A huge win and one of our displays of the season, as Paul Dummett’s first goal in five years, yet another strike from Joe Willock and a second half brace from Callum Wilson helped us to a well deserved three points at the King Power Stadium.
The Foxes mounted a late comeback with goals in the final 10 minutes from Albrighton and Iheanacho, however it was too little too late from the home side as we came away with a massive 4-2 win.
The surprise result sends us 12 points clear of the drop zone – meaning Fulham must now win ALL of their final four games to stay up – and into 13th, being one of the best performances of the Bruce era before our late wobble.
After a pathetic display last weekend, this was everything we wanted to see. Quick thinking, energy, movement and real intent to not only commit bodies forward but be first to any loose balls and win our battles in every area of the pitch.
Bruce made TWO changes to the side that were on the beach in last weekend’s 2-0 defeat to Arsenal, handing Joe Willock a well deserved start at Sean Longstaff’s expense and bringing Emil Krafth in for Ciaran Clark – a player only fit enough for the bench according to the NUFC boss.
Leicester brought Ricardo Pereira back into the side, but were forced into a late change in defence after Jonny Evans pulled up in the warm up.
The game kicked off and, as you’d expect, the home side dominated the ball in the opening exchanges, with Tielemans coming close to nodding in a Maddison cross before Almrion did brilliantly to head clear. We were all fearing an onslaught, but what followed was 15 minutes of constant NUFC pressure and a couple of huge chances.
First, Wilson won a free kick on the very edge of the box, resulting in a Ritchie free kick that was hit low and half cleared. He latched onto the loose ball and delivered a better cross at the second time of asking, but it just evaded Fernandez and was eventually cleared after Saint-Maximin was forced inside.
Another free kick was won moments later after Almiron was barged over by Fofana, this time down the left-hand side. Shelvey’s delivery was inviting and Fernandez rose highest – only for the Argentine’s header to glance just wide!
An encouraging start, but a few minutes later we missed a massive chance to take the lead. Murphy put Wilson through down the right, the striker raced clear and squared to Saint-Maximin. The goal was gaping, but his low shot was too close to Schmeichel who made himself big and blocked via an outstretched leg.
We looked in the mood, with Almiron more lively and Wilson a constant menace with his movement in behind, and were finally rewarded on the 20-minute mark. Soyuncu, who had started awfully, was caught in possession by an alert Joe Willock and the Arsenal loanee made no mistake after bursting through on goal, slotting a left-footed shot into the far corner!
FOUR goals in as many appearances for the 21-year-old, another ice cool finish and a well deserved lead for what had been a surprisingly bright start from a Newcastle perspective. 1-0!
Minutes later, it should’ve been 1-1. Soon after Maddison had a goal-bound volley blocked, a Tielemans set piece was met by Fofana. I was expecting the net to bulge, but his powerful header was too close to Dubravka and the Slovakian parried before Shelvey hoofed clear. A lucky escape, but it wasn’t long until we were back on the break and getting in behind a ragged-looking Leicester back five.
After Almiron was denied a penalty via a risky lunge from Castagne that was checked by VAR, Willock won us a corner after some trickery forced a rattled Soyuncu to put the ball behind.
Ritchie took the resulting corner and his delivery was an inviting one. As it floated towards the back post, Dummett wanted it more than Fofana and powered a close-range header past Schmeichel and into the roof of the net!
2-0 Newcastle, no less than we deserved and the local lad’s first goal for the club since January 2016!
Keep this up and we’d end the night 12 points clear of Fulham and within touching distance of safety, however this was far from over with an hour still remaining against the league’s 3rd place side.
Leicester responded with a big chance of their own almost immediately as Iheanacho got his first glimpse of goal. The in-form Nigerian struck his volley well from a Maddison cross, but once again it was too close to Dubravka and quickly cleared.
With minutes to play until half-time, Vardy snuck beyond our back three and was met by an oncoming Dubravka. He looked to lob the onrushing stopper and very nearly did, only for our quick-thinking Slovakian to react smartly and cut out the danger.
The whistle blew after a minute of added on time and we went in 2-0 up after dare I say the best 45 minutes of football we’ve seen under Steve Bruce.
The job was only half done, however. We had to resist the urge to sit deep, protect our lead and give Leicester the confidence boost their dismal display was crying out for – especially when their defence looked like conceding every time Wilson, Willock, Almiron or ASM ran at them!
After coming through the first 10 minutes of the second half, two half chances arrived for the home side. First a Maddison free kick was deflected wide, and then the resultant corner was headed just past Dubravka’s far post by Ndidi.
Krafth went into the book 57 minutes in for a poorly timed lunge on Vardy, but the free kick that followed came to nothing as we were first to the cross and quicker to the loose ball to boot clear.
Half and hour remaining and it was so far so good. We’d dropped a few yards deeper and were seeing less of the ball, however the home side were yet to find their rhythm and feeding off scraps.
Rodgers had seen enough and brought on ex-Mag Ayoze Perez for a defensive midfielder in Ndidi, but a few minutes later and it was game over.
Ritchie curled a brilliant low ball in behind and Wilson knew he was in if he could beat Castagne for pace. He did exactly that, breaking clear of the Belgian and rounding Schmeichel before prodding home to make it 3-0!
Wilson’s first goal since returning from a hamstring tear, his 11th of the season and a nerve-settling strike that sent NUFC fans into dreamland as we watched on in shock from our sofas. Considering the strength of the opposition, our injuries at the back and that awful display we witnessed less than week ago, we were on course for one hell of a result!
If 3-0 wasn’t ridiculous enough, Wilson helped himself to another 74 minutes in! Almiron played a big part this time, with his defence splitting pass putting the striker in behind. His initial effort hit the inside of the post and pinged back across goal, however he reacted incredibly to fire in from a tight angle on the follow up. 4-0!!
The outstanding Willock was replaced a few minutes later by Sean Longstaff, with that change soon followed by a consolation goal for Albrighton. Dubravka deserved a clear sheet but was beaten by a brilliant strike here, making the scoreline 4-1 with 10 minutes remaining.
Joelinton came on for Saint-Maximin on the 83rd minute mark and soon after that the home side pulled another goal back, this time through a superb finish from who else but Kelechi Iheanacho.
It shouldn’t have been nervy when we were still two goals up with 88 minutes, but we all know that Newcastle United never do things the easy way in the end!
With four minutes added on and the Foxes now flooding forward, a huge chance landed at Ayoze Perez’s feet in the opening moments of extra time. The Spaniard looked set to make it 4-3 after latching onto a loose ball, but saw his close range shot smothered quite brilliantly by Dubravka!
A big sigh of relief spread across living rooms around Tyneside and we hung on to secure a well deserved 4-2 win!
12 points clear of the drop zone, up to 13th, yet another goal for Willock and a hard fought brace for Wilson – a man who ran Leicester’s defence ragged from start to finish.
Next up, a meeting with Manchester City at St James’ Park on Friday 14th May!
HWTL.
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Great and unexpected result, Dubs, Ritchie, Dummett , Calum all good today and we REALLY need to buy Willock.
kimtoon(Quote)
Hard to believe where that came from under Bruce. We actually set up to attack and also pressed a bit. I am pleased and delighted with the result and performance and the match itself which was entertaining. Steve also was pleased and delighted in his after-match press conference. Does he only know those 2 words?
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Souness says he has been proved right that Callum Wilson would keep NUFC in the PL. Not a hard call you bloviating boll0ck merchant. Everybody on here thought our moves in the summer would keep us up DESPITE Steve Bruce. Souness just loves the sound of his own voice but will also take a dig at NUFC fans whenever he can. This is a subtle dig, but a dig nontheless.
Saying Wilson would get goals if he remained fit is like saying the surface of the sun is hot.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Leicester’s run in is a nightmare. They have Chelsea and Man U and then Spurs on the last day of the season. Could be a Top4 playoff that! And most thought it would be Fulham and NUFC providing last day drama. I have thought we were safe when Fulham capitulated at Villa. That, despite Steve Bruce !!!
I dont trust Leicester, or THIS Liverpool and I never trust West Ham so I have no idea who will be in the CL apart from City, Man U and Chelsea.
Should be exciting top 4 race and nw we are safe I can enjoy the entitled fans of Spurs, Liverpool, West Ham and to a lesser extent Leicester sweat it out. Will be fun.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Here’s my (short) Match Report:
This didnt seem like us but we all knew we had it in us. We have been telling Bruce for months and longer to not play so standoffish and to release the hounds.
We weren’t misplacing passes today, we left that to Leicester.
I dont think anybody had a bad game, even Krafth.
It could easily have been 6-5 but we were the better team. Leicester had 25 shots.
All of us were worried beforehand because Leicester have been our bogey team.
Only Aguero up next 🙂 He has 15 goals against us. But I cannot dwell on the negative, that was just a small joke. Why are City letting him go? They must have Kane lined up or summink to do that.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
So Uefa have fined the ESL clubs about 1 million Euros each and they must pay 5% of next years CL revenue – that’s about another million Euros. I am not sure what authority Uefa had here because the clubs AGREED to the sanctions. The other part is that they must pay 86 million euros if they try this again. That doesnt sound like much of a disincentive to me. Again this was an agreement reached by the parties involved so I dont think Uefa had any real clout here. I think it is all symbolic rather than having much effect financially.
They are considering 2 year bans for the 3 clubs that didnt sign up to this.
The PL also say they will take their own measures. I would hope that would be more liniting the power of the “big 6” rather than fines.
Does the punishment fit the crime? They did a plea bargain like you see on all the American Cop/Lawyer shows. They should have called the deal “Law and Order Uefa” and Mark Clattenberg, fresh with his new head of hair, play Ceferin.
I have been thinking about the Man U fans as well. This ESL protest was the excuse they have looking for to riot against the Glazers ownership for 15 years. I am not sure how sincere they were about this being about the ESL. I think some should be tracked down and issued fines.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Haven’t been on the blog recently. So disappointed with the Arsenal performance. I don’t recall seeing Jones at that game but his presence last night was obvious. Was he responsible for the change in performance? I was worried at the start of the second half because we had every man back in defence. Were we going back to trying to hold onto what we had? Thank God for Wilson’s two goals. I particularly liked Dubs encouraging the players to play it out from the back. There were very few aimless boots upfield (Bruce ball). Keeping possession is what it’s all about. Unfortunately the more Willock contributes the less likely it is that Arsenal will let him go. Someone yesterday said they would like to see Fulham beat Burnley because they would prefer Burnley to go down. Whereas I can see where he is coming from I can’t agree. The sooner we are mathematically safe the happier I will be. I don’t want Fulham to get more than a point against Burnley.
Groucho(Quote)
Eric, I said last week that Manure fans just using the ESL as a handy tool to beat the Glazers with.
I totally get the fact that they hate the remoteness of their owners, we have that too at Newcastle. The difference is we are run on a shoe string and have been reduced to also rans and perennial relegation scrappers where as Manures owners have invested heavily in the squad and they continue to challenge and get CL football.
They really have very little to gripe about, if they were winning the league every season and beating everyone to the best players, the owners wouldn’t get a mention.
This is because they have been knocked off their perch by the noisy neighbours and Pool and Chelsea and even Leicester . These things go in cycles, no team are top dogs forever, there is no divine right to be top 4.
Spurs and Arsenal look tired and in dire need of revamps and we can imagine the panic at board level when there looked to be a new possibly rich club on the horizon in Newcastle.
There is no doubt in my mind that a certain level of skull duggory and interference was involved in our would be takeover and I know people are hopeful of a rescue of the deal but i really think that dog has had it’s day.
Hopefully Fulham lose or draw on monday and then we are mathematically safe and a new buyer comes in, because unlike Manure our need is real .
kimtoon(Quote)
Totally agree Kim
Groucho(Quote)
The boys were brilliant last night – 5s for anyone was a bit harsh by the way. Leicester were below par, but taking nothing away from the lads – they were on it & it could have been more.
This is why our criticism is justified imo. We don’t unrealistic expectations, just want consistency and that performance beats Arsenal imo.
I’m saying it on a weekly basis now, but we HAVE to sign Willock.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Had this conversation with my mate last night
If we have to sell to buy in the summer, would you sell Almiron to buy Willock?.
(I would say obviously I’d want both, but don’t see Ashley sanctioning the £20m or whatever it will take to get Willock).
Sharpy17(Quote)
If he still owns us next season he’ll sell ASM, one of our keepers and possibly Ritchie, we won’t get Willock, as much as he likes being at Toon, if Arsenal think he can do a job for them he’ll stay with them. I think it’s more about what Arsenal want than whether or not we will pay for him mate.
kimtoon(Quote)
Kim – I think it will depend a lot on how much the players push for the move. It might also depend on who’s manager.
I think Miggy doesn’t enjoy his role in the team that Bruce has given him & if Bruce stays I think he’ll push for a move away.
I don’t think Max is pushing so much for the move just yet. I think he’s enjoying himself at NUFC and loves being loved by the fans. I think we’ve got another season with him yet – unless a big offer comes in or a club he wants comes in. But the bigger clubs might want to see him do it for another season to make sure he’s not a one season wonder.
I think Darlow gets sold with Woodman coming back.
If Bmth comes back up they may want Ritchie, if not then I think he stays.
Regards Willock – I think he’s better than Ceballos but their fans don’t seem to like him & he’s not fancied by the manager. He’s in a similar position to Lingard really – go back and be overlooked or bit part, or leave to a club that back you & allow you to showcase your talent.
Good luck to the lad whatever he decides to do. He’s come to us and given his all – his goal in recent weeks has probably kept us up, so for that he gets honorary Geordie status for me. Always welcome back to Newcastle, but I hope we see him in black & white beyond this season ??
Sharpy17(Quote)
Kim – I also think the Euros might see clubs scouting there rather than looking at club players.
Max is always on social media & seems to have settled in Newcastle, so I’d be surprised if he’s pushing for a move. Yes the footy under Bruce is rubbish – but he’s not a player that has suffered as a result. If anything he has grown in stock, so another season of regular footy would help with that – and if we can improve then that’s even better for him.
However Miggy has dropped off being the limelight player for us. He’s more workhorse than creator in this current set up & I can see him pushing for a move more than Max.
We need right sided forwards as well imo – all seem to favour that left channel at the mo & to get a better balance we need a right forward.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Sharpy – Miggy has made it very clear he loves it at the Toon! He’s not the type to selfishly whinge either.
Think we’ll be able to hang on to Steve Bruce? 😆
georgio(Quote)
Sharpy, I think Willocks future depends on who the manager is at Arsenal, do you reckon they’ll hang onto Arteta ?
kimtoon(Quote)
Agree mate, he’s a grafter where ever he plays, just wish he’d get his head up more often when looking to pass.
kimtoon(Quote)
Georgio – you’re reading my posts wrong in you think I’m having a pop at Miggy in any way shape or form. His conduct has been first class & he always works his backside off – I wish they all had his energy levels & work ethic mate.
He may well love it at NUFC but I don’t think he’s happy playing for Bruce & the role he’s having to perform – he’s doing it well, but I don’t think he’s happy.
I hope he stays coz he does a good job for us, but if Charnley says we have to sell to buy – he’s the one they can get money for and would be ok with leaving (if that makes sense).
Ashley is making it very public he is a still pushing for the takeover – I’m sure that’s as much a statement of intent that he won’t be putting up a transfer budget this summer.
We need to strengthen, but also replace squad players out of contract too. So I think we will end up having to sell.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Kim – I agree, and I think they will hang on to Arteta – but that would be a mistake.
Sharpy17(Quote)
I am definately enjoying the Spurs implosion, especially if it is true they blocked our takeover. I know I went on about it but I just couldnt stand that southern press w@nkfest about that stadium. There was an article every week for about 2 years with even construction updates. Imagine if that was NUFC building a new ground. We would get 1 mention probably next to the darts section.
We will see if a shiny new stadium attracts a new manager when they have no defense and might lose Harry Kane? Plus they borrowed 150 mil from the Govt for Covid so they have no money. Arsenal borrowed 125 million and still laid off Gunnersaurus and 53 others so Ashley is not the only deadbeat owner.
Kimtoon: I think Man U have plans for more protests next week or whenever they play.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Apart from the possibility of cash, I think Ashley is suing the PL to get any dirt out in the open. Are court proceedings made public? They are in the US.
I think the arbitration panel is behind closed doors. We are certainly being deafened by the silence from there. WTF is taking so long?
Eric Sykes(Quote)
I remember the case against the Oystons at Blackpool a couple of years ago and all their dirty deeds came out in court and were made public.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
I am hoping Chelsea get a result today to make it less likely the Red Bindippers qualify for the CL. Again it is about their blocking our takeover. I usually dont have anything against them apart from Carra and McManamamamen’s squeeling but at the same time throatal voices.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Eric, yeah this second case Jabba has brought will defo get a public airing.
kimtoon(Quote)
In his press conference Bruce had said our players were knackered because of the number of games they had to play. Was this a cunning plan to lull Brendan into a false sense of security? Plus, it was a lie. Leicester have played a lot more games than us this season because of Europe and their FA Cup run.
And look at our starting linup. The following have missed lots of games for whatever reason this season so should be fresh as daisies:
Dubravka
Murphy
Krafth
Fernandez
Dummett
Ritchie
Willock
St Max
Wilson
Shelvey also had a hernia operation and Bruce put Miggy on the bench at the start of the season.
Some of the missed games were injuries and others were not being selected. But you cannot just bare-faced lie about stuff. Looking at the team, I bet they average about 50-60% of the total games played. So around 20-25.
I might be cynical but I think it was Bruce the Excuse setting up his excuses because he expected a loss.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
I dont want to be negative after a great performance but I think Bruce thinks we have the memory of a goldfish. He said these things on Thursday and it is only Saturday so I think I can remember. He also forgot the loss against Palace and thinks we played well in games when we didnt – Burnley and Liverpool. I am sure he thinks our fans are stupid and in the zoom media briefings he never gets called out on his falsehoods.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Anyone watching Man city and Chelsea? The most ridiculous penalty ever … Aguero tries a penenka type. The goalie has time to get up from his dive and just pluck the ball out the air! ?????. Id city get a pen against us next week, I hope Aguero does that again!
Gilly Toon(Quote)
Leicester might have blown their CL chances yesterday. They have points on the board but will probably need to beat Spurs on the last day. West Ham have an easy run in and so do the red bindippers after Man U next. They will probably need something from that to have a chance.
I dont normally care who finishes 4th but having Spurs, Arsenal and Redbindippers miss out and p!ss and moan and drink sour grape juice out of their European Super League mugs that were special ordered 2 week ago tomorrow will bring me some pleasure. I know, little things please little minds 🙂
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Gilly – what a t!t. He scored so many goals for them & that moment he scored the goal to win them the league – he could have done it again today if they won. Now that will be played forever – what an idiot!!
Sharpy17(Quote)
I didnt even realise that there is such a thing as a training ground kit sponsor. Man U have lost a 20 mil a year deal with a local business because of fans and social media saying to boycott sponsors. It was a 10 year deal, for a total of 200 million. That’s Harry Kane money.
I dont believe for a minute think that boycotts were the only reason. I think the sponsors got cold feet and realised they had overpaid and used this as an excuse.
But it made me think about the stupid money in football. It has to end at some point. I think Levy wants 60 mil a year for naming rights to that stadium. Good luck with a Kane-less midtable team.
I watched the Leeds game and actually think Spurs’ defense might be worse than ours.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
I think I might have gone too far saying we have a better defense than Spurs. Only WBrom and Sheffield have let in more.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
I think we are going to be shocked by the losses in football. They were there already but Covid has made them much worse. Already Liverpool have announced losses and that was mostly accumulted before Covid. The ESL showed how badly the Spanish and Italian clubs have been run and how much debt they are in. For the most part they have locked themselves into skyhigh player contracts so it wount change.
This Man U sponsorship deal falling through may sound like a minor thing but I think it means that any sponsor that can renegotiate a deal will, post-Covid. The PL deals are all set in stone but that is both a good and a bad thing. Where the money will be is streaming and there will be a death match between the big Tech Cos. But not yet. The current contracts are iron clad.
Google/Youtube, Amazon, Netflix and Apple are all desperate for content. Next go round they will all be bidding but that is a couple of years off. Sports is a proven money spinner. What they do here in the US is use it as the lead in to their other shows, so along with the in game ads it is very lucrative.
The ESL was such a great idea for the Dirty Dozen not just because of JP Morgan lucre but because they could immediatly negotiate deals with the Tech Giants without any legacy contracts at Uefa. It was a no brainer if they could pull it off because it would bring the streaming money forward a couple of years.
They will be back though because there is so much money at stake.
I have even noticed a big change in Youtube with me watching just the odd NUFC shows like Wraith and True Faith. What they do is play the show but youtube breaks in with their own targeted advertising. That only happened at the start until about 6 months ago.
The money will be there in the future but I think there is at least 2 years of pain even for the big clubs unless they can somehow resurrect the ESL.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
I hate talking about this takeover but if it somehow comes off we will be in such a strong position. Nobody apart from the Manchesters, PSG and Chelsea can afford big fees anymore. That means lower prices. Football finances seem to defy the market where usually increased competition means lower prices 🙂
Eric Sykes(Quote)
This looks ominous for Leicester. They could easily lose their 3 remaining games and let the Red Bindippers in. Liverpool have Man U away next and even a point would help them as their 3 remaining games are all winnable. There are only 6 points between them. I think the Bin Dippers will overhaul them.
I told you West Ham would finish 6th, I am sticking to that.
Moyes should still be in the hunt for Manager of the season but should finish 3rd. I would have Solksjaer and Pep as joint winners if they win their Euro Cups. I dont think that is supposed to count but it does to me. If Chesea beat City I think you give it to OGS.
I never thought the Norwegian had it in him. He certainly didnt have the experience. He has had the balls to drop De Gea and seems to have straightened out Pogba. They need to keep Cavani and get a world class midfielder to challenge for the title.
I was never a Man U hater because Ferguson played good football. Their fans on the other hand are as annoying as the Red Bindippers. And what those two clubs have in common is too many biased ex-players on the telly.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
So West Brom down. Hippo heed relegated for the first time. ?
Gilly Toon(Quote)
Aye sad times mate – anyway, get rid of Fulham tomorrow night and starting planning for next season.
We need to strengthen and there are players on a free that would do that this summer – get their fingers out and get ahead hopefully ??
Sharpy17(Quote)
BFS has a year left on his contract. For all his arrogance I think he would bring the Baggies straight back up. He wasnt total long ball all the time either. He wasnt Pardew for them. Remember they have parachute payments so a couple of good additions and they will be back.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
West Brom’s Net Spend after getting back to the PL was 32 million. That is nothing really as you get over 100 million for finishing 19th. To put it into perspective, it is three quarters of a Donkey. They also split it between 3 ten million pound players whose wages would not have been sky high. I even think they might have money in the bank just from this one season and that the parachute payments must make them Championship favourites. BFS would be mad to leave.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
The Toney and Armstrong situation is a bit annoying. It is sort of like a mini-Pogba situation when Man U bought him back. I think generally Rafa did a decent job at NUFC, though not great. He should never have taken that squad down and had enough time. But, sticking to the subject – he is the one that sold Armstrong and Toney when there really was no need. We got next to nothing for them and they could have been loaned.
But some Blogs and Youtube channels will have nothing said against Saint Rafa even when it comes back to bite us. I havent really seen this mentioned on Eds or The Mag, orn Wraith’s Youtube. I think that they believe if they ignore it then it never happened and Rafa can keep his place at the feet of St Peter and Angel Gabriel.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Guess who have totally fcd the top 4 race?
NUFC.
Some really strange results from us have thrown about a hundred spanners in the works.
**** – they were there for the taking.
Spurs – the players wanted Jose out.
Liverpool – it should have been 5-1 to them
Leicester – Bruce is King, Hail to to Bruce. 4 More Years. And then appoint his son Alex.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Juva told they will be kicked out of lge if they don’t withdraw from super lge
Icedog(Quote)
Congrats to Freddie Woodman winning the golden glove with Swansea this season ??.
I’m regularly critical of our loan set up, but it certainly looks like he’s benefited this season.
I think it may well result in either him or Darlow being sold this summer now though to raise funds for other positions.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Looks like designer Cardigans are not enough to keep you in the PL Scott Parker. I never liked him at NUFC because he ran around in little circles in the centre circle and did not much else.
Fat Boy Fat is on his arrogant high horse again since we played well for once. I wonder if he will be pleasantly delighted when we get beat by City’s 2nd team?
But, HWTL. Despite Bruce.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
“I am pleasantly delighted and delightfully unpleasant when we have a good result. I am delighted to talk to another W2nker on talksport who lets me delightedly say how many points accumulated I have got. 16th with this squad? But we had injuries! Its not my fault”.
But… We stay up and there is still hope of a takeover.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
How can you go through life only knowing 2 words?
Pleasant
Delighted
???
Eric Sykes(Quote)
How do you feel about the defeat to Man City on Friday Steve Bruce?
It was not pleasant and a bit less delightful than it has been since we lucked results at Burnley and Liverpool. But in my 900 PL games with a win % of 28% which is delightful for my cheque book I have to say I am pleasantly delighted.
You mentioned to Simon Jordan that you are a bit smug now about staying up in probably 16th place?
“Yes, 17th was my remit so I have overachieved. I will never say a bad word about Donkey. I keep playing him but I never comment on him”. And none of the pundits ask why he plays the Donkey.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Not looking good for Fulham
kimtoon(Quote)
Some Blogs, Podcasts and Youtubes really have rewritten the Burnley and Liverpool games to be a Bruce masterclass rather than just plain lucky and a couple of pieces of skill from St max and Willock.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
When you moving Kimtoon?
Eric Sykes(Quote)
I always had faith that FULHAM WERE **** and said it many times on here despite what naysaters on Ed’s Blog worried about. And how pundits spunked about scotty’s designer Cardis.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
That’s that Fulham done, Toon safe.
Bad luck Scotty, gave it your best shot.
kimtoon(Quote)
Eric – Bruce is well aware that no NUFC fan expects to win every game we play – and we’ve all pretty much accepted that most season is a case of going for those 40 points sadly.
But it’s the performance levels that we have complained about more over the results. Take the last 2 games as prime example. It was 2 completely different approaches with pretty much the same 11.
But he knows that, and he knows these pundits don’t have the b@Loz to challenge what he’s saying.
If they did, they would be saying – the fans don’t expect you to play like Lpool or City – just compete with them rather than sit deep and allow world class players to press you for most of the game … coz guess what happens when you do? … you score 2 goals against Lpool in the 5 mins you actually went after them.
He knows fine well what the fans gripes are – and to be fair to him, I do hold the players to account too in part, because they should self motivate out on that pitch, they should motivate each other.
I think that’s been a noticeable change since Ritchie has come into the team. There is no coincidence that our upturn in form coincides with Ritchie coming into the team & his leadership & workrate driving those around him on.
Bruce has blamed everyone & everything bar himself this season.
Funnily enough I remember him blaming the formation – and the gloves were off, he’s doing it his way from here on in … anyone else notice we are back to 3 at the back & playing well???.
I don’t hate Steve Bruce, I don’t really mind him if truth be told – I don’t rate him as a manager, and I wish he would own his mistakes. But the level of hatred & nastiness aimed at him at times is not right.
I hope he’s replaced, but could actually see him being offered a director of football role or something like that with a Roberto Martinez coming in as manager.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Wednesday Eric, just got to finish packing up kitchen stuff tomorrow after Lew goes to respite.
Had a message from agents to say the executor selling the bungalow has been in a given it a good clean 😀 saves me a job, means i can just unpack. I reckon I have around 60 boxes by the time i have finished.
kimtoon(Quote)
Agree mate, the venom can get out of hand.
kimtoon(Quote)
Gave it his best Cardi.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Great summation of Bruce.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
My view on Bruce:
He wil get us relegated despite the fact we have some good players.
He sets the team up wrong.
He makes excuses.
HE WILL GET US RELEGATED if he stays on,
#17th Is Not Enough
#Fck off Bruce
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Ok, safety assured. We probably won’t win another game now this season…
Gilly Toon(Quote)
https://youtu.be/pVWBOLkDvkQ
This is a perfect example of lazy and stupid journalists. If says it all when he had the neck to think he could challenge Sir Bobby Robson coz his father in law played for North Shields ??♂️.
But back to Bruce. He says his mates didn’t change there mind on Bruce after the Leicester game – because it was a one off you thick moron!!. Stand it up against the Arsenal game and it’s a perfect example of the inconsistency under Bruce – only I would say that we’ve only played the Leicester standard 2 or 3 times this season & that’s simply not good enough.
If we got the Leicester game week in week out – and to be clear here – I’m talking performance – I don’t expect a win and 4 goals every week. Then I honestly think the fans wouldn’t have a problem with Bruce & neither would Craig Hope – but again Bruce knows that.
Not all fans, their will always be some die hards that would be against him for not being Rafa, but certainly a far larger portion of fans wouldn’t really care that Bruce was manager if he had the team performing well.
We are football fans – we want to watch good football & watch our team compete – give a performance befitting the shirt on their backs. If we win even better, but at least see 100% effort more often than not.
Under Bruce we don’t see that, and that’s why fans aren’t so fickle they’ll change their mind after 1 good win.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Another year of survival – another year of utter drivel and turgid football.
Same again next season… Only we could go down. Like most seasons. If your aim is to stay up every year eventually it will catch up with you.
I have zero enthusiasm for the club at the moment.
What’s the point?
Stuart79(Quote)
Sharpy: Bruce the Excuse has 1 good game and thinks he is Alex Ferguson!
Now he has his excuses lined up because Wilson is out. I will be out of town and will probably not be able to watch the City game. For the best, maybe? As Aguero will be playing 🙂
Bruce makes **** up and so do some NUFC fans like Wraith. We HAVE NOT had a good run of FORM we have had a good run of RESULTS. We were **** at Burnley and Liverpool except for about 5 mins in each game. We have had a good run of GOALKEEPING all season.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
instead of a pretty much like for like swap with Gayle for Wilson we will see Shrek 5 – Return of Donkey.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Oh fck – without Wilson it will be false 10s and split strikers again. And even worse it will be Donkey as a false 10. False footballer more like.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Can’t wait for him to be gone. Sack? Resign? Kidnapped? I really don’t care.
georgio(Quote)
KIM good luck with the move mate,no heavy humping,sorry well you know what i mean 😳 😳
icedog(Quote)
This was always the risk with Wilson. I’m not criticising him one bit coz he’s been brilliant for us this season & his goals have been huge.
But one of the reasons such a clinical finisher is playing for NUFC and Bmth before that is his injury record. We have to be mindful of that this summer when recruiting.
To be fair, he won’t be missed against City will he, he wouldn’t have seen much of the ball anyway ??♂️
Sharpy17(Quote)
Like Icedog, I hope your move goes smoothly man. A long time since you last moved.
All the best.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Hattrick for JokeLinton for sure!!!
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Good luck moving Kim, I know it’s been a long, frustrating road ??
On Bruce. The football at times has been dire, but to be fair it’s a dire squad and he said results would improve when he got the decent players back – and they did, so I’ll credit him for that. He got the job done.
Regardless of some relatively limited inclvestment in last couple of windows, Ashley has left the club feeding off scraps for a long time and that is reflected in the overall quality of the squad.
You can’t polish a turd and a manager on the level of Bruce is about what I would expect in this set up given our owners limited ambition.
The issue is not Bruce, it’s Ashley. The head of the snake needs to be chopped off. It’s pointless falling for the trick of letting Bruce be his public face and directing our ire at him as the scapegoat.
Look at our history of managers over the years since Ashley has been involved. Houghton and Rafa are the only managers taken to by the fans. All the others have been villifies by the fans, but the issue all along has been Ashley
At least he is trying to force through this sale, in the face of it at least. The sooner he leaves the better for the club and fans. Until then I don’t give a monkeys who the manager is so long as they achieve ylyhe bottom line – which is survival and remaining attractive to potential buyers as an established PL club.
Like Stu said above, it’s just dull following the club and has been for a long time. The excitement has long since fled.
If this club is to survive next season, we can’t rely on Wilson and his dodgy hamstring. History tells us those injuries only accumulate and get worse. We need a quality striker on the books to be part of the squad WITH Wilson, because Gayle is not the answer and Jolinton is an expensive disaster.
Some of the dead wood is finally blout of contract this summer so hopefully the purse strings will be loosened a little.
Shamrock(Quote)
C’Mon Leicester. Keep the Red Bindippers out of the CL.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
B0llocks
Eric Sykes(Quote)
?? agreed, good luck Kim ??
Sharpy17(Quote)
Cracking post mate, and you’re right about Bruce. I said yesterday I don’t hate the bloke, I just don’t rate him as a manager. He’s kept us up, though I think that’s as much to do with the bottom 3 clubs being awful like. But I’d expect him to get over the 40pts mark (just) & im guessing that would have been his target.
You’re right as well, if it wasn’t Bruce it would only be a Hughes or Pullis or someone like that, so it might as well be him ??♂️.
Disappointing but we have to accept it until a takeover can happen I suppose.
Hope you’re keeping well anyway buddy ??
Sharpy17(Quote)
Well done Leicester. Did Man U lose on porpoise to keep the Red Bindippers out of the CL?
Best result for everybody as it keeps Wet Spam and Spurs out as well.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
And Benteke is scoring again. There must be some blood/crescent/full moon or summink.
Eric Sykes(Quote)