Newcastle boss Steve Bruce is facing his old club at a perfect time. They haven’t been this bad since he was in their defence
By Steven Pye for That 1980s Sports Blog
When Ole Gunnar Solskjær was appointed
Manchester United manager, he wanted to emulate some of Alex Ferguson’s achievements in the job. But mirroring the start of the 1989-90 campaign was probably low down on his list. United’s disappointing 1-1 draw with
Arsenal at Old Trafford on Monday night left the club with just nine points from as many matches in the league this season, making this their worst start to a campaign for 30 years. The last time they began a season so badly – in 1989-90, when they only picked up seven points in their first nine games – Fergie time seemed to be running out.
Since joining the club from Aberdeen in November 1986, Alex Ferguson had done little to suggest that he would be the man to knock
Liverpool off their perch. If anything, he needed to worry about losing his own position. He was backed heavily in the transfer market over the summer months in 1989, with Neil Webb, Mike Phelan, Gary Pallister, Paul Ince and Danny Wallace all joining the club, and the pressure was mounting.