A media-friendly manager turned inwards. It was entrenched, grisly warfare. In the same press conference, Bruce would talk about maintaining his “dignity”, then referenced the “mighty Rafa” and “the fella from Bournemouth”, a dig at Eddie Howe. Bruce received no public support from Charnley, the silent MD, nor Ashley. Everything was dissected, every word pored over. Bruce’s “remit” was to push for the top 10, then it was “ticking along”, avoiding relegation. After Sheffield United, the “gloves were off”. He would now “do things my way” — which begged the question of whose way they were doing it before. When Karl Darlow was dropped in February, the repercussions rumbled through the club. The news appeared before Darlow had been informed and, although Bruce denied being the source, the damage was considerable. After the game, when Bruce criticised players, another bond was broken. Matt Ritchie was livid. During training, he described Bruce as a “coward”. Internally and externally, Bruce was stumbling over his words. There were also 10 months of prickly, truncated press conferences with the written media. Bruce insisted he would accept any “criticism”, but was stung by its ferocity. It came to a head at Old Trafford in September when Bruce exploded. Asked about his trip to Portugal during the international break, Bruce accused the local newspaper of “negativity”, blaming them for fans’ opinions. During his final pre-match briefing, he turned on the journalists who had predicted his departure. “I hope you’re feeling the heat from your bosses, because it hasn’t happened, has it, what you all wanted?” he said. At Newcastle, an emotional club, words can be a powerful weapon. They can inspire, lift, soar. Sir Bobby was a master, with a lyrical turn of phrase. Benitez never said anything he did not mean. Too often, Bruce aimed the weapon squarely at his own feet. Ritchie, right, let rip at Bruce after Darlow had been dropped (Photo: Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images) “Darlow was the final straw, it finished him with some players,” says a well-placed source. “He limped on, but there was no coming back. He’d have been gone at any other club, under any other owner.” It had not always been that way. Bruce arrived with a reputation as an excellent man-manager and, for a while, warranted it. Some players, exhausted by Benitez’s exacting methods, thought he “brought fun to training”. That feeling did not endure. “With Rafa, because he’s so intense, you only realise what you’ve got when it’s gone,” one player said in private. Wisely, Bruce built allegiances with influential senior voices. Jonjo Shelvey and Ritchie were given extensions, while others were impressed by Bruce’s personable nature. During his first season, there were few negative appraisals of Bruce. “You can’t always tell everyone what they want to hear,” says an agent. “Promises get made that can’t be kept.” Over time, Bruce’s openness, at least with some, faded. While Shelvey remained loyal, others felt disconnected as dialogue dried up. Bruce sometimes asked his assistants, Steve Agnew and Stephen Clemence, to inform players about being dropped. Darlow is believed to have been further angered by his omission because it was not communicated to him directly. Resentment also grew as certain players continued to be selected, no matter how poorly they performed. Others were made to feel like “scapegoats”. Last season, the Longstaff brothers, Sean and Matty, disappeared for long periods, Dwight Gayle could not get a look-in and Ryan Fraser was rarely used. DeAndre Yedlin, meanwhile, did not make an appearance until December 12. Then, once recalled, he became a mainstay, only for his farcical visa situation to unfold, leaving him ineligible in January. Within a week, he had been sold. Yedlin is an extreme example of how some players felt — uncertain about their ever-changing status. Last season, one player, who was fit but omitted from the squad, was overheard laughing with his team-mates while observing a match at St James’. As Bruce barked instructions, he joked, “With us not playing, who’s the manager going to shout at now?” According to some insiders, Bruce’s “gloves are off” declaration was poorly received, with players — like fans — bemused by its meaning. They saw it as a deflection tactic, having tired of Bruce explaining away the use of a five-man defence as something that was player-led because of how “comfortable” they were playing it. Dressing room members had varying views on what the approach should be, highlighted by Andy Carroll’s “44F2!!!” tweet last November, and there were at least three occasions when players debated formations with Bruce. During his final months, players listened for Bruce soundbites, with one source claiming at least one privately referred to him as “Mike Bassett” because of his media gaffes, such as when he declared, “How’s the bacon?” during a press conference. By February, one well-placed source said: “The place is falling apart.” Over the succeeding months, the situation only worsened. At least twice this year, players raised concerns to Charnley. There was astonishment that, on the first day the squad reassembled for pre-season in July, Bruce was not present. It was a time for tests and medical checks, but sources described it as “unprecedented” that the head coach would not be there to “set the tone”. It was not only fans who were left vexed by Bruce’s Portugal sojourn. Players were asked to report for a gym session on Thursday morning, only to learn that Bruce was on a flight abroad. The following Monday, some turned up for the usual morning slot to discover training had been rearranged for the afternoon to accommodate Bruce’s return. “It sent a terrible signal,” says a source. It was not all about Bruce. Newcastle’s squad is weaker this season, injuries have hit hard and their training infrastructure is in dire need of updating. The takeover loomed over everything, as did having an owner in Ashley who had switched off. A club known for treading water was now sinking. A few weeks ago, one player told The Athletic something pretty remarkable. “This club makes it difficult to be professional,” he said. “Newcastle used to be well-organised and well-drilled,” says a rival coach. “But it isn’t the same now. The detail isn’t there.” With Benitez, the specifics were everything and that was how he maximised resources. Bruce’s relaxed approach was initially welcomed and, for a time, just about worked. Perversely, a player at a Champions League side privately remarked that he found Newcastle the “hardest team to play against” last season. It was a compliment and a criticism, referencing Newcastle’s lack of apparent structure. He was unsure Newcastle players were carrying out a clear game plan, so he found it difficult to know how to combat them. For all that Charnley spoke about “front-foot football” when Bruce arrived, within weeks that approach was abandoned. The 3-5-2 system used during pre-season was jettisoned two games in, following the woeful Norwich City defeat, before a 5-0 hammering at Leicester saw Bruce revert to what became known to some, even inside the club, as “Rafa’s formation”. But while the 5-4-1 system saw Newcastle eke out positive results, the minutiae that made it so secure previously were no longer focused upon. “Training was fun but often unstructured,” says a source. Bruce would repeatedly refer to the need for Newcastle to “improve in possession” but, according to some, training drills would sometimes lack focus. “When points are coming, that’s fine. But, when things go wrong, players begin to question it, particularly when the same mistakes are repeated.” Before the Sheffield United defeat in January 2021, it is claimed there had been minimal preparation in the shape Newcastle deployed. Afterwards, Bruce commented that Sean Longstaff and Fraser had been “false 10s”. “The players just thought, ‘What?’,” an agent claims. How Bruce wanted Newcastle to play was often difficult to discern. But, beyond tactical nuance, some players felt their progress stagnated due to a lack of individually-tailored development training. The Longstaff brothers, Elliot Anderson and Jamal Lewis were handed opportunities, then discarded. “We all want to get better,” one player said. “Is it happening?” Jones’ one-on-one coaching and keenness to communicate directly with individuals brought a change of dynamic. One player went as far as to claim, half-jokingly, that Jones, “does fucking everything”, but Bruce was still in charge. He picked the team. Deploying players in unfamiliar roles became a regular occurrence during Bruce’s final few months. “Some started turning around and saying, ‘Hang on, that’s not my position’,” says a source. Several sources also point to the dearth of footballing expertise within Newcastle’s executive structure under Ashley, and how it led to a lack of scrutiny of — and support for — the head coach. There was no director of football to communicate the club’s direction or oversee first-team affairs. “There’s no leadership, no footballing brain, above Bruce putting pressure on him,” a source said. “That means standards can slip at every level.”. In January, as fans pleaded for change, a well-placed source detailed why that simply was not going to happen. “If Bruce can get to the end of the season and keep them 17th,” they said, “that’s all they’d care about.” For all that Newcastle have nosedived down the table in 2021, they have only recently slipped into the bottom three. As Bruce explained, his “remit” was survival and, in that sense, fourth-bottom would have sufficed. Some around Newcastle described Bruce as being like a caretaker, told to keep the lights on until it was sold. He staggered on at a club lacking purpose or direction, although that became more difficult, his position more exposed, when crowds returned to St James’. To return to the beginning, a kindly viewing of Bruce’s “legacy” is this: it could have been worse. Newcastle remain a Premier League club, just about, albeit one in serious danger. It’s just that it was so pained and painful, this bridge between eras. Now, mercifully, Newcastle are no longer part of Ashley’s world. And Bruce is no longer part of Newcastle’s. Finally gone, finally over, finally this kindness. [/quote]