If Steve Bruce’ comments back in July weren’t bad enough, Newcastle United KNEW Callum Wilson was set for a spell on the sidelines before the transfer window slammed shut – yet still we did nothing.
I say this because The Athletic have revealed today that Wilson looks set to be missing for another month, meaning he’ll sit out crucial games against Leeds, Watford and Wolves between now and the next international break in October.
As for those baffling comments from Steve Bruce, he had this to say when asked if he’d be in the market for another striker back in July:
“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 think we’ve got adequate cover up there [in attack]”
So, not only did the club take a potentially season-defining risk on Callum Wilson’s injury heading into deadline day, Steve Bruce made no attempt to push for the signing just about every Newcastle United fan knew we needed.
Might Bruce’s stance have changed after Wilson was forced off with a thigh injury against Southampton? Maybe, but he should’ve been banging the drum for another back up striker well before then, but instead he sent out the message that four goalkeepers were more important, as he had ‘adequate cover’ up top.
What makes it even worse is the fact he names ASM, Almiron and Joelinton as if they are out and out strikers able to step in if Wilson’s injured, forgetting the fact one is a winger, another is a number 10 and the latter is far better suited to playing in a slightly withdrawn role, meaning Dwight Gayle – a player who hasn’t kicked a ball all season – is the only out and out striker at the club when our new number nine is missing.
Whether it’s Newcastle United’s utter negligence and constant risk-taking or Steve Bruce’s careless comments and naive beliefs, we had this coming and have been hit with an almighty dose of karma.
Wilson is our most important player, but he’s also injury prone. Despite constant warnings from us ‘negative’ Newcastle fans, these are two things both Bruce and the club have somehow forgotten all summer.
Inept owner, managing director and manager.
No wonder we are going backwards at an alarming rate.. it really is frightening!
Joseph(Quote)
“…but he should’ve been banging the drum for another back up striker ”
Olly – what makes you so sure he wasn’t banging the drum for a back-up striker?
You don’t know what went on in Charnley’s office. You don’t know what conversations were had.
In any business a quality manager will publicly back his CEO on EVERY matter. It makes no sense for Bruce to criticise Charnley and Ashley in public because come January they would clamp down even harder just to show him who’s in charge.
It doesn’t make him any less of a man, or a coward, or a yes-man. That’s just what management do.
Yes – rather than just getting on with the job – Rafa moaned on about it, but that’s because Rafa thought he was bigger than the club.
The manager is told “this is how it is, now make it work”.
BykerBill(Quote)
If you’d bothered to read the article before going on another of your bizarre anti-Benitez rants, you’d see he literally came out in public to say he didn’t need another striker… 🙄
Olly Hawkins(Quote)