collapse collapse

Please donate to help towards the costs of keeping this site going. Thank You.

Recent Posts

Re: Gordon Cowans by The Edge
[Today at 07:51:24 PM]


Re: Gordon Cowans by Brazilian Villain
[Today at 07:47:37 PM]


Re: Chris Heck - President of Business Operations by Brazilian Villain
[Today at 07:39:18 PM]


Re: Other Games - 2023/24 by OCD
[Today at 07:39:18 PM]


Re: Gordon Cowans by Nev
[Today at 07:38:29 PM]


Re: Gordon Cowans by Ian.
[Today at 07:37:07 PM]


Re: Gordon Cowans by Rudy Can't Fail
[Today at 07:36:44 PM]


Re: Chris Heck - President of Business Operations by OCD
[Today at 07:32:48 PM]

Follow us on...

Author Topic: Bruce Sacked at last (now official)  (Read 2113762 times)

Offline QuintonVilla

  • Member
  • Posts: 2493
Re: Bruce out?
« Reply #7260 on: October 16, 2017, 08:35:28 PM »
I'm still waiting for that result that lays down a marker and makes everyone sit up and take notice. Beating Burton and Bolton isn't going to do that as most teams beat them. Small Heath are shit but if we went there and won 3 or 4 nil in our Derby game it would be a big statement. We've got the players to do it but I won't hold my breath. 0-0 or 1-0 to them all over it imo.

Offline tomd2103

  • Member
  • Posts: 14178
Re: Bruce out?
« Reply #7261 on: October 17, 2017, 12:03:33 AM »
He's not the answer we'd like but with our lack of pace at times he's, depressingly, our best option off the bench. Put it this way, he can't do any worse than Hogan has recently.

Spot on PWS.  Sadly.  I'm sure he is being prepared for his now obligatory appearance against Blues in a couple of weeks.

Offline ChicagoLion

  • Member
  • Posts: 22105
  • Location: Chicago
  • Literally
Re: Bruce out?
« Reply #7262 on: October 17, 2017, 05:45:27 AM »
I'm still waiting for that result that lays down a marker and makes everyone sit up and take notice. Beating Burton and Bolton isn't going to do that as most teams beat them. Small Heath are shit but if we went there and won 3 or 4 nil in our Derby game it would be a big statement. We've got the players to do it but I won't hold my breath. 0-0 or 1-0 to them all over it imo.
I think we just had the marker, we came up against a top team in the division and were out fought, out played and out manouvered.

Online The Edge

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 6046
  • Location: I can see villa park from my bedroom window
  • GM : PCM
Re: Bruce out?
« Reply #7263 on: October 17, 2017, 08:52:12 AM »
I'm still waiting for that result that lays down a marker and makes everyone sit up and take notice. Beating Burton and Bolton isn't going to do that as most teams beat them. Small Heath are shit but if we went there and won 3 or 4 nil in our Derby game it would be a big statement. We've got the players to do it but I won't hold my breath. 0-0 or 1-0 to them all over it imo.
I think we just had the marker, we came up against a top team in the division and were out fought, out played and out manouvered.
That's a depressing thought after 58 games in the Championship but it's the reality of where we are. We sit behind the might of such teams as Bristol City, Sheffield United and Preston! Get it fucking sorted Villa.
« Last Edit: October 17, 2017, 09:12:27 AM by The Edge »

Offline kippaxvilla2

  • Member
  • Posts: 22665
  • Location: Back in Solihull
Re: Bruce out?
« Reply #7264 on: October 17, 2017, 10:34:59 AM »
We will get 7th this season with his dinosaur football.  Then we go again.

Offline Ads

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 39424
  • Location: The Breeze
  • GM : 17.04.2024
Re: Bruce out?
« Reply #7265 on: October 17, 2017, 10:40:57 AM »
I'm still waiting for that result that lays down a marker and makes everyone sit up and take notice. Beating Burton and Bolton isn't going to do that as most teams beat them. Small Heath are shit but if we went there and won 3 or 4 nil in our Derby game it would be a big statement. We've got the players to do it but I won't hold my breath. 0-0 or 1-0 to them all over it imo.
I think we just had the marker, we came up against a top team in the division and were out fought, out played and out manouvered.
That's a depressing thought after 58 games in the Championship but it's the reality of where we are. We sit behind the might of such teams as Bristol City, Sheffield United and Preston! Get it fucking sorted Villa.

The reality is that what happened 46 games ago is irrelevant. We're 12 games in, 7th in the league, 6th highest scorers, 6th best defence, 1 point behind Leeds and a handful further from second, with 34 games to go.

There is room for improvement. Yes we were poor on the weekend, but crikey what a house of cards mentality some people have.

There's been so much twisting of reality. People saying we rely on Kodjia for goals, when this season he's scored the same as Gabby and we've scored more than 3/4 of the league. Certainly last season is a problem, but last season Reading were good and the Wolves were shit. Things change.

People have been saying we throw leads away, when we have surrendered two points from a winning position once in 12.

I hope we go on another run of not losing in 2 months, as I cannot be dealing with the crash that follows one set back.


Online Rudy Can't Fail

  • Member
  • Posts: 38937
  • Location: In the Shade
    • http://www.heroespredictions.co.uk/pl/
Re: Bruce out?
« Reply #7266 on: October 17, 2017, 10:55:23 AM »
The one thing that I find so tragically predictable with Bruce is that if we go in at half time not leading by a couple of goals you just know the opposition manager will make the necessary tactical changes and get the result. Bruce seems to be tactically out thought by anybody and everybody.

We've let a lead slip once this season.


We've also had 3 games where the full time result is worse than the half time score.

We also have a 2nd half goal difference of -4 (as opposed to +9 in the first half).

We've improved our result in the 2nd half (i.e. increased our goal difference) twice, against Barnsley and Burton.

There's 2 key things to take from this: we have a few older players and they struggle to see out games and/or when teams get in at half time having seen how we're playing they adjust things to account for it and we don't respond to the changes.

Indeed. It's becoming routine to comment at half time "I hope that was our shit half" only to find out 45 minutes later it wasn't.

Online boozey182

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 581
  • Location: Birmingham
  • GM : PCM
Re: Bruce out?
« Reply #7267 on: October 17, 2017, 11:03:39 AM »
I'm still waiting for that result that lays down a marker and makes everyone sit up and take notice. Beating Burton and Bolton isn't going to do that as most teams beat them. Small Heath are shit but if we went there and won 3 or 4 nil in our Derby game it would be a big statement. We've got the players to do it but I won't hold my breath. 0-0 or 1-0 to them all over it imo.
I think we just had the marker, we came up against a top team in the division and were out fought, out played and out manouvered.
That's a depressing thought after 58 games in the Championship but it's the reality of where we are. We sit behind the might of such teams as Bristol City, Sheffield United and Preston! Get it fucking sorted Villa.

The reality is that what happened 46 games ago is irrelevant. We're 12 games in, 7th in the league, 6th highest scorers, 6th best defence, 1 point behind Leeds and a handful further from second, with 34 games to go.

There is room for improvement. Yes we were poor on the weekend, but crikey what a house of cards mentality some people have.

There's been so much twisting of reality. People saying we rely on Kodjia for goals, when this season he's scored the same as Gabby and we've scored more than 3/4 of the league. Certainly last season is a problem, but last season Reading were good and the Wolves were shit. Things change.

People have been saying we throw leads away, when we have surrendered two points from a winning position once in 12.

I hope we go on another run of not losing in 2 months, as I cannot be dealing with the crash that follows one set back.



I think it's all a factor of Bruce's style of play. When we get a win, fair play we got three points - credit to the manager. When we lose, there is literally nothing to draw positivity from. It's not like we battered a team and they hit us on the break a couple of times, we looked flat and uninspiring. But to be fair, we often do when we win.

I said elsewhere that I don't think Saturday has drastically altered our chances of going up. We'll beat most teams worse than us, we'll lose to most that are better than us, we'll scrape draws from teams that are similar to us. That could be enough to get us up this season.

Personally, I think it's unacceptable that any team in this league is better than us. And I'd love us to play more attractive football. But we're still in the mix to go up this season, Saturday doesn't change that.

I just want it all to be over. Get promoted, then stop all this desperation and start making it fun again.

Offline Ads

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 39424
  • Location: The Breeze
  • GM : 17.04.2024
Re: Bruce out?
« Reply #7268 on: October 17, 2017, 11:04:02 AM »
That's not what you said though [in response to Mark/Rudy], you said that Bruce would be out thought second half and we'd surrender a lead, which has happened once so far.

Paul has a point that I think has more relevance, I would like to see more legs in midfield. Onomah is such a tidy player on the ball and he's got the magic P word, pace, to drive a game on. I would like to see him and Hourihane as our midfield two and then there is flexibility to do play 442, 4231, 433, but they are are best and most balanced central players.

Online Clampy

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 28333
  • Location: warley
  • GM : PCM
Re: Bruce out?
« Reply #7269 on: October 17, 2017, 11:08:45 AM »
It does come across as 'Bruce must not lose' where for another manager, Saturday would have been a set back. I can't for the life of me think why.

Online Rudy Can't Fail

  • Member
  • Posts: 38937
  • Location: In the Shade
    • http://www.heroespredictions.co.uk/pl/
Re: Bruce out?
« Reply #7270 on: October 17, 2017, 11:25:27 AM »
That's not what you said though [in response to Mark/Rudy], you said that Bruce would be out thought second half and we'd surrender a lead, which has happened once so far.

If you read again I said if we were not leading at half time. As you've pointed out, we're fine defending a lead second half, where we struggle is when we're not. Last season was very much the same. It does beg the question, what the hell does Bruce say to the players at half time?

Online boozey182

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 581
  • Location: Birmingham
  • GM : PCM
Re: Bruce out?
« Reply #7271 on: October 17, 2017, 11:28:39 AM »
It does come across as 'Bruce must not lose' where for another manager, Saturday would have been a set back. I can't for the life of me think why.

I'd say (not wanting to speak for anyone) that it's because it reinforced a lot of people's 'hysterical' criticism of him before our mini run. That we're not positive enough, that we lack pace in midfield and defence, that we don't have a leader on the pitch, and he doesn't seem to be able to change things mid match if things aren't going our way.

Is it an overreaction? Maybe. But I can definitely understand why people are frustrated. Getting us in the top four for a while, ready to kick in later in the season, is a great way to appease people though, so he just needs to do that and he can get away with the odd defeat every now and then. And for the most experienced manager with the most expensive squad, that's a very realistic target for him.

Online Rudy Can't Fail

  • Member
  • Posts: 38937
  • Location: In the Shade
    • http://www.heroespredictions.co.uk/pl/
Re: Bruce out?
« Reply #7272 on: October 17, 2017, 11:31:01 AM »
Onomah is such a tidy player on the ball and he's got the magic P word, pace, to drive a game on. I would like to see him and Hourihane as our midfield two and then there is flexibility to do play 442, 4231, 433, but they are are best and most balanced central players.

Agree completely. Get Onomah in the same position he plays for England and he will control the game. Hourihane is more a threat in a more advanced role but combined we'll be a hell of a lot more ambitious. We can go to a three in central midfield with Whelan or Jedi coming in for the tougher games but the team will look more fluid with Onomah and Hourihane in the middle.

Online paul_e

  • Member
  • Posts: 33280
  • Age: 44
  • GM : July, 2013
Re: Bruce out?
« Reply #7273 on: October 17, 2017, 11:31:53 AM »
It does come across as 'Bruce must not lose' where for another manager, Saturday would have been a set back. I can't for the life of me think why.

because that's what you want to read so you can use it to moan about people who don't share your opinion?

The truth is that Bruce has to start learning from these performances, yes we're 7th and better than last season but we're not where we want given that his only job this season is promotion. He's not falling short by much but it's undeniable that he's not meeting targets right now and he's not meeting them because all too often we get non-performances like Saturday.

Online Rudy Can't Fail

  • Member
  • Posts: 38937
  • Location: In the Shade
    • http://www.heroespredictions.co.uk/pl/
Re: Bruce out?
« Reply #7274 on: October 17, 2017, 11:34:37 AM »
I know it's still early doors but right now I'd say this season the league is far weaker than last. Other than Wolves, nobody else out there looks like they want to be promoted. There really is no excuse.

 


SimplePortal 2.3.6 © 2008-2014, SimplePortal