of status that would invariably mean a fast
pass to England squads but which ultimately
did nothing for his cause. Robson stuck with
his trusted men – Tony Adams, Terry Butcher,
Des Walker, Mark Wright – and gave Bruce
the cold shoulder.
“Never mind winning a cap, I never even
made a bloody squad!” he adds. “The year
I scored nearly 20 goals as a centre-half [19
in 1990-91], I thought I’d done enough, but
Sir Bobby [and his successor Graham Taylor]
stayed very loyal to his regulars. While I was
very lucky to enjoy a very successful playing
career, I never did pull on an England shirt.
“The way I look at it now is that I prefer to
be called one of the best uncapped players
than a one-cap wonder. That’s definitely got
a better ring to it!”
Bruce had already won major silverware
before he moved to Old Trafford in 1987 – his
first prize came as a Norwich player, when
the Canaries defeated Sunderland 1-0 in the
1985 League Cup Final. It was in Manchester
where he truly flourished, though, winning
three Premier League titles, a European Cup
Winners’ Cup, three FA Cups and another
League Cup.
Not only was Bruce a Stretford End hero,
but the no-nonsense centre-half was also
a respected and well-liked footballer with
admirers across the land. Was it something
of a culture shock years later in management,
then, when he was subjected to abuse while
managing each of Sunderland, Aston Villa
and Newcastle? At Villa, one disgruntled fan
even launched a cabbage at him after a poor
run of form in late October 2018. But Bruce’s
theory is simple.
“It’s very easy to be popular when you’re
the captain of Manchester United, because
you’re regularly winning football matches,”
he says. “And nine times out of 10, if you’re
not winning matches then you’re not going
to be liked as much.
“Of all the teams I took charge of in the
Premier League, none of them at the timewere regarded as sides capable of finishing
in the top half. Wigan and Hull were both
punching above their weight mixing it with
the big boys, and it had been a long time
since Sunderland and Newcastle were right
up there. It’s not as if I took over a club that
expected to be challenging for honours
every season. When I joined Newcastle, the
target was to avoid relegation – that was
nothing to do with my own lack of ambition
but just the reality of the situation. A lot of
Newcastle fans at the time thought we’d go
down after Rafa left.
“While I’m not shouting from the rooftops
about keeping the club in the top flight, I did
what I was asked to do. And yes, although
we started badly again this season, I believe
we’d have survived again.”AUTHOR!
Bruce wasn’t merely a multi-decorated
footballer. A few months on from hangingRight Brucie and
Robbo end the
United title wait
Below “This is
how much I love
life in Norfolk!”STEVE
BRUCE70 July 2022 FourFourTwo