Premier League: Newcastle’s Steve Bruce for Manager of the Year Award
He is my pick for Manager of the Year in the Premier League.
Obviously, there are other candidates for this honor. Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool is probably the best manager in the world. Brendan Rodgers at Leicester City has done a great job of taking his club into the top four. Sheffield United’s Chris Wilder has done an outstanding job in their promotion season.
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However, while each of these managers has had their clubs outperform expectations from an analytic perspective, none of them have exceeded by such wide margins and in so many categories as Steve Bruce’s Newcastle.
For example, Chris Wilder’s Sheffield United is in eighth place in the Premier League (only three points ahead of Newcastle). Here is how they stand in key analytic categories in the league:
- 14th in xG
- 7th in xGA
- 10th in xGDiff
- 10th in xGDiff/90
- 10th in npxG+xA/90
Per understat.com, the Blades are also 10th in xPTS with 33.29 and have 33 actual points while Newcastle has an xPTS of 16.51 and 30 actual points.
Newcastle United has to Finish the Job.
Steve Bruce has used grit, determination, and “old school” English football to get the Geordies to where they are, but they have more work to do.
There are 14 league matches remaining and his squad has been smashed with injuries. Newcastle picked up two mid-fielders on loan, Valentino Lazaro and Nabil Bentaleb, to add needed depth.
Next. The Final has been decided. dark
Winter has arrived at St. James Park, if Steve Bruce gets them over the line to stay safely mid-table, then I want to hand him a trophy… Manager of the Year.