Taylor Payne, the host of Pod On The Tyne, has recently shared his views on Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce and whether or not he is the right man to lead the club for the future.
This comes after he recently hosted an episode of The Athletic’s Newcastle-based podcast, Pod On The Tyne to discuss everything going on at the club.
During the episode, Payne shared his thoughts on Bruce, his appointment as Newcastle manager and his future at the club.
He said: “I was one of the people when he got the job who thought ‘what are we doing bringing Steve Bruce in?’
“I always felt like any other club in the Premier League – would they have appointed him? Any forward-looking club, would they have appointed him? But this is Newcastle United and it’s a different beast to a lot of those other clubs, and the guy was available and we needed the manager. He came in and I was disappointed with that, and I think, to be honest, having gone from Rafa Benitez to Steve Bruce, I think I was always going to be disappointed with who came in. I don’t think it would have made a blind bit of difference who got that job.
“But what I have to say is, I have warmed to him massively this season. There’s been times when the football has been awful, but as a bloke and as a guy doing a job, and as a coach, I have to say, I think he’s done well. I’m not sure if he’s the man to lead Newcastle into a bright future, but you can’t not take your hat off to him this season. He’s got those players playing.”
Should Steve Bruce be Newcastle's manager next season?
Yes
No
Bruce took over at St. James’ Park back in July 2019 after replacing Rafael Benitez who had spent over three years as Newcastle manager.
Bruce has now taken charge of 37 Newcastle matches, resulting in the 59-year-old averaging a points-per-game total of 1.35 (per Transfermarkt).
In his first season in charge of Newcastle, Bruce has guided his team to 13th place in the Premier League table on 39 points having won 10 out of their 31 played matches, drawing nine and losing 12 along the way (per BBC Sport).
TIF Thoughts…
Bruce has done well in his first season in charge at Newcastle to keep them relatively safe from relegation.
However, Payne’s comments suggest he doesn’t feel Bruce is the man to take Newcastle forward in the future and maybe he hopes for a manager with a bigger reputation going forward?