When asked if he’ll be looking to bring in another striker at the end of July, Steve Bruce had this to say:
“We’ve got Allan, Joe, Almiron. We’ve got Dwight. We’ve got five. How many do you have in a squad of 22 outfield players?
“I’ve probably got to look at picking four goalkeepers in the squad, which is a little bit unheard of, but with the problems I’ve got there, that’s in the back of my mind at the minute.
“I think we’ve got adequate cover up there [in attack]”
It seemed a naive and incredibly risky approach at the time, however these comments are now looking more and more foolish by the minute.
Not only did the NUFC boss fail to land a much needed midfielder or centre-back on deadline day, he made it pretty clear a month before the window closed that he didn’t need another forward – insisting he had ‘adequate cover’ in attack.
Fast forward almost six weeks and we’re now reading reports that Callum Wilson could be set for a ‘number of weeks’ after aggravating a thigh problem in our 2-2 draw with Southampton the weekend before last.
Considering the injury issues he had during his first season on Tyneside and our over reliance on the 29-year-old, the signing of another striker should’ve been an absolute no-brainer over the summer.
With Andy Carroll released and not replaced, Dwight Gayle is now the ONLY senior striker at the club behind Callum Wilson – and he is hardly reliable when it comes to his ability to stay fit or score goals at this level!
But no, Bruce insisted back in July that he didn’t need another striker. He may have known he was working on a tight budget, and perhaps he privately wanted another forward signed, however the fact he practically ruled out what seemed such a crucial signing says a lot.
He seems happy to settle and surrender to those above him – people who are always happy to take potentially season defining risks by leaving us short in key areas.
What’s more, you have to laugh at the players Bruce describes as other options up top.
We’ve already talked about why Gayle isn’t a reliable option, but we then have ASM, who isn’t a striker, Almiron, who Bruce now plays as a central midfielder and Joelinton – a man who has just six Premier League goals in 72 games.
Bruce may have been ignored in his battle to land a midfield enforcer and athletic centre-back, but the fact he went public in playing down our need for another striker looks more and more baffling by the day.
The number of injuries seems to be on the increase, ageing squad, bad luck or training methods?
Historically our injuries have been awful, under Benitez they did improve somewhat it makes you wonder which of the three it is, or maybe them all!
Joseph(Quote)
Bruce is so inept.
Saber(Quote)
Under Benitez injuries improved marginally but only for one season. In his last season they were just as bad as ever.
Freddd(Quote)
I appreciate this won’t sit well with the general attitude of this blog but everything Bruce said is correct. We have sufficient cover in attack. He’s referring to numbers. Whether or not we have sufficient quality is another thing completely. 20-20 hindsight is a wonderful thing with Wilson’s injury now, if only Bruce was clairvoyant.
So who should we have got rid of to bring more players in? ASM and Miggy? Don’t think so. Nobody would pay an acceptable price for Joelinton, and Bruce is clinging onto Gayle as a last resort, knowing that getting someone better would be difficult, and would cost money.
I also have to giggle when I hear bloggers complaining that we lost Carroll and didn’t replace him. These same people couldn’t believe that the big lad got a year’s extension and slagged him off his entire time back with us. Now Bruce is an idiot for not replacing him?
Do we have a good team? No. Are Bruce’s comments crazy? Not at all.
Does this and many other blogs despise Bruce? Ah finally. A “yes”.
Give it a rest lads. You sound like a group of Trump supporters who just keep shouting and shouting with no proper logic behind what you are saying.
BykerBill(Quote)
Baffling that you can agree with Bruce’s comments when we literally have TWO strikers at the football club and both are injury prone.
Why he thinks Almiron classes as a striker is beyond me when he’s now playing the lad in midfield.
And yes, it is silly we didn’t replace Carroll. Just because some didn’t rate him doesn’t mean it’s acceptable to go into a new season with just two strikers on your books.
All that said Bill, I don’t think I’ve seen a single comment from you on this blog that doesn’t attempt to belittle and article or one of our writers, so I often wonder why you always come back for more! 😆
Olly Hawkins(Quote)
I think there is definately a fitness problem at newcastle but with bruce on holiday our other coach jones may be able to raise the fitness level just a little bit to stop all the injuries that seem a constant at our club. 😈
john marshall(Quote)
I’ve just got one name to throw in to the mix Salamon Rondon gone to Everton and Rafa could we not have tried to bring him back on a free no brainier surely ??
Mick Byers(Quote)