Steve Kean has been such a clear frontrunner in the "first Premier League manager to be sacked this season" discussion that even the Blackburn boss must have been surprised that Steve Bruce pipped him to the post. Sunderland brought an end to the Bruce era at the Stadium of Light this week, potentially opening the door for Martin O'Neill, Mark Hughes or Rafa Benitez to make a Premier League return.
Bruce paid the price for failing to take Sunderland to the next level. Despite considerable action in the transfer market, the Black Cats never distanced themselves from the mid-table pack, finishing tenth last season and 13th the previous year, and never produced the type of football that wins the hearts of fans. Realistically, the top four was always going to be a very distant dream but chairman Ellis Short had reason to believe that a Europa League place was within reason, given the transfer kitty he was making available.
And Bruce will no doubt believe that Sunderland were on their way to that goal before Darren Bent's acrimonious exit in January, when the team sat sixth in the table. Hope of European football went with him. Even this season, Bruce could point to bad luck with the injury problems that have derailed John O'Shea, his most important summer signing.
But two wins in 13 games tells its own story. Sunderland have been sloppy in the final third all year and the supporters frustrations at the weekend - though over the top - highlighted the discontent over the lack of quality and creativity in the performances.
Bruce paid the price for failing to take Sunderland to the next level. Despite considerable action in the transfer market, the Black Cats never distanced themselves from the mid-table pack, finishing tenth last season and 13th the previous year, and never produced the type of football that wins the hearts of fans. Realistically, the top four was always going to be a very distant dream but chairman Ellis Short had reason to believe that a Europa League place was within reason, given the transfer kitty he was making available.
And Bruce will no doubt believe that Sunderland were on their way to that goal before Darren Bent's acrimonious exit in January, when the team sat sixth in the table. Hope of European football went with him. Even this season, Bruce could point to bad luck with the injury problems that have derailed John O'Shea, his most important summer signing.
But two wins in 13 games tells its own story. Sunderland have been sloppy in the final third all year and the supporters frustrations at the weekend - though over the top - highlighted the discontent over the lack of quality and creativity in the performances.
There are various theories on where things went wrong for Bruce. For starters, he signed 30 players over two–and-a-half years at the helm – far too much turnover to build a united dressing room. As a result, Sunderland rarely looked like a “team” in the true sense of the word. When momentum turned against the Black Cats, where were the leaders to haul the side back on track like Bruce the player would have done?
And it is not just the volume of transfers. Bruce’s track record in the transfer market over the past two years is patchy at best. In a bid to lift Sunderland up the table, he gambled on big money signings who failed to make the grade. From Titus Bramble and Michael Turner to Craig Gardner and Asamoah Gyan, Bruce overspent on players that have proved incapable or unwilling to take on central roles, overshadowing shrewd swoops for the likes of O'Shea and Wes Brown.
It is also no secret that Bruce was the epitome of “old school” in his approach, generally preferring to focus on man management rather than the more modern tools available. As more and more data becomes available across all sports, coaching staffs are spending more and more time glued to computer software that tracks every statistic imaginable. But it seems as though Bruce was somewhat out of his comfort zone in this environment.
Tactically, Sunderland have often been outgunned, especially this season. Bruce stuck rigidly to his favoured formations and rarely made game-changing substitutions, as emphasised by the way that Newcastle and Wigan, in particular, outmanoeuvred Sunderland in victories this year. The recent loss to Roberto Martinez's Wigan, one of the few teams to be struggling as much as the Black Cats, was ultimately the final straw.
To read the rest of the article, visit http://www.insidefutbol.com/2011/12/01/steve-bruce-pays-sunderland-price-for-transfer-market-prolificacy/53581/
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