Bruce Sacked at last (now official)

[OzVilla]

There shouldn't  have been anything to be 'baffled' about.  I've never played professional football but even I could see sitting on my couch 12,000 miles away at 2am after 10 minutes that we were sitting too deep, lacked midfield drive and mobility and needed to play higher up the field and stretch them more.  I like Bruce as a bloke but this kind of shit really boils my piss.

[TheMalandro]

It was a do anything to win game. Fulham understood that.
Nobody will remember Jack getting whacked throughout the game.

Fulham were probably the best footballing team in the division, we should've been doing the same to Cairney and Sessegnon, obviously not the stamp.

Bruce out.

[brian green]

Agree with both previous posters.  Once it became clear that Dowd was going to turn a blind eye to Fulham's extreme physicality there was only one route that game was going down.  Once again we were out thought from the dugout.

There is a common denominator running through our four consecutive Wembley final tie defeats.  Our failure to overcome shit refereeing. It was one of the very rare times when the age old instruction to "get stuck in" would have been entirely effective.  Nine Villa players against their ten for the last half hour could not have produced less than the eleven did.

[andyh]

Well, yes. But there shouldn't be any mystical bafflement. He should have sorted them out and told them to get up the fucking park and stick one in.

And that’s one of the worst thing about this bollox he spouts......he does it far too often.
Christ, he used it in the previous game we he complained we sat too deep against Boro in the semi.

It seems he either has a selective memory or he takes the fans for fools who believe any old shite he bilges out.

[Risso]

That’s the Championship.

(For another year)

[The Edge]

When we had an appalling pre-season and a piss poor start to the season I was in the camp of getting rid of him and his "dinosaur" brand of hoofball. During the season he grew on me to the point where I was happy to sing "Steve Bruce claret and blue army." We could of won the final but we didn't. Now in the cold light of day I think he has to go. We finished well below such illustrious clubs as Wolves, Cardiff and Fulham. That cannot be acceptable for Aston Villa. We need someone with fresh ideas of how to win the league in style and rejuvenate the club. They are out there I'm  sure. Over to the board. Thanks for all your efforts Steve and I wish you well in the future but that's it now for me. There's no room for sentiment in top class football.

[old man villa fan]

Getting to the play-off final and only losing 1-0 makes the season look closer than it was. We finished way off our objective. Some will say "If we had won this game or that game" but there were just as many that we won that could have gone the other way.

Where we finished was a true reflection of the season, in my opinion and this was just not good enough. Bruce had the backing for two shots at it and failed. He has to go.

[Monty]

Both teams used the same players, formations, styles as they had all season. To admit to being 'baffled' by any eventuality under those circumstances is to admit to being out of your depth.

[brian green]

I have a growing feeling that he is going to be allowed to stay.  The owner's tweet indicates that sentiment not pragmatism will rule.  Wyness will throw a sop to the club's best asset, it's fan base by giving Bruce a jolly good talking to about getting more youth, pace, positivity and energy into the side.  Bruce will be outwardly contrite and will give Green and O'Hare a couple of August games.  Because he knows no other way he will regress back into hard-to-beat mode and the upcoming season will be a replay of the last two.  The dinosaurs have got the owner in their pockets.

[Walmley_Villa]

I have a growing feeling that he is going to be allowed to stay.  The owner's tweet indicates that sentiment not pragmatism will rule.  Wyness will throw a sop to the club's best asset, it's fan base by giving Bruce a jolly good talking to about getting more youth, pace, positivity and energy into the side.  Bruce will be outwardly contrite and will give Green and O'Hare a couple of August games.  Because he knows no other way he will regress back into hard-to-beat mode and the upcoming season will be a replay of the last two.  The dinosaurs have got the owner in their pockets.

Not O'hare - possibly out for 10 weeks with knee ligament damage..

[VinnieChase84]

The idea of the football we would see if Bruce can't have his old trusted heads gives me cold sweats.
A whole new strategy/approach is needed now and that starts from the dugout imo. Biggest issue is that if he does stay then we all know that first sign of a bad patch/not challenging for automatics will probably result in his departure then. Yet again another season wasted then.

[DB]

I am coming to the conclusion that it may be best to keep him. Alternative is get a new man / back room staff, who it is, we can’t really say as there is no-one jumping out as an obvious choice. Then another start to the season of bedding new approach and maybe new players, which could see us fall behind.
In the Ch-ship it’s normally over a season before a manager kicks on.
Also, I don’t think next season will be as tough looking at the teams around us and teams coming down, it looks like Derby are going to appoint Frank Lampard FFS. Only Pulis I can see as doing something.

[VillaAlways]

The only way Bruce is going is if he chooses too.

[VinnieChase84]

I am coming to the conclusion that it may be best to keep him. Alternative is get a new man / back room staff, who it is, we can’t really say as there is no-one jumping out as an obvious choice. Then another start to the season of bedding new approach and maybe new players, which could see us fall behind.
In the Ch-ship it’s normally over a season before a manager kicks on.
Also, I don’t think next season will be as tough looking at the teams around us and teams coming down, it looks like Derby are going to appoint Frank Lampard FFS. Only Pulis I can see as doing something.

Nuno didn't exactly struggle coming into the Dogheads and immediately applying a new style

[VillaAlways]

I am coming to the conclusion that it may be best to keep him. Alternative is get a new man / back room staff, who it is, we can’t really say as there is no-one jumping out as an obvious choice. Then another start to the season of bedding new approach and maybe new players, which could see us fall behind.
In the Ch-ship it’s normally over a season before a manager kicks on.
Also, I don’t think next season will be as tough looking at the teams around us and teams coming down, it looks like Derby are going to appoint Frank Lampard FFS. Only Pulis I can see as doing something.

Nuno didn't exactly struggle coming into the Dogheads and immediately applying a new style

That was hardly a miracle. He had loan players that had played in the Champions league the season before.