Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Match Threads & Player Ratings => Topic started by: Ads on August 19, 2018, 05:05:25 PM
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Time to bounce back from a disappointing result. Two home games against sides we ought to be looking to beat. Brentford will be the harder of the two I have no doubt.
The balance of the defence hasn't been right and Jedinak's distribution out of there is proving problematic.
The delivery into the box from the wide areas has been poor and the ball just isn't sticking.
I'd go with a change of shape.
Nyland
Hutton
Chester
Axel
De Laet
Jedinak
Hourihane
McGinn
Green
Kodjia
Grealish
Up front would be fairly fluid and there's a need to press them, as they're not good enough to beat it, like Wolves weren't or anybody unfortunate enough to grace this league.
We need Grealish 10 yards higher up.
Villa win. 3-1.
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One day someone will start one of these and actually add the poll option ;)
1-1 if Brentford are under par.
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Time to bounce back from a disappointing result. Two home games against sides we ought to be looking to beat. Brentford will be the harder of the two I have no doubt.
The balance of the defence hasn't been right and Jedinak's distribution out of there is proving problematic.
The delivery into the box from the wide areas has been poor and the ball just isn't sticking.
I'd go with a change of shape.
Nyland
Hutton
Chester
Axel
De Laet
Jedinak
Hourihane
McGinn
Green
Kodjia
Grealish
Up front would be fairly fluid and there's a need to press them, as they're not good enough to beat it, like Wolves weren't or anybody unfortunate enough to grace this league.
We need Grealish 10 yards higher up.
Villa win. 3-1.
I'd play Whelan over jedinak. Think he's been quite good this season and it's not jedinak's type of game
Tend to agree we should put hourihane in and that probably means putting jack in the front three
Do think we'll struggle. Brentford could apparently have had five just now v Wednesday
They don't tend to take their chances which is encouraging but they're also due a bit more luck at villa park
I've a feeling this might be a bad 2-0 defeat.
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1-1.
Ginger Westwood to dominate in the midfield as is the law in this match up.
I do think we'll beat Reading as they look awful so 4 points isn't the end of the world.
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Draw this then beat Reading. But Jedi must not play at CB.
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Ollie Watkins is pretty rapid on their left wing
I think Bruce may fancy tuanzebe against him
I'd play De Laet there if he's genuinely fit
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1-3 to them.
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Ollie Watkins is pretty rapid on their left wing
I thought they looked very good down the right. Hutton will have his hands full on Wednesday.
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2-0
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Got a bad feeling about this one, however i'm taking my gf and every game she comes to we have won. Fingers crossed.
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Got a bad feeling about this one, however i'm taking my gf and every game she comes to we have won. Fingers crossed.
Does she suffer from narcolepsy when watching us?
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Got a bad feeling about this one, however i'm taking my gf and every game she comes to we have won. Fingers crossed.
Does she suffer from narcolepsy when watching us?
Better than apoplexy, I suppose.
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Well, I don't know if it is on AVTV but I will not be paying £6 to watch a Bruce team on a shitty out of synch stream again. Also, we will probably lose as Fistface continues with his 'hope somebody does something' tactics.
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Aren't some getting carried away by Brentford as on their day very decent and capable but can also put on some ineffective performances.
I think the good thing in back if 2 poor performance by villa that we will step up and win perhaps 2/3-1.
Can see similar team but with Taylor and Houirhane and Elmo in team
Nyland
Hutton
Tuanzebe
Chester
Taylor
Houirhane
Mcginn
Grealish
Elmo
Adomah
Kodija
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You're right. Bruce will have us organised for a clinical demonstration of the Villa steamroller at home. 6-0.
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Home win. Just.
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1-1
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Nailed-on draw and we'll be out-possesed and out-footballed. If Dean Smith was truly a Villa fan he would have let us beat them by now. Sugarbag.
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Bruce can only paper over the cracks for so long...hope I’m wrong but we’re due a loss and defeat in our 5th game would be about right. 1-2 Brentford.
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Well, I don't know if it is on AVTV but I will not be paying £6 to watch a Bruce team on a shitty out of synch stream again. Also, we will probably lose as Fistface continues with his 'hope somebody does something' tactics.
My Dad asked AVTV about the sound/picture issue. Evidently, due to the 'latency', we should be lucky we get sound and picture anywhere near matching each other. They also announced a refund to all for the Wigan match.
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Well, I don't know if it is on AVTV but I will not be paying £6 to watch a Bruce team on a shitty out of synch stream again. Also, we will probably lose as Fistface continues with his 'hope somebody does something' tactics.
My Dad asked AVTV about the sound/picture issue. Evidently, due to the 'latency', we should be lucky we get sound and picture anywhere near matching each other. They also announced a refund to all for the Wigan match.
You can watch it on Sky via the red button.
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We're actually the main game on Sky. All the other midweek games are on the red button.
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I suppose four points from this and Reading wouldn't be bad, but it really would be nice to beat both.
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SC v DL is also live on main Sky on Tuesday.
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I'm going for a 2-1 Villa win.
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First real test of the season. We rarely get a kick against Brentford so I think it'll be a 1-1 draw.
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Aren't some getting carried away by Brentford as on their day very decent and capable but can also put on some ineffective performances.
I think the good thing in back if 2 poor performance by villa that we will step up and win perhaps 2/3-1.
Can see similar team but with Taylor and Houirhane and Elmo in team
Nyland
Hutton
Tuanzebe
Chester
Taylor
Houirhane
Mcginn
Grealish
Elmo
Adomah
Kodija
If we play Hutton on the right with Taylor on the left and Hourihane through the middle, we will be absolutely hammered.
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Nyland
Hutton
Chester
Axel
De Laet
Jedinak
Hourihane
McGinn
Green
Kodjia
Grealish
should have been the team saturday
never understand Bruce
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Key that Tuanzebe plays centre-back in this one (and all others ongoing) for me. Brentford have lots of pace and movement in attack so defensive pace will be key. Playing Jedinak there again would mean having to defend much deeper than necessary.
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Jedinak playing at all makes us so one dimensional. He can't run, and he can't pass very well, so even though I'm not a fan of Bjarnason at all, he's the better option, as at least he gets around the pitch.
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When there is a specific player to mark in midfield then Jedinak’s yer man. A bit like Carlos Sanchez was. Or just acting as a shield to the back four. Ask him to be a midfield dynamo, especially now, you’re asking for trouble. And that’s before we get talking about him being played out of position.
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1-3. The usual hammering from Real Brentford and their manager ‘Pep’ Smith, I fear.
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Results wise Brentford have started well. Think both managers will settle for a draw but expect us to be easily outplayed.
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Yeah we've not actually lost at home v Brentford
It feels due as they've been unlucky
But I wouldn't be surprised to see us take a fairly embarrassing draw whilst being played off the park for much of the game
Johnstone saved us last year from memory. Nyland inspires less xonfidence! Though I'm not sure we've actually seen him have to make a save yet?
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The annoying thing about Brentford is that I honestly don’t think they have many great individual players. They’re just all so well drilled and comfortable with what they’re being asked to do by their Manager. Look at Jota – a world-beater for the last 2 seasons at Brentford, bang average at Blues. That’s why I honestly wouldn’t be too concerned about Ryan Woods going elsewhere.
I think they’re excellent at approaching every game like they’re the under-dog, doing their due diligence on how to best negate the oppositions attacking threat and then looking for whatever chinks they have in their own defensive armour. I would like to think that Bruce will be approaching this fixture by concentrating as much on Brentford’s threat as much as our own, but sadly I think we’ll set-up as exactly as we do for every game, just hoping that our individuals produce.
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Hopefully we’ll play players in their correct positions. Yeah right!
RDL at right back with either Axel or Tommy next to Chester.
A midfield of Jack, Hourihane and McGinn. Let them play and they’ll do both jobs.
I’m a side note, Ryan Woods missed the first two games for Brentford due to Swansea not meeting the £6m valuation of Woods. He was only on the beach v Shef Wed.
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A comfortable 2-0 win for Brentford.
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Jedinak playing at all makes us so one dimensional. He can't run, and he can't pass very well, so even though I'm not a fan of Bjarnason at all, he's the better option, as at least he gets around the pitch.
Nah, we don't want Bjarnason at Centre Half!
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A home win will go some way to forgiving and brushing under the carpet the surrender and cowardly tactics at the weekend.
Probably the only thing I love about the Championship is there's another game almost immediately.
FTF
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Agreed on dropping Jedinak and getting Hourihane back in.
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and it's a massive no to Elphick anywhere. Axel must be played in position otherwise it's pointless him being here.
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https://www.theguardian.com/football/football-league-blog/2018/aug/08/football-league-blog-brentford-happy-own-way-promotion
Interesting article on Brentford. Always liked Dean Smith and more so now. A couple of quotes
'A hybrid of careful planning, forensic scouting and sage spending is fundamental to their recruitment, headed by the technical director, Robert Rowan, in tandem with the co-directors Rasmus Ankersen, also the chairman of FC Midtjylland, the Danish club owned by Benham, and Phil Giles, a maths graduate with a PhD in statistics. Brentford buy not only by numbers but personality; they do their homework, extensive due diligence and referencing'........Imagine if we'd had this kind of planning with the money we've spent over the last few years.
'Brentford are fluid, teeming with pace and power, typified by the zest of Romaine Sawyers or Rico Henry, the England Under-20 international'....Pretty much the Anti Bruce.
Also they don't have a captain!
I'd like to think we can beat them and we have the players, just not the manager so 1-1 draw I think.
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and it's a massive no to Elphick anywhere. Axel must be played in position otherwise it's pointless him being here.
Agree. I would play him centre half with Chester and play one of the multitude of RBs we have got in that position or play Taylor at LB and move Hutton back across. I still think we need to bring a CB in and that Tuanzebe should be cover for if they or Chester gets injured.
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When there is a specific player to mark in midfield then Jedinak’s yer man. A bit like Carlos Sanchez was. Or just acting as a shield to the back four. Ask him to be a midfield dynamo, especially now, you’re asking for trouble. And that’s before we get talking about him being played out of position.
He's best utilised when the opposition have got a target man striker and pump long balls up to him (like Blues did last season). He sits just in front of them and the aerial battles are then between those two, which allows our CBs to drop off a bit and sweep up. He is very effective against those kind of teams.
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Villa cruising to a 2-0 win until a goalkeeper error makes it 2-1 and a nervy finish and win.
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I hope we drill them silly.
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https://www.theguardian.com/football/football-league-blog/2018/aug/08/football-league-blog-brentford-happy-own-way-promotion
Interesting article on Brentford. Always liked Dean Smith and more so now. A couple of quotes
'A hybrid of careful planning, forensic scouting and sage spending is fundamental to their recruitment, headed by the technical director, Robert Rowan, in tandem with the co-directors Rasmus Ankersen, also the chairman of FC Midtjylland, the Danish club owned by Benham, and Phil Giles, a maths graduate with a PhD in statistics. Brentford buy not only by numbers but personality; they do their homework, extensive due diligence and referencing'........Imagine if we'd had this kind of planning with the money we've spent over the last few years.
'Brentford are fluid, teeming with pace and power, typified by the zest of Romaine Sawyers or Rico Henry, the England Under-20 international'....Pretty much the Anti Bruce.
Also they don't have a captain!
I'd like to think we can beat them and we have the players, just not the manager so 1-1 draw I think.
Everything I read about Smith makes me like him more. I can honestly say I'd be more excited by him becoming Villa manager than I have been by anyone else in my lifetime.
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Everything I read about Smith makes me like him more. I can honestly say I'd be more excited by him becoming Villa manager than I have been by anyone else in my lifetime.
More than OGS and Eric Black ? Surely you jest :)
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Brentford fans seem universally confident they'll win. Plenty of 3, 4 and 5 goal goal predictions with a smattering of 1-1s.
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https://www.theguardian.com/football/football-league-blog/2018/aug/08/football-league-blog-brentford-happy-own-way-promotion
Interesting article on Brentford. Always liked Dean Smith and more so now. A couple of quotes
'A hybrid of careful planning, forensic scouting and sage spending is fundamental to their recruitment, headed by the technical director, Robert Rowan, in tandem with the co-directors Rasmus Ankersen, also the chairman of FC Midtjylland, the Danish club owned by Benham, and Phil Giles, a maths graduate with a PhD in statistics. Brentford buy not only by numbers but personality; they do their homework, extensive due diligence and referencing'........Imagine if we'd had this kind of planning with the money we've spent over the last few years.
'Brentford are fluid, teeming with pace and power, typified by the zest of Romaine Sawyers or Rico Henry, the England Under-20 international'....Pretty much the Anti Bruce.
Also they don't have a captain!
I'd like to think we can beat them and we have the players, just not the manager so 1-1 draw I think.
Everything I read about Smith makes me like him more. I can honestly say I'd be more excited by him becoming Villa manager than I have been by anyone else in my lifetime.
This is the Brentford way. They had this approach under Warburton too. Fantastic way to set up a club but this is not down to Smith as they had this prior to him going there.
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https://www.theguardian.com/football/football-league-blog/2018/aug/08/football-league-blog-brentford-happy-own-way-promotion
Interesting article on Brentford. Always liked Dean Smith and more so now. A couple of quotes
'A hybrid of careful planning, forensic scouting and sage spending is fundamental to their recruitment, headed by the technical director, Robert Rowan, in tandem with the co-directors Rasmus Ankersen, also the chairman of FC Midtjylland, the Danish club owned by Benham, and Phil Giles, a maths graduate with a PhD in statistics. Brentford buy not only by numbers but personality; they do their homework, extensive due diligence and referencing'........Imagine if we'd had this kind of planning with the money we've spent over the last few years.
'Brentford are fluid, teeming with pace and power, typified by the zest of Romaine Sawyers or Rico Henry, the England Under-20 international'....Pretty much the Anti Bruce.
Also they don't have a captain!
I'd like to think we can beat them and we have the players, just not the manager so 1-1 draw I think.
Everything I read about Smith makes me like him more. I can honestly say I'd be more excited by him becoming Villa manager than I have been by anyone else in my lifetime.
This is the Brentford way. They had this approach under Warburton too. Fantastic way to set up a club but this is not down to Smith as they had this prior to him going there.
The two players mentioned in the article were players he had at Walsall so he obviously makes a good contribution to the recruitment process too as well as setting up and coaching the team well.
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Substance, method, meticulous planning, supportive skill set behind the scenes
And a fair bit of style in the play
Everything we are currently missing I'm afraid
Would love him to have a chance with us
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Brentford fans seem universally confident they'll win. Plenty of 3, 4 and 5 goal goal predictions with a smattering of 1-1s.
Cheeky fuckers. Hope we do them as much as can be done.
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We'd be confident as well if we were them. It's why even we have a Brentford win edging it in the votes.
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https://www.theguardian.com/football/football-league-blog/2018/aug/08/football-league-blog-brentford-happy-own-way-promotion
Interesting article on Brentford. Always liked Dean Smith and more so now. A couple of quotes
'A hybrid of careful planning, forensic scouting and sage spending is fundamental to their recruitment, headed by the technical director, Robert Rowan, in tandem with the co-directors Rasmus Ankersen, also the chairman of FC Midtjylland, the Danish club owned by Benham, and Phil Giles, a maths graduate with a PhD in statistics. Brentford buy not only by numbers but personality; they do their homework, extensive due diligence and referencing'........Imagine if we'd had this kind of planning with the money we've spent over the last few years.
'Brentford are fluid, teeming with pace and power, typified by the zest of Romaine Sawyers or Rico Henry, the England Under-20 international'....Pretty much the Anti Bruce.
Also they don't have a captain!
I'd like to think we can beat them and we have the players, just not the manager so 1-1 draw I think.
Everything I read about Smith makes me like him more. I can honestly say I'd be more excited by him becoming Villa manager than I have been by anyone else in my lifetime.
This is the Brentford way. They had this approach under Warburton too. Fantastic way to set up a club but this is not down to Smith as they had this prior to him going there.
What’s Smith role then? Just to stand on the touch line and look pretty?
Of course he is a huge part of their success. There maybe a system behind him that identifies the right type of players but he still needs to coach, motivate and organise them into a unit.
Are Guardiola or Klopp not a part of their team success as they just get given millions to sign the best players?
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3-1
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I’ve gone for the win, probably stupidly, but there you go.
The first season down here they bottled it in the first half and we went in 1-0 up, they realised they’d bottled it and whilst dominating he second got a somewhat fortuitous last minute equaliser.
The second season from recollection we were alright in patches but they dominated the ball for long periods.
We just have to hope our slightly better quality players give us the edge.
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Jedinak playing at all makes us so one dimensional. He can't run, and he can't pass very well, so even though I'm not a fan of Bjarnason at all, he's the better option, as at least he gets around the pitch.
Thought this last season as well, not really sure what he brings, average to poor in all areas
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a drab 1-1
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https://www.theguardian.com/football/football-league-blog/2018/aug/08/football-league-blog-brentford-happy-own-way-promotion
Interesting article on Brentford. Always liked Dean Smith and more so now. A couple of quotes
'A hybrid of careful planning, forensic scouting and sage spending is fundamental to their recruitment, headed by the technical director, Robert Rowan, in tandem with the co-directors Rasmus Ankersen, also the chairman of FC Midtjylland, the Danish club owned by Benham, and Phil Giles, a maths graduate with a PhD in statistics. Brentford buy not only by numbers but personality; they do their homework, extensive due diligence and referencing'........Imagine if we'd had this kind of planning with the money we've spent over the last few years.
'Brentford are fluid, teeming with pace and power, typified by the zest of Romaine Sawyers or Rico Henry, the England Under-20 international'....Pretty much the Anti Bruce.
Also they don't have a captain!
I'd like to think we can beat them and we have the players, just not the manager so 1-1 draw I think.
Everything I read about Smith makes me like him more. I can honestly say I'd be more excited by him becoming Villa manager than I have been by anyone else in my lifetime.
This is the Brentford way. They had this approach under Warburton too. Fantastic way to set up a club but this is not down to Smith as they had this prior to him going there.
What’s Smith role then? Just to stand on the touch line and look pretty?
Of course he is a huge part of their success. There maybe a system behind him that identifies the right type of players but he still needs to coach, motivate and organise them into a unit.
Are Guardiola or Klopp not a part of their team success as they just get given millions to sign the best players?
He is a good coach but the way they set up, their scouting etc is all done the way Villa wanted to do it with this 'Villa Engine' bollocks. Yes, Smith is a good bloke, but this is about a team effort, not just down to him. Looking pretty on the side of the pitch? Brentford selected Smith because he bought in to their philosophy. He was a good choice but like the hand fits the glove, I am not sure Smith will be as successful elsewhere without the same philosophy.
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He's an interesting option
Though remember juande ramos was feted at Sevilla
Then it turned out that the real star was moggi, the recruitment guy
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https://www.theguardian.com/football/football-league-blog/2018/aug/08/football-league-blog-brentford-happy-own-way-promotion
Interesting article on Brentford. Always liked Dean Smith and more so now. A couple of quotes
'A hybrid of careful planning, forensic scouting and sage spending is fundamental to their recruitment, headed by the technical director, Robert Rowan, in tandem with the co-directors Rasmus Ankersen, also the chairman of FC Midtjylland, the Danish club owned by Benham, and Phil Giles, a maths graduate with a PhD in statistics. Brentford buy not only by numbers but personality; they do their homework, extensive due diligence and referencing'........Imagine if we'd had this kind of planning with the money we've spent over the last few years.
'Brentford are fluid, teeming with pace and power, typified by the zest of Romaine Sawyers or Rico Henry, the England Under-20 international'....Pretty much the Anti Bruce.
Also they don't have a captain!
I'd like to think we can beat them and we have the players, just not the manager so 1-1 draw I think.
Everything I read about Smith makes me like him more. I can honestly say I'd be more excited by him becoming Villa manager than I have been by anyone else in my lifetime.
This is the Brentford way. They had this approach under Warburton too. Fantastic way to set up a club but this is not down to Smith as they had this prior to him going there.
What’s Smith role then? Just to stand on the touch line and look pretty?
Of course he is a huge part of their success. There maybe a system behind him that identifies the right type of players but he still needs to coach, motivate and organise them into a unit.
Are Guardiola or Klopp not a part of their team success as they just get given millions to sign the best players?
He is a good coach but the way they set up, their scouting etc is all done the way Villa wanted to do it with this 'Villa Engine' bollocks. Yes, Smith is a good bloke, but this is about a team effort, not just down to him. Looking pretty on the side of the pitch? Brentford selected Smith because he bought in to their philosophy. He was a good choice but like the hand fits the glove, I am not sure Smith will be as successful elsewhere without the same philosophy.
Well they had a Danish coach for first 10 games of the season he came in and he won once in 10 games so it isn't just down to the stats man.
Whenever I've seen Brentford they play in the exact same manner Walsall under Smith did. Once Woods or whoever else in midfield releases the ball their number 10 Romaine Sawyers picks up the ball. All their forward play goes through him. He was with Smith at Walsall.
When he's on form he's a very difficult player to mark out of a game.
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I agree he must be having an impact. I do think it's an interesting option
But it will be a very different context for him
Perhaps an audition tonight
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Smith would be Graham Turner MkII. There is no way he'd be able to reconcile the extreme pressure of managing a club of this scale, when his experiences are two clubs the size of Brentford and Walsall. He's doing good things there, let him carry on.
There's no voodoo behind a side like Brentford. You've got to make them move the ball quicker than they'd like and in places deeper than they'd want. We pressed the Dingles off the park, a side much better than these.
McGinn helps with that, but my main concern is what we do once in possession. Green doesn't really deserve to start as he's been poor, but on balance he offers more than Elmo.
Equally Albert has been poor and his delivery tepid at best.
Given we're a side that puts a lot of crosses in, realistically we're looking for percentage gains for McGinn's dead balls.
Important we unshackle Grealish and play him 10 yards higher up. Connor, Thor to do his leg work and McGinn to link midfield to attack.
Green and Albert to start by default either side of Kodjia, but I wouldn't be adverse to RHM linking with Kodjia instead of Green.
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If Brentford are so good how come we finished above them last year?
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Got a feeling we'll nick this one 1-0.
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If we are organised and up for it, we will win. One whiff of complacency or negativity and they will be all over us. Over to you Mr Bruce...
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I'm hooping for a win but with this keeper I doubt he'll keep a clean sheet. 2-1
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The first real test in terms of a team who I think will make the playoffs this season. Big game for Bruce. Lose this one and there will undoubtedly be calls for him to go. 2-2.
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Smith would be Graham Turner MkII. There is no way he'd be able to reconcile the extreme pressure of managing a club of this scale, when his experiences are two clubs the size of Brentford and Walsall. He's doing good things there, let him carry on.
There's no voodoo behind a side like Brentford. You've got to make them move the ball quicker than they'd like and in places deeper than they'd want. We pressed the Dingles off the park, a side much better than these.
McGinn helps with that, but my main concern is what we do once in possession. Green doesn't really deserve to start as he's been poor, but on balance he offers more than Elmo.
Equally Albert has been poor and his delivery tepid at best.
Given we're a side that puts a lot of crosses in, realistically we're looking for percentage gains for McGinn's dead balls.
Important we unshackle Grealish and play him 10 yards higher up. Connor, Thor to do his leg work and McGinn to link midfield to attack.
Green and Albert to start by default either side of Kodjia, but I wouldn't be adverse to RHM linking with Kodjia instead of Green.
Under the Graham Turner rule,a manager of a lower club will fail at a significantly bigger club,Clough and Shankly would not have been allowed to join Derby and Liverpool from Hartlepool and Huddersfield respectively.
Their expectations on joining,get out of second tier football.Shankly was already in that league with Huddersfield.
Shall we bar all foreign coaches from consideration,as the 2 previous ones,Venglos and Garde were failures ?
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Smith would be Graham Turner MkII. There is no way he'd be able to reconcile the extreme pressure of managing a club of this scale, when his experiences are two clubs the size of Brentford and Walsall. He's doing good things there, let him carry on.
There's no voodoo behind a side like Brentford. You've got to make them move the ball quicker than they'd like and in places deeper than they'd want. We pressed the Dingles off the park, a side much better than these.
McGinn helps with that, but my main concern is what we do once in possession. Green doesn't really deserve to start as he's been poor, but on balance he offers more than Elmo.
Equally Albert has been poor and his delivery tepid at best.
Given we're a side that puts a lot of crosses in, realistically we're looking for percentage gains for McGinn's dead balls.
Important we unshackle Grealish and play him 10 yards higher up. Connor, Thor to do his leg work and McGinn to link midfield to attack.
Green and Albert to start by default either side of Kodjia, but I wouldn't be adverse to RHM linking with Kodjia instead of Green.
Under the Graham Turner rule,a manager of a lower club will fail at a significantly bigger club,Clough and Shankly would not have been allowed to join Derby and Liverpool from Hartlepool and Huddersfield respectively.
Their expectations on joining,get out of second tier football.Shankly was already in that league with Huddersfield.
Shall we bar all foreign coaches from consideration,as the 2 previous ones,Venglos and Garde were failures ?
I’d add that I expect the Villa Engine or equivalent to be implemented by the new owners in terms of a robust scouting system and youth academy (identifying targets across Europe and behind to bring into various levels of the academy and first team) along with certain elements of a playing style to be implemented across the club.
None of which I expect Bruce to buy into or deliver. Smith would be an interesting appointment but probably not right now in fairness. A more pragmatic approach is required though I’m still not convinced Bruce is the best pragmatic choice!
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I'd go with this:
Nyland
Elmo Chester Tuanzebe Hutton
Bjarnason
Green McGinn Hourihane
Grealish
Kodjia
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Unfortunately I think it more likely to be:
Nyland
Tuanzebe Chester Jedinak Hutton
Elmo Whelan McGinn Hourihane
Grealish
Kodjia
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The problem with talking about Clough, Shankley or even Fergie when it's mentioned how his Yanited side "struggled" at first, is that you're talking about the very best managers to grace the English game.
So unless Smith is a genius, I think he's far more likely to be swallowed by the enormity of the club then emerge as some genius.
I respect what Dean Smith has done, but I don't think he'd be capable of replicating it here and I have no interest in granting him the opportunity to fail.
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If Brentford are so good how come we finished above them last year?
Because we had Johnstone, Terry, Snodgrass and Grabban. Who we've replaced with an accident waiting to happen, an aged midfielder out of position, Elmo semi out of position and no one.
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We've replaced him with a goalkeeper whose made one mistake...
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If Brentford are so good how come we finished above them last year?
Because we had Johnstone, Terry, Snodgrass and Grabban. Who we've replaced with an accident waiting to happen, an aged midfielder out of position, Elmo semi out of position and no one.
Alternatively.... We have Nyland, Tuanzebe, McGinn with Grealish and Kodjia back from injury.... with more to come.
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Anybody else keep thinking this game is tonight rather than tomorrow? Most annoying.
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Come tomorrow night, you may wish it was on Thursday!!
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that's the spirit
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If Brentford are so good how come we finished above them last year?
Bruce got lucky
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If Brentford are so good how come we finished above them last year?
Bruce got lucky
We spent more on Hogan than they have on thier first team.
Yes Bruce is very lucky,
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The problem with talking about Clough, Shankley or even Fergie when it's mentioned how his Yanited side "struggled" at first, is that you're talking about the very best managers to grace the English game.
So unless Smith is a genius, I think he's far more likely to be swallowed by the enormity of the club then emerge as some genius.
I respect what Dean Smith has done, but I don't think he'd be capable of replicating it here and I have no interest in granting him the opportunity to fail.
The reality of the club is that we are in the second tier.If we are an enormous club then we should be looking to recruit the best available manager and not be content with a manager because he is in situ.
Southampton copped a lot of flak because they sacked Adkins who was doing a reasonable job but went for Pochettino who they thought correctly could do better.
I'm not saying that Smith is the best available candidate but to dismiss him on non footballing grounds is ridiculous.How do you know that he can't cope with the pressure of getting Villa promoted ? How do you know that he is not capable of replicating his achievements here ?Having a method of play is a transferable skill.
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Why is size a non-footballing matter? This is a huge club with an enormous expectation and that provides a scale of pressure Smith has never come close to experiencing at two small outfits.
Not that there's a vacancy and not that I expect Smith to be replacing Bruce anytime soon.
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Why is size a non-footballing matter? This is a huge club with an enormous expectation and that provides a scale of pressure Smith has never come close to experiencing at two small outfits.
Not that there's a vacancy and not that I expect Smith to be replacing Bruce anytime soon.
Because football is a game between 2 teams.The performance of the players decide the issue not the size of the clubs. His small outfit are playing against the same teams that we are facing and have to combat the same problems but with a different and probably inferior squad of players.
Size does not always provide extra pressure.I'm sure a rocking VP lifts a player's performance.Size brings you bigger budgets,thus a chance to bring in better players instead of losing your better players.Having to worry about severe financial problems in the lower leagues,as in life itself,is the worst sort of pressure.
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Anybody else keep thinking this game is tonight rather than tomorrow? Most annoying.
Kinell, I thought it was! Working away in Bath, got a pub lined up to watch it and everything! I'll be travelling tomorrow, gutted!
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I don't agree at all. It's not a level playing field. There's dramatically more pressure at Real Madrid than anywhere else in Spain. Yes it's still 22 blokes on a pitch, but stripping it down to such simplicities renders it meaningless.
There's not even close to the level of expectation at Brentford as at Villa. A start like Smith had last season would have seen him sacked. The start Bruce has had to this season has people calling for his head.
That's a huge factor. This club ages managers and invariably eats them.
Garde
McLiesh
Lambert
Atkinson
O'Neill
Little
Gregory
O'Leary
Only Taylor in the last 30 years has come out the otherside.
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Why is size a non-footballing matter? This is a huge club with an enormous expectation and that provides a scale of pressure Smith has never come close to experiencing at two small outfits.
Not that there's a vacancy and not that I expect Smith to be replacing Bruce anytime soon.
But maybe Smith would step up to the plate and accept the challenge and opportunity to grow into becoming a manager of a big club.
Brentford have also just signed Dasilva from Arsenal, so they are progressing as a club.
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Just checking, it Is Brazil we are playing against tomorrow, yes?
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I don't agree at all. It's not a level playing field. There's dramatically more pressure at Real Madrid than anywhere else in Spain. Yes it's still 22 blokes on a pitch, but stripping it down to such simplicities renders it meaningless.
There's not even close to the level of expectation at Brentford as at Villa. A start like Smith had last season would have seen him sacked. The start Bruce has had to this season has people calling for his head.
That's a huge factor. This club ages managers and invariably eats them.
Garde
McLiesh
Lambert
Atkinson
O'Neill
Little
Gregory
O'Leary
Only Taylor in the last 30 years has come out the otherside.
And if you look at all the WM clubs since the start of 2006 season,ease of totting up,Villa ,Wolves and Walsall are equal best for appointing the fewest managers(not counting caretaker managers) behind Blues,Albion and Coventry.
If you look at similar size clubs such as Newcastle and Sunderland ,they have an attrition rate 50% higher than Villa's.
In your list,2 are now international managers despited being aged by the Villa job.
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DlH-X5iX0AAsIjH.jpg:large)
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Nobody? Bruce?
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Just checking, it Is Brazil we are playing against tomorrow, yes?
Might as well forfeit the match, take the fine and concentrate on whoever we play next.
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Hate say it but they play football far better then we do 0-2 I fear
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Hate say it but they play football 0-2 I fear
Fixed.
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Until 5 minutes ago I was going to watch the game and thought it would be 1-1. I’m now going for a drink instead and on that basis, taking into account previous times I’ve met a female friend instead of watching Villa, we will lose at least 3-0.
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Jon moss ref tomorrow feel he will favour us and protect Grealish and maybe give some decisions like a penalty . It's more a feeling than anything and rather have him in charge that these lower level refs
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Don’t worry lads 5-0 win and top of the league.
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Jon moss ref tomorrow
There now follows a page and a half of Culture Club puns...
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Just checking, it Is Brazil we are playing against tomorrow, yes?
Might as well forfeit the match, take the fine and concentrate on whoever we next.
Brazil?
You could have been playing g
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Just checking, it Is Brazil we are playing against tomorrow, yes?
The way we play we certainly contribute to making teams look far more convincing than they actually are.
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Jon moss ref tomorrow
There now follows a page and a half of Culture Club puns...
Damned if there will.
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Jon moss ref tomorrow
There now follows a page and a half of Culture Club puns...
Damned if there will.
So speaks Captain Sensible.
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All this talk of the Damned reminds me of the Fiendish Phone quiz on BRMB back in the day.
Anyway it's going to be a tough game, it always is against these so i'll go for a 2-2 draw. Kodjia to score again and Nyland to intercept a sloppy backpass, take it round the onrushing forward player and score from the edge of his own box.
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I've just got a feeling we'll lose 2-0
The more it feels like a big, high pressure evening game the better though. Hoping we can raise our game
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If Brentford are so good how come we finished above them last year?
True but we've been outplayed in the 4 games we've played them. Hopefully Steve and co will come up with a game plan to put this hoodoo to bed. And I don't mean bore us all to death with a dour draw. I mean do a Wolves on them and send them packing. We'll see tonight.
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A lovely few days in Brum visiting family, my mom doing a cracking cooked breakfast, few drinks this afternoon and evening and a 3 nil Villa win.
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Jon moss ref tomorrow
There now follows a page and a half of Culture Club puns...
Damned if there will.
First Hull, THEN IPSwich, now Brentford.
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Jon Moss always reminds me of the day we didn't turn up in the FA Cup final v Arsenal.
Despite him, it will be a 2-1 Villa win
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1-0 Villa win, we have to stay in contention, the Championship is already shaping up, you can see the teams that are likely to be in there at the end, Boro look like they are really going to stake a solid claim, I would expect the team we are going to play this evening to try and do the same, hopefully we can put a spoke in the works.
C'mon Villa
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A lovely few days in Brum visiting family, my mom doing a cracking cooked breakfast, few drinks this afternoon and evening and a 3 nil Villa win.
Lovely for you mate! Enjoy it all. And bring the villa luck tonight .
Have a nice day!
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Mr EFL David Prutton:
This is another tough one - Brentford have had a wonderful start to the season but I suppose you could also say the same thing about Villa. It would've been a tougher assignment had it been at Griffin Park but the Bees will be confident after a very good performance against Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday. I feel this could be a very close game.
Prutton predicts: 2-2 with Jonathan Kodjia to score first
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Can’t find press conference for tonight’s game on YouTube , any ideas or reasons ?
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Jon moss ref tomorrow
There now follows a page and a half of Culture Club puns...
It looks like most of the folk on here are givin' any punathon the Cold Shoulder.
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Jon moss ref tomorrow
There now follows a page and a half of Culture Club puns...
Damned if there will.
So speaks Captain Sensible.
Always Happy Talk from you, PWS.
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My noggin says Brentford win; my heart obviously says Villa. Thus, I'll plump for the wisdom supplied via the lower neck area & predict a draw.
1-1 with the highlight being a 30 yard screamer from SJM.
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4-0 win sends us top. Unless Bolton win by 6.
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Can see a draw. Our job will be made harder though if we persist with MJ at centre half. There's a case, albeit a crap one, when the opposition are direct but against a team with pace and movement it's asking for trouble.
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Can see a draw. Our job will be made harder though if we persist with MJ at centre half. There's a case, albeit a crap one, when the opposition are direct but against a team with pace and movement it's asking for trouble.
Absolutely. Jedi should drop to the bench. Put a pacy CB in his rightful position and play Bjarnason as he has more pace and versatility.
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I’ve gone for a draw- still early season. Big game for us though - I think we are 6th and 7th respectively. A win would be most welcome, but I think we’ll struggle to a draw with a late equaliser. Wtf do I know though.
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I’ve gone for a draw- still early season. Big game for us though - I think we are 6th and 7th respectively. A win would be most welcome, but I think we’ll struggle to a draw with a late equaliser. Wtf do I know though.
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so you're second opinion is the same as your first?
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It will be if it’s a draw!
Sorry double post
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It will be if it’s a draw!
Sorry double post
What about if we win or lose? This is getting very deep.
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I’ll just divert attention to Mr Underhill’s misplaced apostrophe and disappear into the sunset
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1-2 to them.
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so only 36.6% of Villa fans on here think we will win at home to Brentford
have we actually got anywhere as a club in the last 8 years
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so only 36.6% of Villa fans on here think we will win at home to Brentford
have we actually got anywhere as a club in the last 8 years
Yes, 8 years ago nobody knew even what league Brentford were in.
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so only 36.6% of Villa fans on here think we will win at home to Brentford
have we actually got anywhere as a club in the last 8 years
Yes, 8 years ago nobody knew even what league Brentford were in.
you gota laugh
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time to break the duck against the Bees. And there might be a lot less squeaky bum time in a week or so.
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The potential introduction of three players should I hope motivate the team to keep their places and play well tonight. I'm going for a 2-0 win.
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My first home game in about three years!! Making the most of a free diary to go along !! Looking forward to Grralish and Mginn in the flesh ( op-er) and hoping for a 7-1 win.
Will take a 1-0 though 😀
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After a few days of Bruce bashing on here I can't anything but a home win. It's what he does; not enough to lose his job, just enough to keep it.
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First game of the season - looking forward to see some accurate passing, attacking with purpose, movement off the ball, cunning tactical changes from Bruce and Villa throw ins going to Villa players. I'm sure they've been working on some of the basics over the summer!
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First game of the season - looking forward to see some accurate passing, attacking with purpose, movement off the ball, cunning tactical changes from Bruce and Villa throw ins going to Villa players. I'm sure they've been working on some of the basics over the summer!
Careful what you wish for. ;)
Enjoy!
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Come on then let's be having them.
1-0 Villa
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time to break the duck against the Bees. And there might be a lot less squeaky bum time in a week or so.
I fear we might get stung again