GEORDIE FANS DESERVE WEMBLEY BRUCIE BONUS
IT WAS late October when I visited Newcastle for a project with Amazon. The focus of our work was a chat with Steve Bruce and after the cameras stopped rolling, our talk continued. I’ve always respected Bruce and I thought he deserved credit for taking the Newcastle job last summer. He had an unenviable task following Rafa Benitez, who commanded such loyal support, and he barely had any time to prepare for the campaign. During the course of our conversation, Bruce told me what it would mean to him to bring happiness to Newcastle’s fans. I know he has managed Sunderland — something that some will never forgive — but the depth of feeling he has for Newcastle was written all over his face.
Managing Newcastle seems, from afar, to be an impossible job but I took notice of their FA Cup replay win against Rochdale in midweek, particularly as the fourth round has presented them with a tie against Oxford United. I’m not saying Newcastle will win the FA Cup but I would love to see them progress to the latter stages and see black-and-white stripes filling Wembley Stadium. The fans have suffered enough and deserve a big day out in the sun. If Bruce was able to win something, it would be an incredible achievement — perhaps the best of his managerial career. It seems popular to criticise him but he has worked wonders, given injuries and other such problems, to have Newcastle where they are. Long may it continue.