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
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
. Because it's obvious you lot just read what you feel like reading, not actually what's in front of your eyes.
