Steve Bruce - officially confirmed (as Sheffield Wednesday boss)

[Chris Jameson]

Lansbury started well then got a smack and was not in it. I actually thought he looked to get booked so misses going back to forest

He avoided the match against Newcastle due to injury/wanting away/cowardice, he's no doubt saving the booking to avoid our match up there where he's sure of a warm reception.

[BOB MANSFIELD]

There doesn't seem to be a single individual on the park who is receiving SB's orders/instructions  - should surely be the Captain Chester last night and recently - and seemed to be no-one shouting.
No-one actually  giving a lead, showing an example and barking out at fellow players to keep shape or close players or space. And, of course, Chester had his worst game in Claret & Blue to boot.

Five Captains and no leaders. Not even any messengers now.

[Dribbler]

£77 million and we are mid table.  Beggars belief.

Not really, i think there's a common oversight that more often than not a well drilled side of lesser players who have played together in a a familiar system, and know their roles in that system, will beat a side of better (more expensive) players that have hardly played together before etc.

You might just be able to put 11 players on a pitch and call it a team, but it takes time to actually build a proper well functioning team, time to train, train some more, and then time to actually try and implement that against another team that is trying to do the same back to you: and there's some good solid teams in the championship. For that you need consistency.

We've already had 2 managers this season, with a big turn around of staff in the summer with RDM and his player choices, and again this January, but now with Bruce's choices. That's a hell of a lot of inconsistency in a short period of time, and so we are essentially where we are because of that. If we'd had a good spine of a team when we were relegated then we might have been able to do a Newcastle, but we didn't, we've had a broken or virtually non existent spine for a long time, and the 'midfield problem' was never really addressed by RDM, and so we've suffered even though we've brought some good players in. Last night against Brentford just adumbrated that, especially with a whole new midfield just thrown into the mix.

I think this is pretty much it now though, we've cleared a lot of the deadwood, with more lined up to depart in the summer, and brought in a lot of good players, and now Bruce needs to get them to gel and show hat he and they can do. I think the structure of the club is sound now, that's been shown over the summer and January with some financial support, some good dealings and good communication. I think Bruce has the remit to try and get us up this year, but will be given until next year, but only if we start to significantly improve in the 2nd half of this season. We really need to start putting a good run together now and probably at least get to the play offs.

[BOB MANSFIELD]

That level of team-development, removing the so-called " mental fragility " and all playing the same tune to get as far as the experience of the play-offs, would be a great leap forward for Villa-kind. I'm all for it, myself.

[The Edge]

Lansbury started well then got a smack and was not in it. I actually thought he looked to get booked so misses going back to forest

He avoided the match against Newcastle due to injury/wanting away/cowardice, he's no doubt saving the booking to avoid our match up there where he's sure of a warm reception.

Is he gonna take the flack now Westwoods gone? Let's give him a chance and get behind him.

[olaftab]

Bruce is out of order on blaming this on mental fragility/losing mentality. He has been in-charge for 16 games enough time to remove that and there were not many on the pitch anyway last night who are afflicted from previous seasons.

[Risso]

Bruce is out of order on blaming this on mental fragility/losing mentality. He has been in-charge for 16 games enough time to remove that and there were not many on the pitch anyway last night who are afflicted from previous seasons.

Exactly.  Of the starting line up, only Hutton has played a significant amount of games over the last couple of seasons, and he's not mentally weak, just crap.

[Allan C]

£77 million and we are mid table.  Beggars belief.
[/quote
No it shows how horrendously bad we were before the £77 million. By far the worst team in the Premier League. Rebuilding on that level isn't instant no matter how much you spend.

[ozzjim]

I want Bruce to succeed and i'm fed up of constantly changing the manager. Plus new manager will want his own players and not want some already here and again we're trying to replace half a side and there is zero continuity.

However Bruce as to show he's the man to trust in the summer and next season. IMO we're not going up down this season so he has  another 18 games to get us playing football and looking like a unit from 1-11 rather than 3 separate units and each one filled with individuals. If we are still scrapping wins and playing shit by May then he probably has to go. We have a squad of players now that should be winning a lot more than they lose. He also needs to show he can change things during a game. The difference between Preston at VP when 2 down at HT and us last night when 2 down at HT was shocking. Preston changed things and tried to get something out the game, we actually seemed more interested in keeping the score down. No changes until the 76th minute when it's 0-3 and 10 minutes after their third was extremely piss poor management.

I agree to an extent. But 4-5 managers now seem to be out thought during games when we lead, and it has to run deeper than that. Bruce has been there and done it, his assistant was at the side currently top of the table for the last 2 years, it is not a completely unknown quantity. I just want him to get a team shape and style together and foster a bit of team spirit for the rest of the season. Then give him the summer to finish off the squad, 4-5 will arrive and 3-4 will leave, and then be in a position to fight for the automatic positions next season. Removing a manager like Bruce would be a big mistake and cause a whole new reshuffle. Someone has to get a good amount of time to sort it out, might as well be the one with a track record of achieving promotion.

[PeterWithesShin]

I think 30+ league games is a decent amount of time to show you're taking a side in the right direction. By then we should be seeing us actually playing football and capable of passing to a team mate on a regular basis. As I said, I want Bruce to succeed and for us to stop changing manager so often but if by May we've still been putting in regular performances like the last month or so then I think questions will need to be asked of the manager and coaches.

[Sexual Ealing]

The worry is (and I'm not saying that I definitely think it's the case) that all the major signings, players, managers and coaches alike - coming as they do from the second tier (or below), nationally or internationally - see us as their pension plan: the one thing that guarantees their future. If any or some of them are thinking like that then we'll get nowhere. Their ambition is behind them.

[brian green]

I am sorry to go on about it but the concept of the team needing to "gel" is stretching my comprehension.  All the time, all over the threads and posts the need for the team to gel is seen as central to our future prospects of improvement.

If there is such a group accomplishment as gelling it must be definable.  If it is definable it must be coachable.  That being the case we need not to stand in hope of this epiphany but need to be making it happen on the training ground.

If the evidence of "no gel" is Hutton getting stranded out of position, or the goalkeeper (Johnstone or Gollini or Bunn) punching or slapping the ball into danger areas or Adomah not winning foot races or Jedinak making clumsy easily intercepted passes - the coaches should work on those faults to eliminate them.  To bundle it all together as "not gelling" is a lazy cop out.

If you are a parent and your child is not making progress at school, you don't ignore the problem and leave the passage of time to solve it.  You talk to the teachers and get to the roots of the problem.

As an example, we seemed at Brentford to have gone back to floaty corners.  Proper corner delivery can be taught.  Our future progress must have its foundations laid by hard work by the players and coaches at Bodymoor Heath, not by hoping for Gel Day.

[Rigadon]

The worry is (and I'm not saying that I definitely think it's the case) that all the major signings, players, managers and coaches alike - coming as they do from the second tier (or below), nationally or internationally - see us as their pension plan: the one thing that guarantees their future. If any or some of them are thinking like that then we'll get nowhere. Their ambition is behind them.

I've read this a few times and it is a compelling argument.  One thing though, how do you account for players who go to top clubs elsewhere and perform like, er, top players?  I think we have signed better players in midfield than we had before.  Bruce will find a way to make them play as a team and we will be there or there about by may and promoted next season.

[Clampy]

Of course it needs to gel Brian. You don't buy as many players as Bruce as and expect them to start understanding each other and taking teams apart straight away. That works needs to be done on the training ground like you said. That's where it will gel. It's a perfectly adequate word to use.

[Nunkin1965]

Lansbury started well then got a smack and was not in it. I actually thought he looked to get booked so misses going back to forest

He avoided the match against Newcastle due to injury/wanting away/cowardice, he's no doubt saving the booking to avoid our match up there where he's sure of a warm reception.

Is he gonna take the flack now Westwoods gone? Let's give him a chance and get behind him.

Agreed. Bloody hell. He's played 1 1/2 games.

Why does everyone think professional football is like FIFA 17? Just parachute someone in and they're up to speed. I can tell you Lansbury won't be the type to bottle anything. He'll struggle with discipline and get frustrated.