Source: Northern_Echo
Touch of envy – Bruce
SUNDERLAND manager Steve Bruce admits he is envious of Manchester City's spending power, but insists the club will have to be successful if they are to keep their big money stars happy at Eastlands.[LNB] City have again been the big spenders in the summer transfer window, bringing in the likes of Mario Balotelli from Inter Milan for £24m and Serbian left back Aleksander Kolarov for £19m.[LNB] Bruce has also been busy during the summer but, unlike Mancini, he has had to work with a tight budget and admits he would love to be able to splash the cash like the Italian.[LNB] Most of us are green with envy at the spending power and the cherry picking they can do and it's staggering,[LNB] said Bruce.[LNB] City have catapulted themselves right among the big boys of Europe, not just in this country. They are now in the position to attract players and compete with the Milans and Madrids to sign players.[LNB] I went to watch them play against Liverpool last week and they had £100m worth of players sitting on the bench and five players sitting behind me in suits worth about £100m as well.[LNB] Despite the departures of Stephen Ireland and Craig Bellamy, Mancini still has a squad full of quality and big characters to keep happy and Bruce believes the former Inter Milan manager will have to bring success to the club in order to keep his array of stars content.[LNB] The players will go with a squad rotation system if they are winning and are part of it, and that is the big problem any manager faces, trying to keep people happy.[LNB] I think players have accepted they are in a squad of 25 and, if you're going to compete in the Champions League, you've got to play three games a week. So if you can freshen it up and have a big squad then happy days.[LNB] Bruce also admitted he had been able to capitalise on City's big squad with the signing of defender Nedum Onouha, who he may not have been able to sign have it not been for Mancini's big spending.[LNB] On the other hand, we've benefited from it, he admitted.[LNB] We've been very fortunate to be able to bring a player of Nedum's calibre to the club, who a few years ago was in their first team and he'll be a fantastic signing for us.[LNB] Onuoha is ineligible for tomorrow's game because of the terms of his season-long loan.[LNB]
