Can't see us getting a win, best we could hope for is a draw IMO. Snodgrass didn't appears to be in the Scotland playing squad, was he left out or injuried?
Steve Bruce had a dream to take all Assems cream, he bent right over and took his underpants off, but it was a scam, behind was Ehab, then fat Brucey threw toys out the pram.
please log in to view this image Steve Bruce after his final game in charge of Hull City ended with victory in the 2016 Championship play-off final at Wembley The last time Steve Bruce stood on the touchline at the KCOM Stadium it was to bring up 200 games in charge of Hull City . A 2-0 defeat to Derby County was not the perfect way to reach the milestone but still proved enough to seal a play-off semi-final victory and a third Wembley trip in just over two years. A narrow 1-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday would follow 11 days later to guide the Tigers back into the Premier League at the first attempt, only that was where the story ended for Bruce and City. Promotion and out before the next challenge could begin. Twenty months have now passed since Bruce handed in his resignation on July 22, 2016 and still he questions the logic behind his decision. “Have you ever known anyone walk away from a club just after taking them up to the Premier League?” Bruce asked ahead of his return with Aston Villa this weekend. please log in to view this image Ehab Allam Steve Bruce and Assem Allam The fact he did illustrates just how bleak things had got during his final months at the KCOM Stadium. Relations with vice chairman Ehab Allam were beyond repair and Bruce saw no alternative but to quit 22 days before the club’s Premier League return. “I genuinely thought at that time that the trust between myself and Ehab had evaporated,” Bruce told the Mail. Steve Bruce taking no pleasure from Hull City's misery as vibe he created eroded away “The one thing you need at any football club is that stability and trust between a manager and a chief exec or technical director. That relationship has to be watertight and you have to sing off the hymn sheet. “It was fairly obvious for the sake of the club that I needed to walk away. And that’s what disappointed me most. I was walking away from the Premier League but I knew if I stayed we wouldn’t get anything done. Too often, mainly over players, we were in disagreement.” please log in to view this image Former Hull City manager Steve Bruce (Image: Getty) If there was a turning point in City’s modern history, a juncture that sent the club down the road that sees them struggling at the wrong end of the Championship, it came in that pivotal summer of 2016. Bruce had toyed with the idea of leaving in the months before winning the second of his two promotions at Wembley but the victory over Sheffield Wednesday, sealed by Mo Diame’s wonderful goal, momentarily extended his patience until pre-season brought the infamous “Ask Ehab” responses. “It was fairly evident that (Ehab) wanted to run the club his way,” Bruce explained. “I know he said recently in a radio interview that I wanted to leave in February (2016) and that was because what had gone on in January had disturbed me that much. “I just said ‘Whatever happens, prepare yourself’ because I made it clear that if it carried on as it was he would need to find himself a new manager. I didn’t want to go with a few months of the season left because I didn’t think that was right for the club. please log in to view this image Hull City manager Steve Bruce celebrates with Alex Bruce after the Championship Play-Off Final at Wembley Stadium, London. “I remember having a conversation with Mick Phelan (his then assistant and eventual successor) and he told me it was important to try and repair that relationship. But I’d tried and unfortunately Ehab wanted to do it his way. “As the manager I couldn’t let it go any further. I’d gone as far as I could with it and I had to take the step to walk away. We hadn’t spoken all summer so how can you carry on like that? “In the end Mick Phelan was left with an awful deal where he had 14 players to kick off the season. It was ludicrous.” Bruce has not spoken to either Assem or Ehab Allam since leaving City and the disappointment felt when walking away has partially tainted all that went before it. “It was such a shame I couldn’t make it work but I had to take the action I did,” he added. “You work and strive to be in the best league in the world and we’d just got there with a good team. We needed to add four or five players to it and he saw it differently. It’s fair to say we had to go our separate ways.” please log in to view this image Steve Bruce celebrating reaching the 2016 Sky Bet Championship Play-off final(Image: Getty) Among the bones of contention between Bruce and Ehab Allam was player recruitment. Attempts to sign Andre Gray from Brentford in the summer of 2015 had been blocked and by the time January rolled around, only a move for reserve goalkeeper Dusan Kuciak and a loan deal for Nick Powell were sanctioned by the club’s board. Allam’s preference was for a modernised scouting model, one that has since been implemented with the appointment of Lee Darnbrough as City’s head of recruitment last summer. “The recruitment staff I had were second to none,” said Bruce. “I didn’t have many and they weren’t into computers but they knew a player when they saw one. Players like Moses Odubajo, Andy Robertson, Harry Maguire and Sam Clucas. How could you question that? Heroes turned Villains remind wistful Hull City supporters of how life used to be “We had a bloody good team in that play-off final. The balance of it and the age of it, it was an excellent side. We needed more once we went up but the nucleus was there. “If we’d have signed a few proven Premier League players to lend a hand, there’s no doubt we’d have had a good team with players like Robertson and Odubajo at full-back, players like Maguire, Diame, (Jake) Livermore and Clucas. I could go on and on.” please log in to view this image Steve Bruce was a popular figure among supporters during his four years at the KCOM Stadium For all Bruce wonders what might have been with City, he will return as Aston Villa boss this weekend armed with happy memories. As the first man to lead the Tigers to an FA Cup final in 2014, he was also responsible for an unprecedented, albeit short, European adventure. And then there was the promotions that book-ended his tenure, achievements that cemented his bond with supporters. “The fans were always terrific with me,” said Bruce. “They appreciated someone like myself, from a working-class city like Newcastle, because they appreciated the fact I didn’t give them any flannel. I tried to be as honest as I could with them and I think they knew that. Hull City would be in the Premier League if Steve Bruce was still in charge at the KCOM “Yes, we had some tough times and got relegated, but the days out at Wembley will stick with you. It’ll be lovely to see the people who were good to me, that’s for sure. I’ll always be eternally grateful to the support I had there. “I had the most enjoyable four years with Hull City and I would give my right arm to replicate it now with Aston Villa. We’re a big club and I’d love to have the success I had with Hull here. That says it all.”
He was flogged because we got an offer for him that matched our standard £10m valuation and because we're a basket case of a club.
You really don’t seem to be able to grasp the notion of loaning out players to get experience. I imagine Sir Alex Ferguson is “the **** who thought David Beckham should play for Preston.”
Maguire was already significantly better than Junior - Beckham needed game time - Maguire just needed Brucie to play his best team and stop playing his son - get it , it really isn't difficult - we nearly lost Maguire because he was pissed off with Brucie
Maguire had little to no Premier League or Championship experience, throwing him in vs some of the best strikers in the world might have ruined him. As it has many other players. It’s nothing to do with ability at that stage, it’s all about mental capability. And we didn’t lose Maguire, because Bruce knew exactly what he was doing. It was almost as if he’d played in that position in that league himself.
Fantastic interview. We’ve still not gotten over him leaving (thought Silva tried). It’s a shame this is all because of somebody’s incompetence. Considering he didn’t trust Bruce, he’s made a lot of money back on his signings.
As close as we are ever going to get to calling Escab a loser/ tosser/ boy in a mans business./ ****er/ ****.... choose youre own. Great interview, I'm so glad he (SB) has said what he has said...
Not true.alex Bruce did very well for us and Harry was learning his trade.i got bored with Bruce tactics in the end and he wasnt as perfect as some on here make out , but you are miles out on Alex bruce
Don’t want to speak for anyone else but I’d be surprised if anyone thought he was perfect. He made a lot of bad and even pointless signings, but the majority were good and that’s what any manager would take.
