Next Villa manager

[mr underhill]

not me it's entirely realistic at the moment, and as for calls for Clarke - FFS, the only thing he's proved so far is that he'd look good on a spare Trafalgar Square plinth

[mattjpa]

Every time the club has made a bad decision since the departure of O'Neill right up to relegation, and there have been dozens, those of us who try to point out that there could very easily be more failure ahead are accused of actually wanting us to fail.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  My/our hopes are very simple.  An end to reactive decision making and a plan that sees beyond the next "must win" games.

There are very few times Villa fans can actually look forward to the future, a change of management is one of those times. Its the hope that the next guy in the door will be the one to make us click and bring back the good times. There is, more than likely, more shit to endure whether its Bruce, Clarke or someone else, but it would be bloody good for a new manager bounce and 3-4 wins on the spin

[ClaretAndBlueBlood]

19th in the Championship and just sacked our 4th manager in 18 months? We should be glad someone like Steve Bruce wants to come

Quite. I think some of us have an unrealistic opinion of our current position in the football world. Things change so quickly in the game these days and we cannot live on past glories. Having a nice ground and taking loads away is perhaps not the draw we like to think, we are currently a club that has struggled for years with an owner who is new to the game and consequently still has to prove himself. If we can get a manager with a track record of achieving the thing we are aiming for in the immediate future then he has to be a serious contender and I am sure we can mitigate against any overly short term thinking with the structure that Round is putting in place.

I have big doubts about Steve Round being the right man for the job he is doing. He was previously assistant manager to Moyes, old school manager with old school thinking. Why do we think Round is the man to shape the footballing side of our club and drag us into the 21st century? Hope I'm wrong but I think he may well have been promoted above his capabilities

Yes, I probably share some of that concern but his remit is different and thing that struck me when he was recruited is that he talked about innovation and new ways of working. That is some way removed from being an assistant manager.

it is and let's hope that he is capable of making that leap. I would say that if Bruce is appointed, that doesn't really stand out as being particularly innovative or bringing in a new way of working, very much a manager in the mould of Moyes, old school and a dinosaur in footballing terms

[robbo1874]

I will be gutted if Bruce DOESN'T come.
To those who think he 'isn't the right manager for us in PL' just wow! that is arrogance beyond belief for where we currently are. Let's get back before we start worrying about the type of football we will play in the top flight please.

how is advocating planning for the longer term arrogant beyond belief?

I'd argue it's quite sensible. Whether it's achievable or not, in our current plight and we have to get someone like Bruce in short term to drag us out of the shit, is another question altogether.

[Brend'Watkins]

I'm not blown away by the possible appointment of Bruce but I'm sure he will make a better job of the squad we have than RDM did.  For starters, I think he'll take one look at Westwood and just shake his head.

[cdward]

Are we appointing the best people, or just people with connections.
Keith Wyness worked with Steve Round at Everton, who also worked with Ian Atkins there.
If Phil Neville appears in some capacity i will not be at all surprised

[Jimbo]

The thing about reactive decision making is it becomes more likely when you're in crisis. In isolation, our current position probably wouldn't normally be considered crisis territory, but given our rapid slide, and the nature of our decline, I think we can safely say that if something isn't done to bring stability now, straight away - however staid, boring and unexciting it may appear - then we could really be in a world of shit.

'Big' clubs really can and do fall hard, especially when they're still flush with a sense of their own self importance. But this is a league that doesn't care how big or famous you are, and if it does it's only because it wants to see you get your nose bloodied. Well, we've been given more bloody noses than we've handed out with a quarter of this season gone. This is really happening to us now and some of us just can't accept it after all we've already been through. Time to float gently, boringly back down to earth before we hit it with an almighty crash.

[footyskillz]

https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2011/nov/30/steve-bruce-sunderland-sacked

Posted from a link on twitter.  Mmm. Worrying article really.

Please read this Tony and do not appoint this useless twat

Let's just readdess the balance here shall we. That was an article by a journo. This here is an interview with the very man . Both are from 2011. If anything Bruce has learnt from those times and he , as current poll suggests, is the righ man out of the 2 in the running.

One of the key things is having a good relationship with the owner . Bruce walked away from hull because of a poor relationship.  He mentions how he enjoyed his relationship with the enthusiastic Dave Whelan and Tony Xia is someone who is willing to back the manager.

http://www.leaguemanagers.com/leadership-wellbeing/manager-interviews/steve-bruce-great-unknown/

[robbo1874]

If they get Bruce in, so be it. It is what it is. He'll probably get us promoted next season, if not this. I'd take that, in all honesty, but would prefer someone who could take us forward, if/when we get back. It's unlikely Bruce would get us to kick on in the PL. Reality.

If they bring him in, I'll back him, as I would any new Villa manager. A club of our stature should be thinking more long term though, in my view. Why do we have to restrict ourselves to the same old 'good in the championship' merchants? We're Aston Villa, to coin a phrase.

[mr underhill]

we are and as we all know today's Aston Villa is very different from that of times past

[paul_e]

Not willing him to fail and not even expecting him too this season but I don't think he has any role longer than 18 months and I don't like the idea of taking on a manager who plays a style that won't be a success where we want to be without at least trying to find someone who could still have a place with us in the premier league.

Are we talking about Bruce? He's had 4 jobs in the last 15 years, including 6 years at our beloved neighbours and has just finished 4 years at Hull.

Yes I'm talking about Bruce the manager who even his strongest advocates on here are saying 'when he gets us promoted then we can replace him with someone to improve us' about.

[robbo1874]

I don't think we are that different from times past. We've been in the shit before and got out of it. We will this time too. We've got financial backing, which in all honesty, is pretty much everything. We just need to get our decisions right, from now on. Whether the right people are in place to make those decisions is my biggest concern about our current plight. Everybody is pretty much unproven in all positions. Time will tell. I have confidence that Xia won't hesitate to replace suits if they fuck up the next managerial appointment.

[Jimbo]

we are and as we all know today's Aston Villa is very different from that of times past

Exactly this. Outside the Villa bubble, we're generally seen in a negative light. Whatever kudos we had has to be re-earned, and that won't necessarily be a straightforward process. 

[exiled on the wirral!]

If they get Bruce in, so be it. It is what it is. He'll probably get us promoted next season, if not this. I'd take that, in all honesty, but would prefer someone who could take us forward, if/when we get back. It's unlikely Bruce would get us to kick on in the PL. Reality.

If they bring him in, I'll back him, as I would any new Villa manager. A club of our stature should be thinking more long term though, in my view. Why do we have to restrict ourselves to the same old 'good in the championship' merchants? We're Aston Villa, to coin a phrase.

Totally agree with this. If it is Bruce I will be behind him like any of our other managers we have appointed. I would just be happier if it appeared we were planning for the long term. It just looks to me that Bruce is avaliable so 'he will do'. I would prefer us to employ a manager with a fresh impetus new ideas and a plan not only for now but in a few years times if and when we get back to the Premier League. Personally I'm not fussed if we don't get promotion this year as long as we look like we are progressing,  but I suppose modern football culture dispensed with patience a long time ago.

[aj2k77]

I don't think we are that different from times past. We've been in the shit before and got out of it. We will this time too. We've got financial backing, which in all honesty, is pretty much everything. We just need to get our decisions right, from now on. Whether the right people are in place to make those decisions is my biggest concern about our current plight. Everybody is pretty much unproven in all positions. Time will tell. I have confidence that Xia won't hesitate to replace suits if they fuck up the next managerial appointment.

Things are so short term in football now though. Man City are super powers, Chelsea have been brilliant forever, Man Utd have always played in front of 80,000. Aston Villa have been shit for ages in a lot of fans eyes. A manager can go on a run of 10 games and be a world beater, he can go on a run of 10 defeats and be a joke. We have little kudos right now. The stream of broken records we've set sit at the forefront of a lot of peoples opinions of us right now.