Wouldn't say he was a complete failiure but was certainly lucky to get the job in the first place and to retain it as long as he did. He was also lucky when Quinn gave him a new contract. His teams performances in the derbies were nothing short of a disgrace. In fact I'm not sure many sets of fans would have been as tolerant as we were following the 5-1 against the scum. His transfer record was mixed I would say. Lots of dross like Larsson, Vaughan, Killgallon etc offset by the likes of Gyan. The team had a tendancy to start the season well and then fade badly in the new year. When he was sacked in the November we had on 2 home games since new years day that calandar year. However since his departure he has been an embarassment how he has gone on about his departure from Sunderland. He is one of these who can't see himself doing any wrong or admit his mistakes.
This thread got me thinking whether I'd misjudged Bruce so I had a quick look at Hull's position etc. Before they arrive at the SOL they have 2 away relegation battles, Norwich & Palace, which I'd personally like them to win despite their recent poor away form. If they lose, however, they have a tough home game, against Spurs, before they come to Sunderland. We have 2 home games, Southampton & Stoke, then the away derby before we play Hull at home. I'd expect us to have picked up 4/5 points by the time the Tigers come up to maul us. As there's only 6 points between the teams now it could be very close on the day. Having said that, I'd rather see them batter Norwich & Palace which would really help us out. The fear is that Bruce always seems to lose it during the 2nd half of the season when he gets above himself. Am I wrong or did Hull almost blob promotion last season when Bruce was flapping around in a panic?
Bruce is a bottler in the crunch games. He doesn't handle pressure well at all and starts lashing out a anyone he can to deflect criticism. It's always someone else's fault and never his. The crowd were to blame, the ref was poor, it was windy, too warm, injuries, team (despite him picking it) wasn't right and then the best of course I was sacked because of where I was born. I welcomed him initially of course and the great opportunity he was presented could have been the making of him but he couldn't handle it. In the end I couldn't stand listening to or seeing the fat prick. He was an embarrassment while here and an even bigger one since he left. Maybe at a small provincial club with little ambition like Hull he will prevail but I dare bet they will want rid if him next year, even if they stay up this one. He can't hack it at this level.
Yeah, thought that was it ........... I just remember seeing him, on Sky, standing there in his daft track suit, staring at the pitch as if he'd been struck by lightning It's incredible that he manages to look equally bad in a trackie or a suit
We've gone down hill since the day Bruce left if I'm being completely honest. He made great signings and was very unfortunate with injuries and player sales. He will do wonders for hull as he has done already. At the start of the season I was going to bet on hull to stay up because of Bruce, and I wish I did.
It hasn't been much of a slide though has it ........ he left us in a relegation battle and we're still in it "Steve Bruce sacked as Sunderland stare at relegation zone." Read more at: http://www.firstpost.com/sports/ste...ation-zone-145617.html?utm_source=ref_article
I dont think anyone disagrees he was ****ed over when Bent and Gyan left, but he also bought a lot of Dross players. That hangover is still being felt now
As others have commented, the perennial slide down the table in the second half of the season, along with injuries which seem to be associated with his training methods were major problems. He developed a half decent team, but then didn't know what to do to take things forward. He signed some decent players on long contracts and high salaries, but also signed an awful lot of dross on high salaries and long contracts. He appears to have little tactical nous. The team play his way regardless. He is unable to change tactics either during a game or from game to game. For me, his worst point is the drinking and gambling culture that he allowed to develop amongst the squad - something which I strongly suspect wasn't there under Roy Keane. We are still dealing with the after effects of his tenure more than 2 years after he left.
This is one of the more debatable comments I have seen lately. How would you class: Ji? Elmo? Kilgallon? Bramble? Vaughan? Gardner? Larsson???????????????????? I certainly wouldn't class them as "great signings"
Also the South American failures. You could balance it up though, with: Mignolet Sessegnon Brown Bent Gyan Welbeck Cana Cattermole
I agree that the players ****ed him over - but I also think he should've told them what Spurs did Modric and Liverpool did Suarez - He should've said "You're under contract with us and you'll play for us" - unhappy or not Bent would've been better that what we had
For me, I always liked Bruce, still do, his failings were tactical. When we went into a slide, which happens to every Bruce team, every season, without fail, he would run scared. We went 14 without a win blowing a fantastic start, when we played some smashing football & looked genuinely Euro contenders, what ****ed it for me, was that in those 14 games, we were ahead 7 or 8 times, and Bruce panicked & defended, he'd pull every player back for a corner if we were 1-0 up after 20 mins, inevitably inviting pressure, and more often than not, we'd concede. He's not a bad gaffer, but he has a ceiling, and he hit it when we finished 10th. The team that finished 10th may well have finished significantly higher with a tactically astute manager.
Thing that always amazed me about Bruce was his admittance once that he wasn't one for tactics and didn't have a clue how to send an email. The hoof football when things were going wrong in games was dismal and like the Birmingham fans before us, it certainly pissed me off. In fact the football was so bad when he was the Birmingham manager that a couple of them broke into his home one night to nick the value of their season tickets but decided to take it out on him instead and gave him a bit of a twatting, suppose they did have a point like.. Likeable man though and always had time for a bit of chit-chat with the fans when things were going good.
You forgot Angerleri who Bruce paid 2.5m for and he never kicked a ball for us. I was glad to see the fat prick go. I was optimistic when he was appointed and didnt give his Geordie roots a second thought. I expect him to start going on again about that being the reason he was sacked again, when we play Hull next. In reality he completely lost the plot that last season. He spent nearly 15m on Ji and Wickham when we desperatly needed an acomplished striker. He had right footed Seb on the left wing and continually played Catts and Jack in the centre. After spending all that money we still didnt have a proper left back in our squad! For some strange reason he thought 5ft5 Sess could play as a lone striker aswell??
The League Cup game at Brighton was the last straw for me. Personally I would have sacked him every time I heard him say in interviews , " Wa had wa backsides kicked today". Does he ever say that at Hull ?
