Does it matter any more, I would suggest not. Whatever your take is on Bruce its all about momentum and the momentum is rolling very fast the wrong way for Bruce, in fact I would say its now out of control. If we win Bolton by 3 goals, dont think we will but if we do, will that turn things, no chance. The reality is we need to beat Bolton and Villa, drawing at Man U then beat Fulham and Wigan. Bring in a top, top striker at the very least then move up to a top 8 place and perform for the rest of the season, yes I think that the least Bruce needs to turn things. Will we do it, dont all shout at once. The sad thing is that if Bruce had kept his mouth shut he may have gotton away with it, yes I hear complaints about results but its not the results that hurt most, its the knocking and in particular, IMO, his kiss of death was,"Remember who we are". We have been down many times and we have been crap many times, we understand that but never can I remember being told to accept we dont have ambition. So Bib or Bob becomes irrelivent, lack of ambition will annoy Short, well it would shock me if it didnt.
Are there any BIBs left? If so how far does it have to go before you realise that if Bruce stays much longer we WILL get relegated?
I have said before now I WANT TO BE WRONG! Not because I want Bruce to succeed but because I want SAFC to succeed. You could have She-ra as manager and as long as we were top half, trying for Europe, in with a shout for cups, I'd be his number 1 fan! x
Exactly. I also don't understand all these shouts for MON to come in as if he would change everything - he wouldn't. We have a good team now, and from what I have seen we have played some decent football, just need to be more robust - both at defending and attacking. It is only marginal decisions which have cost us points, not catastrophic performances. Against Arsenal, with a bit of luck, we could have won. I am optimistic against Bolton. We have quality in our team and hoping people like Brown and O'Shea instil a belief to win. Things aren't great right now, but they aren't terrible either. 2 wins from the next 3 games and we would be flying high. KTF!
Not many Bib's left - I was one but his comments about our expectations being too high have annoyed me very much! I'm sick - to the point I'm lyning awake at night worrying about my ****ing football team - I'm 36 years old FFS and I lie awake at night worrying that we're going down. Do you think Bruce lies awake in his multi million pound house with his expensive car outside? I ****ing doubt it!
For me it is all about results...If we were beat Bolton and Villa, that would more than likely lift us to mid-table: I don't think it is realistic to expect anything at Man U....
Syd i agree its going to take a lot to stop the momentum of the BOB slowing down I have always been a BIB man as i believe that a manager needs 3-5 years at least. However even i cannot defend him anymore, we all know we are not a top 6 side but we do have the belief and have spent the money over the past few years to be 6-10th comfortably. He is doing himself no favours in his comments towards the fans and i think if he loses his job he will blame the fans for being too ambitous, well i was born in Newcastle The beginning of the season we wanted a good cup run (also Bruces comments about another way into Europe) he underestimated Brighton no striker up front I have no doubt Whickam and Ji Don Won are good players but we are not a side who can wait that money could have been spent elsewhere I travelled to arsenal at the weekend and also an oportunity to see my son we had a few beers go into the ground to find out our forward line consisted of a 5ft zero lone striker, this is the nail in the coffin for me. I have no doubt we have a good midfield and would love Bruce to turn it around his comments against the media have done him no good as i see todays report I still think Short will give him a little longer but even his patience must be wearing thin and i think a few poor crowds may well make the decision for him
Long time reader....first time BoBber. I'm convinced Bruce will not last out November. Nor does he deserve to. Four wins in twenty one premiership matches...need we say more? I would prefer to see him go sooner and, I've said it before, I hope Mr Short has weighed up the cost of compensation against the cost of relegation. Relegation is a horrible thought so early in the season but I can't stop thinking of another sh*t season struggling in the premiership. I don't have the solution of who will save us this season. I do know it's not Bruce.
Syd your correct regards BIBS / BOBS. I kept finding excuses for Steve Bruce but results count and we are not getting them. I really like the players he brought in but not the way he uses them. Bolton are no push over. We need a big Striker on the field up front and our players in their favourite positions. Poor Richardson has to struggle at the back on a regular basis and get criticised, put him behind a Striker and watch? to mention only one. I pray Craig Gordon gets fit soon. He will definitely organise our defence better and give the defenders more confidence, it's not just about saving the ball. It's the goal keepers job too to command his defence. Steve Bruce experiments still and he dose not have to. Play a steady Team in their best positions and stop changing all the time. Get the goal scoring players on the pitch. Colback should not be starting at all. get him on the bench. Gardner should be on there playing 10 goals last season. Ha'way the Lads.
BoB now. Norwich was the last straw. Being **** on prime-time TV was pretty unpleasant and he's on as bad a streak as Laurie Mackemenemy, the well-known lager salesman (no, it wasn't "great, man" it was piss).
I was on the fence but seeing Bruce laughing and joking at the end of the game showed me that he isn't as passionate as he should be. When we lose I want players and Manager who take it to heart and clearly this isn't the case - even if he doesn't give a stuff I want him to realise that we all think it's important and show the club the respect it deserves. I don't think Bruce has shown respect for the club and I also think that there's a lot more to the Dent and Gyan debacles than just them being greedy bastards. For me he's showing all of the bad traites of Reid and none of the good. However although I suppose I am now in favour of Bruce going I'm far from optimistic about who might replace him. Not such a big fan of MoN and not sure Hughes has shown he's got what it takes... Moyes would be my favourite but I've seen no real indication he's in the running.
I think its time for us to climb off from our magic carpet and look at things from the perspective of actually enjoying our football (Not just lower our expectations). The mags were sick to death of the crap 'big sam' churned out and we are sick to death of watching 1 upfront, assuming that we do actually play with a striker which isn't altogether a forgone conclusion with Bruce in charge. I would like to go to the SOL and watch an entertaining game of football... If we lose 3-4 then so be it... if we play without fear under the guidance of a manager who chooses to play good football then we will always pick up enough points to survive because the other teams playing with fear will be the ones to finish below us. I would go all out for Moyes but would be happy with O'Neill and as O'Neill is available it would appear to be the natural choice. Its amazing how the character of the manager rubs off onto the players... Bruce doesn't have the character of Moyes or O'Neill. The character of a man is revealed by his choice of words and Bruces choice of words just don't instill the type of never say die mentality that a resolutely stubborn Moyes or O'Neill would provide IMO. I remember one quote by Bruce "I'm not in this game to make friends" I'm confident that Bent, Gyan, Muntari, Zenden, Malbranque, Mensah and Ferdinand would mostly all agree, with Bruce's quote. Even Nozza might agree with that one... Bruce's has a defender mentality and its no coincidence he was a defender as a player. We need to attack and play without fear and maybe then the fans will start to enjoy watching football once again.
I agree that a manager needs time, any manager but during that journey there has to be signs of improvement. Signs that there is an objective and a goal that can be achieved over a specific them span. As I look at this Sunderland team today, I see a team with a worse strike force than even just 9 months ago, a weaker keeper, paper thin defensive cover and no pace or creativity anywhere in the squad. We are 4th bottom and heading towards the relegation trap door with a manager that thinks it's mildly amusing to send out a team with no forwards and then get beaten. I see a manager with more excuses than British Rail timetable and who would rather blame anyone and everyone rather than himself. I see a manager who daily has a pop at his own fans for not being satisfied that we have one of the worst home records in league and then tells up we are just a ****e club anyway so why expect better. I hear a manager telling me that we have played well this season despite 1 win in 9 games. I have little or no sympathy with this manager and see only a self indulgent, self pitying fat twat making a pigs ear of one of the best chances any manager has ever had at this club for 60 years. I pray every night that Ellis Short sees through this charletan and sees him for the useless, incompetant ****er he truly is. He wouldn't even get this Saturday if I could make that decision. He has had more than long enough to show me he simply isn't up to the task. Get rid now. Martin O Neill for me ASAP.
Thoough I think Bruce has shot himself in the foot, and will struggle to see out November - in no way is our squad weaker than before except the forwards. If the squad was weaker than last year, then we wouldnt be expecting mid table, would we?
The main reason I don't have any sympathy with Bruce is because he was more than happy to sack Pete Friar, the man who dared to illuminate Bruce to the cause of the innumerable 'mysterious injuries' that 'plagued' our season last year. The same injuries that Bruce would use as an excuse for our piss poor collapse.. Live by the sword, die by the sword. No sympathy from me, ok, a tiny little bit of sympathy but nothing more than that.
Good points. The highlighted bit especially reflects my feelings too. Comments from Bent and Gyan after they left indicate there is more than we all know about the story. Remember Bruce fell out with and got rid of Jones as well. There is no future in the game for managers who fail to manage players correctly. Results, consistent failure to play a recognised striker, playing players out of position, weird substitutions, together with his comments about the fans expectations and the 'grumbling' stadium have turned me from a wavering BiB into a firm BoB. Perhaps a low crowd vs Villa will go some way to convince the owner it's time to make the decision. I too don't know who would be best to replace Bruce but, of available managers, I would lean more towards Hughes than MON and I really don't think Moyes is an option at all. How about someone like Gianfranco Zola as a complete left field candidate? He was a great player and a consummate professional and is respected as a gentleman and a scholar of the game. He believes in attacking and giving youngsters a chance, and he may have had a bit of a raw deal at West Ham. Maybe we should start a ZIB (Zola In Brigade) campaign!
Yes, I've always felt 'greedy bastards' was the easy way out. Both were bubbly genuine lads who did a lot for the SAFC Foundation. They weren't slackers who did as little as possible and walked away grinning with their wages. I'm not saying money had nowt to do with it - of course it did, the same as it appealed to Henderson ... not to mention you and me. But I think something drove those two lads to want out. I've always thought it.
I'm not so sure momentum matters as much as it did in former years. Back in '72, when everyone was sick of Alan Brown, crowds of 8,000-odd in a 53,000 stadium mattered because we were 'The Paying Customer'. And even a board devoted to Brown were forced to listen. Now, we make a contribution but the main revenue comes from global television. The local fan is far less important to clubs. Whether Short and Quinn give much of a damn for us any more is questionable in my mind. I hope they will listen, but I seriously doubt it. It wouldn't surprise me (or not a lot anyway) if Bruce was here till 2014.
