When is he going to own up to the fact that he was sacked for being a crap manager and not for being a Geordie? Steve Bruce: Sunderland fans' hatred drove me out by John Gibson, Evening ChronicleApr 5 2012Comment (1)Recommend inShare.0 3 Former Sunderland manager Steve BruceSTEVE BRUCE is a Geordie who got tortured for his upbringing when he dared to cross the great divide and manage Sunderland. Eventually hounded out of his job late last November with his family deeply hurt by the vitriol, he has retreated to his Midlands bolt hole to heal his wounds and prepare to plunge back into a profession which still courses through his veins. Unquestionably the fact that Bruce was a schoolboy fan of Newcastle United, having been brought up in Wallsend, meant he paid the highest price with his head when things went wrong at the Stadium of Light. âI must admit that being a Geordie came back to haunt me,â said Bruce, now ready to open his heart on a painful experience in an exclusive interview. âThe hatred I suffered was unbelievable. It was brutal, it really was. âIn fairness it was a minority of Sunderland fans who abused me but it was way over the top and very hurtful. âI canât change my upbringing. I am who I am and proud of it. But I paid a big price. âAs a manager who has spent a lifetime in football I was prepared to take whatever come my way but for my closest relatives it was very different. Both my family and my wifeâs family are from Newcastle and they were deeply hurt and affected by what happened. âI had to batten down the hatches and lie low. I didnât go out to my local pub. âI didnât want to invite abuse. âThe media up there is something else as well. âThere is a mass scramble for news, a demand to write hundreds upon hundreds of words every day on Sunderland and Newcastle, and while I tried to accommodate everybody in the end the criticism even locally was relentless because the fans had to be fed. âThe funny thing is that people in the rest of the country wouldnât understand. âThey would think it was all excuses. âThey donât know how North East football works, the intensity of it.â Bruce believes that deep-rooted dislike of neighbours spawned by birth is beginning to pollute one of the grand occasions of footballâs calendar. âHonestly, I have to say that the Tyne-Wear derby is no longer a nice one,â Steve told me. âMy biggest disappointment above all else is the absolute hatred I witnessed between the fans of Newcastle and Sunderland. âFierce rivalry is one thing but hatred is quite another. âThis is not like the people of the North East who are warm, funny and, yes, passionate but in a good way. Read More http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/spor...ed-drove-me-out-72703-30699842/#ixzz1r9on7rJV
Force fed hundred of Greggs pasties and didn't complain at the time... Next time stick to water-boarding or thumb screws. ............................................................................... He just won't accept the fact he was sacked cos he was ****e...............doubt ES gave a flying **** where he was born............
he really is a ****ing tool do you think we care about bob stokoe or titus bramble to name but a few do we care about lee cattremole being from boro no we ****ing well dont....
Of course - was it because he is a Geordie that we were 3rd bottom or had only won 2 home games between January and November 2011?? If that is the case then he's right - but I don't think it is. Does he honestly believe we'd have 41 points on the board (including 4 from Man City) had he been here? - Change the record Steve - no-one believes it any more
I must be reading a different story to everyone else. No mention of being sacked for being a Geordie all about the small minority, his words, who went over the top with the abuse. I agree with him, they did.
FFS, I felt for him after he F***ed up big time but given his carry on since then he needs to grow some balls & accept that HE alone got the sack
His boyhood allgiance became a huge issue only when he failed so miserably over an 11 month period In the league and cups. This man is showing himself up to be a complete tool and just as he waffled excuse after excuse for his own miserable failures when he was here, he now wants to try and pretend that our abject league position, lack of home points and wins for 11 months AND the pitiful team selections and tactics under his stewardship, was all down to him being a black & white. I still think and believe his boyhood love for the barcodes effected his thinking in the derby games and he was totally happy to see us not win them. I am convinced of this and his ramblings and the bull **** he has come out with since, convinces me we are well shot of the useless fat twat. No wonder he can't get a job. Even wolves, in deep **** themselves, preferred a complete novice and the almost certainty of relegation over his long term appointment. That should tell 'lard arse' everything he needs to know about his standing in the game now.
He was sacked cos we won two home games in 12 months & were headed for a dog fight. It's the same in all walks of life, if you're **** at your job, you get the bullet. Simple as that really.
Sunderland fans have such a pathetic attitude. At no point does he say he was sacked for being a Geordie. He is quoted saying a small minority went over the top with the abuse, and he's 100% right. But no, you tell yourselves that he is blaming his sacking solely on his roots, and even tell yourselves he wanted to lose the derbies . Because it's obvious you lot just read what you feel like reading, not actually what's in front of your eyes.
Hatred isn't the right word, it would be if they had a better team though. For instance.. if Mon signed Banega and Luuk De jong I would probably come on here and tell you how ****e they were... and you will never be top dogs... for about 6 weeks at least.
To be honest it was the headline that particularly caught my attention. Personally I never wanted Bruce in the job, but once he was appointed I was behind him 100% until the Fulham game when I had just had enough of coming out of the SOL miserable and pissed off. I just wish that instead of focussing on the fact he is a Geordie and took some stick for that from - as he says in the article - a small section of fans, he would own up to the fact that the reason he was sacked was because we were heading for relegation.
I've just noticed it's that sodden old soak Gibson that wrote this. "Being brought up in Wallsend meant he paid the price with his head." Well you old, alky bastard, he was brought up in Corbridge not Wallsend & he paid the price for ****e results.
The simple fact is that he HAS on several occasions on tv, newspaper interviews and on national radio said if was sacked for being a Geordie. At no point has he ever accepted personal responsibility for our pathetic league form and position when if was sacked. It's all someone else's fault. It's that part I find offensive. I'm pleased the whining twat was sacked but only the fact we waited so long. PS I won't accept criticism about our support of Bruce, from a bunch of fans up at NE1, who hounded out Bobby Robson then pretended they never wanted him to go when he sadly passed away. Now that's real two faced support.
The simple truth is this thread is about Bruce saying he was saked for being a Geordie, he does not say that so why all the nastiness.
I can personally say neither me nor any Newcastle fan I knew wanted Robson out On Bruce, why on earth would he blame himself completely for what happened? He wants to get another job at some point, only a fool would say that they made a complete mess of their last one.
