Bruce Sacked at last (now official)

[paul_e]

Who said anything about divine right?  It's our target though and right now we're not meeting it because of that bad spell so, after 19 games, he's nearly doing what he was brought in to do and hopefully we can keep it going in december and we'll be genuinely on target going into the new year.

Chris I agree that since then we've been top 2 standard but that just highlights how damaging a bad spell can be and why those of us who were really angry about the start were justified in being so annoyed, we're going into December having still not fully recovered from a bad August.  We just can't afford for something like that to happen again and if it does the last 3 months will be forgotten by a lot of us not because we don't like Bruce or because we want him to fail, or any other silly reason that's been posted, it will be because we want to be promoted and we'll see him making a mess of it.

[Clampy]

I think we need to forget about the start of the season. It wasn't an ideal start but we've recovered pretty well from it. We're nicely placed. It could and should be better but it's not. I don't see the point in griping about it, it's gone.

[paul_e]

I think we need to forget about the start of the season. It wasn't an ideal start but we've recovered pretty well from it. We're nicely placed. It could and should be better but it's not. I don't see the point in griping about it, it's gone.

We can forget about it once we're back where we want to be, before that it's the difference between us and cardiff.

[Clampy]

I think we need to forget about the start of the season. It wasn't an ideal start but we've recovered pretty well from it. We're nicely placed. It could and should be better but it's not. I don't see the point in griping about it, it's gone.

We can forget about it once we're back where we want to be, before that it's the difference between us and cardiff.

I already have forgotten about it. I'm happy to look forward, not back but each to their own.

[paul_e]

I think we need to forget about the start of the season. It wasn't an ideal start but we've recovered pretty well from it. We're nicely placed. It could and should be better but it's not. I don't see the point in griping about it, it's gone.

We can forget about it once we're back where we want to be, before that it's the difference between us and cardiff.

I already have forgotten about it. I'm happy to look forward, not back but each to their own.

I bet you'll be happy doing that if we finish in 3rd 3-4 points short of the top2.

[Ad@m]

I don't see the point in griping about it, it's gone.

Fuck me Clampy, you're the one doing most of the griping on this thread. If it winds you up so much that other people think Bruce is underachieving, the Bruce Out thread probably isn't the place for you.

[Clampy]

Who knows what's going to happen? We might fall away badly, we might finish second. Like I'm said, I'm happy enough with where we are and for me, the far from ideal start has gone. It's in the past.

[Clampy]

I don't see the point in griping about it, it's gone.

Fuck me Clampy, you're the one doing most of the griping on this thread. If it winds you up so much that other people think Bruce is underachieving, the Bruce Out thread probably isn't the place for you.

I'm not griping, I'm just putting the opposite view that I don't think he is underachieving. You just think I'm griping because I'm disagreeing with you. It's a forum, people disagree. If you don't get that then maybe a forum isn't the best place for you.

[Damo70]

It has taken a while but we are going in the right direction. Hopefully the momentum is with us. I do personally think that some fans need to man up and stop throwing their toys out of the pram every time we drop points. We are Villa, we shouldn't be in this division but we are so grow a pair and deal with it.

[stuart445]

He's getting results but we have to find something to have a go at Bruce at it seems.

You've hit the  nail on the head.

Doesn't matter how well Bruce does the haters will spend hours looking for something to use against Bruce.

You do remember we're still lower down the league table than the likes of Cardiff and Sheffield United?

When we're top I'll cut him some slack. While we're winning I'll cut him some slack. If neither of those apply he deserves criticism for underperforming.

Bet he can't wait to be cut some slack by you. Bet he lies awake at night thinking about the day he'll be cut some slack by you.

What on earth has that got to do with anything?

I'm merely pointing out that saying that some people will moan about Bruce regardless is a bit of a silly thing to say when we're not currently the best team in the league.

It's not a silly thing to say when the evidence is in this thread clear for everyone to see

[tomd2103]

I think we need to forget about the start of the season. It wasn't an ideal start but we've recovered pretty well from it. We're nicely placed. It could and should be better but it's not. I don't see the point in griping about it, it's gone.

Yep, you look at our results this season and it's only really Cardiff, Reading and Wolves away that stand out as real stinkers.  Those weren't easy away games and to be honest the rest of the results have been much of a muchness with a few decent wins here and there.  I think one of the main differences is that we are now winning games we would would have drawn earlier on.

[Sexual Ealing]

He's getting results but we have to find something to have a go at Bruce at it seems.

[Clampy]

He's getting results but we have to find something to have a go at Bruce at it seems.

Bearing in mind what that post was in reply to, It was a valid point.

[paul_e]

He's getting results but we have to find something to have a go at Bruce at it seems.

Bearing in mind what that post was in reply to, It was a valid point.

Was it?  People think that outing a player the club recently paid £12m for as unprofessional wasn't a great way to retain value and likened it the bomb squad.  I don't think that's being unfair or going out of their way to have a go at him.

Asking whether he had any other good choices or whether retaining his value was the most important thing at the time are fair questions and I personally think that he probably did it to try to give Ross a kick up the arse and get him putting some more effort in.  I don't agree with what he did but I think it was worth the gamble.  The real issue I have with it is that, at the time, we had Kodjia away, Gestede and Ayew sold and Gabby was on the verge of breaking.  His handling of RM and the fallout from it led, almost directly, to the purchase of Hogan (which, for me, is the definition of a panic buy) which looks like another £12m wasted.  I'm ok with the gamble but it's one that proven to be very costly to the club and I suspect that in hindsight Bruce probably thinks he fucked up there as well.

[brian green]

Agree Paul and would add that the McCormack/Hogan debacle underscores the dangers of making large amounts of money too freely available by the owners.  Hence my post that Ellis in the same situation would have demanded a much greater degree of pragmatism.  Not for issues of principle or propriety but because he was a tight arse.