How would Sheffield Wednesday's compensation from Newcastle United be affected by Steve Bruce's resignation?

The reported resignation of Steve Bruce from his position as manager of Sheffield Wednesday should not have a major affect on the amount of compensation the club would receive from Newcastle United, according to a football business expert.
Reports suggest Steve Bruce has resigned as manager of Sheffield Wednesday.Reports suggest Steve Bruce has resigned as manager of Sheffield Wednesday.
Reports suggest Steve Bruce has resigned as manager of Sheffield Wednesday.

Dr Dan Plumley, a football finance expert at Sheffield Hallam University, said the resignation of a football manager would not ordinarily change any financial negotiations between two clubs, saying that instead it is a political move, used to make his intentions clear.

Sheffield Wednesday are yet to confirm reports of Bruce’s resignation, which reportedly arrived alongside those of coaches Stephen Clemence and Steve Agnew earlier today.

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Compensation fees of anywhere between £1m and £5m have been reported, with one report today claiming Newcastle would hand over £4m for Bruce’s services.

Dr Plumley said: “In terms of compensation, I don’t really see any change in narrative there.

“All it does really is make Bruce’s intentions clear, because his quotes at the weekend were fairly ambiguous.

“In theory the compensation discussions should be a little less complicated because of the fact that he appears to be on a one-year rolling contract. The really tricky stuff comes in when a manager has three or four years left to run.

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“You would expect a club to pay out the remaining salary of that contract as a compensation fee, but this is different in that Sheffield Wednesday will want compensating for the timing of all this, so close to the season, and Newcastle up are against the clock, too. So it’s over to what the clubs agree.”

Questions posed on social media since the reports broke this morning suggested Bruce’s resignation would render any compensation null in void, but Dr Plumley was clear that this is not the case.

It is not the first time the 58-year-old former Sunderland manager has been caught in the middle of a compensation row between two clubs.

In 2001, he resigned in order to engineer his way out of his role at Crystal Palace in order to join Birmingham.

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But Palace owner Simon Jordan blocked the move, refusing his resignation and effectively suspending him.

Dr Plumley said: “That becomes a much more difficult situation. It’s very similar to the one he had at Palace, when Simon Jordan dug his heels in over him leaving.

“Bruce trying to force this through quicker could lead to the club suspending him and putting him on gardening leave. It becomes a legal stand-off.

“Palace and Birmingham ended up going to court over it – though it was settled out of court in the end.”