I think my views on the manager are well known but last night, while preparing a presentation that I have to give next week on how to calculate the return on investment from working with innovation, something dawned on me that I suspect, sadly, many of you will quite like.
You see, my day job is all about managing innovation activities for a small group of some very large and some quite small organisations. When looking at some numbers and projected outcomes and new opportunities, it dawned on me that there is a window of opportunity and that we possibly spoilt Steve Bruce.
Last year and earlier this year, I wrote about the importance of not letting Steve Bruce bring in too many players. Now, I'm not sure of exactly how many new players he has brought in but it's a lot. He's basically got a brand new team and new teams take time to get them all on the same page and I don't mean about players gelling, it's about them learning.
And it's common sense. The fewer changes you make, the quicker it is to effect change. More change takes more time. But where is this going?
Well, it's not rocket science. The window is wide open for a new manager because there is no change for him to make and it's straight down to business. Steve Bruce, since he has arrived has done nothing but spend time changing things. When he came, it was dealing with what he inherited. Then January. Then the summer. Change has been the only contact for Steve Bruce.
But it's also too easy
The Premier League and modern media, including social media, have made it easy for supporters to vent frustration and anger, so much so, when things are not going right, there is a platform for us all to share our thoughts. That is why I started this blog, years before Twitter.
So it's easy. Sack him. And this isn't a new thing - supporters were calling for it last season. I don't like easy things and I think after all this change, there deserves to be a chance. But, there are two sides to every story. There is also an opportunity for a new manager to focus purely on the football and the closer it gets to January, the harder it might be.
But this isn't me saying sack Steve Bruce, it's me saying that if it were to happen in October, it might not be such a bad time. You know what, I could have done that in an image!
Middlesbrough
But, after we win tonight, there will be supporters calling for a statue to be erected for Steve Bruce or roads to be named after him. Maybe even a stand? Joking aside, tonight could be the time that it starts to come good and I know I write that every time we're about to play, but I'd rather be optimistic about a match than downright depressed.
I'll be here later, possibly with a beer or three inside me, as it's Tuesday. And you can join us too. I might even go a little crazy and open a bottle of red for the match, in preparation for feeling even more optimistic after the match. In Steve Bruce I trust.