I was surprised to read reports about him possibly facing the sack. Steve Bruce has been heavily backed by Sunderland and spent a lot of money over the summer defensively. But the issue with Sunderland last season was scoring goals which makes it very difficult to win matches. He hasn't brought in a top striker and he probably had a lot of hopes resting on Asamoah Gyan, who cost them £13million and has looked good when on top form.
But then on Saturday within a few hours of kick-off comes the announcement that his top striker has left for the United Arab Emirates. It's very disappointing for Steve Bruce - you could see the pain and frustration on his face - but he was backed into a corner and left with no choice. Such is 'player power' these days, when top players tell you they want to leave, then you end up with little choice. You cannot keep a disruptive influence.
All the reports over Bruce's future are a little bit harsh. He's achieved really good things up there up until the middle half of last season when injuries and the sale of Darren Bent really took hold.But to say he's going to get sacked on the back of the Chelsea defeat is unfair. You'd expect them (Chelsea) to be challenging for the title, so to lose 2-1 isn't a disaster. I think people just need to give Bruce a little bit of time, allow the club to get over this situation with Gyan and give him, at the very least, 10 games.
