The 50th anniversary fell in June. It was half a century since Newcastle United’s last major trophy, the 1969 Fairs Cup, was clinched. The 30th anniversary came in February. It was three decades since the death of Joe Harvey, the last Newcastle manager to secure major silverware.
Even excluding caretakers and men who have returned for a second spell, Steve Bruce is the 23rd man to occupy the hottest of hot seats since Harvey left in 1975. Newcastle’s subsequent managers have won the Premier League, the FA Cup, the Champions League, the Cup Winners’ Cup and the Uefa Cup, plus league titles in Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands, but not at St James’ Park.
Meanwhile Newcastle, who used to be synonymous with cup success – albeit six decades ago – have experienced diminishing returns. In the last 13 seasons, there have been 208 quarter-finalists of either the FA Cup or League Cup. Newcastle have provided one, in 2014/15. They got relegated that season.
All of which may support owner Mike Ashley’s pragmatic conviction the cups are not the priority. Bruce, a League Cup winner as both a Norwich City and a Manchester United defender, is adamant the knockout competitions matter more. “I said that the first day I walked through the door about the cups,” he said.
He took Hull to a 2-0 lead in the 2014 FA Cup final, though they eventually lost to Arsenal, and added: “If Hull are capable of getting to a cup final and maintaining Premier League status then surely a club like this can.”
At least, perhaps, he does not require victory against Leicester City on Wednesday for his own sake. Pressure was eased by Sunday's surprise victory at Tottenham Hotspur. Bruce's rocky return to his hometown club can be explained in part by the residual affection for Rafa Benitez whose legend was not dented by ignominious cup exits to East Midlands opposition, in Nottingham Forest, at this stage in the past two seasons, and in part to Ashley's enduring unpopularity.
If Bruce appeared an underwhelming choice, the mockery of him clearly hurt. "The criticism is something we might have to live with but it might quieten a few for a while," he said. The resolve to limit Tottenham to two shots on target, despite having 80 per cent of possession, was proof of his organisational prowess. It brought a contrast from the previous week's shambolic showing at Norwich.
Now, from supposed crisis, Bruce is eyeing a morale-boosting end to an eventful month. “We always knew this was going to be a tough week,” he said. “If we can get through in the cup and take something against Watford [in the league], it will have been a good week.”
Newcastle being Newcastle, nothing is simple. The summer signing Allan Saint-Maximin could be out for up to three weeks after injuring a hamstring at Tottenham and Jamaal Lascelles is unlikely to feature, with Joelinton, Fabian Schar, Miguel Almiron and Christian Atsu other doubts. Bruce remains upbeat. “We have experienced players behind us so we still hope to give the cup a good go,” he said.
One player who may feature, but for the opponents, is Newcastle’s top scorer last season. This is potentially a return to Tyneside for Ayoze Perez. Signed for £2 million and sold for £30 million (Dh135m), the Leicester forward represented one of Newcastle’s best bits of business in recent years.
The accusation against Ashley is that he has always been more concerned with profit than progress, with financial gains than glory. When Bruce was born in 1960, Newcastle had won the FA Cup three times in the previous decade. Now it is 20 years without any kind of final. A local would love to end that wait.
