[themaclad]

LAST TIME OUT



FORM GUIDE

PNE 8 WBA 5

MANAGER

Early managerial career
In his first season as a manager, Bruce guided Sheffield United to eighth place in the First Division, nine points away from a place in the play-offs.[90] He caused controversy when he attempted to take his team off the pitch during an FA Cup match against Arsenal. Bruce felt that the Gunners had broken an unwritten rule of sportsmanship by scoring the winning goal from a throw-in instead of returning the ball to United, who had intentionally kicked it out of play to allow an injured player to be attended to. Although the game eventually continued to a finish, following a gesture by Arsenal the match was declared void and replayed.[91][92] In May 1999, Bruce resigned from his post after just one season in charge, citing turmoil in the club's boardroom and a shortage of funds for transfers.[93] He contemplated leaving football for a job in television, but was persuaded by Huddersfield Town owner Barry Rubery to become the club's manager.[94]

Huddersfield were early promotion contenders in the 1999–2000 season, winning six consecutive matches to rise to third place in the First Division table by late November,[95] but lost form and failed to reach the play-offs.[96] The team continued to struggle at the start of the 2000–01 season, gaining just six points from 11 matches, and Bruce was sacked in October 2000.[97] He then became involved in a dispute with Rubery, who accused him of "wasting" £3 million on players and having "an ego to feed".[98] Although he was linked with the manager's job at Queens Park Rangers,[99] Bruce remained out of the game until he was appointed manager of Wigan Athletic in April 2001.[100] The team reached the Second Division play-offs but lost in the semi-finals,[101] and Bruce almost immediately left the club, where he had been in charge for less than two months, to take over as manager of Crystal Palace.[102]

Although his new club began the 2001–02 season strongly, topping the First Division table and looking well placed for regaining the Premier League place that it had last held in the 1997–98 season,[103] Bruce tendered his resignation less than three months into the season in order to return to Birmingham City as manager. Although he was initially prevented from doing so by an injunction taken out by Crystal Palace, he was eventually allowed to join the Midlands-based club after a compensation package was agreed.[104][105] By now he had acquired a reputation as a manager who rarely held down a job for a significant length of time.[103]

Birmingham City

Bruce managing Birmingham City in 2004
Upon his arrival, the Blues were in a mid-table position in the First Division,[106] but a lengthy unbeaten run saw the team qualify for the play-offs.[107] The team went on to beat Bruce's former club Norwich City in the final after a penalty shoot-out to gain promotion to the Premier League, ending a 16-year absence from the top level of English football.[108] Birmingham spent the early part of the 2002–03 season struggling near the foot of the Premier League table, but Bruce's signing of Christophe Dugarry revitalised the team, who ended the season in 13th place and finished higher than local rivals Aston Villa for the first time since the 1970s.[109]

The following season began well for Birmingham, who climbed as high as fourth in the table, but the team's fortunes declined and they could only finish in tenth place at the end of the season.[110] Despite this disappointment, Bruce signed a new contract in June 2004 designed to keep him at St Andrew's for a further five years,[111] but just two months later Freddy Shepherd, chairman of Newcastle United, was reported to have made Bruce his main target in the search for a new manager to replace Bobby Robson. The club was reportedly prepared to pay Birmingham more than £3 million in compensation, and Bruce himself was said to be keen to take over at St James' Park,[112] but he ultimately remained at Birmingham. He stated that "as far as I'm concerned, I've got a job to do [at Birmingham City] and I'm determined to get on with it", but it was also reported that Newcastle would have been required to pay a much larger compensation fee or face legal action had he been persuaded to switch clubs.[113] Initial expectations were high for the 2004–05 season, but the club once again finished in a mid-table position, ending the season in 12th place.[114]

Following the sacking of Graeme Souness as Newcastle manager in February 2006, Bruce was again linked with the job,[115] which ultimately went to Glenn Roeder.[116] By this stage of the 2005–06 season, Birmingham were struggling in the league, and on 21 March 2006 were beaten 7–0 at home by Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-finals.[117] Some supporters of the club began to call for his resignation, but Bruce insisted that he would fight on as manager.[118] The team managed to climb out of the relegation zone for the first time in nearly six months after a win over Bolton Wanderers in early April 2006.[119] However, they were soon overtaken by Portsmouth, whose victory over Wigan Athletic on 29 April left Birmingham mathematically unable to match their points total and therefore relegated.[120]

Although Bruce had the largest transfer budget in the division made available to him,[121] Birmingham made a slow start to the 2006–07 season in the Championship and, after a 1–0 defeat at home to Norwich City, the team's fifth consecutive match without a win, there were calls from fans and local journalists for the manager to be sacked.[122][123] Bruce publicly accepted responsibility for the team's poor run and admitted that he feared for his job,[124] but the team responded with a 1–0 victory over Derby County,[125] and then recorded a further five consecutive league victories to be joint leaders of the league table by late November.[126][127] On 29 April 2007, Birmingham secured promotion to the Premier League, with one match to play, by virtue of Derby County's 2–0 defeat at Crystal Palace. Chairman David Gold told the press "There have been some dark days but Steve has been outstanding. He was determined to bounce back. He has rebuilt the team and now we are all back where we want to be."[128]

Wigan Athletic
In May 2007, Birmingham's board agreed a new contract for Bruce, but the unwillingness of the club's prospective purchaser Carson Yeung to ratify it left his future uncertain.[129] In October 2007, Bolton Wanderers were refused permission to speak to him about their managerial vacancy.[130] Later that month, Bruce and Yeung held a meeting which reportedly had positive results.[131] Bruce later claimed that Birmingham's managing director Karren Brady had "shafted" him on a new contract with the club,[132] and when Wigan Athletic requested permission to speak to Bruce about their managerial vacancy, he was receptive to their approach.[133] As required under the terms of his contract, Wigan agreed to pay Birmingham a then-world record compensation for the loss of his services of around £3 million,[134] and they were then allowed to speak to him. On 19 November, Wigan announced the signing of Bruce for a second time.[135]

On 21 November, during a press conference which was intended to formally present Bruce as the new manager of Wigan, the club's chief executive Brenda Spencer informed the media that the deal had been put on hold by "unknown issues" between Bruce and Birmingham City, reported to centre on the advance payment of the image rights element of Bruce's contract at St Andrew's.[136][137] On 23 November 2007 Wigan announced that Bruce had now signed his contract and would officially rejoin the Latics.[138] His first game in charge was a 1–1 home draw with Manchester City on 1 December 2007.[139] Wigan spent the remainder of the season struggling against relegation, but the club secured Premier League survival with victory over Aston Villa in the penultimate game of the season.[140][141] In September 2008, Bruce was once again linked with the manager's job at Newcastle United following the departure of Kevin Keegan.[142]

Bruce led Wigan to an 11th-place finish in the 2008–09 season,[143] despite the loss of midfielder Wilson Palacios to Tottenham Hotspur in the January transfer window.[144]

Sunderland

Bruce managing Sunderland in 2011
On 27 May 2009, Bruce was reported to have been given permission to talk to Sunderland about succeeding Ricky Sbragia, who resigned as manager after the last match of the season.[145] Bruce was confirmed as the new manager of Sunderland on 3 June after signing a three-year contract.[146] He was joined at Sunderland by three of his former Wigan Athletic coaching staff, assistant Eric Black, goalkeeping coach Nigel Spink, and reserve team coach Keith Bertschin.[147] In his first season at Sunderland, despite a run of 14 games without a win, Bruce led the Black Cats to a 13th-place finish in the Premier League.[148]

Bruce made wholesale changes to Sunderland's squad, signing 13 players and selling 15 in his first 18 months at the club.[149] On 25 February 2011, Bruce signed an extension to his contract, keeping him at Sunderland until 2014, with chairman Niall Quinn stating that "In only 18 months he has reshaped our squad beyond recognition, bringing in some fantastically talented players. He embodies the ethos of teamwork and the importance of camaraderie in creating a wonderful spirit of togetherness amongst the players and staff".[149]

Bruce was dismissed as manager on 30 November 2011, with Sunderland in 16th position following a poor run of form which culminated with a 2–1 home defeat to bottom club Wigan four days earlier.[150] He later linked his dismissal from the managerial post with the fact that he is a fan of Newcastle United, Sunderland's bitter rivals.[151]

Hull City
On 8 June 2012, Bruce was appointed as manager at Championship club Hull City on a three-year contract.[152] In his first season with the club, he led them to promotion to the Premier League, clinching second place in the Championship on the final day of the season.[153] The following season, the "Tigers" came 16th with a club record tally of 37 points,[154] and reached the final of the FA Cup for the first time.[155] They took a two-goal lead in the first ten minutes of the final, but opponents Arsenal scored a goal in each half to take the game into extra-time and then scored a third to win the trophy.[156] Reaching the final qualified Hull for the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League, their first European campaign.[157]

In March 2015, Bruce signed a three-year contract extension.[158] A run of poor form left Hull near the bottom of the table going into the final game of the 2014–15 season and needing to defeat Bruce's former club Manchester United to stand any chance of avoiding relegation.[159] They could only manage a 0–0 draw and were relegated to the Championship. The poor performances of a number of players signed by Bruce, including club record signing Abel Hernández, were identified as key factors in the club's failure to remain in the Premier League.[160]

In January 2016, Bruce won the Championship Manager of the Month after leading Hull to four victories; Hernández, who scored six times, got the players' equivalent.[161] Hull finished the season in fourth, qualifying for the play-offs, where they defeated Derby County in the semi-finals. In the final on 28 May, a 25-yard goal from Mohamed Diamé against Sheffield Wednesday won Hull promotion to the Premier League for the second time during Bruce's spell in charge. Bruce said after the game that he had considered resignation following the team's relegation, and would hold talks with the prospective new owners to be assured of his future.[162] In July 2016, with his future at Hull seemingly still uncertain, he was interviewed by officials of The Football Association concerning the vacant position of manager of England.[163] Three days later, Bruce met with Hull City officials and announced his resignation later that day[164] amid claims he became frustrated by a lack of transfer activity at the club.[165]

Aston Villa
On 12 October 2016, Bruce was appointed manager of Championship club Aston Villa.[166] In his second match in charge, Villa defeated Reading, the club's first win in 11 games and the first away win for 14 months.[167] He brought in Colin Calderwood as assistant manager from Brighton & Hove Albion and Stephen Clemence from old club Hull City as first-team coach.[168][169] In the 2017–18 season, Villa secured a play-off place and defeated Middlesbrough to reach the final,[170] but lost 1–0 to Fulham in the final and thus missed out on promotion to the Premier League.[171] On 2 October 2018, Villa surrendered a two-goal lead, drawing 3–3 at home to bottom club Preston North End. One spectator threw a cabbage at Bruce and there were calls from home fans on the Holte End for Bruce to go.[172] The following day, he was sacked by Villa after a poor run of form.[173]

Sheffield Wednesday
In January 2019, Bruce was appointed manager of Championship club Sheffield Wednesday with effect from the start of the following month.[174] On 27 January, his delay in taking up this appointment was criticised by Match of the Day pundits Danny Murphy and Ruud Gullit during a 3–0 FA Cup defeat away to Chelsea.[175] Bruce subsequently defended his decision, as he had had two operations since leaving Aston Villa and needed time to recuperate, as well as the need to recover from the death of both his parents in 2018.[176]

Newcastle United
BBC Sport reported in July 2019 that Bruce had resigned from his position at Wednesday,[177] after he earlier admitted that he had held talks with Premier League Newcastle United over their managerial vacancy.[178] His appointment at Newcastle was confirmed on 17 July.[179] Sheffield Wednesday, however, soon filed a report to the Premier League alleging misconduct in his appointment,[180][181] stating that there were still outstanding legal issues with Bruce having resigned just 48 hours earlier, whilst also suspecting that confidential details of Bruce's contract were leaked making it impossible for him to remain at the club.[182] Newcastle United denied any wrongdoing and stated that they were confident no case could be escalated.[183] Reaction from the fans was mixed, with some feeling Bruce would not achieve the standard set by his predecessor Rafael Benítez, whilst his recent lack of Premier League football and management of rival club Sunderland proved controversial.[184][185] Bruce acknowledged Benítez's popularity, and stated he hoped the fans would not rush to judgement and give him time to prove himself.[186] Bruce soon made six signings,[187] notably securing Joelinton from 1899 Hoffenheim for £40 million, breaking the club's transfer fee record previously set by the purchase of Miguel Almirón for £21 million six months earlier.[188][189]

In his first season in charge, Newcastle were tipped for relegation by some pundits but finished 13th, as the campaign was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.[190] The following season, almost entirely played behind closed doors due to the ongoing pandemic, saw Bruce guide the club to 12th.[191] In October 2021, the club was bought for £300 million by a consortium led by the Saudi Arabian government's sovereign wealth fund.[192] With the team close to the bottom of the Premier League, Bruce was widely expected to be dismissed from his job by the new owners, but remained in charge and was recognised by the League Managers Association as only the 34th manager in the modern era of English football to have taken charge for 1,000 competitive matches.[193] Newcastle lost that match 3–2 to Tottenham Hotspur at St James' Park on 17 October 2021, and some Newcastle supporters called for Bruce to be removed from his post during and after the game.[194] Bruce left Newcastle by mutual consent three days later on 20 October 2021, after receiving a reported £8 million payout for the remainder of his contract.[195] He had a 27.4% win percentage from 84 league games at Newcastle, the 9th best compared to previous Newcastle managers who had been in charge of at least 20 matches in the Premier League era.[195]

West Bromwich Albion
On 3 February 2022, Bruce was appointed manager of EFL Championship club West Bromwich Albion, replacing Valérien Ismaël. Bruce signed an 18-month contract with West Brom who, at the time, were in sixth place in the Championship.[196]


A Look At Our Visitors


After a promising summer of recruitment at The Hawthorns, things haven’t started as well as West Brom would have liked this season.

Their signings included Jed Wallace and John Swift – who played a direct part in a combined 42 Championship goals last season – while they’ve recently added midfielder Tom Rogic, who has been a key factor in Celtic’s success in recent years.

The Baggies have taken just ten points from their opening 11 matches, though, and they’ll arrive at Deepdale sat 21st in the table, with Steve Bruce’s men claiming one win so far this term.

Going Head To Head


Games played: 116
PNE wins: 40
Draws: 27
West Brom wins: 49
Last meeting: West Brom 0-2 PNE, 26th January 2022

One To Watch


Having scored 11 goals and assisted a further 13 for Reading last season, John Swift made the switch to West Brom this summer.

While he’s not yet on a similar trajectory for the Baggies, that is more a case of chances being spurned at the top end of the pitch, with Swift averaging 2.4 key passes per game – a sign that he is very much a key creative spark for West Brom.

Swift has also previously enjoyed facing PNE, having scored five times against the Lilywhites – three of which came at Deepdale.

Match Officials


Josh Smith will referee PNE for the fifth time in his career on Wednesday night.

Smith’s first game in charge of North End was the 2-1 victory away at Huddersfield Town in October 2020, while his most recent was a 1-0 defeat to Swansea City earlier this year.

Smith has shown 39 yellow cards and two reds in eight matches this season, and he will be assisted by Shaun Hudson and Mark Stevens, while Ross Joyce is on fourth official duty.

MACS VIEW

Hadn't realised until Saturday that Albion were three from the bottom, hence the calls for the removal of the manager, with Parachute money ending this season the pressure is increasing for improvement, however tomorrow they have a lifeline with our shot shy team, suspect he'll change the side given the amount of games we play but the goal famine needs sorting out, yes we are creating some chances but there will come a time when we won't. Personally think there is a decent side in there but when are we going to see it.

[talkSAFT]

Fantastic biography of Mr.Bruce, Mac.
If he's read it he ought to resign!!!

[themaclad]

I'm Wiki ed with bio's!!!!!

[themaclad]

Preston North End 1 Riis West Bromwich Albion 0

PNE line-up: Woodman; Storey, Lindsay, Cunningham; Browne (Potts, 68), Whiteman, Brady (Ledson, 74), McCann, Fernández; Riis (Parrott, 85), Maguire (Woodburn, 74). Subs not used: Cornell, Johnson, Hughes.

West Brom line-up: Palmer; Gardner-Hickman, Kelly, O’Shea, Townsend; Molumby (Rogic, 60), Okay (Livermore, 58); Wallace, Swift (Phillips, 74), Diangana; Grant (Thomas-Asante, 72). Subs not used: Button, Pieters, Reach.

Attendance: 13, 924 (718 away fans)

Referee: Mr J Smith.

A hard fought first home win of the season against an Albion side who gave it their all for the manager but like us all season they lacked a killer touch, in the second period the Albion keeper was barely needed apart from Parrott's shot at the end. They domibated the second period but were unable to find their way through our resolute defence and when they did they couldn't beat Woodman, they had one clear chance a nice move and Grant's close range effort was cleared with his legs by Woodman. They changed their players and still couldn't find a way through, at the end of the ground several players slumped to the ground probably knowing that change of manager is sooner rather than later.
Bruce will probably be annoyed that penalty was not given when Storey pulled Diangana back.
FFirst half was open with North End having made a couple of hanges with McCann and the non scoring Irishman Maguire returning, Maguire should probably have scored but his header was wellsaved and in the ensuing melee McCann twice had efforts blocked.
Diangana wnt close before we deservedly took the lead, McCann a one two with his head, ball to Fernandez perfect cross Riis side foots home, great goal.
The impressive Diangana easily got past Browne cross narrowly avoided the sliding Grant and the far post. We were good on the break could have had another goal or two with McCann hitting the post, Albion dangerous down the left With Townsend prominant caused us a few issues but we deserved to lead at the break and kept it to the end.
Some impressive performances Riis with his goal and credit him for some sterling defensive work, McCann always play better with him in the side, Fernandez getting better with every game and the back three, Eoodman and to be fair Maguire had a decent game.
Two points from the play offs not bad for a side who have only scored four goals.



Steve Bruce

Steve Bruce says his side were guilty of making the same mistakes which have hurt them so far this season in Wednesday’s defeat to Preston at Deepdale.

Danish striker Emil Riis scored the game’s only goal, while at the other end, the Baggies wasted a couple of really promising opportunities to equalise.

And Bruce says continuing to let early goals in keeps on giving Albion mountains to climb in matches.


He said: “I didn’t think we deserved the defeat.

“Again, the talking point will be the fact we’ve conceded very, very early and given ourselves a mountain to climb.

“It’s all we’ve spoken about for the last week, not conceding early goals. We have to be able to give ourselves a chance.

“There seemed a nervousness to us, even though I swapped half of the team. Unfortunately we’ve made the same mistakes as we seem to have done plenty of times this season.

“After that, I thought we were camped in their half and we had a couple of big chances which we failed to take.

“We had enough to get something from the game, but unfortunately we didn’t and it’s so disappointing.

“The frustration is there for everybody. I can understand how people feel. We’ve not got the results we’ve needed, but I still think we’re on the right course.

“I still think we can make a challenge of trying to get up to where we want to be, which is of course around the play-off places. I’m determined to see it through.”

Mr Fantastic

Ryan Lowe praised the resilience and character of his Preston North End side showed in their 1-0 victory over West Brom.

PNE got off to a perfect start, with striker Emil Riis breaking the deadlock inside seven minutes, after both Ali McCann and Sean Maguire had also come close in what was a fast start from the home side.

While the rest of the first half saw plenty of chances created, the second was more about resilience at the back to hold on to what was a ninth Championship clean sheet of the season.

“I thought the first-half performance was fantastic. I thought we could have had three goals.

“We were really on the front foot. We knew if we got at West Brom early doors we could get a chance at scoring an early goal which we proved.

“Second half was obviously a little bit different. We were under pressure a little bit and we had to change shape because they’ve got some fantastic players, but I thought the resilience and the character of the boys to withstand their pressure and to keep creating many chances was fantastic
Freddie Woodman was called into action on a few occasions, having to come up with big saves to deny the likes of Karlan Grant and Jed Wallace.

In front of him, PNE had to work hard to keep out a West Brom side who have scored 17 goals so far this season.

“It starts from the front with the front players, and the lads up and down the wings,” added Ryan.

“Browney [Alan Browne] was rock solid tonight and we had to get fresh legs on because [Grady] Diangana is a good footballer and can cause trouble.

“The wing backs, Robbie [Brady] in that eight position, and every single one of them was fantastic. It’s hard work the way we want to play up and down, with recovery runs, so fair play to them, they dug deep and got the points.”

The manager made two changes from the weekend’s draw against Sunderland, with Ali McCann and Sean Maguire the two men to come in to the side.

It was a first start of the season for the Irish forward, who impressed his gaffer.

Ryan said: “Seani was fantastic. He missed out on Saturday [against Sunderland] and he was sitting in the stands.

“I had a chat with him on Monday when we came in and I said just keep going because I’ve been contemplating getting him in.

“Ched [Evans] has missed out today; they’re all going to have to miss out at some point. We’ve got a good squad of players and they’ll all get opportunities to play like they have already.

“What we’ve got to do is make sure that they’re ready. I thought Seani was fantastic tonight, he’s not played in a while but he was fit, strong, powerful, and unlucky not to score as well.”