Bruce Sacked at last (now official)

[OzVilla]

It's certainly cost us a chance of automatic promotion. Eye watering when you consider the combined spend on McCormack/Hogan.

[JUAN PABLO]

Bruce should be managing a Sunderland, Wigan , Hull or small Heath and not Aston Villa.

[pbavfckuwait]

He really has no goodwill towards him, when we are 5th in the table and 54.4% of posters on here want him sacked, he has brought all of this on himself, last season I could understand his safety first approach, we were in a downward spiral and god only knows where it could have ended, he has steadied the ship to a certain degree, but has had the advantage of a very good squad.Yes we are now thin on the ground for strikers and when you think the club in a season and a half have spent 20 plus million on a fat bloke now on the beach in Oz and as I have said before another one who looks like he has won the Sports Argus ( used to be Brums pink, for the younger ones) Be a Villa player for a day every time he plays, that again does not get him much sympathy.

If anyone can say he has technically improved any player that he has picked, I would love to know who and how, the only thing he has improved is certain aspects of our game management and going back to technically improving, his stubborn attitude of fitting square pegs in round holes, Hot lips being a fine example, has in fact made certain players look worse than when we bought them.

So style of play is dire but we sit 5th at the moment, getting rid now will have people raising what are nose neighbours did just over a year ago and throw up, look at them since, but the big difference there is Rowett had them performing way above expectations with what he had at his disposal, Bruce is doing the exact opposite. If we are in 8th or below at the end of this month I think he should go, if he does not get promotion through whatever means he is a goner in May anyhow, but dont worry if we do not go up, we already have the man on board who will replace him, step forward Mr. Terry, remember where you heard it first.

[Mister E]

Mr Kuwait, you make a good point about not improving players and use Hourihane as an example. It's a good one: Hotlips has staggered from game to game, getting progressively less influential. Yesterday, he looked half-arsed, prone to error and lacking dynamism and confidence.

[Mister E]

I have never been a fan .... we need a progressive, intelligent manager who develops a distinctive playing style which produces winning and entertaining football.
The most telling statement yesterday was the fact that our away support hardly raised a murmur in the second half: like at PNE last season, there was an inevitability about the loss, with neither players nor manager having a clue how to turn it round.
I just don't have the belief that this guy will do it for us.   

[sickbeggar]

The way the team started the game yesterday said it for me. Yeah he couldn't play Davis, not his fault, but don't just stick some random bloke in his place with the same tactics. He had the chance to totally change the system yesterday out of necessity, y'know what other managers do because they don'tt just stick to their favoured style of play come hell or high water. We have a striker he paid 10m for who doesn't suit his style of play. Well fucking change it then. 1 game isn't going to hurt, you can go back to your own style the next game. We might even have surprised Derby...

[Chris Smith]

The way the team started the game yesterday said it for me. Yeah he couldn't play Davis, not his fault, but don't just stick some random bloke in his place with the same tactics. He had the chance to totally change the system yesterday out of necessity, y'know what other managers do because they don'tt just stick to their favoured style of play come hell or high water. We have a striker he paid 10m for who doesn't suit his style of play. Well fucking change it then. 1 game isn't going to hurt, you can go back to your own style the next game. We might even have surprised Derby...

I agree to an extent but with the Davis illness happening at such a late stage there was no time to plan a major style shift. You could argue that we should have alternatives ready to go but the number of players either unavailable or not fully fit makes that a tall order.

[Clampy]

One thing he probably should have done is thrown Hogan and Gabby on at the same time.

[sickbeggar]

The way the team started the game yesterday said it for me. Yeah he couldn't play Davis, not his fault, but don't just stick some random bloke in his place with the same tactics. He had the chance to totally change the system yesterday out of necessity, y'know what other managers do because they don'tt just stick to their favoured style of play come hell or high water. We have a striker he paid 10m for who doesn't suit his style of play. Well fucking change it then. 1 game isn't going to hurt, you can go back to your own style the next game. We might even have surprised Derby...

I agree to an extent but with the Davis illness happening at such a late stage there was no time to plan a major style shift. You could argue that we should have alternatives ready to go but the number of players either unavailable or not fully fit makes that a tall order.

Mebbe, but you just know he's never looked at another formation in his life. The Hogan situation confirms that because anyone else would have tried playing to his strengths at some point even when he comes on as a sub. Granted he had short notice on Davis but this guy is never going change things around and leave his tactical comfort zone.


Way i see it, we've lost Davis before the kick-off. We haven't got anyone who can play his role, so in reality we have 9 possible midfielders and forwards  to choose from plus jedinak if we move him from defence. By all means stick someone different up front but at least don't expect him to do the Davis role. Yes it could have turned into a complete farce, but it's better than persisting with a system that can't work because you haven't got the players who can do it.

[Clampy]

Disgraceful how much he has spent on strikers without any idea how to use them. Not having a mature performing front man will cost us dearly.

He's only brought one. An expensive one though.

[LeeB]

Disgraceful how much he has spent on strikers without any idea how to use them. Not having a mature performing front man will cost us dearly.

He's only brought one. An expensive one though.

It’s a disgrace that he wasn’t here to buy the other shit ones. The shirker. Booooo.

[Ger Regan]

I removed my vote a few weeks back after I thought he had done enough to warrant a bit of breathing space, but I was still far from convinced that he was the right man for the job. I'm more certain in my opinion now, but sadly it's that he's not up to it.

[john e]

Wow 1 defeat and the haters get all happy don't they, for me I hope we beat Sheffield United and ruin all your Christmas's.

Yeah the formation was strange today, but was Whelan making a ridiculous error down to Bruce?? Had he not done that then it was a different game. 

Enjoy this 7 days hopefully we'll beat Sheffield United and you'll be crying into you Christmas dinners   

Haha! Are you eleven?

Is the correct response.

I've been rewatching the Inbetweeners of late, and it was eerily reminiscent of something from that show.

Anybody who uses the term "haters", even in these sad days of interwebs absurdity, will not be well received on any forum which has a few brain cells to rub together.

Taylor Swift uses it a lot
and she’s still nice

[LeeB]

Wow 1 defeat and the haters get all happy don't they, for me I hope we beat Sheffield United and ruin all your Christmas's.

Yeah the formation was strange today, but was Whelan making a ridiculous error down to Bruce?? Had he not done that then it was a different game. 

Enjoy this 7 days hopefully we'll beat Sheffield United and you'll be crying into you Christmas dinners   

Haha! Are you eleven?

Is the correct response.

I've been rewatching the Inbetweeners of late, and it was eerily reminiscent of something from that show.

Anybody who uses the term "haters", even in these sad days of interwebs absurdity, will not be well received on any forum which has a few brain cells to rub together.

Taylor Swift uses it a lot
and she’s still nice

No, she’s a big Luton fan but she can’t spell.

[achilles]

People say that Bruce had few options yesterday with Davis dropping out very late but what about playing Adomah up top with Grealish in the number 10 role and Bjarnason on the left wing and dropping Onomah?

Adomah has played there before, Onomah has never to my knowledge but I don't get paid millions to make these decisions!