A number of Newcastle United supporters have raged over footage shared on Twitter by Football Daily which shows the Magpies walking out of the tunnel at the start of the game against Chelsea two players short.
Gary ? "Where's the rest of the team? Be together when you walk out on to the pitch?"@Carra23 ? "You blaming Steve Bruce or Rafa for that?" ?@GNev2 is amazed Newcastle players aren't walking out on to the pitch together ? pic.twitter.com/qxWkSSmZUv
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) February 15, 2021
It proved to be another difficult evening for the Magpies at Stamford Bridge and they fell to a 2-0 defeat for a ninth loss in their last 13 matches. That dismal run of form has seen them dragged right into the thick of the relegation battle and they are now just seven points clear of 18th-placed Fulham, who have a game in hand and are in the ascendancy after their recent upturn according to manager Scott Parker.
Steve Bruce insisted after the defeat at Chelsea that the Magpies will be alright and will not end up being relegated from the Premier League this year. However, the lack of intensity with which they started the game against the Blues will be a major concern, and with injuries to the likes of Callum Wilson, Javier Manquillo and Fabian Schar, there are plenty of worrying issues for the Geordies.
One thing Newcastle need in their current predicament is a united squad organised and ready for the battle. However, the footage shared by Football Daily of the team strolling out of the tunnel in a disorganised fashion without either Allan Saint-Maximin or Isaac Hayden displayed the opposite of those qualities.
Gary Neville was perplexed by the scenes and questioned how that could have been allowed to happen, insisting that players should not leave the dressing room until the whole team is together.
Newcastle fans rage at tunnel footage from Stamford Bridge
Many Newcastle fans were left infuriated by the “astonishing” footage and believe that it represents why they are in such a lowly position in the table. One fan even described the club as being a laughing stock among other supporters of rival clubs for instances like this.
Dead men walking
— egroeg waldial (@Waldial) February 16, 2021
So this here caps a team what’s going to get relegated, never in my life seen a team at this level not come out together. Astonishing at the highest level wow #togetherness https://t.co/0Kzl24yz0v
— Robert Waddell (@Robbiewad79) February 16, 2021
We're just one big joke to the wider football world. Living outside the region, especially in one where teams are successful, can be a pain sometimes. You can see people's faces light up when you tell them you're a #nufc fan in a way that they don't if you support someone else https://t.co/9neKIWXcIu
— Manchester Mags (@ManchesterToon) February 16, 2021
and that's supposed to be a team about to fight for their Premier League lives….. Shambles #BruceOut #NUFC
— Mark Gray (@MGRunner) February 16, 2021
Shambles of a club and rotten to the core!
— DiscoDan (@DiscoDan18) February 16, 2021
My team in a nutshell! #HWTL https://t.co/WwXurDVLGU
— És (@EssAmirii) February 15, 2021
