Ahead of another full premier leader program this weekend, the pundits from various sources have been getting their thoughts and predictions in for the upcoming fixtures.
Sky Sports duo Charlie Nicholas and Matthew Le Tissier, and self proclaimed betting guru Michael Owen all had this to say about our clash with Watford.
Charlie Nicholas
“It was a very nice result for Newcastle last weekend, may I say! The stick that was aimed at the players and Steve Bruce will be there consistently. The fans want the owner out and they will continue to strive for this. Rafael Benitez was softly going against the owner, which Steve Bruce cannot do in his situation really.”
“His team worked hard and Joelinton got his campaign off to a start. If they could go and win this weekend, against a team that are toiling, then this will be great. Watford have had a shocker of a start, and there is always the question as to how much time Javi Gracia is given. They got to the FA Cup final last season. Who will be the foot soldiers for Watford? Abdoulaye Doucoure has not started in great fashion. Where have Gerard Deulofeu and Roberto Pereyra been? They started like a train last season.”
NEWCASTLE 1-0 WATFORD
Hmmm. Firstly I don’t like that line “the stick that was aimed at Bruce and the players will be there constantly”. I think if Bruce wins football games he won’t get so much stick. While Indeed while many of us still feel underwhelmed be Bruce’s appointment, the majority of us were too happy with the result to even think about giving Steve Bruce stick.
Once again it feels like our fan base is being judged on the silly comments of a few on social media.
Michael Owen
“United only had just over 20% possession on Sunday but they defended brilliantly at Tottenham and I expect them to build on that success at home to a Watford side whose confidence must be low after six successive league defeats.
Joelinton took his goal at Spurs in the manner of a quality striker and the Toon Army will be hoping that their Brazilian striker can break his home duck. Had Rafa Benitez engineered such an outstanding smash and grab at Tottenham on Sunday the press would have been lauding the Spanish boss as a tactical genius. Steve Bruce deserves great credit for his side’s brilliant defensive display.”
NEWCASTLE TO WIN
Again, positive on the whole but still a little back hand sly comment insinuating we didn’t give Bruce the credit for Spurs.
Maybe there’s something in it, but the continuing motif of Newcastle fans being portrayed as the big bad wolves in this story is a little tiresome.
Matt Le Tissier
“Watford’s last memory of St James Park is a good one, so it’s not like you can rule out the possibility of them racking up an away win on Saturday. However, during that FA Cup clash, Rafa Benitez fielded a weakened side, the likes of Freddie Woodman, Joselu and Ciaran Clark all started, so the result may have been misleading.
“It’s also worth noting that Watford have got off to a terrible start this season. The Hornets lost 3-0 to Brighton on the opening day of the season, lost to Everton 1-0 and were swept aside by West Ham last Saturday as the London club secured a 3-1 victory to get their first league win of their 2019/20 campaign. While the Hornets did taste success in mid-week, they beat Coventry 3-0 in the League Cup, they may not necessarily have turned a corner.
“Steve Bruce’s side surprised everyone when they beat Tottenham 1-0 last Sunday, and you feel the momentum from that win should see them able to heap more misery on Watford.”
In his “opinion” he basically says don’t be surprised if we win. But in his Super 6 prediction he backs Watford to win 1-0. Strange.
So, all three pundits are backing us to come out on top in this one.
Let’s hope that’s a blessing and not a curse!
Bruce and players got undue “stick” before first game. sections of “fans” are not helping to lift team, just to cause trouble.
Paul(Quote)
I think the comments from them are all fair and accurate. It is true that if Benitez has won at spurs last week everyone would have been heaping praise on the man.,, I checked the blogs after that win and many were still anti Bruce. It’s also accurate to say that giving Bruce stick will never be far away too. He could win five games in a row and then loose to Liverpool and people would instantly be saying he is ****. I think it’s a shame as I don’t see why he is any worse then Benitez. Last season for example it took Benitez until November to register a win- NOVEMBER. We got one this season on the third time of asking, and we have played arsenal and spurs in first three games. It’s purely because fans see Benitez as a world class manager and Bruce as a championship one. They should forget that and look at only whst benitez did while at Newcastle… which I would say was the bare minimum.
Craig Chisholm(Quote)