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Tactically out-thought and unable to hold on to his stars, Steve Bruce has no one to blame but himself for Sunderland sacking
The ex-Manchester United defender lacked the attributes to recover from harrowing derby day defeats and with Mark Hughes primed to replace him, the Black Cats face a scrap
1 Dec 2011 08:14:00
COMMENT
By Rob Stewart
When it comes to making sense of the sacking of Steve Bruce as Sunderland manager it is tempting to hold the departure of star striker Darren Bent responsible but in reality the former Manchester United skipper has no one to blame but himself for his demise.
There are many who believe that Bent’s sudden defection to Aston Villa last January was the defining point in Bruce’s ill-fated reign but that is wrong because his dismissal is more to do with his own managerial shortcomings than the England’s striker’s ambitions.
When Bent moved for a club record £24 million the rot had already set in at the Stadium of Light and it was Bruce’s efforts against Sunderland’s hated rivals, Newcastle United, that had set the tone for an uncomfortable spell in charge.
Rather than Bent jumping ship, the beginning of the end had come for the 50-year-old Bruce when Sunderland were hammered 5-1 by an Andy Carroll-inspired Newcastle at St James’ Park.
After being out-manoeuvred by Chris Hughton, Bruce suggested that Sunderland fans would be unable to forgive him for that harrowing Sunday afternoon as everything that could go wrong did go wrong – and he was right.
He had the chance to make amends in the return fixture but again came up short as the Black Cats were given the run-around by Alan Pardew’s Magpies but somehow escaped with a face-saving draw.
Disillusioned, Bent, who scored 36 goals in 63 Sunderland games but was denied a pay rise and felt the club lacked ambition, handed in a transfer request in the wake of that Tyne-Wear derby. The warning signs were there for all to see.
And yet Bruce was rewarded with a new three-and-a-half year contract in February with the ultimate vote of confidence.
There was to be no lucky escape this season, though, as Pardew again out-thought his Sunderland counterpart to inspire Newcastle to a 1-0 win that saw the early optimism created by a 1-1 draw at Liverpool evaporate as local grumbling rose.
And there was plenty for the supporters to be unhappy about as well as Bruce’s own heritage as he had grown up on Tyneside as a Newcastle fan.
The affable Bruce had arrived from Wigan on Wearside as the man being tipped to re-install Sunderland as the North East’s top dogs following Newcastle’s relegation, but he proved unable to rise to the challenge.
There were a few highs, such as the 3-0 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last season, but there were far too many lows as he tasted defeat in 41 of his 98 games in charge and won just 29.
Too many times his Premier League rivals got the better of him when it came to the touchline battle of wits because they were tactically more adept than Bruce, who lacked attention to detail and an ability to think on his feet in the heat of battle.
It didn’t help that Sunderland’s recruitment policy was so haphazard, with a raft of new players
being brought to Wearside in the summer as Bruce went back to square one after two years in charge.
And his man-management also left plenty to be desired as £13m record-signing Asamoah Gyan was bought without the right homework being carried out and then allowed to leave the club for Al Ain on loan after the summer transfer window closed, leaving Bruce short of strikers.
He followed in the footsteps of not only Bent but Kenwyne Jones and Lorik Cana as Sunderland started to lose their best players, and also sold prized asset Jordan Henderson to Liverpool.
Many had lost faith in Bruce long ago and when Niall Quinn quit the chairman’s office earlier this season he lost his staunchest ally.
There have been plenty of misgivings and the animosity reached a crescendo last weekend against Wigan when Sunderland fans furiously turned on Bruce following Franco Di Santo’s late winner.
That meant there was something inevitable about Bruce's demise and the only surprise is that club owner Ellis Short did not wield the axe sooner.
Now Bruce’s former United colleague, Mark Hughes, is ready to come to the rescue.
He will have his work cut out to invigorate Sunderland, who began last season in Champions League form but now face the very real possibility of playing in the Championship next season.
Follow Rob Stewart on
By Rob Stewart
When it comes to making sense of the sacking of Steve Bruce as Sunderland manager it is tempting to hold the departure of star striker Darren Bent responsible but in reality the former Manchester United skipper has no one to blame but himself for his demise.
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There are many who believe that Bent’s sudden defection to Aston Villa last January was the defining point in Bruce’s ill-fated reign but that is wrong because his dismissal is more to do with his own managerial shortcomings than the England’s striker’s ambitions.
When Bent moved for a club record £24 million the rot had already set in at the Stadium of Light and it was Bruce’s efforts against Sunderland’s hated rivals, Newcastle United, that had set the tone for an uncomfortable spell in charge.
Rather than Bent jumping ship, the beginning of the end had come for the 50-year-old Bruce when Sunderland were hammered 5-1 by an Andy Carroll-inspired Newcastle at St James’ Park.
After being out-manoeuvred by Chris Hughton, Bruce suggested that Sunderland fans would be unable to forgive him for that harrowing Sunday afternoon as everything that could go wrong did go wrong – and he was right.
He had the chance to make amends in the return fixture but again came up short as the Black Cats were given the run-around by Alan Pardew’s Magpies but somehow escaped with a face-saving draw.
Disillusioned, Bent, who scored 36 goals in 63 Sunderland games but was denied a pay rise and felt the club lacked ambition, handed in a transfer request in the wake of that Tyne-Wear derby. The warning signs were there for all to see.
And yet Bruce was rewarded with a new three-and-a-half year contract in February with the ultimate vote of confidence.
Game over l Sunderland owner Ellis Short (left) with Steve Bruce (middle) and Niall Quinn
There was to be no lucky escape this season, though, as Pardew again out-thought his Sunderland counterpart to inspire Newcastle to a 1-0 win that saw the early optimism created by a 1-1 draw at Liverpool evaporate as local grumbling rose.
And there was plenty for the supporters to be unhappy about as well as Bruce’s own heritage as he had grown up on Tyneside as a Newcastle fan.
The affable Bruce had arrived from Wigan on Wearside as the man being tipped to re-install Sunderland as the North East’s top dogs following Newcastle’s relegation, but he proved unable to rise to the challenge.
There were a few highs, such as the 3-0 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last season, but there were far too many lows as he tasted defeat in 41 of his 98 games in charge and won just 29.
Too many times his Premier League rivals got the better of him when it came to the touchline battle of wits because they were tactically more adept than Bruce, who lacked attention to detail and an ability to think on his feet in the heat of battle.
It didn’t help that Sunderland’s recruitment policy was so haphazard, with a raft of new players
 "Asamoah Gyan was allowed to leave, leaving Bruce short of strikers
|
And his man-management also left plenty to be desired as £13m record-signing Asamoah Gyan was bought without the right homework being carried out and then allowed to leave the club for Al Ain on loan after the summer transfer window closed, leaving Bruce short of strikers.
He followed in the footsteps of not only Bent but Kenwyne Jones and Lorik Cana as Sunderland started to lose their best players, and also sold prized asset Jordan Henderson to Liverpool.
Many had lost faith in Bruce long ago and when Niall Quinn quit the chairman’s office earlier this season he lost his staunchest ally.
There have been plenty of misgivings and the animosity reached a crescendo last weekend against Wigan when Sunderland fans furiously turned on Bruce following Franco Di Santo’s late winner.
That meant there was something inevitable about Bruce's demise and the only surprise is that club owner Ellis Short did not wield the axe sooner.
Now Bruce’s former United colleague, Mark Hughes, is ready to come to the rescue.
He will have his work cut out to invigorate Sunderland, who began last season in Champions League form but now face the very real possibility of playing in the Championship next season.
Follow Rob Stewart on
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