As one of Alex Fergusons first signings after taking charge of Manchester United in 1986, Steve Bruce is no stranger to European football. The fiery Englishman, one of the finest players to never be selected to play for the Three Lions, captained the Manchester United side that defeated Barcelona in the 1991 UEFA Cup Winners Cup. That season, as a center back, Bruce scored 19 goals in all competitions, while his defensive partnership with Gary Pallister was called by Gary Neville as the best center back pairing in club history.
23 years later, Bruce is again involved in European competition, this time as a manager, with Hull City earning a spot in the Europa league by way of their involvement in the FA Cup final against Arsenal in May. It’s been a remarkable two years since Bruce took over; in his first season, Hull were promoted to the premier league, a race that went down to the last day of the season. Tomorrow, Hull will begin its Europa league campaign against AS Trencin, the Slovakian premier league’s second-place finisher (big credentials huh).
Entering this season, one would almost be inclined to write Hull off as just another flash in the pan whose European involvement, a tremendous accomplishment, will spell the end for this club in the premier league. It takes a manager of certain steel to guide his club through an obstacle like this; David Moyes proved last season that he cannot handle the pressure of delivering anything. Bruce, however, is not made of the same steel as Moyes. That, coupled with the 25 million pound transfer kitty the club gave him at the start of the window, is why Hull fans have reason to be even more excited about next season.
Bruce made it clear this year that his intentions were to buy young British players, a risky market these days. Thus far, Bruce has secured the services of Jake Livermore, as well as Robert Snodgrass and Tom Ince. Livermore was an instrumental part of Bruce’s squad last season while on loan from Spurs, and breaking the club transfer record to permanently add him to the roster is a classy and intelligent move that will surely appease Tigers fans. Ince, the son of former England international Paul Ince, has enjoyed a formidable development at Blackpool. Snodgrass, Norwich’s player of the year last season, adds another attacking option for the Tigers. Between these three signings, Hull have secured more attacking talent and flexibility in order to accommodate their bigger schedule.
Entering the summer one of the biggest concerns for Hull was the left-back, but Bruce snapped up promising Scottish youngster Andy Robertson. Robertson was a breakout player in the Scottish league last year, and earned call-ups for his national team in friendlies against Poland and Nigeria last spring. Joining him is Harry Mcguire, a 21 year-old center back with an England U-21 cap to his name, who will be given chances to prove himself at the club. The one thing Hull could use is veteran experience. Michael Dawson is reportedly a target, and don’t be surprised if Hull pick up one of the many English veterans floating around.
Above all, however, is the personality that Bruce brings to the managerial position. One of my readers commented on Bruce as being ‘very English,‘ and that’s exactly what he is. As a child, Bruce was rejected by several top clubs (Tony Adams can relate). In nearly 700 games in charge of professional football teams, tomorrow will be Bruce’s first European involvement. As I mentioned before, Bruce was never given a cap for the English national team. This is a guy whose career has been defined by tough love and the harsh realities of the footballing world. This season is Bruce’s to make his own, for keeping this Hull team afloat in the top flight while competing in Europe would be one hell of an accomplishment.
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