Bruce's record

OK then, let's examine it. Did ok when replacing Spackman at Sheff Utd, but quickly left for Huddersfield. There, on a very good budget, he got them to the top of the league at Xmas - before it all went horribly wrong and they somehow missed the top 6 altogether. They were in trouble when he left the following season - and Town fans largely blame him for the collapse into League 2 which followed.

Did well once again at Wigan (again with money though), and I had to laugh when he left when Palace came calling: Dave Whelan deserved it given the appalling way he'd treated managers such as Rioch and Ray Mathias over previous years. At Selhurst Park, he again started well - it didn't seem to me that they were for real, though; and I expected them to fade from contention even had he stayed. But a bigger club came in for him, and he was immediately off yet again.

Many people lauded him for taking Birmingham from mid-table into the top 6 in 2001/2: in truth though, they clearly already had the foundations in place, and had made the play-offs under Trevor Francis for the preceding three years already, before gradually going stale and needing a change. It was probably 02/3 and 03/4 when I thought Bruce did well: not many gave Blues a hope of staying up, but they did that comfortably, without spending massive amounts either.

It's at this point, though, that Bruce again showed he was a decent manager, but no more than that. Birmingham's spending in Summer '04 demonstrated their desire to move into European contention: instead, with the football on offer increasingly dull, they careered back in the other direction, spending stupid amounts on ageing, over-the-hill players too. A scare in 04/5 was followed by a pitiful relegation the following year, and I was amazed Bruce didn't get the boot: it was his fault, make no bones about it. Instead, he survived - and after a shaky start last season (when again I thought he should've gone), got them back up.

But how much credit did he deserve for this? Throughout last season, Birmingham played awful football, scraping 1-0 win after 1-0 win. Moreover, they rarely played as a team, and really, were a collection of individuals. The fans weren't impressed, justifiably so in my book - and really, they only went up because the financial gap between the Prem and the Championship has become so enormous. Now, they're likely to stay up as things stand: credit to Bruce, but a club as big as Birmingham SHOULD stay up in the Prem without too much difficulty.

If you run through his career, two things stand out: first, awful, direct, physical football. Second, he's only ever even joined a club with money to spend - which means what happens in the Carrow Road boardroom over the next fortnight is surely crucial to whether he'll want the job anyway. But even if he came here, I don't trust him: what would stop him leaving for a bigger club? He's done it before, many times.

Oh, and the final clinching argument: when he was a guest on A Question of Sport, one of the questions was "when did Steve Bruce win his first major trophy?" No-one got the right answer; and when they finally asked him what it was, HE got it wrong too. "The Milk Cup at Norwich", said Sue - "oh", said Brucie, "I'd forgotten!" I don't think he takes us seriously as any kind of major player: which is why I don't want him.

Posted By: thebigfeller on October 10th 2007 at 15:46:09

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