Spot on, we could've re-assessed things as the group stage progressed - plus it would've given the fans more European away days.
We'd have progressed if daft git McGregor had remembered that we weren't playing in our black away kit at Lokeren. The views expressed in my posts are not necessarily mine.
I think the decision to sack off Europe was one of Steve Bruce's better decisions. Preparing for a game on a Thursday night, yes night. When do you travel? When do you travel back? Right lads take Friday off and we will train for the important stuff Saturday, for Sunday.
I think the whole club undervalued and underestimated the Europa League. Because the qualifiers were so early we almost treated them as pre-season games. For the Trencin home game I think it was, they made it unreserved seating, which reduced the capacity, and it sold out! They obviously thought people wouldn't be bothered as it wasn't a Premier League game. Huge misread of the feeling.
Just caught up with the podcast. What a great listen. He (Bruce) frustrated me at times but 'just' a lovely fella and looking back, as some others keep saying, probably our best manager ever (not taking anything away from PT and PB). Ehab the cnut him.
Went to see my Father in Law at Bishop Burton College once who was coaching Hull FC at the time and they were training there. It was when City had to train there too for a while and he told me to come over and watch Bruce. He literally sat in the dugout on the phone for all training sessions, very occasionally holding the phone away from his ear whilst he stood up and shouted something, then sat back down. Phealan was doing the lot. My father in law spoke to Phelan about it at a later date and he said it was very much a Fergie thing. A manager would manage and the coaches would coach. Brucie had an unreal grounding working for a boss like Fergie and anyone who thinks he is a crap manager (including Newcastle fans) need their head looking at. He has taken some bad jobs which made his record look poor but the guy knew how to build a squad and get it working for each other. For me Newcastle had far deep rooted problems beyond what a manager or coach could sort out under Ashley. The club was Toxic but to his credit, and because of his love for them, he tried to stick it out which left his reputation in tatters.
I went to watch the U23's one evening and Mike Phelan (I took this picture) was there. I got talking to him, and he said the same, that he was more a coach than SB who as he said was a manager rather than a coach. It was that evening he said to me watch this lad as he will go places, his name Jarrod Bowen who had joined us a few months earlier.
