"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change." Charles Darwin

Andy Carroll - "The world's best header of a ball" - according to former manager Slaven Bilic and many more - was the returning local hero on transfer deadline day giving boyhood club Newcastle United Football Club a massive lift heading into the Premier League's 28th season under Geordie Steve Bruce looking to recover their Magpie Mojo and reputation as The Entertainers after the loss of popular manager Rafa Benitez.

The arrival of AC sends a Geordie current searing through the club again with Head Coach Bruce, Paul Dummett and the Longstaffs, all local men representing their hometown club and Carroll's importance as a Plan B and from Set-Pieces with VAR is critical to Newcastle.

A delighted Carroll, who will wear the no. 7 shirt, said:

"For me, it’s unfinished business.
"I left on a high and I want to get back to how it was, scoring goals, playing games and enjoying games...Its massive getting a Geordie manager and something the club need... its always nice to have homegrown players and a manager who know what it means..."

Carroll's aerial ability will give Newcastle an extra dimension especially from set-pieces with new VAR techology minimizing illegal holding by defenders. Former US international Alexia Lalas called last year's World Cup "a set piece orgy" after there were 70 goals scored from set-pieces - 43% of all goals scored - including 22 penalties enabling unfancied "set-piece England" to go further than expected in the tournament.

Newcastle have deadball specialists like JonJo Shelvey, Florian Lejeune and Sean Longstaff to deliver the service a la Joey Barton back in Carroll's former spell as well as the aerial ability of the likes of Jamaal Lascelles, Fabian Schar & Federico Fernandez to convert corners & free-kicks and with Bruce targetting the Cups, such a tactic will be crucial.

Maximising set-plays was a hallmark of Bruce's success as a player and a feature of Man United's success under Sir Alex Ferguson and he even scored 19 goals in the 1990/91 season scoring a glut of headers and penalties so expect to see a few more set-piece routines and goals especially as Newcastle possess the dribblers to win them.

Benitez arrived on Tyneside with a successful CV in March, 2016 with the task of saving the club from relegation after a bad start under Steve McClaren but failed in his mission and after a season winning the Championship trophy, led Newcastle to 10th and 13th place respectability in the Premier League before leaving for China this summer.

Bruce has arrived to take the club forward and build on Benitez's stability.

After the worst start in the club's history last season, Newcastle were in trouble yet Newcastle became a different prospect particularly at home following the emergence of Sean Longstaff, whose goal in the 1st minute of the FA Cup clash against Blackburn reminded the club that shots, goals, attacking football and positivity were allowed.

Solid wins against Cardiff City 3-0 and, most impressively a 2-1 win over would-be Champions Man City followed with Longstaff earning the game-winning penalty with a typical forward thrust that Matt Ritchie converted in a game in which Newcastle for once played on a level refereeing playing field with The Citizens having a goal rightly disallowed after seasons of bad decisions against them:

Early that night, news of record signing Miguel Almiron had filtered into St. James' Park giving the team a lift and the £20M man made his home debut against Huddersfield soon after immediately providing more attacking flair & creativity and Newcastle ended the season in style with six wins in the final 12 games to finish 13th position.

Enter Steve Bruce and the decorated former Man United Captain jumped at the chance to become Newcastle Head Coach having regretted turning the job down in 2004 when offered it by Freddie Shepherd, after he'd sacked Sir Bobby Robson.

"Nothing much has changed"

says Club Captain Jamaal Lascelles, in a superb BBC 5 Live Podcast last night, essential listening for Newcastle fans on the eve of the Premier League season containing interviews with Head Coach Steve Bruce, Matt Ritchie, Hector Dubravka and Sean Longstaff, and can be heard via the link in the Tweet.

Inheriting a top goalkeeper plus strong defensive and midfield foundations from Benitez, the experienced former Palace, Sunderland, Wigan, Sheffield Wednesday & United, Birmingham & Aston Villa manager Bruce set about bolstering the attacking with the Newcastle hierarchy smashing the club's transfer record with the arrival of £40M man Joelinton from Hoffenheim to lead the line in the famous no. 9 shirt, Allan Saint-Maximin to add more directness and dribbling as well as Andy Carroll for his striking force.

The Brazilian has pace to burn and the skills to excite the United crowd and, after winning a penalty with his first touch for The Magpies against Preston, has scored two goals in two starts against Hibernian and St. Etienne respectively.

How Will VAR Affect Newcastle's Approach Next Season?

That winning of a penalty is an omen for Newcastle who in 2019, have prepared for the advent of Video Assisted Refereeing in the Premier League by signing three lightning fast, direct dribbling attackers in Joelinton, Almiron and Saint-Maximin for a combined £78M.

All three players possess pace & skill who will cause chaos in opposition defences and score the goals, win the penalties and have the men sent off that Premier League officials have erroneously denied the club in the last decade.

For example, until Miguel Almiron got Tommy Smith sent off against Huddersfield, Newcastle hadn't had a single opponent sent off in the club's previous 155 Premier League games while having 18 dismissed (only Wimbledon's Crazy Gang had a longer run, 167 games in English football without an opponent's red card) bias figures that set alarm bells ringing at St. James' Park.

Penalty statistics of late aren't much better - Newcastle received three spot-kicks in The Premier League in 2018/9, just one solitary kick in 2017/8 and just three in the 2015/6 relegation season in contrast to Champions Leicester who received a record-high 13 against a Premier League average of five .

With VAR, Newcastle will receive more having been denied countless stonewall kicks over the years prompting Toon fans to make a video of the injustices from one year. Ludicrously, Newcastle even had a penalty reversed against Burton Albion in The Championship season 2016/7...as if to confirm the bias once and for all.

VAR has arrived to address this injustice whether deliberate or unconscious - and 50,000 Newcastle United fans know which it is - and the club's scouts have sourced pace and dribbling in abundance with Joelinton, Jetro Willems and Saint-Maximin, one of the best dribbler in Europe's Top 5 League last season.

According to The London School of Economic's Luck Index, Newcastle should have finished three places higher in 10th spot last season rather than 13th, being robbed of two wins over Wolves by a lack of VAR that saw DeAndre Yedlin sent off wrongly at home and Wily Boly should have been dismissed for Wolves and in the return fixture at Molineux, a foul on Dubravka by Boly would have kept Newcastle's 96th min lead intact.

Interestingly or perhaps ominously for Arsenal, their striker Pierre Emerick Aubameyang was the Premier League's 'luckiest' striker last season with 8 goals that could be accredited to wrongly-given penalties, offside goals, or flukes...

"the Luck Index adjustments and the two Liverpool strikers lose four goals each, while Aubameyang loses a whopping eight. (The Arsenal striker paid a price for deflected goals, incorrectly awarded goals and converting incorrectly awarded penalties)"

However, Newcastle's 'Luck' with the fixture list has made for a tough start again with The Magpies facing five of last season's Top 6 in the first 8 games yet if Newcastle can beat Arsenal on the Sunday and show they can mix it with the best, anything is possible.

So from a solid mid-table base, can Steve Bruce kick The Magpies on?

Bruce has vowed to play more attacking football and is committed to playing at least two up front with Joelinton and Almiron forming a partnership against Hibs although Saint-Maximim's urgent energy could easily blend into the most dangerous front three Newcastle have possessed since Demba Ba, Papiss Cisse & Hatem Ben Arfa played in an orange strip together at West Brom, Swansea and the like many moons ago.

A return to front-foot football will be a welcome sight for many Newcastle fans despairing at St. James' Park surrenders to the likes of Chelsea in Maurizio Sarri's first away game in English football for instance last season just 3 games after beating them 3-0 at home in the same fixture instead of maximising home advantage and the Geordie crowd like when Alan Pardew's £50M Mags beat Rafa Benitez's £200M Chelsea 3-2 in 2013.

Just as Alan Pardew was able to kick the club on spectacularly in 2011/2 after inheriting solid foundations from Chris Hughton, so too should Steve Bruce be able to get good results continuing the more positive approach began by Rafa Benitez in 2019 when Longstaff and Almiron added an attacking edge to defensive solidity.

Newcastle added to that today with Sweden international roving right-back Emil Krafth arriving from Amiens whose pace and all-action defensive style will appeal to the Geordie fans and his crossing ability will be cherished by 6ft 1in Joelinton & 6ft 3in Andy Carroll.

A lot has been made of Steve Bruce's 28% Premier League win rate so far in his career yet Benitez's win rate at Newcastle was 31.5% having won 12 games in both full Premier League seasons in charge - an identical feat matched by Steve Bruce on three different occasions with Birmingham City in 2003-04, Wigan in 2008-09 and Sunderland in 2010/11 with the exact number of games won - 12 - and win % 31.5% as Rafa at NUFC.

With the arrival of Joelinton, Saint-Maximin, Willems, Krafth and Carroll bolted onto last season's 13th-placed squad that maybe with better 'luck' would have finished 10th, The Magpies arguably have the best squad of players Bruce has ever managed. Players like Matt Ritchie are looking forward to a new season with a more "expansive" style and 'having a go' and Captain Jamaal Lascelles was very positive on 5 Live Sport about the forthcoming season, concluding, "I think we'll do well".

Can history repeat itself and Newcastle have a super season after kicking off the season at St. James' Park against Arsenal a la 2011/2? Don't Stop Believin'...