Steve Bruce was in Dubai with his son Alex watching England play cricket on Saturday afternoon. He looked well. It’s amazing what a week away from the pressure of the Premier League can do.
Back in Newcastle, meanwhile, much was unchanged. The team Bruce left behind toiled in vain against Chelsea. They didn’t have a corner all day at St James’ Park and only one shot on target. It arrived in the 83rd minute by which time they were three goals behind.
Bruce had to go. That much is beyond dispute. After all the rancour, the club needed a release from him and, it must be said, vice-versa.
Newcastle’s defeat against Chelsea left them second-bottom in the Premier League
Allan Saint-Maximin cut a dejected figure as Newcastle slumped to a 3-0 loss on Saturday
But what is left behind? A club under ambitious new ownership that hopes to have a new full-time manager in place this week. And, more importantly, a group of players that simply do not look good enough to keep Newcastle in the Premier League.
Coaches make a difference. Of course they do. Ultimately, though, it’s the players who will make or break a season and after defying gravity for a number of years — first under Rafa Benitez and then Bruce — this Newcastle squad looks as though time has caught up with it.
As caretaker Graeme Jones pointed out after this game, Newcastle were playing a very good side. They are the champions of Europe and this morning they lead the title race by three points.
Deservedly so. Chelsea are a formidable outfit capable of shifting and changing to adapt to the rhythms of a game.
Graeme Jones (R) has taken temporary charge of Newcastle after Steve Bruce (left) was sacked
Bruce watched England’s thrashing of Australia in the T20 World Cup in Dubai with son Alex (L)
Here they had to be patient and did not score until the 65th minute but there was never a sense of panic. Thomas Tuchel’s team were missing players such as Romelu Lukaku and Mason Mount but you could not tell.
But there was something worrying about Newcastle. They looked mentally worn down by the drama and uncertainty of the last few months.
The home crowd were as excitable as ever before kick-off and were out of the seats as Matt Ritchie flew down the left side in the second minute. But none of that was to last.
Jones had them organised, certainly. Newcastle played in a 5-3-2 formation which ensured they were able to absorb a certain amount of Chelsea pressure.
Newcastle directors Mehrdad Ghodoussi and Amanda Staveley were once again at St. James Park for the game against Chelsea
The Saudi ownership saw their team extend their winless run to 10 games on Saturday
To use the modern phrasing, theirs was the lowest of low blocks. But there was rarely the threat of a counter attack. There was nobody who seemed to carry the sort of belief needed to get a result.
Newcastle are without a win in 10 games and when they look above them what do they see? Teams such as Leeds, Burnley, Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Southampton who history tells us are likely to improve.
Which teams are going to realistically come back towards them? Watford maybe. Beyond that, it’s hard to see many.
So the truth is that Newcastle are going to have to improve greatly. To do that they are going to need goals, something that have not come easy for some time.
Graeme Jones has urged Newcastle’s new owners to appointment a new permanent manager
Jones said he understood the fans’ frustration with the style of football on display
This season’s top scorer is Callum Wilson with four in the league. Last season he scored 12, the only Newcastle player to reach double figures.
That is a huge problem for the club. For sure, Newcastle will try to recruit in January.
A new manager with fresh ideas and some kind of long-term strategy missing for so long will help that and so will the money.
But if Newcastle are still cut adrift in the bottom three, who is going to come?
Newcastle fans have welcomed the takeover but their club face a relegation battle this season
Supporters booed their team and plenty left the stadium after Chelsea went 3-0 up
Who will risk changing the trajectory of a career to spend a season in the Championship? A lucrative salary package can help grease the wheels but that can often lead a club towards precisely the wrong kind of player.
Newcastle will make mistakes in the market over the coming two transfer windows, and maybe beyond. All clubs do.
Manchester City found that out when oil money turned their world around 13 years ago.
Reece James scored a quick second half brace as Chelsea ran riot at St. James’ Park
Thomas Tuchel saw his side open a three-point gap over Liverpool at the top of the table
What Newcastle must somehow do is get a couple right in January and it would help the sell enormously if the current players could find some improvement between now and then.
They were never over-run but they eventually succumbed to the weight of possession that was up at 79 per cent in Chelsea’s favour by the end. For the winners, Reece James scored two fine goals — both struck like thunderclaps — before the effortlessly superb Jorginho added a penalty.
Tuchel’s team look as though they can improve and that’s always a good sign. Newcastle simply have to and they must do it fast.
