Ever since Steve Bruce took the reins at Newcastle United, criticising him has been all too easy. From the chaos of Jetro Willems’ introduction on the opening weekend of the season at home to Arsenal, which led to Pierre Emerick Aubameyang’s decisive winner, to the horror shows at Norwich and Leicester. However, impressive wins at Tottenham and West Ham, as well as home wins against Manchester United and Bournemouth, Bruce has made some key decisions that now see Newcastle just four points off sixth place. Here are my picks of where Bruce got it right:
Matty Longstaff
The now well documented disaster at the King Power which saw Bruce switch to a 4-2-3-1 from the tried and trusted style of Rafa Benitez, United were duly hammered 5-0 after an Isaac Hayden red card. After the game, Newcastle were now four games without a win and had only registered seven shots on target in them four games. We were in desperate need of fresh ideas and creativity in midfield. Step forward nineteen year old Matty Longstaff.
“The bloody ginger Longstaff” as described beautifully by the United Stand, alongside Brother Sean, dominated midfield against a below par Manchester United team. In a game of few chances, two of the best fell to Matty who was unlucky not to open his account with a rasping shot against the crossbar. In the end it didn’t matter, as in the 72nd minute Jetro Willems laid off a perfect pass back to Longstaff, who drove home the winner.
It was a big call from Bruce, who could’ve easily selected the more experienced Jonjo Shelvey to play alongside Sean Longstaff, but the gamble paid off and Matty Longstaff got Newcastle’s season back on track.
Ciaran Clark
Matty Longstaff took the headlines against Manchester United, but another selection contributed to our upturn in form. Ciaran Clark hadn’t featured at all so far this season and only made a total of eight appearances the previous season, but something had to change in defence after the Leicester game. Paul Dummett was dropped and Clark was recalled ahead of Federico Fernandez to play in a back three with Jamal Lascelles and Fabian Schar. United haven’t looked back since. Clark attracted serious interest from Crystal Palace in the summer but Bruce was adamant he wanted the former Villa man in his squad. Since his recall, Clark scored two in two games against West Ham and Bournemouth. If his form continues, he leaves Bruce with a major selection dilemma when Florian Lejeune, Jamal Lascelles, and Fabian Schar return to full fitness.
Matty Out, Jonjo In
Matty Longstaff had now started three Premier League games in a row, the latest of which was the home game against a tired Wolverhampton Wanderers. United took a well-deserved first half lead from Jamal Lascelles, but a clumsy second half followed. Sean Longstaff saw red and Newcastle desperately held on for a point. For the visit to the London Stadium, Bruce decided it was time to shuffle the pack again. Matty Longstaff found himself on the bench and there was a recall for the polarising Jonjo Shelvey, who started his first game since the bore draw at home to Brighton. Newcastle stormed into a 3-0 lead with Jonjo scoring the third. He has been in the team ever since, and scored his third league goal of the season with a dramatic equaliser against champion Manchester City. In my opinion, this was smart management by Bruce as it’s too soon to be so reliant on nineteen year old Matty, who we all hope will come on leaps and bounds in the coming seasons.
Keeping the Faith after Villa Defeat
If it wasn’t for the heroics of Martin Dubravka, we could have easily lost three or four nil at Aston Villa. I’m sure I wasn’t the only Newcastle fan who could not believe what I was seeing when the team was announced against Manchester City. Bruce only made one change, a forced one, with Javier Manquillo replacing the injured DeAndre Yedlin. I assumed Sean Longstaff would return to the starting eleven following suspension, and Bruce would heed the calls to take misfiring Joelinton and Miguel Almiron out of the firing line. Bruce kept the faith and it paid off. The team showed the great character they displayed against Man United, Spurs, and West Ham, securing a valuable point. There was even a first assist (finally) for “Miggy” Almiron, teeing up Jetro Willems for United’s first, cancelling out Raheem Sterling’s opener.
There is still a long way to go this season but I have to admit, I feel a lot more confident in our ability to pick up the required points we need to stay in the Premier League under the four Steves (Bruce, Agnew, Clemence, and now Harper), than I did a couple of months ago.