Steve Bruce on Talksport now

[Roker Magic]

Hated the way when he left he blamed it in being a Geordie. I thought it was pathetic and thought he was better than that. In terms of his ability as a football manager he is head and shoulders above beale and dodds. Not sure i’d want him back. To be honest any manager will struggle with our squad

I think there was quite a lot of truth in that. It was always gonna go against him if things turned bad. If he was a Sunderland lad, he'd have been afforded a lot more patience from the fans, I think.

 

[Horace Cope]

If he wants back in work no doubt he'll want his son on the coaching staff just to help get him into the merry go round

 

[Roker Magic]

Admittedly he may not have had much say on who left but he spent an absolute fortune. Way more than any other manager. He spent good money on players like Gardner, O’Shea and wickham. Every signing he made was a complete dud and the wages he offered to average free transfers we ridiculous. We spent millions on those players for four or five seasons afterwards.

'Every signing he made was a complete dud' is the biggest load of shit ive ever read on here. Lee Cattermole, Darren Bent, Asamoah Gyan, Sebastian Larson, Craig Gardner, Stephane Sessagnon, Lornik Cana and the load signing of Danny Welbeck. Just imagine having those players now before you spout more shit.

 

[hank williams]

We didn't drop out of the top 7 between November 6th, beating Stoke the weekend after THAT derby hell show and March 5th when we drew 0-0 with Arsenal at the Emirates.

We had some very good times that year, beating City 1-0 at with Bent scoring late on at the SoL, the 3-0 win v Chelsea, 3-0 v Blackburn on New Years Day and the 3-0 away at West Ham last day.

We had some shockers too though. The 1-5, the 0-2 at Blackpool when we peppered them, Notts County in the FA Cup, 0-5 at Man City and getting beat off Birmingham and Fulham late on in the season.

We only got into the top 10 on the last day because the Mags fucked up at West Brom to only get a draw and Man City and Wigan did us a favour beating Bolton and Stoke.

Never go back. Especially with Steve Bruce.

Still don't believe that Blackpool game certain we had bout 20 shots on target still got beat lol

We didn't drop out of the top 7 between November 6th, beating Stoke the weekend after THAT derby hell show and March 5th when we drew 0-0 with Arsenal at the Emirates.

We had some very good times that year, beating City 1-0 at with Bent scoring late on at the SoL, the 3-0 win v Chelsea, 3-0 v Blackburn on New Years Day and the 3-0 away at West Ham last day.

We had some shockers too though. The 1-5, the 0-2 at Blackpool when we peppered them, Notts County in the FA Cup, 0-5 at Man City and getting beat off Birmingham and Fulham late on in the season.

We only got into the top 10 on the last day because the Mags fucked up at West Brom to only get a draw and Man City and Wigan did us a favour beating Bolton and Stoke.

Never go back. Especially with Steve Bruce.

Still don't believe that Blackpool game certain we had bout 20 shots on target still got beat lol

 

[Whitleypanther]

For getting us a tenth and twelfth placed finish in the Premier League? Yeah, really shit that mind. If only...

That’s not true, we never finished twelfth under Steve Bruce, you’re just making that up. He got us into 10th on the last day of his first season and that’s a decent finish, but we were 16th when he was sacked after dismantling a decent side and giving long contracts to poor, injury-prone players. He was sacked with us 16th and getting worse each game, his final match being the infamous home to defeat to bottom of the table Wigan. Martin O’Neil came in and with a short-term turnaround in form, we finished the 2011/12 season in 13th. Just imagine if we’d got that appointment right and instead of Bruce, appointed a forward-thinking manager when we had a billionaire American owner willing to invest in the side. Bruce’s failure here was an enormous missed opportunity.

 

[Ohnonotagain]

Admittedly he may not have had much say on who left but he spent an absolute fortune. Way more than any other manager. He spent good money on players like Gardner, O’Shea and wickham. Every signing he made was a complete dud and the wages he offered to average free transfers we ridiculous. We spent millions on those players for four or five seasons afterwards.

Every signing he made was a complete dud?

Bent, Cana, Gyan, Cattermole, Zenden, Welbeck, Sessegnon, Larsson, OShea, Brown, Hutton, Ji Dong Won, Gardner, Bendtner?

Any of them not get into our current team?

That’s not true, we never finished twelfth under Steve Bruce, you’re just making that up. He got us into 10th on the last day of his first season and that’s a decent finish, but we were 16th when he was sacked after dismantling a decent side and giving long contracts to poor, injury-prone players. He was sacked with us 16th and getting worse each game, his final match being the infamous home to defeat to bottom of the table Wigan. Martin O’Neil came in and with a short-term turnaround in form, we finished the 2011/12 season in 13th. Just imagine if we’d got that appointment right and instead of Bruce, appointed a forward-thinking manager when we had a billionaire American owner willing to invest in the side. Bruce’s failure here was an enormous missed opportunity.

He didn't dismantle the team. They were sold from under him and he wasn't given the proceeds.

 

[Whitleypanther]

Every signing he made was a complete dud?

Bent, Cana, Gyan, Cattermole, Zenden, Welbeck, Sessegnon, Larsson, OShea, Brown, Hutton, Ji Dong Won, Gardner, Bendtner?

Any of them not get into our current team?

He had a billionaire owner who wanted to invest in good players and succeed at that time - remember the “Harrods not Poundstretchers” quote. He messed up at a time when as a club, we should’ve been aiming for Europe and he wasted a tremendous opportunity to push on. Instead of apologising for not replacing Bent and for replacing good players with bad ones, he blamed the fans and then spent 5/6 years afterwards making up nonsense about us. Comparing it to our current situation is ridiculous, but then this thread was intended as a wind-up and I feel bad that I keep biting (we’re discussing Steve Bruce in 2024 FFS), so I’ll say no more.

 

[Turnip from the Tip]

Every signing he made was a complete dud?

Bent, Cana, Gyan, Cattermole, Zenden, Welbeck, Sessegnon, Larsson, OShea, Brown, Hutton, Ji Dong Won, Gardner, Bendtner?

Any of them not get into our current team?

He didn't dismantle the team. They were sold from under him and he wasn't given the proceeds.

Gyan might have to wait for Burstow to get injured or suspended to get his chance up to

 

[Kent_Mackem]

He had a billionaire owner who wanted to invest in good players and succeed at that time - remember the “Harrods not Poundstretchers” quote. He messed up at a time when as a club, we should’ve been aiming for Europe and he wasted a tremendous opportunity to push on. Instead of apologising for not replacing Bent and for replacing good players with bad ones, he blamed the fans and then spent 5/6 years afterwards making up nonsense about us. Comparing it to our current situation is ridiculous, but then this thread was intended as a wind-up and I feel bad that I keep biting (we’re discussing Steve Bruce in 2024 FFS), so I’ll say no more.

He didn't blame the fans for the signings.
He pointed out that the fans' shout of ".... Geordie...." was unfair as he couldn't help where he was born.
Struggling to work out how anybody can argue about that.

If the fans shouted "You're a shit manager" then at least they might have a point.
But they didn't.
And no manager since has beaten his league performance, which is a bit awkward for his critics.

 

[BumbleBee]

Every signing he made was a complete dud?

Bent, Cana, Gyan, Cattermole, Zenden, Welbeck, Sessegnon, Larsson, OShea, Brown, Hutton, Ji Dong Won, Gardner, Bendtner?

Any of them not get into our current team?

He didn't dismantle the team. They were sold from under him and he wasn't given the proceeds.

At least half of them we got feck all for!

 

[70YearsOfHurt]

Talking to Jeff and Cas.

Wants back in. Refreshed, rejuvenated and ready for a new challenge.

In all honesty, he’d be perfect for us right now. Ideal for a promotion push or at the very least to steady the ship next season.

Do not abuse Steve on this thread please. Balanced football based opinions only!

Re Steve Bruce.
Sorry, but he is the wrong man for the role a few weeks before the end of this season. He also lacks the kills for next season with the plans SAFC has.

 

[ferryhill mackem]

Don’t think that’s fair, we were 6/7th from November to February and didn’t drop into the bottom half until April, then 13th (not 16/17th) on the final day. Yes we had a dreadful run post Bent leaving and got thrashed off the mags but we had some great performances like Chelsea away so if you’re not going to look back fondly on that season then you can’t enjoying following us!

still a disgrace where we finished that season. should have finished comfortably in the top 8 and ran liverpool close for 6th. some of the defeats towards the back end were pathetic

 

[The Beautiful Game]

'Every signing he made was a complete dud' is the biggest load of shit ive ever read on here. Lee Cattermole, Darren Bent, Asamoah Gyan, Sebastian Larson, Craig Gardner, Stephane Sessagnon, Lornik Cana and the load signing of Danny Welbeck. Just imagine having those players now before you spout more shit.

I was talking about the 2011 window specifically. He might not have had much say in the sales but every signing in that summer window was bad business

Every signing he made was a complete dud?

Bent, Cana, Gyan, Cattermole, Zenden, Welbeck, Sessegnon, Larsson, OShea, Brown, Hutton, Ji Dong Won, Gardner, Bendtner?

Any of them not get into our current team?

He didn't dismantle the team. They were sold from under him and he wasn't given the proceeds.

If you’re counting Gardner and dong won as good signings then it’s clear I’m talking to an idiot. That summer window was criminal

 

[keema naan]

Police escorts, coins thrown and abuse – Sunderland sacking was 'worst' of NUFC manager Steve Bruce's career

A police escort, a barrage of abuse and coins thrown – Newcastle United boss Steve Bruce has revealed his Sunderland sacking was the worst of his managerial career.

www.sunderlandecho.com

 

[Arfa Sleep]

'Every signing he made was a complete dud' is the biggest load of shit ive ever read on here. Lee Cattermole, Darren Bent, Asamoah Gyan, Sebastian Larson, Craig Gardner, Stephane Sessagnon, Lornik Cana and the load signing of Danny Welbeck. Just imagine having those players now before you spout more shit.

Some of those signings were very much downgrades on what they were replacing. Mentioning having those players now is a pretty daft argument as well given the league we're in, in the league they were signed in they were downgrades.

Every signing he made was a complete dud?

Bent, Cana, Gyan, Cattermole, Zenden, Welbeck, Sessegnon, Larsson, OShea, Brown, Hutton, Ji Dong Won, Gardner, Bendtner?

Any of them not get into our current team?

He didn't dismantle the team. They were sold from under him and he wasn't given the proceeds.

He was as involved in the sales as anyone else at the club, he was talking up the sale of Henderson for weeks.

 

[Ohnonotagain]

I was talking about the 2011 window specifically. He might not have had much say in the sales but every signing in that summer window was bad business

If you’re counting Gardner and dong won as good signings then it’s clear I’m talking to an idiot. That summer window was criminal

It also depends on what budget he was given as to the quality of signings he could hope to get. Gardner and Dong Won were decent enough pros. If you expect every manager to get every signing right then look in the mirror if you’re looking for an idiot.

At least half of them we got feck all for!

They did a decent enough job.
We finished mid table. Would you rather be where we are now.

Gyan might have to wait for Burstow to get injured or suspended to get his chance up to

Bruce’s mistake was to choose Gyan instead of Suarez at the time.

 

[Roker Magic]

That’s not true, we never finished twelfth under Steve Bruce, you’re just making that up. He got us into 10th on the last day of his first season and that’s a decent finish, but we were 16th when he was sacked after dismantling a decent side and giving long contracts to poor, injury-prone players. He was sacked with us 16th and getting worse each game, his final match being the infamous home to defeat to bottom of the table Wigan. Martin O’Neil came in and with a short-term turnaround in form, we finished the 2011/12 season in 13th. Just imagine if we’d got that appointment right and instead of Bruce, appointed a forward-thinking manager when we had a billionaire American owner willing to invest in the side. Bruce’s failure here was an enormous missed opportunity.

Ok, it wasn't 12th, it was 13th, just one place lower. Still a far better situation than nowadays. I like how you call 10th a 'decent' finish. Its our 3rd best ever league finish in the last 70 years. Yeah, O'Neil came in and there was the expected 'new manager bounce". But his time as Sunderland manager was definitely less successful than Bruce's. Also, its easy to pick individual games, like the Wigan game, to support your opinion. I will do the same and remind you of Bruce's team that won 3 nil away to Chelsea (the Chelsea team who won the Champions League the following season).

 

[Sea to Shining Sea]

Ok, it wasn't 12th, it was 13th, just one place lower. Still a far better situation than nowadays. I like how you call 10th a 'decent' finish. Its our 3rd best ever league finish in the last 70 years. Yeah, O'Neil came in and there was the expected 'new manager bounce". But his time as Sunderland manager was definitely less successful than Bruce's. Also, its easy to pick individual games, like the Wigan game, to support your opinion. I will do the same and remind you of Bruce's team that won 3 nil away to Chelsea (the Chelsea team who won the Champions League the following season).

Bruce did a good job in his first season. Recruited well and removed deadwood well also.

The tenth placed season was an under achievement. We started that season with a squad that included Gordon, Mignolet, Bent, Gyan, Welbeck, Henderson, Zenden, Malbranque and other really competent top flight players in the prime years of their careers. The fact we finished 10th, and just about got there through a bizarre second half combination of results, shouldnt be seen as success. O’Neill’s run of results and a 13th placed finish with a cup quarter final from his starting position and a weaker squad was more of an achievement

 

[Chewit]

The tragic thing is, we could do a lot worse right now.

 

[Binxy]

At least half of them we got feck all for!

Every signing he made was a complete dud?

Bent, Cana, Gyan, Cattermole, Zenden, Welbeck, Sessegnon, Larsson, OShea, Brown, Hutton, Ji Dong Won, Gardner, Bendtner?

Any of them not get into our current team?

He didn't dismantle the team. They were sold from under him and he wasn't given the proceeds.

O'Shea - past it.
Brown - past it.
Hutton - shite.
Ji - shite.
Gardener - shite.
Vaughan - shite.
Larsson - OK.
Bendtner - OK.
There'll be loads more shite on top of that as well.