IT’S AMAZING how Steve Bruce, who was derided by many as a useless boring manager who didn’t have a clue when he was in the West Midlands, is now a great manager.

Now, he hasn’t been spending time at university to get a degree in football management or playing Championship Manager 10.

No, the big secret is that he now has the financial wherewithal to buy decent players who can make a difference and an impact.

I also understand he will be splashing the cash in the January transfer window, spending plenty of millions on improving a Sunderland squad who are already eighth in the Premier League.

I know regular readers of the Birmingham Mail and listeners to BRMB Radio will be sick of hearing me say that the game is about players – not managers, systems or formations – but simply down to buying the best players.

Would Martin O’Neill have kept Villa in or around the top six without being able to spend around £100 million in building the team he has?

Would Villa be as successful and potent had he not bought Ashley Young for £10 million and James Milner for 12 million?