Why was Bruce sacked after the Wigan game? I am very unhappy with Me Shorts actions. Sacking Bruce after thaty game was a massive mistake and has cost the club dear! I can not undestand why clubs give a failing manager two or three games against weaker teams to prove that they should stay or go. If MON had been in chjarge for the Fulham game I feel certain that we would now have 8 more points and be one place behind the Mags and looking forward to being above them. As it is we now have Spurs and QPR away Everton at home then Man City. Even with MON in charge I would be happy with 4 points from those 4 games leaving us still too near the bottom to be able to attract the better players we would like. In these circumstances I can see the club keep the money in the bank until the summer, bring Gyan back from his loan (or was it exile?) and then depend on the players we have, who are good enough to get us up to mid table and gel as a team before bringing in new blood . So Mr Short I am unhappy bacause you should have sacked Bruce weeks ago.
I'd hope we can get 3 points against QPR and Everton at Home - Spurs and Man City are going to be very tough but we have a manager in charge now who (appears) to be able to get something from the players. I personally think that Short got the timing right overall as he gave him time to try to steady his sinking ship (which he failed to do) It's easy to look with hindsight and say "if Short had sacked him earlier" but we all know that hindsight is a wonderful thing don't we!!
I kind of agree with you. In my opinion, Bruce should have been shown the door during the capitulation last season, he very nearly got us relegated and we scraped into 10th. But the new manager should have been appointed after the Fulham game, it was clear to me, we had lost our way. But.....it is what it is. MoN in now in charge and I know we have some difficult games coming up, but whatever happens, we won't go down and he can work his magic for next season, using this season to see the players he wants to keep going forward.
There is some substance in your theory kidda and I for one would have happily seen it happen much earlier (I was thinking June or July) but Ellis Short gave Bruce every opportunity to turn this round and if couldn't. Now Bruce can have no complaints and Short looks much more reasonable in his thinking too. Mon may well have done better in the games you mention but he still has 23 games to play with and a transfer window looming close. I think a top 10 finish is very much on for us and those 12 points between ourselves and the craas will narrow imo. The chase is on. Lol
Cest I know what you are saying but I am also making a general point. Why give a failing manager more games to fail against weak teams with the possibility of a hat ful of points being lost. Its not just the sacking of Bruce but sackings in general. I am not suggesting that we go back to sacking managers after the pools panel put us down for a loss ( some of you might be to young to get that one). I any other line if you had the chance to make a big sale you would not put your failed sales manager in charge.
Short got it bang on IMO, well maybe one game to late. After finishing 10th and a complete team rebuild it was only right to give Bruce time to sink or swim.
In hindsight, he should have gone at the end of last season. However, Short gave him ample opportunity to turn things around and Bruce was unable to do it. By doing this it looks a far more considered decision.
We'll all differ on this. I mean, there were some wanting him out in April and May. Others wanted to give him more time in November. Short made his own decision and at the end of the day, it's his club. I'm just very relieved he didn't wait longer.
He should have went in May lads 10th place finish or not, we could all see the warning signs as we have all been there before but, what do we know?
He could never have got the push in May after our third best finish in fifty odd years. In hindsight, the warning signs were there I agree.
The good thing in waiting, IMO, is the message it gives to MON, a owner who does not panic and sack but gives his manager every chance, could be a very important message
Just beat me to it Syd. Surely the timing of the dismissal demonstrates that Ellis Short is (a) not unreasonable with his demands (b) has a fair degree of patience and (iii) does not allow the fans to influence his decision making process. He will see a much bigger picture than we fans ever will and these are exactly the sort of employment conditions that can never be writen into a contract but which will have attracted MON to the job.
Taking my mag hat off, I would say what Short did was right. Bruce got you into the top 10 and had earned the right to at least a few months to put right some of the wrongs. Sometimes you have to show some morality in business. It turns out Bruce was unable to stem the flow of losses and the timing is just about spot on. MON has enough time to look at the squad and make any changes he deems necessary.
I agree with QWOP and others - I genuinely think SB earned his new contract, but after the bad start I feel sure he would have been told his position will be reviewed after the Blackburn game. All of expected us to roll over Wigan, and to be fair to SB we should have done. BUT we lost and as a result SB lost the BiBs, and the rest is history. Short will not have wanted emabarrassing scenes on SKY 2 weeks in a row. I also think MON was tapped up earlier in the season - I hope he does well. Bart
It wasn't hindsight on my behalf kidda. I've seen far too many relegation campaigns and relegation haunted teams not to recognise the writing that was on the wall back in May. I remember the season before reidy was sacked, we finished 7th but everyone knew there was something wrong as We went from January to may that year with about 2 or 3 wins and a **** load of losses. Bruces hold on things started and ended with Darren Bent. His purchase made an average team a very good one with him at the sharp end but his departure, without any replacement, just made us very, very ordinary again. If he had gone out and spent the Bent money on a proven striker back in January, I reckon he would still be manager today. That's the fine lines of life and in short, that's football too.
