Originally Posted by
Andy1981_2
So, just reading through this interview on BBC with Alex Bruce where he basically defends his dad without any critical reflection at all. I get it... he's family. But, here are some of the highlights, along with some thoughts on it.
Steve Bruce took the role at his boyhood club in 2019 but his son says he "has been battered since the moment he walked in the door".
"It's been tough. I wouldn't sit here and lie and say it hasn't, it's been really tough to watch the criticism," Alex Bruce told BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast.
"Since he took the job, I think the lack of respect that has been shown, considering he's done 1,000 games, has been unbelievable."
I get the idea that if someone has a lot of experience, they have presumably developed a certain level of expertise in that role, and are thus deserving of respect. But there are real question marks over how much of that 1,000 games has been spent by Bruce actually doing a good job. I remember him having occasional good spells at clubs, but being largely unremarkable. He's a journeyman, and deserves a level of respect appropriate to a journeyman.
Alex Bruce added: "A lot of things have been said about my dad, and I feel a bit naff sticking up for him, but I would genuinely say for anyone who has done 999 games as a manager, 980-odd as a player, to see certain individuals question his integrity, his professionalism, his ability as a manager, questioning things like his warm-ups, his substitutions… they all make mistakes, but has he not deserved a crack?
"He's never had the opportunity at managing a club who can go and spend proper money. He's managed teams in the Premier League like Wigan, Birmingham, Hull City… his win ratio in the Premier League has been questioned ump**** times - do people really expect massive win percentages when you're managing clubs like that?
"I don't think so. I think when you're a level-headed and intelligent person, you look at the bigger picture. I think he's done a very good job at all the clubs he's managed, and I think he deserves a crack. Some of the disrespect he's been shown has been hard to watch."
If Alex Bruce is a level-headed intelligent person looking at the bigger picture, has he never questioned why his dad has never been given an opportunity by one of the big clubs? We've seen David Moyes at Man Utd, Mikel Arteta at Arsenal, Mark Hughes at Man City, Brendan Rogers at Liverpool, Frank Lampard at Chelsea, and so on. So, how come these guys got a 'crack' and Bruce didn't? Is he just the most unlucky man ever, or is it that people who are level-headed and intelligent have looked at the bigger picture and decided that he isn't good enough? I'll let you level-headed intelligent people decide.
Steve Bruce has come under increasing pressure in recent weeks and a large proportion of fans want the 60-year-old to leave the club, and former Ipswich, Leeds and Hull defender Alex Bruce says he expected the heat from the start.
"He knew that was going to be the case from the day he took the job," he said. "He had an owner who was trying to sell the club, he had an owner who didn't really want to put any money of his own into the club for a number of reasons, he could only use the money that the club generated and with the pandemic there wasn't any money there.
"He tried to strengthen the squad in the last window. They desperately needed reinforcements in defensive areas, I think he was very frustrated he couldn't do that, so there's been a number of things that have made the job difficult.
"He has been the fall guy. The amount of times I've said to him 'why don't you let someone else do the press?' and he just says 'because I'm the manager, it's my responsibility'."
So, earlier in the interview he wonders aloud why people question Bruce's integrity. But then he says he took a job at a club where he knew the fans didn't want him, where the owner wanted out, and where he wouldn't be backed in the transfer market. Let's assume he did that because he's a Newcastle fan, and he knew this would be the only chance he'd have to get the job. That maintains his integrity I think. BUT, when the owner doesn't back you in the transfer market when you need it, why do you not call him out as a fan of the club? That's why the fans question his integrity - how can that not be obvious?? Alex Bruce puts 2 and 2 together and gets 'My dad is awesome'.
