What Has Bramble Got Himself Into?
By Nu Mad
Updated Friday, 6th July 2007
Titus Bramble was the first to feel the toe-end of Sam Allardyce's boot when the new manager arrived at St James', and the under-fire defender seems to have jumped from the 'frying pan into the fire'.
Wigan boss Chris Hutchings is red hot favourite with the bookies to be the first managerial casualty of the new season, and even his chairman says Hutchings has a "poor record ... but perhaps he will get better".
The problem is, Bramble is well known as "The Man Who Gets Managers The Sack", so Hutchings may as well sign on the dole and be done with it.
Bramble was signed by Bobby Robson from Ipswich for £5m and the ex-England boss continued to play him to justify the money he paid for him.
Graeme Souness took him on, and even said "one day Titus Bramble will play for England", and was it surprising that Souness was sacked soon after?
Glenn Roeder was probably pushed into a corner because of injuries to his entire defence, and he was forced to play him. So a bit of sympathy there.
So what does the future hold for Bramble ... and Wigan?
Former Wigan boss Paul Jewell has explained he quit the club because no player "worth his salt" wanted to sign for Wigan.
Jewell left the JJB Stadium after guiding Latics to Premier League safety on the final day of the season, but admitted the prospect of a summer of frustration in the transfer market was behind his decision to quit.
Jewell: "The bottom line is that the top players don't want to play for Wigan.
It's not a big, glamour club with a huge stadium and masses of fans so they just won't come - and, in the end, I'd had enough.
"I want to work with top players but when they won't come to your football club it does your head in."
So it's looking good for Bramble then.
PREVIOUS ARTICLE:
Frenchman Hits Out At Newcastle Chairman 
Antoine Sibierski claims he was driven from St James' Park by Freddy Shepherd ... but (for once) perhaps Freddy was right.
The Frenchman says he quit the club after the Newcastle chairman went back on a promise to extend his stay by a further two years.
Sibierski signed for Wigan but he claims he would still be on Tyneside if it was not for a lack of "honesty" in the Newcastle boardroom.
Sibierski: "I agreed in February a new deal with Glenn Roeder. It was a good deal. But now he has gone, or has been sacked, I don't know the facts. And when my agent spoke to the chairman again, it was not the same deal.
"I wanted two years because I am still fit enough to go on for that long. When I saw how much I ran last season and how fit I was, I wanted to play two or three more years.
"When I knew Sam Allardyce was the new manager I went to see him to ask him what was going on with me. He told me he wanted to play me and to carry on talking to the chairman about my contract.
"For me, it was a lack of consideration from the chairman to give me the contract he wanted to give me. He didn't explain why. He just talked to my agent.
"I like to be honest myself and so I like to be with honest people. If I had been poor last year or had been injured, I could have understood. But that wasn't the case. I did very well and scored some goals, so I couldn't understand why he wanted to give me the second contract.
"I am very disappointed - not because we didn't come to an agreement, but because I left the fans with whom I had a great relationship. I will never forget the time I had in Newcastle. I am a Newcastle fan for ever. It was a big shame to leave. I hope the fans get the trophy they've been waiting for."
Was Freddy right? It obviously seems as though Allardyce has bigger fish to fry, and when you get a change of manager you get a change of ideas and ambitions.
Sibierski claims he has been badly treated by Newcastle, but last January he was BEGGING for a one year contract, never mind calling the odds on an extention.
