Steve Bruce (now unemployed)

[Interpolic]

My take is that Bruce realises that he's got away with it massively this season and next season he might not be so lucky.  Especially now fans and some players clearly hate him.

He wants his pay-off without having to deal with fans IRL next season.  In his head he deserves it, achieved what his boss asked for and can leave with his fat stupid head held high.  I'd honestly have a small slither of respect for him if he walked away without a pay-off but there's absolutely no chance.  Like all PFMs he's a self-obsessed, money-obsessed conman with no integrity or genuine passion for the game beyond what he can get out of it for himself.

 

 

Edited May 11, 2021 by Interpolic

[huss9]

3 hours ago, gjohnson said:

Is there any other manager in the league that whinges about 'fans expectations' as much as him?

Moyes might have earlier in the season, but he's had enough good results to not have to fall back on it any more.

Don't even recall Mourinho bitching about Spurs fans as much as our resident gimp does. Arteta might have had the odd one this season perhaps?

moyes has been on recently saying they've been going all out for a champions league place and that it has been their aim for months.

[Dancing Brave]

10 minutes ago, SweMag said:

Expected to leave at the end of the season according to a first team player. But he also expected him to be sacked back in Mars when he had lost the dressing room.

He's got a second job on Mars ?  Might well explain his very ugly alien like face. 

[WarrenBartonCentrePartin]

15 minutes ago, SweMag said:

Expected to leave at the end of the season according to a first team player. But he also expected him to be sacked back in Mars when he had lost the dressing room.

Forgive me, but given your username and avatar, I presume you're Swedish?

That come from Krafth, per chance?

[Yorkie]

Bruce resigning.

Bruce saying this shite for any reason other than to get sympathy from literally anyone who'll listen. 

[Joey Linton]

Edwards' "poor Steve" piece is a work of art.

[Ben]

42 minutes ago, Joey Linton said:

Edwards' "poor Steve" piece is a work of art.

I'm pleased I'm banned 

[TRon]

1 hour ago, Interpolic said:

My take is that Bruce realises that he's got away with it massively this season and next season he might not be so lucky.  Especially now fans and some players clearly hate him.

He wants his pay-off without having to deal with fans IRL next season.  In his head he deserves it, achieved what his boss asked for and can leave with his fat stupid head held high.  I'd honestly have a small slither of respect for him if he walked away without a pay-off but there's absolutely no chance.  Like all PFMs he's a self-obsessed, money-obsessed conman with no integrity or genuine passion for the game beyond what he can get out of it for himself.

Regardless of what we think, his reputation has been restored among the football experts like Redknapp and Merse, so tbh he'll never have a better opportunity to leave with his fat head held high. He'll find some other chump chairman to give him a job and the "Ahv been in this game for 20 odd years Ah think ah knaa what ah'm talkin abowt" lines will be back in play for another couple of years. 

[Candi_Hills]

Rafa in next season with buckets to spend. Then draw Steve Bruce's Grimsby in the cup.

[joeyt]

 

[Ben]

 

[Dokko]

5 hours ago, STM said:

Since when did it become OK to be an absolute Cunt and then whilst taking the flack for being a Cunt, then say "look, abuse!"?

Since 9.7.2005

[Rocker]

Just put me in a room with these cunts man. I'd love it. 

[Robster]

Oh no. Simon Jordan doesn't like us. Whatever will we do.

[deejeck]

Coming up on Talksport:

Win a £100 Wickes voucher, calls cost 75 quid. 

We'll have 147 commercials for builders merchants. 

And stay tuned because at ten we have your daily dose of sensationalised bullshit with the yellow nonce. 

 

[Guest reefatoon]

The fans at the Sheff Utd game need to do their job. Can’t be letting this dick head off at all. Fucking rinse the bastard.

[STM]

57 minutes ago, Dokko said:

Since 9.7.2005

[Darth Crooks]

I wish people would see the talk sport engagement model for what it is and they might be forced to do some actual sports journalism

[Billy Pilgrim]

Simon Jordan is a chancing spiv gobshite who totally has it in for us because he simply doesn’t understand the basics of supporting a big team in the north. Simon Jordan didn’t go to a school where all his mates supported either one local club or their rivals.

As for Bruce, I’m starting to get the whiff of him having had enough of the job already, and would welcome any resignation, but if he has no intention of resigning the least he can do for all our sakes is stop picking fights with the fans and keep his mouth shut unless it’s to verbally fellate us. 

[Collage]

31 minutes ago, reefatoon said:

The fans at the Sheff Utd game need to do their job. Can’t be letting this dick head off at all. Fucking rinse the bastard.

Cabbage time

[Consortium of one]

so if we wind up 15th, Brucie Shitinhispants is going to thump his chest after he gets his back slapped?

[deejeck]

That Luke Edwards article, dear God! I wasn't going to read it, but curiosity got the better of me. It's by far his biggest piece of Bruce propaganda to date. 

Spoiler

Newcastle United have achieved everything owner Mike Ashley wanted them to do once more, so why is Steve Bruce not certain to remain as manager next season?

For a second year running, Bruce kept the team in the Premier League with a degree of ease that makes the constant criticism and stress on Tyneside feel misplaced.

That criticism, though, is not subsiding and has been there since he arrived in July 2019. 

Even after a run of two defeats in 10 games, which climaxed with a hugely impressive 4-2 win at Champions League-chasing Leicester City last week, social media remains full of resentment towards Bruce.

Almost every fanzine and podcaster constantly looks for reasons to be offended by his continued presence at St James’ Park, each one seemingly trying harder than the next to be angered.

Whether this is a true reflection of the public mood has been impossible to ascertain. The return of around 10,000 fans to St James’ Park for the final home game against Sheffield United will offer some clues.

Advertisement

 

Whether it has been the style of football, results or merely the words that come out of his mouth, Bruce has been persistently attacked and derided for the past two years. It has come in the local media, as well as supporter-led alternatives.

When the team plays badly, it is entirely the manager’s fault. When the team plays well, it is entirely down to the players.

A series of meetings are planned for the next few weeks, which will include a conversation between Ashley and Bruce which will go a long way to deciding whether the Magpies are going to be looking for a new head coach.

Telegraph Sport takes a look at the reasons why Bruce should stay but also the argument for him to go:

Reasons for him to stay

When you have done everything the person who employs you has asked you to do, why would any manager feel they have failed? It is a rhetorical question - Bruce has not failed. 

It is debatable whether anyone could have done any better. To argue they would have done conveniently ignores the limitations of the players and the problems suffered with injuries and a massive Covid outbreak before Christmas.

Advertisement

 

The team has spent only a handful of days in the bottom three since he took over, only occasionally flirting with the threat of relegation.

The winter slump was a huge concern and there were justifiable grounds to sack Bruce in March with just two wins in 22 in all competitions. However, the turnaround since then has been nothing short of remarkable. The win over Leicester, in particular, was as well as Newcastle have played since they returned to the Premier League four years ago.

Newcastle have a bottom-half-of-the-table squad. It is probably a bottom-eight squad given the midfield and centre of defence is almost identical to the one that was promoted from the Championship in 2016 and which has battled to avoid the drop for four successive years.

Bruce wanted a new centre-back and a central-midfield player last summer but was denied the funds. Only since Joe Willock arrived at the end of January, on loan from Arsenal, did he get an upgrade. One of his summer signings, Ryan Fraser, has been injured for almost the entire season while another free-transfer arrival, Jeff Hendrick, has underwhelmed to say the least

Advertisement

 

The club’s record signing, Joelinton, remains a monumental waste of money, a £40 million forward who, despite some small improvements, has still scored only five league goals in two seasons.

Joelinton continues to struggle in front of goal CREDIT: REUTERS

And when you take Allan Saint Maximin (only 16 starts in the league because of injuries and Covid) and Callum Wilson - who Bruce pushed to sign and got his way - (23 starts) out of the team, Newcastle struggle. They are the two best players. Without them, the forward line is Championship standard. 

So Bruce has done what he can. It was not the top-10 finish he said he was targeting, but it was another solid campaign in the end.

There is nothing to celebrate, but when you consider Newcastle’s average league finish under Ashley is 13th - which includes just two top-10 finishes and two relegations - he can hold his head high. If he wants to carry on, he has earned the right to do so.

Premier League latest standings 2020/21 (bottom seven)

 

Reasons for him to go

It is not certain he wants to carry on. Far from it. Bruce could well leave. Much will depend on what sort of transfer budget he is offered to improve a squad that lacks the quality in key areas to compete in the top 10.

Advertisement

 

Bruce has been beaten up; badly hurt by the treatment he has received. Supporters will say that is entirely his own fault and will have no sympathy. 

With that sort of attitude, what reason does Bruce have to continue? There are people around him who are urging for him to leave because, they feel, he does not deserve what he has been subjected to.

He will get another job elsewhere, whether it is in the Championship or the Premier League. His stock, if anything, has risen nationally.

That sentence will annoy Newcastle supporters, but it is true. When you take a step back from the emotion - the years of frustration and under-performance under Ashley, the what-might-have-been if Saudi Arabia had been able to buy the club, the fact Bruce replaced the hugely-popular and immensely-talented Rafa Benitez - he has done a good job in difficult circumstances

But is he the man who is going to improve the team and will he have the chance to do so in terms of recruitment? 

Bruce has never consistently led a team into the top 10 in the Premier League so why should anyone believe he can do it with Newcastle? Is this his ceiling? 

 

[Mattoon]

4 minutes ago, deejeck said:

That Luke Edwards article, dear God! I wasn't going to read it, but curiosity got the better of me. It's by far his biggest piece of Bruce propaganda to date. 

  Reveal hidden contents

Newcastle United have achieved everything owner Mike Ashley wanted them to do once more, so why is Steve Bruce not certain to remain as manager next season?

For a second year running, Bruce kept the team in the Premier League with a degree of ease that makes the constant criticism and stress on Tyneside feel misplaced.

That criticism, though, is not subsiding and has been there since he arrived in July 2019. 

Even after a run of two defeats in 10 games, which climaxed with a hugely impressive 4-2 win at Champions League-chasing Leicester City last week, social media remains full of resentment towards Bruce.

Almost every fanzine and podcaster constantly looks for reasons to be offended by his continued presence at St James’ Park, each one seemingly trying harder than the next to be angered.

Whether this is a true reflection of the public mood has been impossible to ascertain. The return of around 10,000 fans to St James’ Park for the final home game against Sheffield United will offer some clues.

Advertisement

 

Whether it has been the style of football, results or merely the words that come out of his mouth, Bruce has been persistently attacked and derided for the past two years. It has come in the local media, as well as supporter-led alternatives.

When the team plays badly, it is entirely the manager’s fault. When the team plays well, it is entirely down to the players.

A series of meetings are planned for the next few weeks, which will include a conversation between Ashley and Bruce which will go a long way to deciding whether the Magpies are going to be looking for a new head coach.

Telegraph Sport takes a look at the reasons why Bruce should stay but also the argument for him to go:

Reasons for him to stay

When you have done everything the person who employs you has asked you to do, why would any manager feel they have failed? It is a rhetorical question - Bruce has not failed. 

It is debatable whether anyone could have done any better. To argue they would have done conveniently ignores the limitations of the players and the problems suffered with injuries and a massive Covid outbreak before Christmas.

Advertisement

 

The team has spent only a handful of days in the bottom three since he took over, only occasionally flirting with the threat of relegation.

The winter slump was a huge concern and there were justifiable grounds to sack Bruce in March with just two wins in 22 in all competitions. However, the turnaround since then has been nothing short of remarkable. The win over Leicester, in particular, was as well as Newcastle have played since they returned to the Premier League four years ago.

Newcastle have a bottom-half-of-the-table squad. It is probably a bottom-eight squad given the midfield and centre of defence is almost identical to the one that was promoted from the Championship in 2016 and which has battled to avoid the drop for four successive years.

Bruce wanted a new centre-back and a central-midfield player last summer but was denied the funds. Only since Joe Willock arrived at the end of January, on loan from Arsenal, did he get an upgrade. One of his summer signings, Ryan Fraser, has been injured for almost the entire season while another free-transfer arrival, Jeff Hendrick, has underwhelmed to say the least

Advertisement

 

The club’s record signing, Joelinton, remains a monumental waste of money, a £40 million forward who, despite some small improvements, has still scored only five league goals in two seasons.

Joelinton continues to struggle in front of goal CREDIT: REUTERS

And when you take Allan Saint Maximin (only 16 starts in the league because of injuries and Covid) and Callum Wilson - who Bruce pushed to sign and got his way - (23 starts) out of the team, Newcastle struggle. They are the two best players. Without them, the forward line is Championship standard. 

So Bruce has done what he can. It was not the top-10 finish he said he was targeting, but it was another solid campaign in the end.

There is nothing to celebrate, but when you consider Newcastle’s average league finish under Ashley is 13th - which includes just two top-10 finishes and two relegations - he can hold his head high. If he wants to carry on, he has earned the right to do so.

Premier League latest standings 2020/21 (bottom seven)

 

Reasons for him to go

It is not certain he wants to carry on. Far from it. Bruce could well leave. Much will depend on what sort of transfer budget he is offered to improve a squad that lacks the quality in key areas to compete in the top 10.

Advertisement

 

Bruce has been beaten up; badly hurt by the treatment he has received. Supporters will say that is entirely his own fault and will have no sympathy. 

With that sort of attitude, what reason does Bruce have to continue? There are people around him who are urging for him to leave because, they feel, he does not deserve what he has been subjected to.

He will get another job elsewhere, whether it is in the Championship or the Premier League. His stock, if anything, has risen nationally.

That sentence will annoy Newcastle supporters, but it is true. When you take a step back from the emotion - the years of frustration and under-performance under Ashley, the what-might-have-been if Saudi Arabia had been able to buy the club, the fact Bruce replaced the hugely-popular and immensely-talented Rafa Benitez - he has done a good job in difficult circumstances

But is he the man who is going to improve the team and will he have the chance to do so in terms of recruitment? 

Bruce has never consistently led a team into the top 10 in the Premier League so why should anyone believe he can do it with Newcastle? Is this his ceiling? 

 

Yeah I got half way through and vomited my way to a dry heave so gave up. Verbal Brucie falacio.

[Holmesy]

1 hour ago, Billy Pilgrim said:

Simon Jordan is a chancing spiv gobshite who totally has it in for us because he simply doesn’t understand the basics of supporting a big team in the north. Simon Jordan didn’t go to a school where all his mates supported either one local club or their rivals.

As for Bruce, I’m starting to get the whiff of him having had enough of the job already, and would welcome any resignation, but if he has no intention of resigning the least he can do for all our sakes is stop picking fights with the fans and keep his mouth shut unless it’s to verbally fellate us. 

Jordan is a clever guy (and a total cunt). He knows how to play the game to keep himself relevant enough to be in the b-list limelight, which keeps his ego massaged. 
 

Water off a Duck’s back. 

[Robster]

15 minutes ago, deejeck said:

That Luke Edwards article, dear God! I wasn't going to read it, but curiosity got the better of me. It's by far his biggest piece of Bruce propaganda to date. 

  Reveal hidden contents

Newcastle United have achieved everything owner Mike Ashley wanted them to do once more, so why is Steve Bruce not certain to remain as manager next season?

For a second year running, Bruce kept the team in the Premier League with a degree of ease that makes the constant criticism and stress on Tyneside feel misplaced.

That criticism, though, is not subsiding and has been there since he arrived in July 2019. 

Even after a run of two defeats in 10 games, which climaxed with a hugely impressive 4-2 win at Champions League-chasing Leicester City last week, social media remains full of resentment towards Bruce.

Almost every fanzine and podcaster constantly looks for reasons to be offended by his continued presence at St James’ Park, each one seemingly trying harder than the next to be angered.

Whether this is a true reflection of the public mood has been impossible to ascertain. The return of around 10,000 fans to St James’ Park for the final home game against Sheffield United will offer some clues.

Advertisement

 

Whether it has been the style of football, results or merely the words that come out of his mouth, Bruce has been persistently attacked and derided for the past two years. It has come in the local media, as well as supporter-led alternatives.

When the team plays badly, it is entirely the manager’s fault. When the team plays well, it is entirely down to the players.

A series of meetings are planned for the next few weeks, which will include a conversation between Ashley and Bruce which will go a long way to deciding whether the Magpies are going to be looking for a new head coach.

Telegraph Sport takes a look at the reasons why Bruce should stay but also the argument for him to go:

Reasons for him to stay

When you have done everything the person who employs you has asked you to do, why would any manager feel they have failed? It is a rhetorical question - Bruce has not failed. 

It is debatable whether anyone could have done any better. To argue they would have done conveniently ignores the limitations of the players and the problems suffered with injuries and a massive Covid outbreak before Christmas.

Advertisement

 

The team has spent only a handful of days in the bottom three since he took over, only occasionally flirting with the threat of relegation.

The winter slump was a huge concern and there were justifiable grounds to sack Bruce in March with just two wins in 22 in all competitions. However, the turnaround since then has been nothing short of remarkable. The win over Leicester, in particular, was as well as Newcastle have played since they returned to the Premier League four years ago.

Newcastle have a bottom-half-of-the-table squad. It is probably a bottom-eight squad given the midfield and centre of defence is almost identical to the one that was promoted from the Championship in 2016 and which has battled to avoid the drop for four successive years.

Bruce wanted a new centre-back and a central-midfield player last summer but was denied the funds. Only since Joe Willock arrived at the end of January, on loan from Arsenal, did he get an upgrade. One of his summer signings, Ryan Fraser, has been injured for almost the entire season while another free-transfer arrival, Jeff Hendrick, has underwhelmed to say the least

Advertisement

 

The club’s record signing, Joelinton, remains a monumental waste of money, a £40 million forward who, despite some small improvements, has still scored only five league goals in two seasons.

Joelinton continues to struggle in front of goal CREDIT: REUTERS

And when you take Allan Saint Maximin (only 16 starts in the league because of injuries and Covid) and Callum Wilson - who Bruce pushed to sign and got his way - (23 starts) out of the team, Newcastle struggle. They are the two best players. Without them, the forward line is Championship standard. 

So Bruce has done what he can. It was not the top-10 finish he said he was targeting, but it was another solid campaign in the end.

There is nothing to celebrate, but when you consider Newcastle’s average league finish under Ashley is 13th - which includes just two top-10 finishes and two relegations - he can hold his head high. If he wants to carry on, he has earned the right to do so.

Premier League latest standings 2020/21 (bottom seven)

 

Reasons for him to go

It is not certain he wants to carry on. Far from it. Bruce could well leave. Much will depend on what sort of transfer budget he is offered to improve a squad that lacks the quality in key areas to compete in the top 10.

Advertisement

 

Bruce has been beaten up; badly hurt by the treatment he has received. Supporters will say that is entirely his own fault and will have no sympathy. 

With that sort of attitude, what reason does Bruce have to continue? There are people around him who are urging for him to leave because, they feel, he does not deserve what he has been subjected to.

He will get another job elsewhere, whether it is in the Championship or the Premier League. His stock, if anything, has risen nationally.

That sentence will annoy Newcastle supporters, but it is true. When you take a step back from the emotion - the years of frustration and under-performance under Ashley, the what-might-have-been if Saudi Arabia had been able to buy the club, the fact Bruce replaced the hugely-popular and immensely-talented Rafa Benitez - he has done a good job in difficult circumstances

But is he the man who is going to improve the team and will he have the chance to do so in terms of recruitment? 

Bruce has never consistently led a team into the top 10 in the Premier League so why should anyone believe he can do it with Newcastle? Is this his ceiling? 

 

Why would you bother ?