‘All I can say is’ – Pundit makes Steve Bruce ‘uproar’ claim about Newcastle in major Howe warning
Paul Merson has said that he cannot rate Newcastle and their new signings until they either succeed or fail to keep the club in the Premier League.
The Magpies ended the January window as the top-flight’s biggest spenders, outlaying over £90million. They added new recruits in defence, midfield and attack as they look to avoid relegation.
Indeed, Eddie Howe’s side currently sit 19th in the table, a point off safety ahead of Tuesday’s clash with Everton.
Howe added a left-back, a right-back and a centre-back as he revamped his defence. The manager wants to stop Newcastle’s bad habit of dropping points from losing positions. The tally in that regard stands at over 20.
Writing in a column for Sky Sports, Merson praised Newcastle for their approach in defence.
“They are going to be tight at the back and I think Eddie Howe looked at it and thought you can’t win football matches letting in two or three goals,” the pundit wrote.
“You just can’t do that and only Norwich have let more goals in this season in the Premier League.
“He’s thinking that as long as we can keep clean sheets we’ve got a chance if Allan Saint-Maximin can produce a bit of magic or someone else might step up and we might nick a game 1-0 like they did at Leeds.
“If you keep a clean sheet you have always got a chance and that’s how Newcastle have approached the window.”
However, Merson added that he feels worried about Newcastle’s attacking endeavours in the January window.
While they added former Burnley striker Chris Wood, they wanted Jesse Lingard from Manchester United.
The Red Devils, though, eventually priced the Magpies out of a deal.
Merson added that Newcastle would have faced criticism if former manager Steve Bruce had orchestrated the club’s business last month.
Merson fears for Newcastle survival
“Only time will tell regarding Newcastle’s transfer window,” the pundit added.
“All I can say is that if Steve Bruce had bought in all these players there would have been uproar, and I think that tells you everything you need to know.
“If they’d have managed to get Jesse Lingard in that would have been the player with the X-factor they needed, but that hasn’t happened.”
He added: “It [Newcastle’s business] doesn’t really excite me.
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“They have got solid players in, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t see 18 0-0 draws keeping you up. It may be enough, but I’m just not convinced.
“Newcastle were always saying they wanted two forwards, but they only got Chris Wood, and I think that might prove costly.”
Elsewhere, another pundit has claimed that new centre-back Dan Burn will prove the biggest difference-maker if Newcastle stay up.
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