Steve Bruce Says, “Red Devils Don’t Die; They Just Turn Into Black Cats”
Steve Bruce is often derided for his reliance on his relationship with Sir Alex Ferguson but whilst Mark Hughes and Roy Keane simmer on the sidelines, the Sunderland manager’s loyalty continues to be rewarded.
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More so than any other manager with Old Trafford roots, Steve Bruce has exploited his relationship with Manchester United. His former teammate Mark Hughes and ex-United captain Roy Keane have also enjoyed success in the dugout but both have preferred to blaze their own path. Bruce, however, has chosen to meticulously maintain rather than burn his bridges.
When the Wayne Rooney contract saga erupted, Keane-O came out largely on the side of the player and Sparky remained decidedly neutral despite Sir Alex Ferguson’s furious reaction after the Welshman’s abrupt sacking from City. Bruce, however, defended his former boss vigorously. He was only overshadowed in those efforts by the borderline lunacy of Ian Holloway but following ‘Olly’s act is akin to asking Jedward to take the stage immediately after AC/DC.
As a manager, Bruce’s tendency to tap United for talent was especially noticeable during his second stint with Wigan, which is just down the road from the bigger club. Yet, he has drawn from that rich source even more since joining Sunderland.
In his first season, he bought young Frazier Campbell, who had impressed during a loan spell at Royal Antwerp. The bright-eyed starlet also excited in his next assignment at Hull City. Thirty-six goals in sixty-seven matches was not a bad haul but just one in ten appearances for Tottenham, his next stop, cooled interest in his availability. Bruce, who is a bubbling fountain of enthusiasm, stepped into the sudden silence and snapped Campbell up for £3.5 million. Unfortunately, injuries rather than form have begun to make that look a poor investment.
Last year, Bruce went back to Carrington to hire a temporary replacement. Danny Welbeck fit in well as the third option behind Darren Bent and £13 million World Cup man Asamoah Gyan, but then struggled, as did the entire squad, when Bent stunningly jumped ship for Aston Villa in mid-January.
Two other United cast-offs, Phil Bardsley and Kieran Richardson, were already at Sunderland when Bruce arrived and, whilst he used them sparingly at first, the pair emerged in 2010-11 as his first-choice fullbacks with both contributing key goals during the campaign.
The season was a tale of two halves at the Stadium of Light. In the early going, the side was maintaining a position just outside the top four, looking very much like a club with a chance at Europe despite the August departure of Kenwyne Jones to Stoke. The signing of Gyan, from Rennes, three weeks after the Trini exchanged his Wearside red-and-white-striped kit for the Staffordshire variety ensured that the Mackems did not stumble. The Ghanaian took his time to settle but just as he began to make an impact, over the holidays, Bent inexplicably abandoned the club for the struggling Villans.
From that point, the Black Cats luck turned. They went from worrying the top clubs to desperately holding off the bottom feeders. Whether or not the collapse can be blamed entirely on Bent, or more on a lack of top flight experience in a young team, Bruce has again turned to Sir Alex Ferguson for help.
This time, though, the craggy faced boss isn’t interested in promising talent; it’s the battle-hardened version he’s after now.
Mindful that gifted young squads tend to fade in the late season - are you reading this Mr. Wenger? – Bruce has moved for two Old Trafford veterans who have been pushed to the fringe of Fergie’s plans. Hoping that grit and experience will stand his youthful charges in good stead, the boss has signed Wes Brown, the erstwhile England International who is capable of playing anywhere across the back line. As well, he is on the verge of capturing the even more versatile Irishman, John O’Shea, to provide further cover in the back and in midfield.
Brown, who signed a four-year contract is thirty-one and O’Shea, yet to agree to terms, is thirty. Still, Bruce hasn’t abandoned Sunderland’s policy of developing through youth, having also acquired eighteen-year-old sensation Conor Wickham from Keane’s former side, Ipswich Town, as a replacement for Welbeck. Also joining the club are Korean Ji Dong-won (20), Egyptian Ahmed Elmohamady (23), Craig Gardner (24), and Kieran Westwood and Sebastian Larsson (both 26). Yet with plenty of new faces and, with Larsson and Gardner excepted, a dearth of Premier League experience, it seems a wise move to have two grizzled veterans, both possessing an unrivaled collection of medals, in the clubhouse to keep the squad together when the going gets tough.
So, while cynics may credit his longevity to Ferguson’s continued patronage, Steve Bruce is whistling whilst he works, secure in the knowledge that resources and advice are just a call away. On the other hand, Roy Keane and Mark Hughes are mumbling under their breath as they wait for the telephone to ring.
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