Birflatt Boy pulls no punches in a unforgiving verdict on Steve Bruce. To some, it will appear excessively harsh and even unfair; tomorrow you will find a contrary argument here. Take your pick …
In today’s Sunderland Echo, it is reported that Steve Bruce confesses to being bewildered at the early-season pressure he finds himself and his players under, especially considering the club is in lower mid-table rather than in the relegation zone.
He is quoted as saying: “There’s a huge, big expectation here – an expectation that you would expect from a Champions’ League side.”
All this comes in the wake of sporadic shouts of “Bruce out” when Sunderland shipped two early goals against West Brom on Saturday. “I don’t know where it comes from – probably the size of the crowd and the passion of the place itself,” he said.
Well these comments just go to show how detached the Sunderland manager has become. Does he realise that had the current run (since January 1) begun last August that we would have been relegated.
He is out of order, so completely out of order that the majority of Sunderland fans who are the collective personification of patience and endurance will be offended by this latest outburst.
Bruce’s comments are as infuriating as his team’s performances. It’s not European qualification that concerns us. Midweek trips to Basle or Madrid are
not at the forefront of our minds. It’s the prospect of fixtures and Barnsley and Millwall that is driving us spare.
If “expecting” to win more than two home games in nine months, or to keep the occasional clean sheet, is unreasonable then yes, we are totally unreasonable! If expecting you to be able to adequately replace players who have been sold then yes we are totally unreasonable about that too.
Where our unreasonableness knows no bounds though Steve, is expecting to start cup ties with a forward on the field. We also have the outlandish and outrageous notion that we shouldn’t be going to places like Norwich and have a back four that doesn’t look like a rabbit caught in the headlights.
We are looking head on at a relegation battle. Let’s make no bones about that. At 3.10pm on Saturday you were a sacked man, who was dealt a “get out of jail” card, courtesy of a WBA team that was almost as bad as yours was. You were extremely lucky, but then you have the gall to blame the supporters for our current plight.
The only expectation that I haven’t mentioned is the one about the manager taking some responsibility for his own failings and those of his team. It has to be said that your post match comments and between-match statements fall far short of meeting that expectation.
.
I think Mr Bruce forgets he is paid to win football matches,something he is not doing lately.The only pressure on him is entirely self inflicted.If he wants supporters happy,win some bleedin games,don’t winge,it certainly will not endear unhappy supporters.And definatley don’t winge when you fail to beat a very poor team at home and having gone 2 down in probably the worst 4 mins I have witnessed for many a year.
Its all reminiscent of Keane turning on supporters towards the fag end of his days here.Once you turn on the fans there is no going back.If Bruce seriously doesnt know where this disenchantment is coming from he should never have come here.If he cant stand the heat its time to get out of the kitchen.
it’s not as if our expectations are that high. We’re not after winning the Champions League or even the Prem – all we want (at the moment) is a better league position than last season,, followed by a better one next season. And a team that looks like it gives an arse about the League or FA Cup
You’ll need more than an overcoat if we ended up with MacLaren Pete. He might well lend you his brolly though if it turns wet.
Steve McClaren’s available – I’ll get my coat!!
All of his managerial career has been spent making the same lame excuses but even I have to admit this ones a dousey!
Hoprfully the days are numbered for Mr. Excuse.
Not only have we not had a decent wide player on the left since who knows when,we have not had a decent left back since he got rid of Danny Collins–and dont tell me that Bardsley is a left back because he simply is not. We sold Benty without having a genuine goalscorer to replace him and one only has to look at our results since his departure to see what effect that disastrous decision has had on our results.We all accept that it may take new players a little time to settle but you dont need to look far to see that it doesnt need to be like that.
“Unless we are truly despicable and watch online.”
Or go down the pub! 🙂
Yeah, we just happen to be lining the pockets of the players and their witless manager. Unless we are truly despicable and watch online.
It’s not the players though Derek. It’s us man! We are the guilty ones, the ones who have put up with Bruce’s crap for an awfully long time.
Like every contributor I want Bruce to succeed but I can no longer see it.
If, after 10 years of managing at this level he still has no tactical nous then when will acquire it?
If after 25 years of defending at the top level he still can’t get his team to defend properly when will he?
If he can’t see that performances throughout 2011 have been generally poor to abject what hope have we?
If he purports to be a potential England manager why is it he makes excuses about players who train together every day not gelling yet ?
If he thinks expecting to beat the likes of West Brom, Wolves and Notts County at home and expecting the team to turn up when we play Newcastle amount to high expectations then what exactly are his expectations ?
If he truly believes we are interested in his fatuous excuses anymore then he is completely and utterly deluded.
Enough is enough.
We can read a whole lot between the lines about what is going on here with this news!
In simple terms he is ruining this club and needs to be stopped. How could he possibly be doing any worse. His results are on par with Sbragia’s and yet Bruce has had a fortune to spend. He just doesn’t get it.
If my missus was in charge it couldn’t be any worse than this! Mrs Birflatt would at least take some responsibility for bad results.
I used to think that he was an amiable character, but I am coming to the conclusion that Quinn has been taken in by this way of his. Unfortunately Quinn is going to suffer the same fate as him unless he makes a change. Wouldn’t you just love a 10 minute candid conversation with Mr Short though?
Wow. Maybe a tougher regime will now unfold. I can’t see Short putting up with much more of this
and now Niall has stepped down as chairman to go on holidays!!!
http://www.safc.com/news/20111003/quinn-to-assume-new-role_2256213_2471420?
The bloke is an idiot. Fair play to him for getting us to the mid league place even though, in my opinion, probably flattered us; Fair play for brining in some good players with obvious potential but he simply does not know what to do with them!
We could all sit here and write all day about the players who have come and gone, blame the Bent and Gyan on pure greed, blame the performances from the end of last seasons games on injuries but I just get the feeling that something is not quite right.
I was getting very, very bored of his excuses last season but now I just get peed off and angry with his latest comments.
A part of me thinks he/they can turn it around and we are only just into the season BUT how long does it go on for? I would struggle to be disappointed with the chairman and the owner if they just cut there losses with SB and moved onto somebody else.
FTM
He seems to think that he can spend as much as he wants on mediocre player that don’t work as a team, many of whom were brought in for huge fees and yet are inferior to some who left for nothing. He must be deranged to come out with sort of rhetoric, but I suspect that it’s driven by panic, rather than some rationale. Otherwise it’s no more than the rantings of the demented/
Completely agree. I can’t believe Bruce’s comments. Unlike Newcastle supporters, who consistently believe themselves to be cheated of their birthright at the top of the table, we have patiently accepted that our priority is to establish ourselves solidly in the lower to mid Premiership. However, there is a question mark over our very survival this year. We have already lost and drawn games we needed to win to guarantee a decent position in the League. We just managed to extricate ourselves from the bottom of the table last season. Does he really think that the fans should sit back and calmly accept the inconsitency and poor performances of the last year? There are other teams struggling, but most have had low levels of investment, unlike ourselves. He gets paid a lot of money to do his job and it is pressurised, but if you cant stand the heat……
I think this could be the straw that broke the camels back. To blame the supporters for daring to have an opinion what next a player makes a mistake, the goal keeper drops the ball will that be our fault Mr Bruce?