[baggie82]

All this chat about Steve Bruce being a success or failure seems pointless and premature to me, given he isn't our manager yet and hasn't had a day in the job. If he gets if, we will be able to assess how he has done short term, in the summer.

[SmethDan]

It would be nice to think whomever gets the gig will have a bit of patience and backing from the crowd. Anyway, enough of such nonsense. Bring on the next sacrifice  .

[alex1]

I know hardly anything about Bruce as a manager, but didn't do that badly at all at Newcastle by all accounts.

Thirty years ago he was in a team linking up play with names such as Scholes, Robson, Beckham, Giggs, Sharpe, and Cantona. My guess is he knows a little bit more than we do about how a football team should try and perform. I'd hope so anyway!! 

I think you'd struggle to find Newcastle fans agreeing with your first sentence. He didn't win a game this season before being sacked.

[WBAinDEVON]

I think you'd struggle to find Newcastle fans agreeing with your first sentence. He didn't win a game this season before being sacked.

i think he lost the dressing room

[seteefeet]

This is a reminder of the Pardew appointment. I've also got a feeling it could end the same way.

It's not exactly an appointment that is going to enable us to build a team over the next few seasons so we could compete in the premiership.

Also I wonder if he will bring his assistant ...........  Graeme Jones.  He failed here before when he tried to play the ball out from the back. Can you imagine our defenders trying that !!!  I think disaster is the word.

Why not? He's one of the few available that has done it before and without top 6 money.
If he does well, his head won't be turned by the first offer that comes around either and he definitely won't be offered the England job. The only way we keep a successful manager for 3 or 4 years is if they are no longer overly ambitious or trendy enough to be head-hunted. It's a perfect opportunity to build for the next few seasons in my book.
Whether the style of play will be tolerable for that period is another question and probably the only negative I can see.

[darbolina]

I think you'd struggle to find Newcastle fans agreeing with your first sentence. He didn't win a game this season before being sacked.

He finished 12th and then 13th there in his previous two seasons at Newcastle with Ashley in charge and a toxic atmosphere -  Newcastle fans were pining for Rafa and/ or a more exotic appointment.

[overseas baggie]

Absolutely, the strategy in the summer of 2021 consigned us to relegation and was extremely naive, Bilic told them, spend a bit more and reap the rewards or sink. The board refused, Dowling then blethered on about how the first team had to over perform, the manager got the hump with the ridiculous expectations and fell out with him, the board and then got pushed out. The first team then inevitably threw their toys out of the pram and downed tools and we got mullered for a month or two, before we wasted money turning over players on loan in January and got relegated anyway. Then to compound the mistakes we sold our best player on the cheap who was vital to keep if we wanted to get automatic promotion back again. It is a long list of short sighted decision making from Lai, which follows a familiar pattern:

A) expect promotion / survival but don't fund it
b) respond to failure to survive or get promoted by 1) sacking coaching staff) & 2) sacking whoever is DOF or on the board and advising about a)
c) repeat the cycle over again.

It is ground-hog day nonsense. Yet a lot of the fans fool for it and support this ridiculous P45 strategy.

The big problem is that Lai didn’t have the funds to put in to properly fund that strategy!

[Hull Baggie]

Roy Hodgson played 442 his entire managerial career, and I don't remember it being such an issue when he was in charge of us. As do many other managers. Most managers have a preferred formation they stick to. All this talk of formation is mostly excuse babble for poor players playing badly. If you can't control and pass the ball accurately to a team mate then it matters little what formation is employed.

I'm pretty sure we played 4-5-1 a number of times when Roy was in charge of us.

[Groovephil]

He finished 12th and then 13th there in his previous two seasons at Newcastle with Ashley in charge and a toxic atmosphere -  Newcastle fans were pining for Rafa and/ or a more exotic appointment.

Also he was totally done over this year by the takeover talk, he’d have still kept them up if he’d have stayed is my guess. If Howe gets relegated with them after their Jan spending old Bruce will have a chuckle I’d have thought.

The more I think about this appointment the more I like it. Albion have to accept where the club is at the moment. Out of the list of candidates, he stands out by a mile.

[liverbaggie]

Newcastle fans are very insular if their manager or number 9 isn't a geordie he won't last long
Howe is OK but they will get rid its a fan run club area unless their new foubd wealth changes them

[Albionic]

Am I reading this correctly? People are actually hinting they want Steve Bruce to fail just so he goes at the end of the season?

If he gets us promoted he deserves an opportunity.

I'm not, I'm saying don't appoint him at all.

[Pie]

Newcastle fans are very insular if their manager or number 9 isn't a geordie he won't last long
Howe is OK but they will get rid its a fan run club area unless their new foubd wealth changes them

Bruce is a Geordie and they hated him!

[Hull Baggie]

Bruce is a Geordie and they hated him!

yes but a Geordie that managed Sunderland.

[Baggie79]

It had to be a safe pair of hands for this appointment, if we did appoint a maveric young manager they would immediately be under pressure to get promotion and if they didnt we would be back here again in six months time.

[liverbaggie]

Hey pie, you know you are bang on their mate I actually forgot that Bruce was in fact a geordie
I'll therefore rephrase my earlier statement and say that the geordie faithful hate everybody🤔

[tommcneill]

All we want is an upturn in performances and results. If its him or someone else does it matter.

[staticboy]

Daily Star have said that Steve is our manager
It must be the usual it’s going to happen so I’ll post it first scenario.

https://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/steve-bruce-west-brom-manager-26130762

[hardtobeat]

Newcastle fans are very insular if their manager or number 9 isn't a geordie he won't last long
Howe is OK but they will get rid its a fan run club area unless their new foubd wealth changes them

They associate Bruce with Ashley is a large reason for their angst as well as wanting Benitez to stay add that to his Sunderland connections ….

[Baltic]

I'll be disappointed if its Bruce (nailed on I know) and totally unimpressed if he brings son Alex and Steven Clemence (who've made a good living out of football based on their surnames).

My dream pick would have been Darren Fletcher.  A class act who appreciates the privilege that a footballer enjoys and understands what a midfielder should be capable of.

 

[Blowee]

Whilst it doesn’t have me on the edge of my seat I can see the logic behind Bruce as long as it’s a relatively short contract. I’d love to see a young ambitious head coach come in and turn us around playing attractive football but we have to be realistic. We have a good (not a great) squad. Obviously, we can’t change that until the summer. We have to get the best out of what we have. O’Shea, Johnson, Diangana, Clarke possibly Dike (when fit) will stand out at this level. Grant, Robinson and Mowatt would get into most Championship teams. The new coach needs to work with them not try to be revolutionary in his ideas. We don’t have youth, energy or pace on our side which is why Val failed for me. Bruce is more pragmatic an older head. Whilst it won’t be the most exciting time in our clubs history hopefully we’ll get back on track for promotion. I can’t think of many managers who we can trust and who would come to us that could potentially achieve that.

[baggiemart]

Why not? He's one of the few available that has done it before and without top 6 money.
If he does well, his head won't be turned by the first offer that comes around either and he definitely won't be offered the England job. The only way we keep a successful manager for 3 or 4 years is if they are no longer overly ambitious or trendy enough to be head-hunted. It's a perfect opportunity to build for the next few seasons in my book.
Whether the style of play will be tolerable for that period is another question and probably the only negative I can see.

Do you mean like when he walked out of Blues for Wigan. Or when he walked out of Wigan for the Sunderland job. Or when he walked out of Sheffield Wednesday for Newcastle !

[KYA]

Do you mean like when he walked out of Blues for Wigan. Or when he walked out of Wigan for the Sunderland job. Or when he walked out of Sheffield Wednesday for Newcastle !

The upside to him leaving/walking would mean he'd done a good job with us, i'll take that!

[LiamTheBaggie]

I'll be disappointed if its Bruce (nailed on I know) and totally unimpressed if he brings son Alex and Steven Clemence (who've made a good living out of football based on their surnames).

My dream pick would have been Darren Fletcher.  A class act who appreciates the privilege that a footballer enjoys and understands what a midfielder should be capable of.

It'll be Steve Bruce, Steve Agnew and Stephen Clemence apart of his coaching staff. They seem to be his trusted lieutenants.

The question is whether he brings Graeme Jones as he did at Newcastle.

I do not suspect he will - as I'm just the club will push Morrison as the continuity option.

[TheBaggieMan]

Lots of discussion on a new Hesd Coach appointment and future systems but….

It is what it is and will be what it will be and no amount of debate will change that.

I just hope the right appointment is made.

[baggiemart]

The upside to him leaving/walking would mean he'd done a good job with us, i'll take that!

I thought the idea was to have a manager who will stay with us to build a successful side. Having a manager who walks out after a small amount of success puts us back to square one and doesn't help the club at all.