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Author Topic: Bruce Sacked at last (now official)  (Read 2113302 times)

Offline Gareth

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Re: Bruce out?
« Reply #2205 on: May 03, 2017, 05:40:28 PM »
I think Bruce's season is very hard to judge. He picked us up at a pretty low point. We'd failed to adapt to the Championship and were looking more like relegation candidates than top 6. He then stopped the rot, steadied the ship, got us winning again and had an obvious impact. Xmas through to January was very poor and I don't necessarily buy excuses about Kodja being at the ACN. It was like the bad old days under Lambert again. But then he got us on a run and we looked like we might salvage something from the season. When that became mathematically impossible the players, fairly understandably, went off on an early holiday. So we've ended on a damp squib.

In summary, he's not set the world alight and we play some shocking football at times, but he has certainly done enough to get a full tilt at the season next year.

Another decent and fair summary of it for me. He's not been great but not quite as bad as people have suggested I don't think.

Been thinking about for last few weeks and I agree with that - completely average thus far.

This summer is massive, the players he signs have to improve the first 11, the pre season has to establish a system & pattern of play that is winning & vaguely entertaining & these players have to be physically fit for this league this time.

Offline Matt Collins

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Re: Bruce out?
« Reply #2206 on: May 03, 2017, 08:44:38 PM »
I don't want us to sign more than a handful of players - keeper, centre back, a strong midfielder (alternative to Jedinak) plus if a really top class creative player (at this level) is available.

The focus has to be on training the current squad. We should be a lot better than we are - especially our passing which is an absolute embarrassment

Offline brian green

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Re: Bruce out?
« Reply #2207 on: May 03, 2017, 08:59:19 PM »
Very much agree MC.

Offline brian green

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Re: Bruce out?
« Reply #2208 on: May 03, 2017, 09:00:44 PM »
Bodymoor Heath is where our promotion hopes will live or die.

Offline paul_e

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Re: Bruce out?
« Reply #2209 on: May 03, 2017, 10:17:07 PM »
Bodymoor Heath is where our promotion hopes will live or die.

I agree, that's why I'm concerned.

On top of that I honestly don't think Bruce will be able to help himself and we'll pick up 7-8 in the window and I reckon 3-4 of those will be in the last couple of weeks of August, that's pretty much how he's operated in every summer window except when Hull went down a few years back but for that I firmly believe he knew they were going down so he did half his summer work in the January window.  I don't think that's the case here because I don't see the method to the signings he's made so far.

Offline brentastonb6

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Re: Bruce out?
« Reply #2210 on: May 03, 2017, 11:18:42 PM »
I don't want us to sign more than a handful of players - keeper, centre back, a strong midfielder (alternative to Jedinak) plus if a really top class creative player (at this level) is available.

The focus has to be on training the current squad. We should be a lot better than we are - especially our passing which is an absolute embarrassment

This 100% , I look at our squad and can't believe we haven't pulled up trees in this division- Bruce and Co I don't want any more players, I want the ones we've got fit and playing in the positions they played when you bought them . You lot give me no confidence that you wouldn't turn Pele into Kevin Francis in a month.

Offline ciggiesnbeer

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Re: Bruce out?
« Reply #2211 on: May 04, 2017, 05:21:03 AM »
I cant beleive I am reading a fan forum where fans are actively arguing for LESS new signings. Equally I cant believe I agree with you :)

A midfielder (or a returning one) and a keeper (or a returning one) and we are good, add in Matt's other suggestions and we are very good. We have a squad capable of promotion imho.

Everyone including Bruce think they are under performing versus where they could be. Equally Bruce has been unable to improve them.

Strange time, Bruce Bruce. I really want the guy to do well I really do, I even like him, he is a likeable smart , honest man and yet he always seems to be a better commentator on Aston Villa than an agent for change.

Sigh.


Offline robbo1874

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Re: Bruce out?
« Reply #2212 on: May 04, 2017, 10:15:15 AM »
Head says stick with Bruce. Heart says punt him. Realistically we'd be looking at playoffs, which only needs one slip up and then we're fkd. Massive gamble to replace him though, obviously.

Very tough decision for the board. He's probably done enough to keep his job, but promotion next season is by no means guaranteed with Bruce in charge. For me it's 50/50 to keep him and it's a huge risk either way. I've said previously stick with him next season and we probably will. But I wouldn't be surprised to see a new manager before Christmas if we get off to a poor start.

To clarify, I really want him to succeed, but have serious doubts that he will.

Offline SoccerHQ

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Re: Bruce out?
« Reply #2213 on: May 04, 2017, 10:17:06 AM »
That's been a very frustrating aspect of Bruce's tenure. The football is prehistoric at times and we have players who simply aren't suited to that yet he persists with it. I don't understand what he sees when we what a long punt up to Hogan. There is little urgency in the football and we are ponderous if I am being polite. We get caught on the break too often and as well as the defence has done when you have the ball only 35-40% of the time the dam is going to break eventually. It's one thing if this was happening vs Man City or Chelsea quite another when it's against Fulham, Reading or Blackburn fucking Rovers.

He's been playing this all his career.

The SHA team that came up in 2002 and gave us so much trouble in the early days were essentially a team of battlers and scrappers (Savage, Horsfield, Grainger, Devlin etc) and he added players like Dugarry and Dunn to give them more cutting edge like we have with Kodjia.

Same at Sunderland which to me is the biggest comparison to him being here, spending countless money on getting in half a new team and then doing the same 6 months later and so on.

On balance at Hull he did a terrific job (two promotions and a cup final in I think 4 seasons) but how many of us really watched Hull bar when they played us and the odd game against a top 6 team.

It's a bit like fans and pundit from a distance would've looked at our form in March and April and thought Bruce has got Villa playing well now when the reality was a little different.

It's a bit like Pulis, give him a job at a bigger club and he'd still play exactly the same way. Moyes managed Man. United exactly the same way as he did Everton. British managers just don't seem as adaptable to different clubs and tend to manage in the same way they have for 20 years as it's got them job constantly and plum new contracts.

Offline eddiemunster

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Re: Bruce out?
« Reply #2214 on: May 04, 2017, 10:31:18 AM »
Bodymoor Heath is where our promotion hopes will live or die.

This is where our problems begin and don't seem to have an end. In this division, you need players to be in the face of the opposition from the get go, us we are so slow, that I've seen paint dry faster than how we move forward.
And what plan B have we got (and to think I and many others have been saying this for the past 5 seasons), apart from hoof ball and sitting further and further back as the game goes on.
The coaching staff need to be flushed out like a biblical enema, and we start again, cos for the last 5 seasons at least, the players have been coached in the same, dare I say it, Shit way,day after day.
And on top of this, we do need to get rid of an awful lot of dross in each squad!

Offline Rudy Can't Fail

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Re: Bruce out?
« Reply #2215 on: May 04, 2017, 10:54:17 AM »
On balance at Hull he did a terrific job (two promotions and a cup final in I think 4 seasons) but how many of us really watched Hull bar when they played us and the odd game against a top 6 team.

I just found this about Bruce on a Hull forum after the last game of the season, there's some really depressing comments on there despite them winning away in the play offs. Some of them sound oh so familiar. All hail Bruce?
« Last Edit: May 04, 2017, 11:00:33 AM by Rudy Can't Fail »

Offline Risso

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Re: Bruce out?
« Reply #2216 on: May 04, 2017, 11:16:32 AM »
Steve Bruce seemed to hit a bit of a purple patch at Wigan where he signed a few really good Latin American players, who went on to bigger and better things, like Valencia at Man U.  Were those down to him, as all he's managed for us so far are very obvious vanilla signings.

Offline ROBBO

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Re: Bruce out?
« Reply #2217 on: May 04, 2017, 11:21:25 AM »
I remember his first game in charge where Villa players were pressing the opposition all over the pitch and I thought at last a manager has got them committed, it only lasted one game then back to the status quo.

Offline old man villa fan

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Re: Bruce out?
« Reply #2218 on: May 04, 2017, 02:26:39 PM »
I am concerned about people thinking making the play-offs is promotion.  It is still only one chance in four, with a slight variance for relative form or luck.

We have to be targeting top two.

Offline Hookeysmith

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Re: Bruce out?
« Reply #2219 on: May 04, 2017, 02:31:28 PM »
I remember his first game in charge where Villa players were pressing the opposition all over the pitch and I thought at last a manager has got them committed, it only lasted one game then back to the status quo.

Both Lansbury and Hourihane did this when they first arrived and then slowly they started to go further and further back

It HAS to be the tactics they are told by the Manager and coaches

 


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