After dismal loss, I’m still optimistic on Newcastle United

Newcastle United played like hot garbage this past weekend, and we all know it. There is no defending the loss, and certainly no defending Steve Bruce. I said last season that Newcastle United would succeed in spite of him, and not because of him. I was right last season, and I’m going to reiterate that this season.

Newcastle United will succeed not because of Steve Bruce, but in spite of him.

And because of this, I remain cautiously optimistic that Newcastle United will return to whatever form it is Newcastle United is used to. You know. That form.

I was disappointed to see for the second week in a row Miguel Almiron on the bench as a substitute. That’s beneath the quality that Miggy brings to the pitch, and Steve Bruce should be ashamed of that. Newcastle attempted to push a longball game against a Brighton side that was never going to give in to that style of football.

The issue with Steve Bruce is that he’ll only adjust when he loses, he lacks the foresight to think ahead and gauge potential matchups. I’m not a tactician, nor am I a certified football manager. I’m just a fan that knows that if Newcastle United wanted to actually win against Brighton, the longball would have been used sparingly. Miguel Almiron would have started, and Newcastle would have played a different style of football.

Because of this loss, Steve Bruce will change things up. Hopefully Andy Carroll finally returns to the bench, where he’s much more effective coming off of it than starting. But let’s get to the optimism part of it, because all I’ve done is complain up to this point.

Look at the talent that we have on this team. Ryan Fraser has an instinct for passing. Callum Wilson has better scoring instinct than almost anyone Newcastle United has except for maybe Miggy. And yes, we have Allan Saint-Maximin and Miggy. While ASM may not have performed at his best against Brighton, he’s still one of the most technically gifted players on the entire squad.

What I’m saying is I have faith in the players. I don’t have faith in Steve Bruce, but I have undying faith that the players will succeed. This squad is too talented in my opinion to not be safe. I stick with my prediction of an 11th place finish.