Premier League: Newcastle’s Steve Bruce for Manager of the Year Award

What he has done this year has been a miracle. Steve Bruce has taken a team predicted to be in a relegation fight to the mid-table.

Looking at all of the offensive and defensive deficiencies in the Geordies’  numbers, it is clear that he is pushing all the right buttons with his team to punch above their weight class.

He has created a team that does not have the overall firepower in offense to score consistently nor the talent in defense to stop opponents from getting consistent scoring opportunities. Steve Bruce has instilled and maintained something that only a boss at his level can provide: A drive to fight for everything.

Newcastle is a team that no other team wants to face because his men will not stop figuring out a way to win. Most of the time, it has been through persistence by running, being physical, and finding the right moments when the opponents’ will may waver.

Bruce is a prototypical English “old school” manager who has decided to utilize running and physicality to find ways to grind out results. He is not worried about expected goals, passes, or possession percentages.

What he cares about is converting on the one chance you might get to make a difference. Those last four minutes in Goodison Park were a prime example of everything Newcastle has been about this season under their fan turned manager.