Bruce Sacked at last (now official)

[The Edge]

I did think he'd be canned today. Instead it seems all the blather about being unlucky last night is enough to keep him around. So that's the weekend ruined as well.

If we lose Saturday then I guess he is definitely for the chop. A draw might keep this fandango being danced for another week or two.

A draw being the worst possible result right now. It will just prolong the agony.

[The Edge]

Ive just woke up , hoping he might be gone .

If you look at his record since he has been here we will finish about 10th , not good enough .

If we carry on with his record this season it leaves us with 46 pts . He got lucky last season with Johnny danger who he did not even sign to get him to 13th , without JK god knows where we would have finished.

I was never happy with the appointment , found it dull and inspiring but I could see why it was made , as he had the experience of getting teams out of this league , however dull the football would be , so I was behind him. i did not expect it to be dull ( well actually crap )  while not scoring  and having no idea how to actually to set his team up, no idea of tactics or formations  .

I liked him but watching his interviews after games I have gone right off him . Gabby back in the team was my first wtf , then Samba up front , then the team set up against Bristol City and now hes squeezing bloody Elmo anywhere in the team .

Bruce Out !!!!

When you list his ridiculous decisions like that it makes me think he knows he can't handle the job. It's almost like he's trying to get the sack and he fancies an exotic winter break at our expense.

[PeterWithesShin]

He's been here 11 months, I still have no idea of what he thinks our best 11 is, what his preferred formation is or what our style of play is meant to be. We're a disjointed mess of individuals and nowhere near being a cohesive unit.

[JUAN PABLO]

he sticks a young lad up front on his own while the rest of the team are 40 yards away . insane

[paul_e]

he sticks a young lad up front on his own while the rest of the team are 40 yards away . insane

This is the biggest problem for me and it's pretty easy to see so I can't work out how he's not addressing it.

If you go to something like this - https://www.whoscored.com/Matches/1192362/Live/England-Championship-2017-2018-Aston-Villa-Middlesbrough - and look at the heatmaps you can see where the play was centred.  If you untick everyoe and then select 1 player at a time it becomes really clear that the only midfielder who got near to Davis was Hourihane, even though we were playing against 10 men.  Adomah made a big difference when he came on because he got much higher up the pitch.

[tomd2103]

he sticks a young lad up front on his own while the rest of the team are 40 yards away . insane

This is the biggest problem for me and it's pretty easy to see so I can't work out how he's not addressing it.

If you go to something like this - https://www.whoscored.com/Matches/1192362/Live/England-Championship-2017-2018-Aston-Villa-Middlesbrough - and look at the heatmaps you can see where the play was centred.  If you untick everyoe and then select 1 player at a time it becomes really clear that the only midfielder who got near to Davis was Hourihane, even though we were playing against 10 men.  Adomah made a big difference when he came on because he got much higher up the pitch.

Agree that is a problem.  In the past two games, Hourihane and Onomah / Lansbury have been too deep and it has left Davis isolated, whereas against Norwich they both pushed up.   

[paul_e]

With the squad we have We should either play a 4141 and let all 4 of the more attacking midfielders join in and keep the fullbacks and Jedinak a little deeper or 4231 so we have the extra defensive midfielder and let the fullbacks get up the pitch as well.  Both are subtle variations on 451 but would get players nearer to the front man and we really need that, especially when Kodjia isn't in that role.

[tomd2103]

With the squad we have We should either play a 4141 and let all 4 of the more attacking midfielders join in and keep the fullbacks and Jedinak a little deeper or 4231 so we have the extra defensive midfielder and let the fullbacks get up the pitch as well.  Both are subtle variations on 451 but would get players nearer to the front man and we really need that, especially when Kodjia isn't in that role.

I agree Paul and still think it is the best fit for the players we have. When all fit, I would go with something like:

                                      Johnstone

De Laet              Chester                  Terry          Taylor

                                       Whelan

Snodgrass          Onomah                 Hourihane     Kodjia

                                         Davis

Subs - Steer, Bree, Samba, Jedinak, Lansbury, Adomah, Hogan

Whelan gets the nod for me as he is a bit better on the ball than Jedinak.  If the defensive midfielder is not required (like they haven't been in the last two games), then dispense with them and play a more attacking midfield option, or partner Kodjia with Davis up front and bring Adomah in. 









                           

[sirlordbaltimore]

He's been here 11 months, I still have no idea of what he thinks our best 11 is, what his preferred formation is or what our style of play is meant to be. We're a disjointed mess of individuals and nowhere near being a cohesive unit.

Ask fifty random Villa supporters what our best team is and i'll bet they wont agree on it either. And that's before we get into formations and what not.

On the way to the game in the car we always pick the side and formation and we never agree on either. Then you come home and put WM on and hear other Villa fans coming out with shit like 'we should never have dropped Hutton' or 'Elmo is no better than Bacuna' etc etc. If we can't agree on what the best team is it's not hard to understand why Bruce can't either. If the players turned up every week and gave their best it might help.

We're a mess.

[QuintonVilla]

I did think he'd be canned today. Instead it seems all the blather about being unlucky last night is enough to keep him around. So that's the weekend ruined as well.

If we lose Saturday then I guess he is definitely for the chop. A draw might keep this fandango being danced for another week or two.

A draw being the worst possible result right now. It will just prolong the agony.

I agree. It might sound mad but I'd rather lose this game than draw it. Losing it may see him gone whereas a draw will see him stay and as you say prolong the agony. Obviously if we could win and then go on a run then that would be just splendid.

[Clark W Griswold]

I did think he'd be canned today. Instead it seems all the blather about being unlucky last night is enough to keep him around. So that's the weekend ruined as well.

If we lose Saturday then I guess he is definitely for the chop. A draw might keep this fandango being danced for another week or two.

A draw being the worst possible result right now. It will just prolong the agony.

I agree. It might sound mad but I'd rather lose this game than draw it. Losing it may see him gone whereas a draw will see him stay and as you say prolong the agony. Obviously if we could win and then go on a run then that would be just splendid.

Yep, we either need to lose convincingly to put the decision beyond doubt or win convincing to look like this time we might actually have turned a corner.

[PeterWithesShin]

He's been here 11 months, I still have no idea of what he thinks our best 11 is, what his preferred formation is or what our style of play is meant to be. We're a disjointed mess of individuals and nowhere near being a cohesive unit.

Ask fifty random Villa supporters what our best team is and i'll bet they wont agree on it either. And that's before we get into formations and what not.

On the way to the game in the car we always pick the side and formation and we never agree on either. Then you come home and put WM on and hear other Villa fans coming out with shit like 'we should never have dropped Hutton' or 'Elmo is no better than Bacuna' etc etc. If we can't agree on what the best team is it's not hard to understand why Bruce can't either. If the players turned up every week and gave their best it might help.

We're a mess.

Difference is we're not paid a small fortune to know these things. We're not the ones setting up the side each game, responsible for training, style of play and tactics. We also didn't spend 2 transfer windows signing most of them and aren't responsible for getting the best out of them.

[tomd2103]

He's been here 11 months, I still have no idea of what he thinks our best 11 is, what his preferred formation is or what our style of play is meant to be. We're a disjointed mess of individuals and nowhere near being a cohesive unit.

Ask fifty random Villa supporters what our best team is and i'll bet they wont agree on it either. And that's before we get into formations and what not.

On the way to the game in the car we always pick the side and formation and we never agree on either. Then you come home and put WM on and hear other Villa fans coming out with shit like 'we should never have dropped Hutton' or 'Elmo is no better than Bacuna' etc etc. If we can't agree on what the best team is it's not hard to understand why Bruce can't either. If the players turned up every week and gave their best it might help.

We're a mess.

First Villa fan on after the game Tuesday night said the first thing he would do is bring Hutton back in.  Not sure what difference that would make, but he seemed pretty convinced. 

[Comrade Blitz]

When Garde was appointed it genuinely seemed as if the club had managed to dodge the manager merry go round of Pulis, Pardew, Allardyce, Bruce, Hodgson, Hughes etc....

However it is almost as if football has become so incestuous that it forces you to have to choose from the same sorry lot over and over again.

[robbo1874]

He'll be gone by October, if we're not top 6 by then. I don't think we will be and I think he will be gone. Shame. Nice bloke. Gotta deliver as manager of AVFC.