Steve Bruce - officially confirmed (as Sheffield Wednesday boss)

[West Derby Villan]

I'm from Great Barr, North Brum and am "not that keen on" the blues. Steve Bruce is our manager, move on

[PeterWithesShin]

You must hated that goal by a Bluenose in '82 then.

Peter withe will always be remembered as a villa player, if we want to hate blues we have the right to.

But by your logic you hated him and didn't accept him back then as he had played for them.

[dave.woodhall]

You must hated that goal by a Bluenose in '82 then.

Peter withe will always be remembered as a villa player, if we want to hate blues we have the right to.

Is that the royal 'we'?

[cdbearsfan]

You must hated that goal by a Bluenose in '82 then.

Peter withe will always be remembered as a villa player, if we want to hate blues we have the right to.

You can hate the Blues without hating everyone associated with them.

As the numerous examples already given on this thread have shown.

You should really quit while you're behind. You're making yourself look silly.

[PeterWithesShin]

I don't hate small heath, I enjoy laughing at them, and they've given me plenty to laugh at over the years, but hate a club that rarely has any relevance to us? Nah.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Small Heath. Neighbours not rivals.

[KevinGage]

Pat them on the head and patronise them, like the red-headed step-son they are.

[Toronto Villa]

Steve Bruce will be the fire to follow Roberto Di Matteo's ice... Aston Villa needed his promotion expertise 

Steve Bruce has been appointed as the new manager of Aston Villa
It will be Bruce's objective to return Villa to the Premier League this term
Roberto di Matteo was sacked after Villa's poor start in the Championship
Bruce famously guided Hull City back to the top flight last season 

By JOE BERNSTEIN FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 17:31 GMT, 12 October 2016 | UPDATED: 19:22 GMT, 12 October 2016

As Roberto Di Matteo's Aston Villa were struggling to a 1-1 draw at home to Newcastle United on September 24, Steve Bruce was completing an extended summer break at his Portuguese villa by enjoying a farewell boat party with friends on the Mediterranean. It was his way of recharging batteries after a stressful end to his time at Hull City which ended in his resignation on July 22 having been starved of funds for new players because of the club's on-off takeover saga.

The sun, sea and golf has obviously worked. Not only is Bruce fighting fit and raring to go once again, in his absence he became the most wanted manager in the country; the favourite at one stage for Aston Villa, Derby County and England, having been interviewed for that job before Sam Allardyce took it in the summer.




Villa is where the 55-year-old has ended up though, the struggling Championship club hoping that Bruce will put fire into the players' bellies where the laid-back Di Matteo couldn't.
After a £50million investment in new players like Ross McCormack and Jonathan Kodjia, owner Tony Xia didn't expect to be going into Saturday's game against Wolves 19th in the table, with only one win from 12 matches this season. It's why Di Matteo was sacked a week ago after a 2-0 defeat at Preston.

Bruce has the personality and the pedigree, having won promotion from The Championship into the Premier League on four separate occasions; twice with Birmingham City and twice with Hull. The Blues connections are too distant to concern the majority of Villa fans.

Whereas Di Matteo hardly had a cross word to say to the Villa players – he didn't even talk about disappointing results to them until the Monday after matches – Bruce will be less laissez-faire.
'I rolled my sleeves up as a player, and that's why I expect from my players now,' he says. Di Matteo's style worked at Chelsea where stars like Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard, John Terry and Ashley Cole knew what they were doing, but the Villa players hit by last season's relegation need a more hands-on approach.

That is not to say Bruce is an ogre. Like his long-time manager at Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson, he likes players to express and enjoy themselves. Good old-fashioned five-a-sides are still an important part of training. He understands players and managers need a break from the pressures of the game at times. In the middle of all the speculation about him taking the Villa job last weekend, he took his grandchildren to the zoo.

Yet Bruce will spot any slacking early. He has Ferguson's hairdryer in his locker when required and it might help to bring the best out of the likes of Jack Grealish, Jordan Ayew and Micah Richards.
Hull players still recall his half-time rants if the team had slacked in the opening 45 minutes.

'If we weren't at the races, the gaffer really got into us,' says former Tigers defender Michael Turner.
'He'd be annoyed and to be fair to him, he'd have a point.'
And in his current autobiography Box to Box, former Sheffield United player Curtis Woodhouse said about his own run-ins with Bruce at Brammall Lane.
'He'd go ballistic, "You think you're so f***ing clever". But I was like the naughty kid at school who teachers can't help liking. And Bruce liked me a lot.'

Guessing what Bruce will want from his backroom staff is relatively easy. He's a man known for his loyalty. He was the first to even take his press officer, Andy Maxey, across from Birmingham to Wigan when he moved there, and Maxey later joined him at Sunderland. Xia and chief executive Keith Wyness will allow him to recruit his assistant and coaching team, and it's no surprise he will look at friends and former colleagues. It's his way and Warren Joyce, Phil Neville, Stephen Clemence, Keith Bertschin, Gary Walsh and Steve Agnew were all mentioned while he was in talks with Villa.

It's four decades since a young boy left his native Newcastle to start a playing career at the other end of the country, Gillingham. He later became the first Manchester United captain to lift the Premier League trophy and has already managed four clubs in the Premier League – Birmingham, Wigan, Sunderland and Hull. Villa will hope they are the fifth.

[ciggiesnbeer]

He understands players and managers need a break from the pressures of the game at times. In the middle of all the speculation about him taking the Villa job last weekend, he took his grandchildren to the zoo.

Hard hitting journalism there.   

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Geography lesson 1 for under 8s.

Steve Bruce was completing an extended summer break at his Portuguese villa by enjoying a farewell boat party with friends on the Mediterranean.

[PeterWithesShin]

Ha!

Everyone knows his Villa is in Brum!

[tomd2103]

Win some games and he will be a massive improvement on the past few managers. The Bloos thing is bollocks, it was a job. He will soon realised we are a stratosphere above Small Heath and the biggest opportunity he will ever have of dining at the top table of English football.
There is nothing to dislike about him. Well spoken, successful playing career and the best manager we can get where we are. Good luck Steve and UTV!

Agree.  To be honest, I feel more optimistic about this appointment than any of the ones since O'Neill left (though I did want Lambert at the time). 

[Ads]

I think one myth we should quash is that players and managers are 'fans' of a particular club. I don't think they feel in any way the way we do. Steve Bruce will not lose one seconds sleep on the night we massacre the noses 6-0 at their place. Neither will our 8-0 victory at Villa Park put him off his celebratory steak supper.
He's ours now and he wants us to win whoever we play.

I reckon Eddie Jones was gutted when we whitewashed Australia.

Or maybe coaches and players are professionals and keen to do the job they're paid well for so they can excel?

(Agreeing with you, just using your post as a springboard for mine)

[PaulWinch again]

I couldn't care a less about Blues. It's them that seem completely obsessed by us, but really they sure barely factor in our thinking.

[KRS]

How many years ago was it that he managed the Blose? How many clubs has he managed since? I think it's time for a few ppl to get a grip.