New manager, but the same old problems at Newcastle
It was only four months ago when Steve Bruce was reflecting that a journey might have come full circle. “I began my managerial career in Sheffield and it might come to an end in this city too,” he told The Daily Telegraph.
At 58, Bruce talked of lasting four more years at Hillsborough, of topping 1,000 games as a manager after almost reaching the landmark as a player. It is safe to say that Bruce was not predicting the unlikely coda to a career; just when it appeared he had been pigeonholed as a Championship manager, he has been granted arguably his biggest job to date.
A man who has taken charge of Sheffield United and
Sheffield Wednesday, of Birmingham and Aston Villa now adds his native Newcastle to Sunderland on the list of enemies who have employed him.
If it speaks to Bruce’s longevity and to a record that is better than his detractors would admit, it also points to an essential amiability that has shielded him from accusations of disloyalty.
He has immediately shown his commitment by flying straight out to China after taking the job, speaking passionately to media about why he took the role, and then overseeing, from the stands after work visa issues, the 1-0 friendly win over West Ham United in Shanghai on Saturday. While unlikely to convince doubters, it did underline his heart is unquestionably in it.
It will take more then that to win over Newcastle supporters in the long term, however. While he is a Geordie, he has a smaller power base than Benitez, the Uefa Champions League winner turned Tyneside fans’ favourite.
Bruce, in contrast, has realised an ambition, both of his own and his late parents, to a backdrop of scepticism.
Benitez overachieved, relative to his transfer budget, to finish 10th and 13th. In a valedictory interview after his resignation and before he headed to China to manage Dalian Yifang, the Spaniard talked about “top ten, top eight and then maybe try for Europe”.
Ashley did not seem to share those aspirations. Bruce’s appointment may smack of managed decline, but Newcastle cannot afford to deteriorate too far. They have two relegations in the Ashley years, both in seasons when he put faith in managers – Joe Kinnear and Steve McClaren – whose recent experience was in the lower leagues.
Returning to England gives Bruce a chance to get to know his players, and begin to work out how he is going to a manage a squad hurt by the loss of Ayoze Perez and Salomon Rondon’s loan spell not becoming permanent. Unlike Benitez, Bruce is not renowned for his coaching, though he promises a warmer brand of man-management.
But any analysis of his two decades in the dugout shows he often stands or falls on the basis of his signings.
His contacts in the game may stem from his innate likeability but he has often used them astutely. Even though his time at Aston Villa ended in both sourness and the farce of a fan throwing a cabbage at him, his recruits – Tammy Abraham, John McGinn, Anwar El Ghazi – were instrumental in the promotion his successor, Dean Smith, won.
Ashley ought to allow him to recruit who he chooses. But the same could be said of his predecessor. The managers can change at Ashley’s Newcastle, but the issues remain the same.