- Paris Olympics takeaways: What did Team USA’s crunch-time lineup say about NBA’s hierarchy?Posted 4 months ago
- Zach Edey posted an easy double-double in Summer League debut. Here’s why he’ll succeed in NBAPosted 6 months ago
- What will we most remember these champion Boston Celtics for?Posted 6 months ago
- After long, seven-year road filled with excruciating losses, Celtics’ coast to NBA title felt ‘surreal’Posted 6 months ago
- South Florida men’s basketball is on an unbelievable heater– but also still on the bubblePosted 10 months ago
- Kobe Bufkin is balling out for Atlanta Hawks’ G League team. When will he be called up to NBA?Posted 11 months ago
- Former Knicks guards Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett may yet prove Raptors won the OG Anunoby tradePosted 12 months ago
- Rebounding savant Oscar Tshiebwe finally gets NBA chance he’s deserved for yearsPosted 1 year ago
- Is Tyrese Maxey vs. Tyrese Haliburton the next great NBA guard rivalry?Posted 1 year ago
- The Detroit Pistons are going to be a problem in a few yearsPosted 1 year ago
With smart signings and clever managing, Newcastle is here to stay in Premier League
- Updated: October 5, 2020
Callum Wilson has been well worth the money for the Magpies, who now have enough offensive firepower to win plenty of games.
Aston Villa will get a lot of press (even here) this week, and deservedly so after orchestrating one of the most shocking results in Premier League history on Sunday.
But Villa isn’t the only big club that has seen its fortunes turn around this season.
Speaking of which– what a job Steve Bruce has done at Newcastle United.
Newcastle fans, who are like if Philadelphia Eagles fans rooted for the Browns, were characteristically apoplectic about Bruce’s hiring after the popular and would-be club-saving manager Rafael Benitez quit and self-exiled to China in 2019. But Bruce has taken over and done an even better job than the former Real Madrid, Liverpool and Chelsea boss.
When Bruce, an English football lifer and journeyman manager took the reigns, Newcastle was being talked about as a clear relegation candidate. Many pundits, including The Guardian’s Barry Glendenning (not singling him out, just acknowledging that I’m a fan) were certain of their impending doom.
But after the squad was bolstered with some deft signings, including MLS MVP Miguel Almiron, Bournemouth club legend Callum Wilson and club pariah Ryan Fraser, this team is in a much better position than they were when Bruce was brought in.
The Magpies are 2-1-1 this season after a convincing 3-0 thumping of Burnley this weekend. They earned a draw at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last weekend (though on a controversial stoppage-time penalty), and bossed around West Ham in a 2-0 season-opening win. There’s suddenly more than enough talent here to not only stay up, but make things enjoyable with fans who have suffered with this club for a long time.
Wilson, who’s scored four goals in four games in that distinctive Newcastle uni, just might be England’s most often-overlooked striker. He could flourish with guys like the speedy Almiron, Joelinton, and Andy Carroll flanking him, and midfielders like Allan Saint-Maximin looking to get him the ball.
Saint-Maximin has been absolutely brilliant this season, and his next-level speed, shiftiness and soccer IQ have caused opponents fits. The 23-year-old winger is the talk of Tyneside this season, and fans are hoping they can keep it that way for a long time.
Newcastle may not have any huge names, or Monopoly-money signings, but this squad could compete for a top-half finish– no joke. That thought seemed an impossibility when the old re-tread Bruce was hired. Whatever happens, relegation certainly doesn’t look like a worry, and that ought to be a sigh of relief.
Fans may still be sour, but things are looking up on Tyneside.
