Bruce was combative before his 1,000th game as a manager but it showed why he might not be suitable to lead club’s revolution
When Steve Bruce emerges from the St James’ Park tunnel on Sunday he will quite possibly feel a bit like an unwanted top-table wedding guest.
After all Newcastle were supposed to have sacked Bruce and appointed a more glamorous replacement by now. The club’s new directors had envisaged that Rafael Benítez or, perhaps, Brendan Rodgers would have led the team out against Tottenham as a capacity 52,000 crowd celebrated the start of a long-dreamed-of partnership with extraordinarily rich Saudi Arabian-led owners.
