Sunday 27 November 2011

Bruce

I don't usually write a blog on a Sunday but yesterday's events has prompted me too. I did not want the usual Thursday/Friday blog to be all about Bruce. I will say what I feel right at the start. Bruce is past his sell by date and should of gone in the summer, never mind after yesterdays mess.

Some in the national media think that this is just a recent disenchantment between fans and manager but it is not, it was building from the middle of last season. Just look at his home record for 2011, 3 wins, 2 of them last season. We had a horrendous second half of the season 2010-11, Feb, March, April we had 1 win home or away. We may of ended 10th but that was a lucky 10th, down mainly to the first half of the season. This season 2 wins. Is this the form to endear the fans to the manager?

The excuse early on was, Bruce has bought 11 players who needed time to gel. None of the media asked why did he need to buy 11 players. The main reason was he had so many loan players last season, he was always going to have get in a large number of players coming in. Was that good planing? Add to that his release of Steed, Reid & Zendon. Maybe they had to go to get the wages down but that should of been obvious to the management.

His buys have mainly proved to be ineffective, he cannot see that players who have left needs to be replaced. This started with the sale of Collins. That was a bolt out of the blue. Collins could not be described as one of the leagues best left backs but he was our only left back. McCartney was called a left back but why he was brought back goodness know. Injury prone & slow and just rubbish. One thing Collins give was an adequate LB, who could always be trusted to play his heart out & you could see him improving. I have no complaints at selling him but don't sell him without buying a replacement. We are now into our 3rd season without a replacement. Jones was sold without a replacement, again with Bent. Lastly Gyan had been wanting to leave for all of 2011, yet we had no replacement lined up for him,  never mind for Bent. As a last minute roll of the dice he signed on loan Bendtner. Since January 2011 we have been 1 experienced striker short.

His other buys, the S. American's who he made a name of unearthing were a disaster.  None have proved to be a success and have moved on. Except for 1 mysterious right back who we have barely seen or heard about, Angeleri. Others have also failed or have left within a season, re Cana, Bent & Gyan. Why can't Bruce keep the good players, why do they want to leave after a season or less? Is it bad man management or does he just buy good players who are money mad, and will move anywhere for their bigger  & bigger pot of gold? Is there something happening that we don't know about?

By his scatter gun approach to buying players, we do have some decent one and we do play some good football these days. The defence is looking more sound even without a decent left back. His tactics are very confusing though. If plan A does not work, he does not seem to have a plan B. Take yesterday, we were playing against the bottom team with no away win. Do we give the young lad with fire in his belly after returning for a year off and freely scoring for the reserves. Last week he was on the bench when he should of started, this week he was no where to be seen. Do we play Ji, the only fit striker who can be called anywhere near 'experienced'. No, we start with only Bendtner up front. Even then Bendtner spent most of his time in midfield, as he did last week. In midfield we have Colback & Catts, two defensive players. Colback does go forward and will given time start to score himself, not many mind. As I said previously we don't need both. We should of had Gardner who has scored for us instead of Catts. The player who Bruce said last season should be playing for England at LB, he moved him to play behind Bendtner. His plan B was not to bring a second striker on when we had lost our way. He did not move our 'England' LB to LB to bring a striker on. No move Colback to a LB where is unaccustomed to playing and bring on both Vaughan & Gardner, with Catts & Bardsley coming off. Yes we needed more creativity in midfield but removing both  lost us our midfield bite and made the left side even weaker. Where did the 2nd goal come from, the left, as well as shocking defending. Ji came on with 7 minutes to go. An improvement on  bring Noble on last week with 3 minutes left but not enough time to make a real difference.

Bruce has now had three new teams and still we look disorganised, lacking players in certain areas. It seems that he does not really know what his best team is. With constant changes not set team or patten of play. Bruce therefore cannot criticise the players or anyone else. He bought them and he replaced the ones he did not like. This is his team, no one else's. Therefore if they fail it is down to him.

Bruce lost more of the fans when he started to blame us for putting too much pressure on the team. When you see the team's record for last season and how we have started this season, can you blame us for being unhappy! We are unhappy because the team are playing badly not that the team is playing badly because we were unhappy. Week after week it is one excuse after another, none of it aimed at himself. He even blamed injuries, what injuries? Yes, Wickham's is unfortunate but Bruce did say earlier that him & Ji were youngsters and were not for this season. Therefore the problem is not Wickham being injured but the lack of experienced strikers. Who has left us short of strikers, one Mr Bruce Yes, Mignolet is injured but has Westwood weakened the team? No, if anything he might of improved it.

I have not heard one voice raised in support of Bruce. I have heard voices saying they would not return to SOL until he is gone. I remember the Wilko era and how many fans were lost then, a large number of whom have still not returned. Bruce has made plain that he is not going to walk, well if it is going to cost him £6m to walk in a way I don't blame him. Who would turn down £6m? I don't agree with some of the chants yesterday. He is not a bad man just a bad manager. That he is a Geordie in my view has nothing at all to do with it or how we are playing. At the end of the game saying Bruce out is legitimate and if I was there that is what I would of been saying. Don't make it offensive though as it does our image no good.

If Bruce won't walk then we have to hope that Short will put his business head on. He needs to ask himself what is the cost of sacking him against the cost of keeping him. The cost of sacking him is reportedly £6m. The cost of keeping him is a fall in attendance and the very realistic prospect of relegation and that could be around £40m plus a down turn in sponsorship. If he is to go then now is the time. This will give us time to get a new guy in and for him to assess the team before the transfer window opens.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Since writing this I have heard the sad news about Gary Speed. He was a well loved man who it seems had some demons. He hid them well as people with depression can do. They go around with a smile and people don't realise the darkness and pain that is inside them.

People feel they have the right to shout obscenities and foul abuse at football stars, managers and chairman. They will do it in front of these people's family & children. Remember they all have feelings, their families have feelings and to their children, they are heroes. How would your kids feel if someone started shouting vile things at you and about you? Yes we may not like what they are doing. Yes we may want them out of the club but Bruce did not come here to destroy the club. He did not mean to lose against Wigan. He failed, we all fail in life. How would you like it if you failed at work and you and your family got vile abuse because of it?

They maybe on big money but it does not take away their right to be treated as we would like to be treated or how our family and children should be treated. If Bruce has not gone by Wolves and you want to voice your unhappiness remember Gary Speed and treat Bruce as a human being, with feelings and remember  you are a rational human.

Yes we can still say "Bruce Out" but lets this time say it with grace.

BRUCE   OUT  !!!!!, please


No comments:

Post a Comment