The Athletic’s George Caulkin has claimed that Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce is afraid to use a back four, just like his predecessor Rafael Benitez.
According to WhoScored, the Magpies have only used a four-man defence once in the Premier League this season, and Caulkin has put that down to the lack of faith Bruce has in his central defenders. Speaking on the Pod On The Tyne podcast (19/02/2020), Caulkin said: “I think the fear has always been that if you play a flat back four, then those centre-halves get exposed.
“They haven’t had enough kind of quality in the full-back positions either, so both Benitez and Bruce decided that three at the back was the way to go,” The Athletic journalist added.
Worrying about the quality of your centre-backs, it makes sense to add another to the starting XI for extra support. However, that looks to have come at a cost for Newcastle this term.
With just 24 goals scored in the Premier League, they are one of the lowest scoring teams in the division. In fact, only Crystal Palace (23), have scored fewer. So while Bruce may have found a solution to this defensive dilemma Caulkin has spoken about, the Magpies now seem to be lacking in attack.
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Newcastle fans, do you agree with Bruce’s tactics? Tell us in the comment section below!