So the Bruce era is over and I, for one, am sorry. Not because I loved his football, his team selections or his formations but because I enjoyed having a genuinely decent man at the helm at Bloomfield Road. The fact that no one has said anything untoward about the man's character or intent speaks volumes. However, I was ready for him to pick up his P45 after Northampton away and have actually been quite surprised that he lasted another 5 games (despite ironically winning two of those games). So what went wrong? How did a manager who was widely welcomed to the club, and that in itself with such an eclectic mix of fans is no mean feat, end up leaving just over a year after arriving.
For me, the problems started well before a ball was kicked. I guess we'll never know how the club really works or who ultimately gets the final say on who we bring in and who we sell but David Downes must surely feel a large sense of guilt after Bruce's departure. Few would disagree losing Apter and Carey in the summer was a big blow but was an opportunity to bring in some fresh legs and ideas. The arrival over 14 glorious days of Ennis, Horsfall, Ihiekwe, Honeyman, Ravizzoli and Brown put a real line in the sand for our summer transfer dealings. We had lost a good dozen players who were in or around the first team including crucially Tyrer, Offiah and Baggot but this felt like the start of something big.
So when the players went off on their pre-season summer camp, we looked to be in decent shape. However a pretty dire pre-season started to show some cracks. The indecision over who was our number one keeper caused concern after Bailey Peacock-Farrell arrived mid-July and not building that rapport between a defence and the keeper was evident from those first few games. At the same time, the defence was starting to cause concern. Oil Casey, who had been superb the previous season, looked a bit lost as Horfall came in and got injured, Ihiekwe looked like a player who had never played in defence, there was a huge hole at left back after Husband picked up an injury and Coulson attempted to fill it and we lacked a decent right back Danny Imray took a while to fit in from Crystal Palace.
Then there was the elephant in the room - the 4-4-2 which exposed us in so many games with teams playing with an extra man in midfield over-running us. Ironically it was here where we should have been commanding games with the likes of Honeyman, Brown and Morgan and with Ebiowei (awkward) and Hansson added to the side it appeared we had a plethora of talent and that was before the return of Josh Bowler and the much heralded arrival of Dale Taylor.
On paper, by the end of August we looked a decent side and even though we'd only secured one win, HMS Piss the League was back afloat and heading off towards the Irish Sea. However, high expectations, a really poor start which never allows for many more mistakes and a style of play which wasn't what fans wanted or expected quickly ruined the party. Very few of the new arrivals hit the ground running, losing Ennis to a suspension didn't help and then, the one excuse that Bruce can use, the endless injury list really sowed the seeds of doubt. The wins against Barrow and Barnsley should have been the turning point but apathetic performances, throwing away 2 goal leads and the unforgivable performance against AFC Wimbledon was enough to ensure Bruce's departure.
Could Bruce have done anything different? I get the feeling that Downes told him everything would be fine by the end of August when they'd got all their pieces in place (aside from a left back and a real lack of another goal scorer), I think he was buoyed by how many times the previous season we'd cut sides apart with our wing play (but then didn't have Apter this season) and I think he was over-confident that our defence was as good as the previous season which clearly it wasn't.
Believing that sticking to his tried and trusted formation would bring results was a mistake and it's ironic the first time he moved away from that, against AFC Wimbledon, it cost him his job. It wasn't only the formations and injuries that was the problem though, the players just didn't seem up for the fight. We played like strangers in so many games, I lost times of the countless times we gave away possession and we genuinely seemed afraid to enter the opposition's 18 yard box. I don't know what changed after that blood and guts win against Huddersfield but we haven't seen anywhere near that desire since.
Walking away from Blooomfield Road after that 2-0 defeat I was both relived and disappointed. Relived that I knew he'd go but also disappointed because I always desperately hoped it would come good. Maybe the lesson here is that good guys don't always win football games and we need a bit of a bastard to come in and sort this side out. I'll be happy to hate the next manager if he plays good attacking football and gets the most out of what is an undoubtedly decent squad because sadly a manager I admired, respected and liked failed to do that for most of his time as manager of this club. Thanks Steve Bruce - what could have been eh?
For me, the problems started well before a ball was kicked. I guess we'll never know how the club really works or who ultimately gets the final say on who we bring in and who we sell but David Downes must surely feel a large sense of guilt after Bruce's departure. Few would disagree losing Apter and Carey in the summer was a big blow but was an opportunity to bring in some fresh legs and ideas. The arrival over 14 glorious days of Ennis, Horsfall, Ihiekwe, Honeyman, Ravizzoli and Brown put a real line in the sand for our summer transfer dealings. We had lost a good dozen players who were in or around the first team including crucially Tyrer, Offiah and Baggot but this felt like the start of something big.
So when the players went off on their pre-season summer camp, we looked to be in decent shape. However a pretty dire pre-season started to show some cracks. The indecision over who was our number one keeper caused concern after Bailey Peacock-Farrell arrived mid-July and not building that rapport between a defence and the keeper was evident from those first few games. At the same time, the defence was starting to cause concern. Oil Casey, who had been superb the previous season, looked a bit lost as Horfall came in and got injured, Ihiekwe looked like a player who had never played in defence, there was a huge hole at left back after Husband picked up an injury and Coulson attempted to fill it and we lacked a decent right back Danny Imray took a while to fit in from Crystal Palace.
Then there was the elephant in the room - the 4-4-2 which exposed us in so many games with teams playing with an extra man in midfield over-running us. Ironically it was here where we should have been commanding games with the likes of Honeyman, Brown and Morgan and with Ebiowei (awkward) and Hansson added to the side it appeared we had a plethora of talent and that was before the return of Josh Bowler and the much heralded arrival of Dale Taylor.
On paper, by the end of August we looked a decent side and even though we'd only secured one win, HMS Piss the League was back afloat and heading off towards the Irish Sea. However, high expectations, a really poor start which never allows for many more mistakes and a style of play which wasn't what fans wanted or expected quickly ruined the party. Very few of the new arrivals hit the ground running, losing Ennis to a suspension didn't help and then, the one excuse that Bruce can use, the endless injury list really sowed the seeds of doubt. The wins against Barrow and Barnsley should have been the turning point but apathetic performances, throwing away 2 goal leads and the unforgivable performance against AFC Wimbledon was enough to ensure Bruce's departure.
Could Bruce have done anything different? I get the feeling that Downes told him everything would be fine by the end of August when they'd got all their pieces in place (aside from a left back and a real lack of another goal scorer), I think he was buoyed by how many times the previous season we'd cut sides apart with our wing play (but then didn't have Apter this season) and I think he was over-confident that our defence was as good as the previous season which clearly it wasn't.
Believing that sticking to his tried and trusted formation would bring results was a mistake and it's ironic the first time he moved away from that, against AFC Wimbledon, it cost him his job. It wasn't only the formations and injuries that was the problem though, the players just didn't seem up for the fight. We played like strangers in so many games, I lost times of the countless times we gave away possession and we genuinely seemed afraid to enter the opposition's 18 yard box. I don't know what changed after that blood and guts win against Huddersfield but we haven't seen anywhere near that desire since.
Walking away from Blooomfield Road after that 2-0 defeat I was both relived and disappointed. Relived that I knew he'd go but also disappointed because I always desperately hoped it would come good. Maybe the lesson here is that good guys don't always win football games and we need a bit of a bastard to come in and sort this side out. I'll be happy to hate the next manager if he plays good attacking football and gets the most out of what is an undoubtedly decent squad because sadly a manager I admired, respected and liked failed to do that for most of his time as manager of this club. Thanks Steve Bruce - what could have been eh?