Steve Bruce ought to realise more than most how difficult it was to replace Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.
Bruce won 12 of the 38 trophies Fergie collected over 26 glittering years at Old Trafford.
Well, it'll be as difficult to replace the hugely popular Rafa Benitez at Newcastle - yet Bruce is willing to take on the awesome task.
I honestly wonder if he's letting his heart rule his head . . . you know, he's always wanted to manage the Mags and to heck with worrying about the owner and the sort of personal reception he's bound to get.
Surely, surely it would have been easier to stay with Sheffield Wednesday, a club with a bit of history itself, and try to get them out of the Championship, which Steve has proved good at, rather than come up here and keep United in the Premier League.
Such was Fergie's standing with the crowd that the likes of David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, and Jose Mourinho found it virtually impossible to forge a long career in his shadow.
Believe you me, Rafa won such public adulation up here that it would be difficult for anyone to replace him never mind Bruce who hasn't a good standing with his fellow Geordies.
Steve is a lovely man, warm and friendly, but he'll be swimming against the tide at SJP where he will be seen as a Mike Ashley patsy, rightly or wrongly.
Bruce MUST realise how bad things are. He's got friends up here, he knows of Ashley's reputation, and how the crowd adored Rafa.
I noted with irony that Bruce has supposedly found it hard at Wednesday to push through some of his demands while operating under transfer restrictions from the Football League.
Well, does he think it'll be any easier at Newcastle with Ashley's restrictions?
Bruce is about sixth choice to become the new manager but that apparently doesn't worry him. Again, does he realise why five others have turned it down?
There's certainly a heck of a lot of work to be done in a very short space of time. He needs four or five new signings before the window closes and he needs to sort out the futures of players like Sean Longstaff, Isaac Hayden, Dwight Gayle etc.
When I look at managers I always like to assess where I think their strengths are, where they are best equipped to play and I think of Bruce like Tony Pulis and Neil Warnock as a good Championship boss rather than a top-notch PL manager which is what Rafa was.
In the meantime amid the chaos and confusion Newcastle are off on a promotional trip to China. What a time to sell the image of the club in a global market!
Will it be a wasted opportunity? And can United avoid two demoralising defeats to PL opposition to deepen the gloom?
I honestly cannot remember when I last looked forward to a new season with such trepidation.
I only hope that in the next few weeks we can all somehow receive a desperately required lift.
