Gayle deserves final Newcastle chance

Newcastle striker Dwight Gayle deserves one final chance to prove he can be an asset to the struggling north east outfit. Following Rafael Benitez’s departure over the summer, 2019-20 was always going to be a tough campaign for Newcastle.
The Spaniard worked wonders with limited resources and it’s still unbelievable that owner Mike Ashley allowed him to walk out of the door.
Local lad Steve Bruce was appointed as his successor in a move which many Newcastle fans felt lacked ambition.
And so it has proven to be, the north east side currently sit just one point and one place outside of the relegation zone after 10 games.
They have won just twice, beating Tottenham and Manchester United, and are seriously lacking firepower despite parting with £40million to sign Joelinton from Hoffenheim over the summer.
Newcastle have scored just six times – only bottom of the table Watford have hit fewer – and Bruce’s attempt to imitate Benitez, by setting them out in the same formation, just simply isn’t working.
Gayle, Joelinton, Andy Carroll and Yoshinori Muto are the four attacking options on Newcastle’s books but only one of them has hit the back of the net.
Joelinton has started all 10 games and scored in the 1-0 victory over Tottenham in north London on August 25.
Carroll’s injury issues have restricted him to four appearances from the bench and Muto hasn’t settled since arriving from Mainz in the summer of 2018.
It begs the question as to why Gayle, who has only played five minutes of Premier League football this season, isn’t being given more of an opportunity to fight his corner.
The 29-year-old was unfancied by Benitez last season as he put his full faith in loanee Salomon Rondon and sent Gayle off to West Brom as part of that deal.
He hit 24 goals in the Championship to better his tally of 23 from 2016-17 when he fired the Magpies out of the second-tier.
Many have suggested that Gayle can only cut it at Championship level but we have never seen him given a consistent run of games in the top-flight.
At present, Bruce has nothing to lose by switching things up in attack and Gayle is the only real option to turn to.
Joelinton’s inability to adjust can’t continue to be rewarded with a starting role and inevitably Bruce will need to rotate as we head into the busy Christmas period.
So he may as well bring Gayle in from the cold to build up his confidence levels while also protecting Joelinton from further damaging his.
Indeed, the pair could possibly even work together if Bruce decides to ditch the former manager’s tactics and make a call of his own.
The old ‘big man-little man’ partnership could work in Newcastle’s favour and now is the time for Bruce to start experimenting.