Sunderland’s Steve Bruce And Asamoah Gyan Are Peas In A Gilded Pod
STEVE Bruce, the former Manchester United captain and current manager of Sunderland is upset and disappointed that the club’s £13m record buy Asamoah Gyan has been loaned to Al-Ain, the United Arab Emirates club owned by the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. Why Gyan moved is debatable. But it may have something to do with his £25,000-week-wages at Sunderland becoming £125,000-a-week in the Emirates.
Said Bruce:
“Since that game at Wembley, all the parasites, as I call them, hover around. People are in his ear constantly trying to engineer a deal for him. Certainly since the England game, when he played at Wembley so well on the night, something has been troubling him. It’s very difficult, the constant speculation no matter what you try to quash or quell, and the people around him, the people who want to make a fast buck, and it affects him in the end… I had a conversation with him two days ago to say, ‘Look, the window as now closed, Asa. Right, we need to see you back playing again and back the way you know you can play’.”
Bruce has managed seven clubs since 1998. He served less than year at Sheffield United, Huddersfield Town, Wigan and Crystal Palace. Why did he keep moving on?
Bruce’s chairman at Huddersfield, Barry Rubery, opined that Bruce has wasted £3million:
“That money could have been spent more wisely by a manager without an ego to feed. The biggest mistake I made was believing a great footballer would make a great manager.”
His time at Palace is highlighted thus:
28 October 2001: Bruce says: “I’m extremely happy at Palace.”
2 November: Bruce’s resignation rejected by Palace owner Simon Jordan.
22 November: Palace win High Court injunction preventing Bruce from quitting. Jordan wants him to work a period of notice.
12 December: Bruce confirmed as Birmingham manager.
He also spoke about himself in the third person:
“…emotionally and professionally this is a step, going to Birmingham City, which I thought was right for Steve Bruce.”
Adding – get this:
“They’ve only had two managers in nine years and are very stable.”
Maybe Steve Bruce and Gyan Asamoah are more similar than the wandering manager would like to believe?
Posted: 12th, September 2011 | In: Sports Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
