Bruce HAD to take his dream job but it could quickly turn into a nightmare as Toon civil war threatens to escalate
STEVE BRUCE has taken on the biggest job of his managerial life – and I fear it’s a battle he just can’t win.
Newcastle owner Mike Ashley has gone for the safest of safe options by appointing a fella, who was born in Northumberland, stood on the Gallowgate End as a kid and probably thinks there is nothing he hasn’t seen in his previous 10 managerial jobs that he won’t encounter at St James’ Park.
And, in many ways, it’s a free hit for Bruce because the expectation that he will be able to keep Newcastle in the Premier League is already so low.
That has been illustrated perfectly by the fact that, in the last few days, there has been a flood of bets placed on them to be relegated.
Steve will not look at it that way, of course. He will back himself to keep the Magpies in the top flight.
I fully understand why he walked out of Sheffield Wednesday to take up the reins at St James’.
It’s his dream job and he probably thought he would live to regret it, if he had not taken the plunge.
But he has picked up a chalice that is brimming with poison.
Steve has inherited a Newcastle squad weakened by departures and suffering badly from underinvestment.
He has also walked into the middle of a war between Ashley and supporters who are desperate to see the club’s owner thrown out of Toon.
I think the way Ashley treated Rafa Benitez – a manager who worked miracles to ensure Newcastle punched well about their weight in the three seasons since the return to t he Premie r League – was an act of vandalism that even the most forgiving supporter will never be able to comprehend.
But Ashley has been extremely clever by appointing Bruce.
The word is that he was knocked back when he approached a host of other managers.
So he targeted someone he knew had a powerful emotional attachment to the club.
I have heard it suggested that Steve’s previous employment with Newcastle’s bitter rivals Sunderland will mean the Geordie faithful will never accept him as their manager.
But, as with every boss in the history of football, the fans’ relationship with him will be shaped by what happens out on the pitch. Results will make or break Steve.
And even if he looks at the Premier League and re a l l y believes there are three weaker squads out there, the reality is that no other team will be playing against a backdrop of such enmity between supporters and boardroom.
If the fans follow up their promise to boycott games, then Newcastle will lose their biggest strength – the passion the 52,000-strong Toon Army generates every week.
That hardcore support is the only reason Newcastle can be even considered a “big club”.
When did they last win something? 1969, wasn’t it?
I’m hoping – for the sake of both Bruce and the Magpies’ fans – that the new manager has been given guarantees there will be a significant investment in new players before the season kicks off.
But I’m not sure the owner would do that. After all, if he has made those kinds of assurances to Bruce, why the hell didn’t he give them to Benitez (above, inset)? Which brings me on to the curious case of Ashley ( below, inset). I’m desperate to know what his real strategy is for the club.
He apparently wants to sell up for £ 300million – and, in normal circumstances, that would be a steal, given that Newcastle is a one-team city with massive potential.
But, if someone was selling a house and they knew they would get a much better price with just a few renovations, surely they would invest in the repairs to make even more money?
Maximising profit is something that a billionaire like Ashley doesn’t need lessons in, of course.
But I would love him to break his silence on what his plan is.
Because, at the moment, he just seems intent on breaking the hearts and minds of some of the best supporters in the game.