The former Hull City boss was appointed as Aston Villa manager yesterday.
Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce
Aston Villa announced the appointment of Steve Bruce yesterday to a mixed response. The former Manchester United captain has won as many promotions from the Championship as any other manager, having been promoted in each of his last four seasons in England’s second tier. On paper then, there’s no finer (realistic) candidate to take the reigns at Villa Park, and most of the footballing community seems unanimous that Bruce is an excellent choice.
Villa legend Paul McGrath voiced his support for Bruce, tweeting, “Delighted for Steve Bruce, he will understand the big club we are so I hope himself and Dr Tony can get us out of the mess we are in.” Robbie Savage also took to social media, tweeting, “Great appointment by Aston Villa getting Steve Bruce as manager I wonder if he’s looking for a number 2 … my phone is on.”
Perhaps the greatest testament to Bruce himself were the tweets from his former players at Hull City, the likes of Curtis Davies and son Alex Bruce, giving ringing endorsements of their former boss, showing just what a good relationship he had with the players. Davies stated that there was “no better candidate”, whilst Alex claimed his father would do his best to “bring the good times back to Villa Park.”
Hull City’s Curtis Davies congratulated former boss Steve Bruce
Sports presenter Richard Keys, formerly of Sky Sports, went the furthest though, making a bold prediction about Bruce at Villa that many would consider to be a little too lofty. Keys tweeted, “Villa have made a great appointment this time. Hear Steve Bruce talking to K&G on #beINSports tomorrow. He’ll get them up – this season.”
The Aston Villa team Bruce has inherited currently sit 19th in the Championship, 15 points behind league leaders and one of Bruce’s former clubs Huddersfield, and 10 points off the play-off’s and another one of his former clubs, Birmingham City.
Despite the obvious talent at the ex-Hull boss’ disposal, promotion this season would still take a monumental effort. The Championship is fiercely competitive, with most considering Newcastle and Norwich to be very strong promotion candidates, whilst Huddersfield, Brighton, Bristol City, Sheffield Wednesday and more will all be difficult to dislodge.
Villa’s squad is undoubtedly one with a lot of quality. In Ross McCormack and Jonathan Kodjia they have two of the divisions best forwards, and the likes of Jordan Ayew and Rudy Gestede would also be star men at the vast majority of Championship clubs.
In midfield too, Bruce has a wealth of options. Mile Jedinak is a player Bruce is likely to use effectively, whilst his affable relationship with players could bring the best out of the likes of Jack Grealish and Albert Adomah, mercurial talents who have the ability to light up the Championship if they can find consistent good form.
One man Bruce will be delighted to link up with is James Chester. The former Manchester United trainee was exceptional for Hull City, and Bruce is well aware of his talents as a defender. Whether Bruce will be as convinced by the rest of Villa’s backline remains to be seen, but he has a good reputation for recruiting defenders, and one suspects that may be one area he may look to strengthen in January.
Bruce will be reunited with James Chester at Aston Villa
Whilst there are an awful lot of positives for Steve Bruce upon his arrival at Villa Park, one ought not underestimate the size of the job he has taken on. The quality may be there, but he has still joined a club who have won just 6 of their last 51 league games, a record which saw them go down as one of the worst ever Premier League teams last season and currently sit just above the Championship relegation zone.
There needs to be a mentality change at the football club, but Bruce is a man who can do that. His teams have typically started very well following his arrival. He is a motivator, a man manager and someone who can get the best out of his players. He is not, with the greatest of respect, a fine tactician. But he is a man with a wealth of experience, much of which has come at Championship level, and a knack for grinding out results.
Keys’ prediction is a bold one. Promotion this season would be one of the finest achievements of Bruce’s managerial career, up there with having taken Hull City to an FA Cup final and having won promotion in 2012/13 with a very modest squad. It is not beyond the realms of possibility though. If Bruce can guide Villa to a play-off place, it will most likely mean they have ended the season on a high, carrying momentum and a very gifted squad into the play-off’s, the method with which Bruce won promotion at Hull last season.
Do you think Steve Bruce is capable of winning promotion at Aston Villa this season?
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