Bruce Almighty? Possibly not but he’s Bruce alrighty
MAX ALLEGRI, Mauricio Pochettino, Roberto Mancini – all poised to become the next Newcastle United manager. Steve Bruce must feel honoured.
Eight months ago, the trio would have struggled to pinpoint the city on a map – now they’re being shortlisted for a job that’s not even vacant.
It’s still a well-paid gig being a Premier League manager. Yet this lot weren’t exactly tripping over themselves at the prospect of working for Mike Ashley.
All of a sudden, there’s a takeover and dreamy, dewy-eyed Geordies, dreaming of what-never-has-been, are going all gooey at the prospect of a ‘big name’ boss.
Let me tell you one thing straight: You’ve got one, already – and the fella deserves a proper crack at it.
Why?
First, he’s in the job – and he’s not ever really had a chance to prove himself, not with the kind of riches with which he’s about to be endowed.
Bruce has been like a cute mongrel as far as management is concerned. He’s not got a pedigree – but then he’s never had a chance to earn one.
When has he bossed a top club with financial clout?
But every owner who has employed him has not had chance to regret it.
He’s pretty much left every club in a better place than he found it. Crystal
Palace? Absolutely. Birmingham? Ditto. Wigan? The same. Sunderland? Well, he received £40million from the sales of Darren Bent and Jordan Henderson before it came crashing down.
He guided Hull City into the Premier League and Europe. That’s a feat that won’t be repeated.
And Aston Villa had won four matches out of 54. Bruce took them to within 90 minutes of the Premier League.
At the risk of repeating myself from six months ago when Bruce was announced in the job on Tyneside to the sound of apathy pretty much everywhere – his record stands up to scrutiny.
A fact hammered home within a couple of weeks of this current campaign when the Toon secured victory over Champions League runners-up Tottenham.
Bruce hasn’t done anything wrong, despite the fact he’s got £35m misfit Joelinton running around up front.
And surely because of the furore surrounding the takeover the best way to front the club is to have a Geordie running the football side of things.
You could raise serious questions about all three of the above candidates.
First, Allegri hasn’t managed in the Premier League.
Pochettino – for all the fanfare and gushing tributes written about his time at White Hart Lane – actually won nothing, although reaching the Champions League
THIS week’s greatest story had the following headline: “Faustino Asprilla (left) vows to deliver condoms from his own range by drone to help shortage during the coronavirus crisis.” There are no further words that can do the above sentence justice.
are final was a huge mark in his favour. Mancini is at Inter Milan, orchestrating the assembly of a Dad’s Army by the looks of it at some expense.
Also, apart from re-regurgitating Bruce’s CV, there’s the very real point about creating a problem when there’s not one there.
Managerial changes should only ever take place when results on the pitch aren’t up to scratch.
If you go looking for better, it rarely changes for the good – and the new owners would be putting themselves under immediate pressure unnecessarily.
And if anyone thinks that the prospect of working for Pochettino, Allegri or Mancini is why players will be signing for Newcastle United, they’re deluded.
The answer will be in the bank balance of the players concerned.
So, stick with Bruce and don’t go upsetting the applecart – he knows his players, knows the club and, deserves a big chance he’s been waiting for.
WHAT is it with
Tottenham and social distancing? First it was Jose Mourinho, now it’s Serge Aurier and Moussa Sissoko ignoring the rules. What’s more, they posted images of themselves, putting them bang in the frame – and taking stupidity to a new level. The post-offence apologies are wearing thin now. There’s no excuse.
Frankly, it’s pathetic, selfish behaviour. Hopefully, the money they’ve been fined will go to a deserving
cause.