OPINION
Michael Chopra is surely twisting the facts when claiming that Newcastle United fans treat manager Steve Bruce well as he revealed he thinks fans are getting behind the Magpies manager.
The former Magpies attacker appeared on Alan Brazil’s Sports Breakfast on Tuesday and stated that on the basis that a number of supporters attended the clash with Arsenal and made the away trip to see their side face Norwich, then supporters were doing all they can to back Bruce.
Chopra even added that a lot of Newcastle fans even wanted to see a Geordie manager when explaining why people are wrong to talk about Magpies supporters not backing him.
“I feel sorry for Bruce as well because he is a Geordie, a lot of Newcastle fans want a Geordie as a manager but it’s a difficult time coming into succeed Benitez,” said Chopra on talkSPORT (9:07am, Tuesday, August 20th).
“People talk about the fans not being behind him, but once he got the job, 47,000 turned up for the first game and 2000 fans turned up to Norwich, so they’re backing Bruce as much as they can.
“Newcastle fans don’t want their club to get relegated, there’s a big problem with Ashley and I believe fans are getting behind Bruce at this time.”
However while it would be a nice idea to suggest that Bruce is being backed by supporters, are fans really doing all they can?
Chopra uses the fact fans attended the clashes with Arsenal and Norwich, but just because fans turn up and watch their team in action, it doesn’t mean they’re supportive when in the ground.
Fans can visibly show their disappointment with the manager when in attendance, and sometimes just because there are bums in seats, it doesn’t mean everyone in attendance is rooting for the manager.
Also, the Telegraph previously reported that roughly 6000 Magpies fans stayed away from St James Park when Newcastle faced Arsenal, so are those supporters giving Bruce all the support he needs?
It’s also worth noting that as soon as the Magpies lost 3-1 to Norwich on Saturday, a number of fans jumped on social media to call for Bruce’s exit, as covered by the Daily Star, and given we’re only two games into the new season, it seems supporters were just using it an excuse to call for the Magpies boss to go.
While it’s debatable whether Bruce can ever truly get the support of Magpies fans, as they’re rightly dismayed at Newcastle owner Mike Ashley and he just gets some of the anger reflected back on him, it still seems like Chopra is wrong to claim fans are doing all they can to get behind the Magpies boss.
After all, Sam Allardyce had a point when he highlighted that Benitez didn’t have fans calling for his head on talkSPORT, when the Magpies had a slow start to their 2018/19 campaign, and while it’s clear why that was the case, due to Benitez being viewed as a better manager, it’s still naive to say Bruce has the support of fans.
