Steve Bruce

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Steve Bruce
Personal information
Full name	Stephen Roger Bruce
Date of birth	December 31, 1960 (1960-12-31) (age 47)
Place of birth	Corbridge, Northumberland, England
Playing position	Defender
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1977–1984 1984–1987 1987–1996 1996–1998 1998–1999	Gillingham Norwich City Manchester United Birmingham City Sheffield United Total	205 (29) 141 (14) 309 (36) 072 0(2) 010 0(0) 737 (81)
National team
1979–1980 1987	England Youth England 'B'	008 0(0) 001 0(0)
Teams managed
1998–1999 1999–2000 2001 2001 2001–2007 2007–	Sheffield United Huddersfield Town Wigan Athletic Crystal Palace Birmingham City Wigan Athletic
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. * Appearances (Goals)

Stephen Roger "Steve" Bruce (born December 31, 1960, in Corbridge, near Hexham, Northumberland, England) is an English football manager and former player. He is currently manager of Wigan Athletic.

As a centre-back Bruce began his playing career with Gillingham before going on to play for Norwich City and Manchester United, with whom he achieved great success, winning a number of trophies and becoming the first English player of the twentieth century to captain a team to The Double. Despite his success on the field he was never capped at full international level, and has been described as one of the best players of the 1980s and 1990s never to appear for England at senior level.

Bruce began his managerial career with Sheffield United and had short spells managing Huddersfield Town, Wigan Athletic and Crystal Palace before joining Birmingham City in 2001. He twice led them to promotion to the Premier League during his tenure of nearly six years, before resigning in November 2007 to begin a second stint as manager of Wigan Athletic.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Playing career 2.1 Early playing career 2.2 Manchester United 2.3 Later playing career 3 Managerial career 3.1 Early managerial career 3.2 Birmingham City 3.3 Departure from Birmingham City 4 Managerial statistics 5 Life outside football 5.1 Personal life 5.2 Other activities 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Early life

Bruce was born in Corbridge in Northumberland to Joe and Sheenagh Bruce, and has a younger brother named Ian.^[1] Although his father was a local, his mother had been born in Bangor in Northern Ireland.^[2][3] The family lived in Daisy Hill near Wallsend,^[4] and Bruce attended Benfield School.^[5]

Bruce grew up a fan of Newcastle United and claims to have sneaked into St James' Park to watch the team play without paying, saying "I have always been a Newcastle lad and when I was a kid, I crawled under the turnstiles to get in to try and save a bob or whatever it was. They were my team, I went to support them as a boy and being a Geordie it's in-bred in you, you follow the club still the same today."^[6] Like many other future professionals from the area, he played football for Wallsend Boys Club.^[6]

Having been turned down by a number of professional clubs, including Newcastle United, Sunderland, Derby County and Southport, Bruce was about to start work as an apprentice plumber at the Swan Hunter dockyard when he was recommended to Third Division Gillingham by a scout.^[7] He travelled down to Kent with another player from the Wallsend club, Peter Beardsley, but although Gillingham signed Bruce as an apprentice, they turned Beardsley away.^[8] At the time Bruce was playing as a midfielder, but he was switched to the centre of defence by the head of Gillingham's youth scheme, Bill "Buster" Collins, whom Bruce cites as the single biggest influence on his career.^[8][9]

[edit] Playing career

[edit] Early playing career

Bruce spent the 1978–79 season in Gillingham's reserve team and, despite playing in defence, scored 18 goals to finish the season as top scorer.^[10] In January 1979 he was selected to represent the England Youth team, and he went on to gain eight caps, participating in the 1980 European championships.^[11] He made his debut for the first team against Blackpool at Bloomfield Road on 18 August 1979,^[12] and went on to make over 200 appearances for the Kent club.^[10]

Bruce began to attract the attention of First Division scouts after Gillingham achieved two draws against Everton in the FA Cup in 1984,^[8] and was transferred to Norwich City in August 1984 for a fee variously reported as £125,000^[13] or £135,000.^[10][14] Although he scored an own goal in the first minute of his debut against Liverpool,^[15] he later came to be seen as one of the club's most inspirational signings.^[14] In the 1984–85 season he scored Norwich's winning goal in the semi-final of the Football League Cup against local rivals Ipswich Town,^[16] and was named man of the match in the final,^[10] in which Norwich defeated Sunderland 1–0 at Wembley Stadium.^[17] The same season saw the team relegated to Division Two,^[18] but Bruce was voted player of the year to cap a successful first season with the club.^[19]

Bruce was an ever-present as Norwich won promotion back to the first division as champions at the first time of asking in the 1985–86 season,^[18][20] and the following season helped the club to its highest ever league finish of fifth position.^[18] He was transferred to Manchester United on 18 December 1987, shortly before his 27th birthday, for a fee reported as either £800,000^[21] or £825,000.^[22] Norwich fans remembered his contribution, however, and in 2002 voted him into the Norwich City F.C. Hall of Fame.^[23] Bruce captained the England 'B' team in a 1987 match against Malta,^[24] but it was to be his only appearance in an England shirt, and he has subsequently been described as one of the best defenders of his era never to be selected for the full England team.^[25][26][27]

[edit] Manchester United

Bruce made his Manchester United debut in a 2–1 win over Portsmouth on 19 December 1987.^[28]

He finished the 1990–91 campaign as United's third top goalscorer behind Mark Hughes and Brian McClair with 19 goals, helped by scoring eleven goals from the penalty spot. Bruce helped United win three Premier League titles (1993, 1994 and 1996), three FA Cups (1990, 1994 and 1996, although he played no part in the 1996 final), one Football League Cup (1992) and one Cup Winners' Cup (1991). He took over from Bryan Robson as on-field team captain in 1991 and got the full club captain position when Robson left three years later. As captain he helped United to the league title in 1993, scoring two late goals against Sheffield Wednesday at Old Trafford, and again in 1994, forming a formidable defensive partnership with Gary Pallister in a team that lost only four league matches all season. That same year he led United to FA Cup glory against Chelsea and to the League Cup final against Aston Villa. The following season he was once again ever present at the heart of the United back line, but was unable to add any medals to his collection as United were pipped to the Premier League title by Blackburn Rovers and defeated in the FA Cup final by Everton.

The following season Bruce made a further 30 league appearances,^[28] as United managed to overcome a twelve point deficit to Newcastle United to lift the Premier League trophy.^[29] A week later, however, Bruce was left out of United's squad for the 1996 FA Cup Final against Liverpool, due to a slight injury.^[30] Despite the fact that Bruce was club captain, he insisted that match winner Eric Cantona lift the trophy at Wembley.^[31] Shortly after the final Bruce left Old Trafford, joining Birmingham City on a free transfer.^[32]

[edit] Later playing career

Bruce was among five former Premier League players signed by Birmingham manager Trevor Francis to add experience to a squad with little knowledge of the top flight,^[33] and was given the captaincy,^[34] but his Birmingham career was dogged by a series of disagreements with Francis.^[35][36] Director David Sullivan felt the need to publicly deny rumours that Bruce was lined up to replace Francis as manager after the club's stock market flotation.^[37][38] The 1997–98 season saw Bruce dropped for the first time in his career, for a match against former club Gillingham, and he described himself as "hurt and unhappy" at being left out.^[39][40] By November 1997 he was being left out more frequently, and his omission against Nottingham Forest provoked a public war of words, which fuelled rumours that the manager was to be dismissed and that Bruce would take over as caretaker until the end of the season.^[41][42]

At the end of the season Bruce accepted a one-year extension to his playing contract, at reduced wages, which included a clause allowing him to leave for a managerial post.^[43] He was linked with several vacancies, including those at Wigan Athletic and former club Norwich City, for which he was twice interviewed,^[44][45] but eventually accepted the post of player-manager of Sheffield United. Though the deal was delayed while Birmingham attempted to negotiate a transfer fee for his playing contract,^[46] he took up his new position on 1 July 1998.^[43] He played eleven matches for the club before retiring as a player, his final appearance being in a home match against Sunderland on 28 November 1998.^[47]

[edit] Managerial career

[edit] Early managerial career

In his first season as a manager, Bruce guided Sheffield United to eighth place in the First Division, narrowly missing out on a place in the play-offs. In May 1999, however, he resigned citing turmoil in the club's boardroom and a shortage of funds for transfers.^[48] He contemplated leaving football for a job in television but was persuaded by Huddersfield Town owner Barry Rubery to become the club's new manager.^[49] In his first season in charge the club came close to reaching the First Division play-offs, but began the 2000–01 season poorly, gaining just six points form eleven matches. Bruce was sacked in October 2000,^[50] and then became involved in a dispute with Rubery, who accused him of "wasting" £3m on players and having "an ego to feed".^[51]

Although he was linked with the manager's job at Queens Park Rangers,^[52] Bruce remained out of the game until he was appointed manager of Wigan Athletic in April 2001.^[53] The team reached the Second Division play-offs but lost in the semi-finals,^[54] and Bruce almost immediately left the club, where he had been in charge for less than two months, to take over as manager of Crystal Palace.^[55] Although his new club began the 2001–02 season strongly, topping the First Division table,^[56] Bruce tendered his resignation less than three months into the season in order to return to Birmingham City as manager. Although he was prevented from doing so by an injunction taken out by Crystal Palace, he was eventually allowed to join the Midlands club after a compensation package was agreed.^[57][58] By now he had acquired a reputation as a manager who rarely held down a job for a significant length of time.^[56]

[edit] Birmingham City

On his arrival, Birmingham were mid table in Division One and the realistic target for the 2001-02 season was to consolidate rather than push for promotion. But he guided them into the playoffs and they beat Norwich City on penalties in the final to end a 16-year absence from the top division.

In 2002-03, Birmingham finished 13th in the Premiership and the following season climbed to 10th place in the final table. In 2004-05, they finished in 12th place.

In August 2004 Bruce was linked with the manager's job at Newcastle but he turned it down and chose to stay at Birmingham for at least another three seasons. Following the sacking of Graeme Souness as Newcastle manager on 2 February 2006, Bruce was again being mentioned as a possibility for the job, most likely due to his childhood roots in Northumberland and affinity for the club as a youth.

By this point of the season, the team were in some trouble in the league, and on 21 March 2006, Birmingham City were beaten 7-0 at home by Liverpool in the FA Cup Quarter Finals.^[59] Despite calls for his resignation by some supporters of the club, Bruce insisted that he would fight on as manager.^[60]

Following a 3-0 defeat at former club Manchester United, Bruce's side managed a highly creditable 0-0 draw with Chelsea, followed by a 1-0 home win against Bolton Wanderers, which lifted Birmingham out of the relegation zone. However, it was not to last, and the team was relegated before the final day of the season.

Birmingham made a slow start to the 2006-07 season in the Football League Championship and after a 1-0 home defeat to Norwich City fans again began calling for Bruce to go.

The pressure eased somewhat when in Bruce's seeming 'decider game' the Blues recorded a 1-0 victory thanks to a goal from Stephen Clemence. Surprisingly the travelling army of Birmingham supporters at the end of the match chanted Bruce's name, to which the Birmingham manager responded by giving a grin. The sale of defender Matthew Upson to West Ham United for £6 million enraged Bruce, who felt that the player was snatched from underneath him and sold without the board consulting him-however Upson had made it very clear that he wanted the move, and chairman David Gold argued that having such a player on board would be a detriment to the team's promotion chances. On April 29, Birmingham secured promotion to the Premiership with one match to play, by virtue of Derby County F.C.'s 2-0 loss at Crystal Palace. Bruce failed to win the Championship on the last day of the season as his Birmingham team lost 0-1 at Preston North End. Bruce's former team mate, Roy Keane, won the title instead with his Sunderland team by a convincing 5-0 against Luton Town.

[edit] Departure from Birmingham City

In May 2007 Birmingham's board agreed a new contract for Bruce, but the unwillingness of the club's prospective purchaser Carson Yeung to ratify it left his future uncertain.^[61] In October 2007, Bolton Wanderers were refused permission to speak to him about their managerial vacancy.^[62] Later that month, Bruce and Yeung held a meeting which reportedly had positive results,^[63] but when Wigan Athletic requested permission to speak to Bruce about their managerial vacancy, he was receptive to their approach.^[64] As required under the terms of his contract, Wigan agreed to pay Birmingham compensation for the loss of his services of around £3m,^[65] and they were then allowed to speak to him. On 19 November Wigan announced the signing of Bruce for a second time.^[66]

On 21 November, during a press conference which was intended to formally present Bruce as the new manager of Wigan, the club's chief executive Brenda Spencer informed the media that the deal had been put on hold by "unknown issues" between Bruce and Birmingham City, reported to centre on the advance payment of the image rights element of Bruce's contract at St Andrews.^[67][68] On 23 November 2007, however, Wigan announced that Bruce had now signed his contract and would officially rejoin the Latics.^[69] His first game in charge was a 1–1 home draw with Manchester City on December 1, 2007.

[edit] Managerial statistics

As of 17 May 2008.^[70]

Team	Nat	From	To	Record
				G	W	L	D	Win %
Sheffield United		July 2, 1998	May 17, 1999	55	22	18	15	40.00
Huddersfield Town		May 24, 1999	October 16, 2000	66	25	25	16	37.87
Wigan Athletic		April 4, 2001	May 29, 2001	8	3	3	2	37.50
Crystal Palace		May 31, 2001	November 2, 2001	18	11	5	2	61.11
Birmingham City		December 12, 2001	November 19, 2007	270	100	100	70	37.03
Wigan Athletic		November 26, 2007	Present	26	9	9	8	34.61

[edit] Life outside football

[edit] Personal life

Bruce has been married since February 1983 to Janet (née Smith),^[71][72][73] who is also from the Hexham area, and went to the same school as Bruce.^[5] The couple have two children, Alex (born 1984) and Amy.^[71] Alex is also a footballer, currently playing for Ipswich Town.^[74] He previously played under his father's management at Birmingham City.^[75]

In 2004 Bruce was involved in an altercation outside his home with two men who were attempting to steal his daughter Amy's car. The affray left him with facial injuries but did not prevent him from travelling to a Premier League match the same day.^[76]

[edit] Other activities

In addition to an autobiography "Heading for Victory", Bruce has published three novels, "Sweeper!", "Defender!" and "Striker!",^[77] featuring the exploits of fictional footballer manager Steve Barnes. "Sweeper!" was described as "surprisingly punchy and pacey, although the plot is essentially ludicrous". ^[78]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Steve Bruce career stats at Soccerbase

Sporting positions
Preceded by Unknown	Norwich City captain 1986-1987	Succeeded by Mike Phelan
Preceded by Bryan Robson	Manchester United captain 1994-1996	Succeeded by Eric Cantona

v • d • e Sheffield United F.C. – Managers Wostinholm (1889–99s) • Nicholson (1899–1932s) • Davison (1932–52) • Freeman (1952–55) • Mercer (1955–58) • Clark (1958–59c) • Harris (1959–68) • Rowley (1968–69) • Harris (1969–73) • Furphy (1973–75) • Coldwell (1975c) • Sirrel (1975–77) • Coldwell (1977–78c) • Haslam (1978–81) • Peters (1981) • Porterfield (1981–86) • McEwan (1986–88) • Bassett (1988–95) • Kendall (1995–97) • Spackman (1997–98) • Thompson (1998c) • Bruce (1998–99) • Heath (1999) • Warnock (1999–2007) • Robson (2007–08) • Blackwell (2008–presentc) • (s) secretary (c) caretaker

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v • d • e Wigan Athletic F.C. – Managers Spencer (1932–37) • Milne (1946–47) • Pryde (1949–52) • Goodier (1952–54) • Crook (1954–55) • Suart (1955–56) • Cooke (1956) • Barkas (1957) • Hitchen (1957–58) • Barrass (1958–59) • Shirley (1959) • Murphy (1959–60) • Chilton (1960) • Ball (1961–63) • Brown (1963–66) • Craig (1966–67) • Leyland (1967–68) • Saunders (1968) • McNeill (1968–70) • Milne (1970–72) • Rigby (1972–74) • Tiler (1974–76) • McNeill (1976–81) • Lloyd (1981–83) • Charlton (1983) • McNally (1983–85) • Hamilton (1985–86) • Mathias (1986–89) • Hamilton (1989–93) • Philpotts (1993) • Swain (1993–94) • Barrow (1994–95) • Cribley (1995) • Deehan (1995–98) • Mathias (1998–99) • Benson (1999–2000) • Rioch (2000–01) • Greenall (2001) • Bruce (2001) • Jewell (2001–07) • Hutchings (2007) • Barlow (2007) • Bruce (2007–)

v • d • e Crystal Palace F.C. – Managers Robson (1905–07) • Goodman (1907–25) • Maley (1925–27) • Maven (1927–30) • Tresadern (1930–35) • Bromilow (1935–36) • Moyes (1936–36) • Bromilow (1936–39) • Irwin (1939–47) • Butler (1947–49) • Rooke (1949–50) • Dawes (1950–51) • Slade (1950–51) • Scott (1951–54) • Spiers (1954–58) • G. Smith (1958–60) • Rowe (1960–62) • Graham (1963–66) • Head (1966–72) • Allison (1973–76) • Venables (1976–80) • Walley (1980) • Allison (1980–81) • Gradi (1981) • Kember (1981–82) • Mullery (1982–84) • Bassett (1984) • Coppell (1984–93) • A. Smith (1993–95) • Coppell (1995–96) • Bassett (1996–97) • Coppell (1997–98) • Lombardo/Brolin (1998) • Noades/Lewington (1998) • Venables (1998–99) • Coppell (1999–2000) • A. Smith (2000–01) • Kember (2001) • Bruce (2001) • Kember/Bullivant (2001) • Francis (2001–03) • Kember (2003) • Symons (2003) • Dowie (2003–06) • Taylor (2006–07) • Symons (2007) • Warnock (2007–)

v • d • e Birmingham City F.C. – Managers Jones (1892–1908) • Watson (1908–10) • McRoberts (1910–15) • Richards (1915–23) • Beer (1923–27) • Harvey (1927–28) • Knighton (1928–33) • Liddell (1933–39) • Camkin (1939–44) • Goodier (1944–45) • Storer (1945–49) • Brocklebank (1949–54) • Turner (1954–58) • Turner and Beasley (1958) • Beasley (1958–60) • Merrick (1960–64) • Mallett (1964–65) • Cullis (1965–70) • Goodwin (1970–75) • Bell (1975–77) • Ramsey (1977–78) • Smith (1978–82) • Saunders (1982–86) • Bond (1986–87) • Pendrey (1987–89) • Mackay (1989–91) • Macari (1991) • Cooper (1991–93) • Fry (1993–96) • Francis (1996–2001) • Bruce (2001–07) • McLeish (2007–)

v • d • e Wigan Athletic F.C. – current squad 1 Kirkland • 2 Taylor • 3 Edman • 5 Palacios • 6 Sibierski • 8 Kilbane • 9 Heskey • 10 Koumas • 11 Brown • 12 Pollitt • 14 King • 15 Aghahowa • 16 Valencia • 17 Boyce • 18 Scharner • 19 Bramble • 20 Olembé • 21 Cywka • 23 Bent • 24 Skoko • 25 Melchiot • 26 Bouaouzan • 27 Kupisz • 28 Moore • 29 Montrose • 30 Saunders • 31 Figueroa • 32 Hagen • Manager: Bruce