Bruce Sacked at last (now official)

[ChicagoLion]

If we don't go up this year then Chester and Kodjia will 100% be sold.

We will be building teams to stay at this level as the money gap between newly relegated teams will be to massive to bridge.

Don't worry. Wyness is a football man and knows what he's doing.

Thanks, I feel much better.

[adrenachrome]

My biggest concern is that the inevitable Bruce Out song will by to the tune of Achey Breaky Heart.

[mallo]

Apologies if already posted this is a good article from his time as Sunderland ..same issues remain
-Inability to change tactics during a game
- Too many signings
-Blaming fans for high expectations


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

I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for a while, thinking 'a structure' was in place to stop him clowning around with tactics and player signings, but it appears not. I think he's got to go and we need someone who will get the most out of the halfway decent players we have. I'm not a fan but Allardyce is looking more realistic than Jocanovic as he will at least shore up the defence and react to other teams changes. No wonder we lose or draw from so many winning positions - there are clearly zero tactics. Very frustrating.

[KevinGage]

Allardyce will be all about respect the point away from home, n'all.  Was the biggest bugbear with Wham and Palarse fans (well that, and the shite football).

If we were still in the top flight and needed to scratch out 10 wins from 30-odd games in dour defensive survival mode - no better man.

But he wouldn't represent the shift in thinking we need to actually boss games and win the vast majority of them in this league.

True, he did get promotion back in 2012. But the game has moved on since then, even in the Championship.

[Drummond]

Since that article he's been promoted twice. Surely luck doesn't do it. And let's face it, Hull were hardly huge spenders.

[cheltenhamlion]

We gambled on Bruce as a "promotion expert". A blow who could turn around our shite start last season and defensively drill and bore our way into the play offs. The gamble didn't pay off and we didn't get close to promotion.

I wrote in H+V last season that we needed to implement root and branch change and get in a manager with modern methods who likes to play on the front foot.

RDM was brought in as a name and because he got Olbiyun promoted. Back then though you could just outscore the opposition in this league with a couple of decent strikers. This I think explains some of the "imaginative" attacking formations we saw last when he was in charge.

Bruce didn't do what it said on the tin. We didn't become achingly difficult to break down. We didn't score hatfuls from set pieces. We didn't have a never say die, work your bollocks off attitude that was taken as a given with his teams. The stats quoted on here show quite alarmingly that he hasn't got close to introducing that.

I can take shit football for the greater good of winning games and being promoted. We have neither and aren't likely to with him at the helm.

And whilst I am at it, this "build 3 teams" notion Wyness has is a bonkers crock of shit. You start with the philosophy and then add quality to improve on the players. You don't keep switching philosophy depending on where the team finds itself. You don't buy a small plot of land and build a smashing bungalow on it knowing that you want to knock it down in a years time to build the world's most slender skyscraper.

Piss poor planning and the architects of our own downfall yet again. I can live with losing. But losing and boring the shit out of me in the process is too much.

Bin him. I am fed up to the back teeth of watching shit clubs motor beyond us simply because they have a forward thinking board who recognise that playing attacking, front foot football is the only way to progress.

I disagree with Woodhall for a change. Bruce is way out of step with what is required to make a go of it in this league and the one above it.

The thing that all the shitty little clubs that have leap frogged us have is a consistent plan on how they approach playing, managerial and player recruitment. Fuck me, we got outplayed on Saturday by a Colin Wanker team. I could deal with that if they kicked us out of the game but they didn't.

They were quicker, more organised, fitter and passed the ball far better than us. Fucking Cardiff. Managed by Colin Fucking Wanker.

The big issue now is time. We gambled on that quick fix and it didn't work. If we don't go up this season (and I don't believe we will with Bruce in charge) then we are fucked financially.

So whilst I still advocate that change in philosophy we might have already blown our chances when it comes to the changes required. We have one final twist to get to 21 but we are taking a card when we already have 16. But if we do twist it has to be in the next couple of weeks. And if that card is turned over and it is Allardyce or Moyes then we will be stuck in this shit division for some time to come.

[Malandro]

What that man said. Every inch covered. On your bike Bruce.

[Nelly]

Fully agree with every word of that, CheltenhamLion. We should have taken relegation as an opportunity to fully revitalise Villa - root and branch - with a modern football approach. We've gambled on two 'sure things' and both have failed us, spending huge amounts in the process.

[ciggiesnbeer]

Totally agree with that. Well said that man. Send it to the board. Lets get this change done.

[jwarry]

Excellent well considered post Cheltenham, but I'm now very depressed especially after that Guardian article as I really can't see any change happening until it's too late

[Chinchilla Bathhouse]

Yup. Excellent Chelts. Can't argue with a single word of that.

[eamonn]

Come on Chelts, you know people at the club, say that to them. In particular your spot-on comment about Wyness which was such a stupid sound-bite friendly thing to say that he presumably feels most fans would lap-up.

[cheltenhamlion]

Excellent well considered post Cheltenham, but I'm now very depressed especially after that Guardian article as I really can't see any change happening until it's too late

Wyness is keeping Bruce in a job at the moment
 How long he can protect him will be interesting to see.

[TonyD]

We gambled on Bruce as a "promotion expert". A blow who could turn around our shite start last season and defensively drill and bore our way into the play offs. The gamble didn't pay off and we didn't get close to promotion.

I wrote in H+V last season that we needed to implement root and branch change and get in a manager with modern methods who likes to play on the front foot.

RDM was brought in as a name and because he got Olbiyun promoted. Back then though you could just outscore the opposition in this league with a couple of decent strikers. This I think explains some of the "imaginative" attacking formations we saw last when he was in charge.

Bruce didn't do what it said on the tin. We didn't become achingly difficult to break down. We didn't score hatfuls from set pieces. We didn't have a never say die, work your bollocks off attitude that was taken as a given with his teams. The stats quoted on here show quite alarmingly that he hasn't got close to introducing that.

I can take shit football for the greater good of winning games and being promoted. We have neither and aren't likely to with him at the helm.

And whilst I am at it, this "build 3 teams" notion Wyness has is a bonkers crock of shit. You start with the philosophy and then add quality to improve on the players. You don't keep switching philosophy depending on where the team finds itself. You don't buy a small plot of land and build a smashing bungalow on it knowing that you want to knock it down in a years time to build the world's most slender skyscraper.

Piss poor planning and the architects of our own downfall yet again. I can live with losing. But losing and boring the shit out of me in the process is too much.

Bin him. I am fed up to the back teeth of watching shit clubs motor beyond us simply because they have a forward thinking board who recognise that playing attacking, front foot football is the only way to progress.

I disagree with Woodhall for a change. Bruce is way out of step with what is required to make a go of it in this league and the one above it.

The thing that all the shitty little clubs that have leap frogged us have is a consistent plan on how they approach playing, managerial and player recruitment. Fuck me, we got outplayed on Saturday by a Colin Wanker team. I could deal with that if they kicked us out of the game but they didn't.

They were quicker, more organised, fitter and passed the ball far better than us. Fucking Cardiff. Managed by Colin Fucking Wanker.

The big issue now is time. We gambled on that quick fix and it didn't work. If we don't go up this season (and I don't believe we will with Bruce in charge) then we are fucked financially.

So whilst I still advocate that change in philosophy we might have already blown our chances when it comes to the changes required. We have one final twist to get to 21 but we are taking a card when we already have 16. But if we do twist it has to be in the next couple of weeks. And if that card is turned over and it is Allardyce or Moyes then we will be stuck in this shit division for some time to come.

High five!

[cheltenhamlion]

Come on Chelts, you know people at the club, say that to them. In particular your spot-on comment about Wyness which was such a stupid sound-bite friendly thing to say that he presumably feels most fans would lap-up.

I am already persona non grata with Wyness.