Bruce's 1000th game doesn't go to plan

19th Oct 2021

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There are 4 English managers in the Premier League and make no mistake with the arrival of the continental manager and the rise of the Premier League brand attracting the best managers in the world it has made it even more difficult to be an English manager coaching a top flight side. Statistically 20% of managers in the Premier League are English, there is a pressure and a need to do well and that could be seen all over Steve Bruce's face at the weekend.

Here was a manager who had seen it all and yet won nothing in his 23 years in the dugout whilst managing 10 teams. At the weekend he celebrated his 1,000th game as a manager, his 97th for current club Newcastle United. After the takeover last week it was being predicted that Bruce would be sacked within hours but there was a realisation that the new owners should grant Bruce his 1,000th game. One has to wonder after losing to Tottenham which was Newcastle's fifth loss of the season if Bruce will get another three games to make it to 100 for the Magpies? Bruce is unfashionable but is loaded with experience and as a boy supported Newcastle. There is almost something romantic about the fact that he comes from a different school of football and yet is still managing in the elite world of the Premier League, Bruce is most certainly part of a dying breed of manager within the game. However the bottom line is that Newcastle have been taken over by billionaires and his job is hanging by a thread. His 1,000th game was his 370th loss and his current win rate with the Magpies is just 28.9%, forget sentimentality and nationality his job would have been on the line anyway with that record.

In other news from the Newcastle vs Tottenham game a fan suffered a cardiac arrest in the stands and players, supporters and medical staff should be applauded for their quick reactions to save the man. This was a nice reminder that everyone can work together despite any rivalries on the pitch.

Mohamed Salah is proving to be one of the best players in the world and after his solo goal against the champions Manchester City a few weeks ago he repeated the trick against Watford which even had the Hornets fans clapping his goal too. Liverpool made light work of Claudio Ranieri's first game in charge of Watford thrashing them 5-0. Xisco Munoz may have been a little smug after that, the former manager being sacked this month.

Chelsea remain top of the league, although only just and it said everything about Brentford's performance that the European champions were literally hanging on at the end as they won 1-0. Chelsea certainly had Edouard Mendy in goal to thank. David Moyes came back to haunt Goodison Park for the second time in a row as West Ham beat Everton once again 1-0. Arsenal managed a 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace at home but were losing that game 2-1 until Alexandre Lacazette struck in the 95th minute, but there is much work still to be done at the club.

UEFA have handed down a fine of £85,000 to the FA in relation to fans storming Wembley Stadium for the final of Euro 2020. England will also have a 1 game stadium ban which will affect their first Nations League match. But one really has to scratch their head at this outcome. Hungary were fined the same amount and had a 2 game stadium ban but this is after repeatedly being sanctioned because of racism. Whilst England fans were absolutely wrong to try and storm the ground, the number one problem in football is obviously racism, so why is that not being stamped down and punished more?

 

It's been one month since we last looked at the Premier League winning odds and most clubs prices has stayed the same except for one: Manchester United. Four weeks ago just after Cristiano Ronaldo had made his return and was scoring goals to make even the most cynical person raise an eyebrow United were 6.00 to win the league, now they are 34.00. This is very telling, Ronaldo's goals dare we say have dried up, but the overall body language of the team looks negative. At home United were outplayed by Aston Villa and Everton and at the weekend they conceded 4 goals against Leicester which means the Red Devils have no wins in their last 3 games.

Latest odds to win the Premier League: Manchester City 1.91, Chelsea 3.25, Liverpool 4.00, Manchester United 34.00, Tottenham 101.00

And how long has manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer got? The Norwegian has gone from 41.00 to 12.00 to be the next manager to be sacked and only Steve Bruce is keeping him out as the favourite. 

Next Manchester United manager odds: Brendan Rodgers 5.00, Antonio Conte 6.00, Mauricio Pochettino 6.00, Zinedine Zidane 6.00, Erik ten Hag 17.00



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