Last week, it was reported by The Telegraph that Mike Ashley believes it is just the “vocal minority” who are fed up with life under Steve Bruce at Newcastle United.
While the thoughts of 1,600 supporters does not speak for the entire fanbase, the results of a poll we ran on Twitter a few days ago were pretty damning and too one-sided to ignore.
We asked fans which camp they were in on Steve Bruce: 1) He needs to go, 2) He deserves more time or 3) He’s doing a good job and should be backed.
As you can see below, the results were a landslide, with 94.4% of the 1,600 who voted believing he needs to go:
Perhaps people feel this is just the ‘vocal minority’ and that your every day fan who’s not on social media or doesn’t tweet after each defeat believes Bruce is doing a solid job, however I really think the tide is turning now.
We remain well clear of the drop zone, so technically he is doing the job Mike Ashley has asked of him, but with performances unacceptable of late, heads dropping, underlying stats absolutely damning and the brand of football on display hard to watch, we now go into a VERY winnable run of fixtures with zero momentum.
On the flip side, upcoming games against Palace, Villa, West Brom, Leeds and Fulham (along with our cup quarter final at Brentford) hand Bruce the perfect chance to respond to his critics and prove us wrong over the festive period, but the pressure is mounting and we’re seeing very little evidence to suggest he’s about to settle on a system that works and rally a group of players who frankly look a bit fed up.
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Has Bruce ever achieved anything in the premier league he’s a championship manager and well out of his depth at nufc. We have some real quality players like Almiron and St Maximum but he plays them where they aren’t productive enough. Defensively minded all the time where’s this attacking football he keeps going on about. We aren’t gonna get any run of form, yes we might pick odd points up but Bruce still hasn’t decided a proven formation. This Xmas run in might look easy but I can’t see us getting much as other teams attack and get the ball to the forwards. Ashley must get rid of his yes man or we are gonna b in relegation fight yet again
Marty(Quote)
Typical of toon fans, cry like bairns when they get a gaffer that’s not up to their “standards”. They forget they are not a “big” club – well supported yes but big they definitely are not. Big clubs win things and this clubs won nowt for more than half a century. Bruce deserves credit for keeping them in top football with the squad he has, let’s face it they’re nowt flash and it’s very hard to see a top manager coming to Newcastle. Money talked with Benitez who took off for China and bigger money when he saw he was flogging dead horses. Ashley might not be well liked but its HIS club, his money and ultimately his decision on who the gaffer is. Get behind the team and manager and accept the Keegan days are not coming back
Gordon(Quote)
v(Quote)
A big hello to Gordon in Sunderland.
Olly Hawkins(Quote)
The News Is IN!!!!!
An ANTI-BRUCE site run by an ANTI-BRUCE blogger runs an ANTI-BRUCE story and has an ANTI-BRUCE poll with it’s ANTI-BRUCE following and surprisingly the result comes up ANTI-BRUCE!
Having a poll and asking your readers if Bruce should leave is a bit like asking Tom to vote for Jerry; asking Labour supporters if Boris is doing a good job; or asking Sunderland fans if Newcastle are the better team.
I think it’s fair to say that 1,600 disgruntled NUFC.CO.UK readers are not an average cross section of Newcastle fans in the same way that the Hitler Youth were not an average cross section of European teenagers.
This is the very definition of a “vocal minority”. Come back and tell us the result when you have polled 100,000 REAL fans.
I look forward to you trying to tell us that you do not promote anti-management sentiment and that your articles are not anti-Bruce and anti-Ashley, and that the majority of your readers are not completely negative towards the current management.
Helen Clarey(Quote)
I kind of agree with both sides here, but one thing is undeniably obvi us, players are not progressing, some are going backwards in their development the Longstaffs probably have to leave to improve. Bruce or whoever is doing nothing to improve them. The defence with mostly the same players over the last two/ three years are a shambles, by any standards. Bruce is not responsible for the woeful waste of money, Joelinton, Almiron, the two obvious ones but many more, but if he is unable to improve them he should be honest. Just saying
George(Quote)