Bruce Sacked at last (now official)

[Clampy]

86% out should mean out.   Don’t wait for a replacement, sack him now.  I’m sure Terry or indeed Tea Lady could improve our tactics in the interim. 

Sacking someone and not lining up a replacement is not a very wise move.

[XXVilla]

He is now. He was a decent player before spending 3 years being Pulised.

I had the misfortune of being at the Hawthorns on Boxing Day - there is nothing remotely resembling a decent player there. Every Olbiyun fan around was absolutely slating him.

He scored goals in the champions league for Zenit and has scored in the Copa America for Venezuela. First season at WBA he scored 9 league goals in 27 games.

When you think we came up with Gestede to replace Benteke it really boggles the mind. Should've just paid Adebayor whatever he'd wanted as I imagine Sherwood would've got a tune out of him for a few months and then signed better in that January.

That move didn't fall down on wages, apparently.  It was all agreed, think Adebayor had even gone as far as posing in the kit after the medical. But he then consulted his witch doctor (not making this up) and beat a hasty retreat.

I'm sure he thinks he had a lucky escape.  But looking at his subsequent form for Crystal Palarse, so did we.

I don't think it was someone as bizarre as a Witch Doctor, I think it was his Pastor who he spoke to for guidance. I'm not sure he's played since so I think he did us a favour.

His pastor was the Palace chaplain.

[Chris Smith]

Respect your right to a view footy but I think the last thing we want is a volatile bad tempered manager.  We have had a few of those and look where it has got us.  Modern football requires managers and coaches with high levels of intelligence and player communication skills.  The run-through-brick-walls-for-the-shirt approach to management is as dead as a dodo.  We need a manager who picks the opposition apart with ruthless surgical efficiency like we have had done to us so many, many times since the arrival of Alex McLeish.

Neil Warnock has Cardiff well placed, Pullis and Allardyce are both back in work. Talk of the demise of that style of manager might be a little premature.

and Steve Bruce still plodding on so you have a point

Quite. The point being the suggestion that there is only one way to skin a cat does not hold up to analysis.

[cdward]

I voted to keep Bruce 'til the end of the season.
This current trend for sacking managers if a few results go awry is creating a feeding frenzy amongst fans.
I am not a big fan of Steve Bruce football, but he represents our best chance of promotion this season.
Get the attacking balance right, stop being so defensive, and trust players in midfield to go forward.
With the return of Terry, this can be turned around.
A new manager, the disruption to the players that Bruce has worked with, the back room staff etc' , to change now would not work.
A play off place is within easy reach right now, top 2 is a realistic target to aim for.
I want stability at the club, not more manager changes, we have seen how that works for us.
Steve Bruce has been the only manager in years who has seen us move up and not down a league table.

[Steve67]

Allardyce, Pulis, Bruce and the likes have a shelf life, a glass ceiling. Yes, they offer something bespoke, a steadying hand in a time of crisis, but once that's achieved, they offer nothing else. Short term shite.

[Chris Smith]

Allardyce, Pulis, Bruce and the likes have a shelf life, a glass ceiling. Yes, they offer something bespoke, a steadying hand in a time of crisis, but once that's achieved, they offer nothing else. Short term shite.

With one or two exceptions all managerial appointments are short term, the average tenure is under 2 years. Where we and many other clubs have come unstuck is having to implement wholesale changes with each new appointment. My understanding is that the plan is for the club to move away from that by having a structure that the manager just slots into. I think that idea has been compromised somewhat by the need for a quick return to the PL before the parachute money dries up and the constraints of FFP.

[Taylor]

I voted to keep Bruce 'til the end of the season.
This current trend for sacking managers if a few results go awry is creating a feeding frenzy amongst fans.
I am not a big fan of Steve Bruce football, but he represents our best chance of promotion this season.
Get the attacking balance right, stop being so defensive, and trust players in midfield to go forward.
With the return of Terry, this can be turned around.
A new manager, the disruption to the players that Bruce has worked with, the back room staff etc' , to change now would not work.
A play off place is within easy reach right now, top 2 is a realistic target to aim for.
I want stability at the club, not more manager changes, we have seen how that works for us.
Steve Bruce has been the only manager in years who has seen us move up and not down a league table.

I agree with this. When we get Terry back, the results will go our way.

[curiousorange]

I think the point I take most from Terry's absence is that if one player can make such a difference, it doesn't reflect very well on Bruce's ability to manage.

[Clampy]

I think we've missed him and Kodjia equally as much.

[Chris Smith]

I think the point I take most from Terry's absence is that if one player can make such a difference, it doesn't reflect very well on Bruce's ability to manage.

Perhaps or that the ability, leadership and experience of Terry is impossible to replicate in this league.

[CT]

We'd better hope he doesn't miss one more game this season then.

[aj2k77]

I think the point I take most from Terry's absence is that if one player can make such a difference, it doesn't reflect very well on Bruce's ability to manage.

Perhaps or that the ability, leadership and experience of Terry is impossible to replicate in this league.

The 8/9 teams above us seem to be able to cope without him.

[passport1]

If we have reached the point where a poll on an internet fans forum is being cited as proof that a manager needs sacking then we are in a sorry old state.

[ozzjim]

Terry being out showed how poor a decision it was to let Baker leave. Currently playing every week for a side 2nd in the division and one of our better performers last season.

I will be very interested, should he lose today, to see the side he picks against Bristol City at home. Against Norwich I thought he was particularly cowardly by admitting he threw Davis in to stop the crowd turning on the team as they support young players more. As such, that decision was much less to do with tactical nous as self preservation. I do wonder if O'hare and RHM might be in the side if we lose today for much the same reason.

[nigel]

Terry being out showed how poor a decision it was to let Baker leave. Currently playing every week for a side 2nd in the division and one of our better performers last season.

I will be very interested, should he lose today, to see the side he picks against Bristol City at home. Against Norwich I thought he was particularly cowardly by admitting he threw Davis in to stop the crowd turning on the team as they support young players more. As such, that decision was much less to do with tactical nous as self preservation. I do wonder if O'hare and RHM might be in the side if we lose today for much the same reason.

They're on the bench today, so it might start sooner than you think 😊