Ex-Aston Villa striker Gabby Agbonlahor has again came out in support for his former manager Steve Bruce.
Abonglahor is no stranger to saying controversial things where Newcastle United is concerned and he labelled the Georide faithful ‘deluded’ in a bizarre rant whilst appearing as a pundit on TalkSPORT back in November.
As if that lazy bit of punditry wasn’t enough, he has now had his say on Newcastle again which has hardly endeared the former England international to the Toon army.
In an exclusive with The Football Insider Abonglahor stated: “It’s what I’ve always said, everyone’s slating Steve Bruce but I back Steve Bruce.”
Another pundit seemingly defending the indefensible. Two wins from 20 games rings a very different bell to Abonglahor’s perception of the job that Steve Bruce is doing at present.
The only possible explanation for how anyone could back Bruce at the moment is if they have not been watching the utter dross served up most weekends. Lucky, lucky people.
Of course, Agbonlahor has played under Steve Bruce before during his Aston Villa career and Bruce was the man that brought him back into the fold following a difficult period in his career.
He was suspended by the club in the April 2016 for allegedly holding a shisha pipe whilst on holiday in Dubai. He obviously did not learn his lesson and was suspended again less than a month later after he was allegedly spotted with laughing gas canisters.
After this, he struggled to get back into the side and he couldn’t impress the current manager Roberto Di Mateo enough to force his way into the side but he was given a clean slate when Bruce arrived at Villa Park.
His reason for sticking behind his former boss is clear but why he seems intent on winding up as many Newcastle fans in the process is a mystery.
Despite all of that, fans may agree with the former striker on another point that he made in the same interview, where he slated the players for their part in the current predicament“
“He put out a team to go out and perform but there’s only so much a manager can do. The players need to hold their hands up and make it right.”
Whilst the players are of course somewhat responsible, it feels more nuanced than that. You get the impression that a lot of the players are being restricted by the current management and unable to perform at their maximum level.
Unfortunately, pundits seem to be coming into debates around Newcastle United with very little knowledge on the current situation and Agbonlahor joins Rio Ferdinand in putting out tone deaf comments regarding the situation on Tyneside this week.