The penny dropped with the heavy defeat at Leicester, prompting Newcastle’s manager to change tack and move to a counterattacking style
It was at a similar time on the same afternoon in late July that Steve Bruce and
Boris Johnson addressed their new audiences for the first time.
Newcastle’s manager and the prime minister were freshly installed and, albeit embracing slightly different topics, the respective introductory messages from St James’ Park and Downing Street could have been drafted by the same speechwriter.