Steve Bruce’s failures during his time as Newcastle boss have been well documented, but if more proof of his poor judgement was needed, it comes in the form of Fabian Schar. Schar has been instrumental in Newcastle’s rise from the ashes since Eddie Howe and the new owners arrived, forming a dream partnership with Sven Botman as part of the meanest defence in the Premier League this season.
It is hard to imagine that the Swiss international arrived on Tyneside from Deportivo for just £3 Million in 2017. It is even harder to believe that the now 31-year-old, was ignored by Bruce, leaving him feeling that his future did not lie with the Magpies.
Fast forward 5 years and Schar has become pivotal to Newcastle’s top-four challenge this season. Incredibly, the centre-back has yet to taste defeat when starting a game in this campaign, with last weekend’s 1-0 over Fulham being the fifth league game in a row that the Toon haven’t conceded.
It is a far cry from the depressing times that Schar suffered under Bruce’s reign, and he is now loving life on Tyneside under the current regime.
Speaking in Sunday’s match programme, he said:
“(It’s been a) huge turnaround, I think, not just for me, for everyone, when you see where we have been and where we are now.
“But, for me personally, obviously there were times when I didn’t want to not come in, but I couldn’t see myself long-term here, to be honest, because I didn’t get any trust from the managers – or the things that happened here.
“But since a year, since the new owners, since the manager, everything completely changed. I’m so happy for myself that I’m in this position now, being in the team, playing games, and the team’s doing well. I appreciate it a lot.
“I mean, I didn’t always play a lot (under Bruce),” he continued.
“I was in a difficult position, and I think the manager or even then the club wouldn’t be like trying to keep me, you know? I’m like ‘I want to play football, that’s the only thing I want to do’.
“At this stage of my career, I didn’t want to sit on the bench, and obviously the way we played football wasn’t really suited to myself.”
Schar has now played a total of 107 games in the black and white and has managed to score 10 goals – most of them being long-range efforts straight from the top drawer. It is his calm and assured performances at the other end of the pitch that has made him one of the league’s top performers this season, however, and if he continues in the same vein of form, he will have a big say in what could be a huge season for his team.