Newcastle backed for relegation after Bruce appointment

Punters unimpressed with Magpies managerial selection

Next Manager Betting & Transfers

So it is Steve Bruce then that Newcastle have gone with. Wednesday’s appointment didn’t seem to go down too well with Magpies fans though and punters were quick to react to the news. Following the news of the new Newcastle manager, a flood of betting action went down on Premier League relegation for Newcastle this season.

The Toon were slashed from 5/1 to 11/4 at one point in some big market activity and when things settled down on Wednesday night, they were 9/4 to get dumped back to the Championship* (betting odds taken from bet365 on July 17th, 2019 at 9:31 pm).

Premier League Relegation Odds*

Sheffield United 4/6
Norwich 10/11
Burnley 15/8
Brighton 15/8
Aston Villa 2/1
Newcastle 9/4
Bournemouth 9/2
Southampton 9/2
* (betting odds taken from bet365 on July 17th, 2019 at 9:31 pm)

Bruce ditches the Owls

Championship side Sheffield Wednesday are unhappy about all of this. Bruce took over the Owls back in January this year, starting at his job a month later at Hillsborough. Just three days after he resigned this week, he was putting pen to paper on a contract with Newcastle. So Sheffield Wednesday are reportedly looking to take some legal action over that.

Steve Bruce was born not far from Newcastle and this is boyhood team. He’s a fan. So he has an affinity with St James’ Park and this was going to be an opportunity that he was never going to turn down were it to come his way. The Magpies were left looking for a new manager when talks with Rafa Benitez broke down and the Spaniard took a high paying contract out in China.

Can Bruce deliver on Tyneside?

Given that there was a significant portion of Newcastle fans that wanted Rafa Benitez to stay, the appointment of Bruce is not likely to really be seen as inspiring move to take the club forward. The ideal situation for a lot of fans would have been for owner Mike Ashley to come to some agreement with Benitez. Will the appointment of Bruce be an uninspiring appointment, or will the former Manchester United man be able to drag his club out of the doldrums?

How realistic was it that Newcastle were going to ever get an upgrade over Benitez? This may end up being a smart, pragmatic approach from Ashely in getting someone into the club who is also a fan. It will be important for Bruce to connect with the fans quickly. Only six managers have taken charge for more Premier League games than Bruce has. But of the 33 EPL managers with more than 200 games under their belt, Bruce’s win percentage is the second-lowest. He has suffered two Premier League relegation with Birmingham and Hull.