Have we made sufficient progress?

[exiled on the wirral!]

For me this season was always going to be a season of consolidation and that is how it's panning out. Obviously I'd be happy if we can mount a late surge into the play offs but I can't see that happening. I'm of the opinion that next season will be our year for promotion and I'm quite happy with that. I am convinced the structure of the club is slowly evolving into a proffesional top flight club again and I'm willing to be patient for promotion.Like many others I'm just enjoying going to the football again.

[clash city rocker]

Our record of signings over the past few years hasn't be great apart from the odd exception.RDM''s policy was baffling to say the least and in my opinion has seen millions wasted. Start of this season what did we need most.A keeper, a right back ,A MIDFIELD and a striker. Granted I didn't expect all those positions to be addressed in one go but how many of those positions have we adequately replaced given the money we spent.

[aj2k77]

No, we've stopped the rapid downward momentum but with the amount of money spent we should have seen more of a push towards automatic promotion. Instead we spunked more money without any idea on how the players were going to work as a team and that's limited our progress.

D, must do better.

[supertom]

Not plummeting like a rocketing comet straight into League 1 after the last 5 years of self obliteration is progress frankly. RDM was the wrong appointment. Bruce is a good appointment. He'll get us there. If we have to stabilise and get ourselves a solid footing to launch from this season, before having a proper push next season, so be it. The Home form is a big plus.

Again though the biggest thing we can do is sort the midfield out. It's no exaggeration to say that we need another 3 in. We've got an absolutely appalling midfield. There's no quality or balance. We've known this for half a decade and we've not sorted it. If Bruce does it, we'll make quicker progress.

[oswald funkletrumpet]

We have made progress but not enough, 18 odd points off top spot is shit whichever way you look at it, especially when you consider how rubbish the league is

This league is not 'rubbish' and being far from the top of the table is not 'shit' considering how far we have fallen. We do not have a god-given right to come straight back up - we are doing quite well considering we were the laughing stock of English Football for a solid year.

The quality of teams is pants

Fuck me if mid table having spent a record amount for the league is okay id hate to see us doing badley

[Jimbo]

We're about where I expected us to be, mid-table, with a distant hope of going up via the playoffs. Things might have been better, without RDM and the crap summer spending, but we were always going to be up against it. Maybe we'll get promoted next year if things work out well in the transfer market, and we are able to shift some of our shit. Long, long way to go.

[Ads]

Loads of time left in the season. RDM worked out worse than perhaps anybody envisaged and it wasted an opportunity that Bruce would have took.

Since Bruce has come in we look more like it. I think we will breach the 7 point gap and hit the play offs.

A case of what might have been though if Bruce had been here from the start of the season.

[Salsa Party Animal]

Not enough for me.

[ROBBO]

What we have done is wasted a fortune. The money Villa has spent over the last twelve months should have assured us of the playoffs at least, if Bruce had been given the job from the start that may have happened.

[Ads]

If Bruce had been here from the start we'd be at least 10 points better off. We wouldn't have dropped points against  Wednesday, Huddersfield, Forest, Brentford, Barnsley, as we'd have comfortably shut up shop.

[Des Little]

Please do not underestimate the monumental fuck up that was RDM. That cock hole managed to further scupper our recovery with some terrible transfer business, not to mention clueless tactical management. The upshot is Bruce having to repair the squad whilst trying to average 2 points a game in what is a bloody difficult league. I for one am not expecting us to get into the play offs...if Bruce managed to get us there given the mess he inherited it would be amazing.

[ChicagoLion]

In comparison with?
I would have thought that with the money spent we should be having a good go at automatic promotion but reluctantly accepting play offs.
Agree with the comments aboutbRDM that is2 managers in a row that we have allowed to make random transfers.
Bruce is papering over the cracks by getting us organised and more difficult to beat.

[brontebilly]

I dont know guys, Bruce has certainly got us better results but they have started to tail off too,

inevitable in my eyes as I dont think performances have improved all that much from the RDM days....

Bruce talks a good game in the media but Ive yet to see evidence of a solid tactical structure consistently applied to the team, selection and subs all seem haphazard to me

disaster of a season thus far, we must be the worst performing club in Europe given our budget compared to the other teams in the division

still wouldnt write us off for a playoff run though but we need more than Kodjia to start looking a threat up top asap

[DeKuip]

In just over a month thousands of us have travelled to Leeds, Norwich, QPR, Cardiff & Spurs and been rewarded with one goal, three points from 12, a cup exit and very little in terms of entertainment.

The first five away games also involved trips north, south, east and west to Sheffield, Luton, Ipswich, Bristol and Derby and resulted in a cup exit, two goals and two points.

So there's been progress by one point, but watching us play away from home is becoming as boring as it would be to expand these stats down into attempts at goal per 100 miles travelled.

[olaftab]

No specially away from home.
Yes RDM dropped some unnecessary points but so has Bruce v Norwich, Leeds home and away, Cardiff.