Comment: Not even his 1,000 games could prepare Steve Bruce for size of West Brom task
The pressure on Steve Bruce had become unbearable and the only decision was for the manager to be relieved of his duties.
Bruce, 61, managed just 250 days at The Hawthorns, where he spent many of those trying to win over an unconvinced, tired and weary fanbase.
The former Blues, Villa and Newcastle boss needed a good start – he got the exact opposite.
After improved end-of-season form he needed a good summer – in the end it proved to be an up-and-down, hit-and-miss first – and only – Albion transfer window for Bruce.
He needed to start this season well.
He sort of did, performance-wise at least. The Hawthorns crowd chanted Bruce’s name as Albion played well in spells early on, with a new attacking ethos on show following last season’s tedious boredom.
But, despite that, wins didn’t come – and that theme continued.
Performances dropped off and soon some fans turned. The first big sign of that was the home midweek disaster against Blues.
The manager was given a stay of execution beyond the international break to turn things around but managed a single point from a possible nine from winnable fixtures.
The final week in particular – somehow snatching a defeat from the jaws of victory against Swansea – a meek and miserable showing at Preston and Saturday’s stalemate against Luton signalled the end was near.
Some goodwill for the manager remained but it was in short supply and seemed to be dwindling as each game was ticked off and Albion remained winless. One win in 13 league games, 11 points and 22nd in the Championship is untenable.
Bruce had little defence for his position. He was asked in numerous press conferences about his position and was insistent he would fight and battle on. A sucker for punishment, some quipped. But in some instances he seemed deflated to the point of defeated. In the end he was the ninth manager in the Championship to lose his job already this season – much smaller clubs with less ambition than Albion sacked managers for less.
There is no question the experienced manager of more than 1,000 matches had plenty on his plate during the summer – and this is all from a football perspective, before factoring the nature of the club’s ownership and the strict finances, in terms of fees, Bruce had to play with.
He inherited a defensive-friendly side barely capable of scoring a goal. Albion have been OK, and improved, in the attacking department this season.
Jed Wallace has been a fantastic acquisition. John Swift promised similar but is yet to burst into life. Bruce must also be credited for revitalising Grady Diangana.
But the Baggies couldn’t get things right at the other end of the pitch. The goals against column – and especially the manner of the goals – were too often alarming.
Too many had underperformed for Bruce. Beyond Wallace, Diangana and another summer addition in Brandon Thomas-Asante – a nominal fee purchase from the fourth tier – encouraging performances were few and far between.
Bruce and any manager will always carry the can for results and form, regardless of how many costly individual errors players will chuck in.
The manager did begin to tinker with personnel into September. Semi Ajayi’s injury rocked the backline while striker Daryl Dike – the club’s big forward goal hope – never played competitively under Bruce. Liam Delap and Keinan Davis were lined up as key short-term replacements for Dike, but Albion could not get them over the line.
Albion – and it understood Bruce, too – were reeling from a chaotic and embarrassing transfer deadline day, where the manager was let down on two all-but sewn up loan arrivals of Josh Onomah and Steven Alzate. Both would have improved the midfield ten-fold and both were seemingly as good as done, but broke down in the 11th hour.
But individuals continued to under-perform and Albion’s squad was so wafer-thin replacements were inadequate.
Bruce was perhaps too loyal to some players not doing enough. Goalkeeper David Button – elected in the summer as the club’s No.1 having previously played back-up – stayed between the sticks until last week after some expensive blunders.
He wasn’t alone. There was the Kyle Bartley episode, while other regulars in defence have been below-par, especially at full-back. Okay Yokuslu’s return has not got going, yet. Karlan Grant became subject of intense fan scrutiny.
Bruce’s Albion tenure never truly got going. Many factors above the manager’s head, notably ownership instability and belt tightening, were definitely a hindrance, but Bruce did not do enough.
The squad is not poor. It has holes, it has its ‘stale’ sections, but it is still more than capable of at least the top half of this division. Albion had to act, because the play-offs are the very least of their ambitions – for chief executive Ron Gourlay this is a defining appointment.
The management door at The Hawthorns has been a revolving one in recent years. Fans are tired, they want something to hold close and get behind.
If this next appointment does not come off, this season and years to come will continue to plunge into deeper and deeper depths.
