WhichBookie Talks To Chris Waddle Regarding Newcastle United Takeover

We arranged an interview with Chris Waddle, former Newcastle Utd, Spurs and England star to discuss the takeover at Newcastle United and he had the following to say…

Next Newcastle United Manager Odds
Roberto Mancini	40/1
Didier Deschamps	80/1
Zinedine Zidane	33/1

Chris Waddle has told WhichBookie that it’s inevitable Steve Bruce will lose his job at Newcastle and thinks the likes of Roberto Mancini, Didier Deschamps and Zinedine Zidane are the sort of managers the Magpies should be looking at to replace him.

Exciting times for Newcastle fans

Newcastle fans have been waiting a long time for success and they’ll be hoping the takeover is the start of that. Their last major trophy was the FA Cup in 1955 and since then they’ve come close to winning things but have never got over the line. 

Obviously, as time goes on the fans get more frustrated and under Mike Ashley’s ownership, they’ve never looked like challenging for anything. It’s been about staying in the division which the supporters have got pretty tired of.

The priority still has to be to stay in the Premier League. You don’t want to be in the Championship with new owners, so they’ve got to make sure they are in the top-flight at the end of the season. 

I’m sure they’ll bring players in during the January transfer window to make sure that happens, but I don’t see them signing short-term solutions. They need players that will be part of the future of the club for the next five or so years which is when you’d imagine they’ll want to be challenging for major honours. They’ve got to be telling these potential targets that they could be part of something special and if all goes right it really could be an exciting club to be at.

In terms of where I think they’ll want to strengthen the side, you’d have to imagine they’ll be looking at installing more creativity. Newcastle don’t score enough goals and I don’t blame Steve Bruce for that. 

He was left with a group that had played counter-attacking football under Rafa [Benitez] and although he’s tried to change the style of play, he simply doesn’t have the players to do that. 

For me, the players that come in need to be those that are good going forward and will get the crowd off their seats. They are the ones the Newcastle fans really want to see.

Newcastle United January Transfer Odds
James Tarkowski	3/1
Philippe Coutinho	6/1
Jesse Lingard	9/1
Alfredo Morelos	10/1
Aaron Ramsey	10/1
Georginio Wijnaldum	10/1
Raheem Sterling	12/1
Donny van de Beek	14/1
Jamie Vardy	16/1
Gareth Bale	16/1
Paul Pogba	20/1

Hard to see Bruce staying in charge

I do feel for Steve Bruce. He’s worked hard and has always been upfront and honest, but he’s been in a very tricky position from the start. Whoever Mike Ashley turned to was going to get stick and it’s very hard when the objective of an owner is just to stay in the division. 

He’s done a pretty decent job at Newcastle, but I’m sure he’ll be replaced. The new owners will know the way the fans feel about Steve and I just don’t see how he keeps his job, even if he’ll be saying ‘give me the opportunity, with some money in the transfer window, to show what I can really do’. The new owners want a fresh start under a big name who will get the fans excited.

A whole host of names have been linked with the job and although I don’t think you’re going to get a name like Jurgen Klopp or Pep Guardiola, I’m sure plenty will be tempted if the right offer comes in. It’s clearly a very exciting project and it’s a brilliant club to be involved in, so there will be plenty who will want the role. 

Personally, I’d be looking at someone like [Roberto] Mancini or Didier Deschamps, who I think has done a brilliant job with France. Zinedine Zidane is, of course, sitting around doing nothing at the moment, so he might be an option as well. Whether people say he’s a good coach or not, he’s a big name, who knows how to win trophies and can handle the pressure and the players. 

Whoever they go to, the main thing is they need someone who is experienced in handling egos off the pitch, while on it, they are able to get Newcastle playing exciting and attacking football.

Next Newcastle United Manager Odds (Favourites)
Frank Lampard	9/2
Lucien Favre	8/1
Antonio Conte	12/1
Steven Gerrard	14/1
Roberto Martinez	16/1
Unai Emery	17/1
Paulo Fonseca	18/1
Ralf Rangnick	20/1
Brendan Rodgers	20/1
Graeme Jones	20/1
Eddie Howe	25/1
Christophe Galtier	25/1

Big pressure on new manager

There’s pressure on any manager in football, but the sheer weight of money these investors have means there is probably even more at Newcastle now. There’ll be no real excuse for whoever comes in and the fans will expect performances and results. 

I think that’s the same with the new owners. They won’t wait around and if there isn’t progress in the first couple of years, the pressure will grow and grow on the person in charge. They’ll obviously have a timeline in place in terms of where they want to be and when, but I’d imagine they’ll be looking at a trophy and European football by year three, which if true, means they’ll be plenty of change at the club and pretty quickly at that.

Next Newcastle United Manager Odds (Outsiders)
Ruben Amorim	33/1
Rafael Benitez	33/1
Graham Potter	33/1
Andre Villas Boas	33/1
Zinedine Zidane	33/1
Leonardo Jardim	40/1
Gareth Southgate	40/1
Roberto Mancini	40/1
Rudi Garcia	40/1
Gus Poyet	50/1
Jose Mourinho	50/1