I like Steve Bruce and I think he is a decent manager but I really can’t come up with many reasons for him hanging around at Hull City AFC.

Last summer Bruce spent around £40m on talent, that was meant to see the squad push for a top ten finish.

Yet on Sunday, the ‘Tigers’ drew 0-0 at home to Manchester United and slipped out of the English Premier League.

It was obviously a dreadful day for all those associated with the club.

Fifty-four year old Bruce was clearly dejected after the game:

“There is talking and soul searching to be done. It is bitter and sad at the moment.”

When questioned about his own future the Hull boss wasn’t convincing:

“We all need a break from each other, we need to get away for the next couple of weeks.”

“Let’s analyse the situation and see where the owner wants to take the club then we will go from there.”

He even dismissed the fact that he had just extended his contract by three more years in March:

“A contract means nothing in football, we all know that.”

You can see why he was reticent when discussing his own job prospects at the KC Stadium.

Bruce went into this season without any thought of a relegation battle. He had an array of stars at his disposal. But things went terribly wrong!

Now obviously luck played its part, injuries to key personnel hampered the teams cause.

But other factors have to fall down at Steve’s door.

Not one of their strikers managed to get into double figures in terms of league goals this term. They spent big on Abel Hernandez, yet he only scored four times and Bruce didn’t seem to fully trust the Uruguayan.

Hatem Ben Arfa and Gaston Ramirez have all the ability in the world but neither showed their class during their loan spells at Hull. Bruce just couldn’t get the best out of them, in fact he failed to get anything out of them!

Defenders like Paul McShane, Alex Bruce, Curtis Davies, Liam Rosenior, James Chester and Maynor Figueroa are all good honest pros but they don’t strike fear into opposing forwards. They are at best low-end EPL players or adequate Championship foot-soldiers. As a former stalwart defender himself, I’d have expect more from Bruce.

The fact Jake Livermore failed a drugs test in the league run-in is a huge slap in the face for Steve Bruce and his team. He showed his manager, team-mates and the fans no respect whatsoever. That can be quite damning for a manager.

This summer is going to be huge for Hull City AFC. Premier League clubs will hover around the fallen club and try and entice the better players to stay in the top flight rather than join Hull in the Championship dog fight. Some of the more arrogant players simply won’t have the stomach for playing in the Championship and will demand moves away.

The club itself will want to cut loose the deadwood that has helped stall the teams fortunes and create the malaise that started the decline.

All of that means that there will be a major rebuilding job happening at the KC Stadium in the coming months.

Does Steve Bruce have the desire to refreshen things yet again? Can he really stop the rot? If so, then why didn’t he do it earlier in this campaign? 

In the last three months of the season, Hull only managed two wins in their last eleven fixtures. Against teams in and around the relegation zone like Burnley, Sunderland and Leicester they failed to record a victory.

The simple fact of the matter is this: When the chips were down Hull City just weren’t good enough and couldn’t turn things around.

For that reason alone, Steve Bruce has to accept that he failed and should probably step aside and let someone new come in and rejuvenate the side!

Posted on May 26th, 2015 by scott
Filed under: Article