Newcastle United's new owners have fired Steve Bruce, the head coach.
Bruce was to be replaced by the Saudi Arabian-backed consortium led by the Public Investment Fund, (PIF), which completed a 305m purchase of Newcastle on Oct 7.
The 60-year old was still in charge of Tottenham's 3-2 defeat. This was his 1,000th match as manager. Yasir Al Rumayyan, non-executive chairman, and Amanda Staveley were watching at St James Park.
Newcastle was relegated to second place in the Premier League, having been unbeaten for eight of their first eight games.
Newcastle stated that the process for recruiting a new head coach has begun. Sky Sports News reports that former Roma boss Paulo Fonseca is a potential candidate.
Graeme Jones will be the interim leader of the team, beginning with Saturday's visit to Crystal Palace.
Image: Paulo Fonseca could be the man to replace Bruce
Bruce: This could be the last job I have
Bruce led the club to 13th- and 12th-place finishes during his two years as manager, but he was constantly criticized by his style of play.
Bruce spoke to The Telegraph shortly after his departure and said that he believed this would be his last job.
"It's not about me. It's taken its toll upon my entire family because they are all Geordies, and I can't ignore it.
It was very, very difficult. To not be desired, to feel like people want me to fail, and to hear that I would fail.
"They have been concerned about me, especially Jan, my wife. She is an incredible woman, a mother, grandmother, and wife. She was able to deal with the loss of my parents. Hers were not so well. Then she made me worry about what I've been through in the past couple of years.
"I don't think she can take me for granted. She has followed me from football club to soccer club, and if I were to tell her that I had been offered a job there, she would respond, "Steve, is this the right thing for you? Do you want to do it?" And she'd back me again.
"I am 60 years old, and I don’t know if it is worth it to make her go through this again. Our lives are good so this will likely be my last job as a manager until I get a call from someone asking me if I could help them. Never say never. I have learned that lesson.
Bruce shared the abuse he had suffered and said: "It's been very, very difficult. To not be desired, to feel like people want me to fail and say I will fail, to feel useless, a fat waste space, and a tactically inept head cabbage.
After Mike Ashley's takeover, the PIF now owns an 80% share of the club.
For a better video player, please use Chrome browser. Newcastle director Amanda Staveley says the Premier League title will be a long-term goal for the club's new owners.
Staveley stated that the club wants to be patient and thoughtful in its approach, and that change doesn't happen overnight.
Staveley, who is a chief executive of PCP Capital Partners, which are part the investment group along with the Public Investment Fund, (PIF), and RB Sports & Media, is Staveley.
PL records for Newcastle since December 16: Fewest wins, Fewest points. Southampton – 6 Southampton – 27 Newcastle – 65 Newcastle – 31 C Palace 62 Burnley 8 Burnley – 33 Southampton — 61 C Palace 8 C Palace â 35 Burnley 50
Jamie Redknapp, Sky Sports pundit, said that Bruce seemed like someone who would be happy to be relieved of his duties after Sunday's 3-2 defeat by Tottenham.
Redknapp said, "I feel that he would almost like to be freed from his misery." He is a symbol for the old regime.
"He will hate every second of it, nobody likes that except if you have something wrong. He doesn't want it. He'll feel relieved to hear from me.
Bruce's stats
Bruce's Newcastle has only picked up three points out of a possible 24, this season. Newcastle has never had a poor start to a Premier League season. Rafael Benitez's team finished 13th in the Premier League season 2018-19 after picking up only three points from their first 10 games.
Newcastle has conceded more Premier League goals this season than any other side. In their eight opening games, they've conceded 19 goals. This is their worst ever start defensively in a Premier League season. They also conceded 19 goals in their first eight games in 1999-2000 under Bobby Robson and Ruud Gullit (which was the reason they finished 11th).
Newcastle has conceded the most Premier League goals in the Premier League since Bruce was appointed in July 2019. They also have faced the most Premier League shots per match.
Newcastle's defensive problems since August 2019. Most Premier League goals conceded. Newcastle – 139 Newcastle – 15.1 Southampton. 138 Aston Villa. 14.9 Crystal Palace. 129 Burnley. 14.7 Aston Villa. 125 Crystal Palace. 13.7 West Ham. 119 Tottenham. 13.7
The Magpies have only won three of their 17 Premier League home matches. A worrying statistic is that St. James' Park hasn't seen back-toback Premier League home victories since December 2019. In their 27 Premier League home matches, they have only kept two clean sheets.
In fact, Bruce won exactly the exact same amount of points as Benitez in their two full PL seasons. Bruce's team scored three more goals, but conceded 25 more than Benitez.
Image: Bruce Benitez and Rafa Benitez share similar records in their two Premier League seasons with Newcastle
Redknapp: Newcastle needs a huge January transfer window
Sky Sports' Jamie Redknapp:
"Newcastle needs a large transfer window.
"They must get the right people in January to strengthen the team's spine. This team is the favorite for relegation right now - it's evident in their mistakes every week. It's possible for a new manager to change the situation, but it's difficult.
"If Allan Saint-Maximin does not get the ball, it is difficult to see where the quality comes from. Although the first goal against Tottenham was a great one, the play patterns didn't match up. They appeared a side lacking confidence and belief. They had more quality in the midfield once Tottenham took possession of it."
October 23: Crystal Palace vs Newcastle - 3pm kick-off
October 30: Newcastle vs Chelsea - 3pm kick-off
November 6: Brighton at Newcastle - 5.30pm Kick-off
November 20: Newcastle vs Brentford - 3pm kick-off
November 27, Arsenal vs Newcastle - 12.30pm Kick-off
November 30: Newcastle vs Norwich - 7.30pm kick-off
December 4, Newcastle vs Burnley, 3:00pm kick-off
December 12, Leicester vs Newcastle, 2pm kick-off. Live on Sky Sports
December 16: Liverpool at Newcastle - 8pm Kick-off
December 19: Newcastle vs Man City, 2pm kick-off. Live on Sky Sports
December 27, Newcastle vs Man Utd, 8pm kick-off, Sky Sports Live
December 30: Everton vs Newcastle - 7.30pm kick-off
