Steve Bruce has ruled out changing his 3-5-2 formation for Newcastle’s trip to Tottenham on Sunday.
The Magpies’ boss believed that his side’s impressive performance against Arsenal in their opening fixture in the Premier League is enough to support his system.
Bruce confirmed in his pre-match press conference as quoted by Chronicle journalist Ciaran Kelly on his personal Twitter account that it is too early for radical changes.
With the Telegraph reporting that Joelinton is expected to be fully fit, Bruce could be set to continue with his early-season forward partnership of the Brazilian alongside Miguel Almiron after he confirmed his hopes for the duo to forge a relationship.
OPINION
For Bruce to continue to support his system and formation after the weekend defeat to Norwich City is ludicrous. Yes, Newcastle may have battled hard against Arsenal, but the truth is, they never looked like scoring. The defeat against the Canaries all but confirmed that Bruce’s system doesn’t work – with his side looking extremely fragile in defence whilst holding no apparent attacking threat. Newcastle have only averaged 41.2% possession so far in their two games according to WhoScored, with too big of a gap between the midfield and attack. Both Joelinton and Almiron have been extremely isolated in Bruce’s formation, with his midfield three clearly having the objective to defend first before moving forward. Because of that, they have only averaged 10.5 shots per game this season so far, with teams such as their next opponents, Tottenham, averaging 17 [WhoScored] – even after playing Manchester City away from home, proving Newcastle’s lack of attacking presence. Should another humiliating defeat take place against Tottenham, Bruce must seriously consider changing his system, and quick.
