1
CHRISTOPHE DUGARRY
BIRMINGHAM CITY“I haven’t managed too many World Cup
winners, but he was a different class –
and all he cost was a packet of Rich Tea
biscuits. Christophe was made available
on loan by Bordeaux, and understandably
there was plenty of interest in someone
with his background. I remember him
coming to my home. The missus was out
and I was scrambling around looking for
some nice biscuits to offer him with his
cup of coffee. All I could find were some
Rich Teas, but they did the trick! For six
months he was fabulous, on another
level to anyone else on the pitch more
often than not. I really enjoyed working
with him at Birmingham.”2
JACK GREALISH
ASTON VILLA“In terms of raw talent, Jack is top of the
tree. Technically, I haven’t seen too many
better footballers. He’s exciting too, with
his ability to run directly at opponents.
No wonder fans love him. I just wish he’d
played a bit more during my time at Villa,
but he had a bad kidney infection which
kept him sidelined.”3
WILSON PALACIOS &
ANTONIO VALENCIA
WIGAN ATHLETIC“I can’t separate the pair because they
were both absolutely brilliant for me at
Wigan. The two of them were virtually
unknown when they arrived over here,
but it didn’t take them long to make their
mark. Unfortunately for Wigan, it wasn’t
too long before the big boys were sniffing
around and they both got lucrative moves- Wilson to Tottenham and Antonio to
Manchester United.”
Barnes, who solved murder mysteries as the
manager of Leddersford Town.
“That was during my days as Huddersfield
manager,” he recalls [rather unnecessarily –
Ed.] with a degree of embarrassment. “It was
a tongue-in-cheek thing, a bit of fun I guess,
but when the idea was put to me I thought,
‘Why not?’ Everyone used to ask, ‘Why call
the main character Steve Barnes?’ There’s no
clever answer I’m afraid – it’s a name quite
close to my own.
“I think the world had forgotten about my
little side project until lockdown, when it was
brought up again during the Hawksbee and
Jacobs show on talkSPORT. They were taking
the piss a bit, in a gentle way, which I didn’t
really mind because I’d be the first to admit
that they weren’t great works of literature.
But the books have since become collector’s
items, apparently worth around £600 each.
I’ve still got a few stashed away somewhere,
so it’s nice to know they’re worth a few quid!
But no, I won’t be writing any more. My days
as an author are long gone.”
At the time of FFT going to press, a couple
of versions of Striker! were available to buy on
Amazon: one for £197.20, the other £1,610.
Grab a bargain while you can...
When he wasn’t busy inking dodgy thrillers,
Bruce was earning himself an unwanted
reputation in his early days of management- he didn’t hang around anywhere for very
long. After 10 months at Bramall Lane and
17 at Huddersfield, he joined Wigan in April
- Before May was out, he’d become the
new manager of Crystal Palace – but after
only 18 matches, having hauled the Eagles
from 21st place to third, the call came from
Birmingham. They were in the same division
as Palace, and below them in the standings,
but this time something stuck.
“I wanted to make a go at
management and realised that
I had to stay at the same club for
a decent length of time to really
establish myself,” says Bruce. “So
I had more than six mostly happy
years at Birmingham. I think we
were good for each other.”
He’s not wrong: the Blues sealed
promotion via the play-offs in Bruce’s
maiden season, then stayed in the
Premier League for four more. He got
them back up at the first attempt in
2006-07. It was during his days at
St Andrew’s when the Northumberland
native originally had the chance to manage
Newcastle, after Robson’s unceremonious
dismissal in 2004. Bruce’s stock was high at
the time, but back then he wouldn’t allow his
heart to rule his head. When he finally left
Birmingham in late 2007, amid contractual
uncertainty, it was for a return to one of his
former clubs, Wigan.
“In all my years, I’ve never come close to
thinking, ‘I’ve finally cracked it’,” he admits.
“Not even the very best in the business can
afford to think like that. But that year [in
December 2008] we were absolutely flying,
playing lovely football and picking up great
results. Wigan had some wonderful players
back then – Emile Heskey, Wilson Palacios,
TOP BOYS
Relegation heroes, golden boys and
inseparable South Americans make up
Bruce’s best players in management“nEVER MInD WInnInG A CAP,
I nEVER EVEn MADE A BLOODY
EnGLAnD SQUAD. SIR BOBBY
WAS LOYAL TO HIS REGULARS”
up his boots, after being given the runaround
by Sunderland striker Michael Bridges during
his days as player-boss of Sheffield United,
he entered a new phase of his life that would
quietly blossom with notoriety two decades
hence, as a literary writer.
From 1999 to early 2000, Bruce wrote three
novels – Striker!, Sweeper! and Defender! –
based on the fictional character of, er, Steve
STEVE
BRUCEFourFourTwo July 2022 71