What Will Newcastle Do This Season?
By
Charlie Mullan
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4 mins
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Avoiding Relegation Is First Goal
The new owners take control of the club with Newcastle sitting one place above bottom spot. The Magpies are one of four teams yet to win after seven attempts which does not bode well. New betting sites, as well as old ones, are running several markets for what the Magpies might achieve this season with new owners in charge.
The feelgood factor brought by the takeover should make St James’ Park a more favourable environment for the home side to play. Tottenham are visitors to the north east next weekend after the international break and Steve Bruce’s side are 13/5 with Bet365 to win for the first time this season.
New ownership does not mean results will change in Newcastle favour, but the now upbeat fans can play a big part in helping the Magpies beat Spurs. If Tottenham win this game, the pressure will again increase on beleaguered manager Steve Bruce.
Moving away from the relegation zone has to be the priority right now and the club are 8/15 with Paddy Power to avoid the drop while Bet365 are offering odds of 11/4 for Newcastle to return to the Championship after five seasons.
Is Bruce Next to Leave the Club
Bruce is in a no-win situation at St James’ Park. The fans do not want him to remain as manager so even if he wins a couple of games in the next few weeks, the fans will still be calling for him to be sacked.
The 60-year-old has been in football management long enough to know that getting the sack is an occupational hazard that comes with the job. As the takeover drew to its conclusion, Bruce acknowledged his situation at the club was not straightforward.
”I want to continue,” he said in a newspaper interview. “I’d like the chance to show the new owners what I can do, but you have to be realistic and they may well want a new manager to launch things for them. New owners normally want a new manager. I’ve been around long enough to understand that.”
Bruce has been favourite in the Premier League’s sack race and remains 1/5 favourite with Paddy Power to be the manager to leave his post.
Gerrard Joint-Favourite to Replace Bruce
Since the takeover was confirmed, Newcastle supporters will have been discussing which manager should be the one to start, which they hope, will return to the club to the days when they challenged for honours.
Steven Gerrard emerged as the early favourite to replace Bruce, but he has been joined at 5/1 by Antonio Conte in the market while Eddie Howe is 7/1 with William Hill to return to management at St James’ Park.
Whoever takes over, expectations will be high from a fan base that demands success. In the mid 1990s, Newcastle were one of the most entertaining teams to watch with Kevin Keegan in charge of them. Alan Shearer was scoring goals for fun which was a good job because they were conceding goals left, right and centre.
The Magpies finished second in the Premier League in 1996 and 1997 and reached back-to-back FA Cup finals losing to Arsenal in 1998 and Manchester United a year later en route to their Treble winning glory.
Top Half Finish Has to be Minimum Requirement
After seven games of the season, the Premier League table does not make pleasant reading for Newcastle fans. But there are still 93 points to play for this season and a couple of wins could lift the Magpies towards mid table.
The minimum requirement for Newcastle is to ensure they get in the top half of the table and stay there. The last time they managed that was in 2018 on their return to the top flight when they finished tenth. The Magpies are 14/1 with SpreadEx to finish the season tenth or higher in May.
Some of the Toon Army will be dreaming of bigger achievements and might be tempted to back their team to finish in the top six which is available at 100/1 with Unibet. A top four finish, 500/1 with Betfred, might be beyond them this season.
Newcastle have been starved of cup success for over five decades so winning the FA Cup would be good way for the new owners to mark their first season. The Magpies are 66/1 with MansionBet to win the FA Cup for the first time since 1955 when they beat Manchester City 3-1.
Charlie spent 11 years as a sports reporter at the Hull Daily Mail before joining the Press Association where he helped set up their bespoke betting channel using his sports data to provide content to accompany odds operators were offering in key matches. Charlie is the sports editor for bookmakers.com covering everything from the Premier League to the NFL.
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