Bruce Sacked at last (now official)

[Little Class]

Bruce has a rolling contract doesn't he?

I know talk of Smith Brentford but how about Lee Johnson from Bristol City. Young, quite dynamic had a decent first 11 and put up a great fight against man city and league Cup run.

Fair play to him and them this season didn't have the edge and squad ran out of steam but he's got to be a consideration

Nigel Clough did well under circumstances and seems shrewd and resourceful. He understands big club mentality and with right chance would be decent I think.

At a push Gordon Strachan who is experienced and handle players.


So maybe one from
Dean Smith
Lee Johnson
Nigel Clough
Gordon Strachan

Personally I discount Ian Holloway and Nigel Pearson but I sure along with Redknapp, Sherwood and Sol Campbell there names would be mentioned.

Dwight Yorke always fancies it too!

What about Moyes? [hears screaming, heads banging on walls...]  But wait a minute...

The football isn't interesting, but neither was last season mostly.  He would fancy project instead of being a journey man manager.  He did well at Everton, mostly top 10, CL once, the odd Cup final, managing on small budget and making good use of youth players.  He was set up at ManUre [Ferguson knew he would fail and thus make his era look brighter by contrast], Sunderland was a toxic mess [aside: Bruce would be good fit for Sunderland now], did well to get what he did out of an inherited ill-balanced squad at WHFC...

...see not such a bad idea 

[mr underhill]

you cannot be serious? From the dark ages to the dark ages? Not what Tony had in mind in my opinion.

[AsTallAsLions]

We must avoid the likes of Moyes and Allardyce like the plague. File under 'Appy 'Arry and move on. It'd be the death of the club to go down that route again.

[ktvillan]

Ultimately it comes down to a choice between

a) setting off on a progressive era of developing a good footballing style throughout the club (the so-called Villa Engine I guess), underpinned by a strong youth development ethos and high quality coaching and scouting.   

Or

b) sticking to short term thinking and hoping the same or another  old school manager can drag us kicking and screaming with eye-bleedingly awful football back to the promised land.  Or not.  Plenty of candidates including Bruce, Allardyce and Moyes.

It's option a) for me every time.  My football knowledge isn't broad enough to know who could bring that but Southampton, Wolves, Fulham, Huddersfield, Bournemouth and Watford have all managed to unearth at least one decent coach.  There's been plenty of flops too so it's not straightforward by any means, and that's where Wyness and Round need to earn their money.  I like the idea of Smith but also have the slight doubt that it's a bit of a Graham Turner-esque appointment.  That said we were at a much higher level than Shrewsbury back then, whereas we aren't far ahead of Brentford right now. Even so there is still a lot more pressure and higher expectation factor than the likes of Watford or Bournemouth.  You need someone who can handle that.

   

[olaftab]

Zidane is free  now to come to Villa park.

[David_Nab]

If we had Taken Alladyce instead of Garde we might have stayed up , we had a better squad than Sunderland who he kept up who fell apart completely once he left.

You would like someone like Wagner to come in and change things around but I don't think you can overlook all so called old school managers when you see what Warnock did this season.

[Mister E]

Ultimately it comes down to a choice between

a) setting off on a progressive era of developing a good footballing style throughout the club (the so-called Villa Engine I guess), underpinned by a strong youth development ethos and high quality coaching and scouting.   

Or

b) sticking to short term thinking and hoping the same or another  old school manager can drag us kicking and screaming with eye-bleedingly awful football back to the promised land.  Or not.  Plenty of candidates including Bruce, Allardyce and Moyes.

It's option a) for me every time.  My football knowledge isn't broad enough to know who could bring that but Southampton, Wolves, Fulham, Huddersfield, Bournemouth and Watford have all managed to unearth at least one decent coach.  There's been plenty of flops too so it's not straightforward by any means, and that's where Wyness and Round need to earn their money.  I like the idea of Smith but also have the slight doubt that it's a bit of a Graham Turner-esque appointment.  That said we were at a much higher level than Shrewsbury back then, whereas we aren't far ahead of Brentford right now. Even so there is still a lot more pressure and higher expectation factor than the likes of Watford or Bournemouth.  You need someone who can handle that.

Yes. You make good points.
It all comes down to the issue of whether SB leaves and - if so (when so) - who they bring in. There are not many good option (a) candidates, but I'd be looking at what Watford and Southampton have been doing and looking at the good, young managers operating across Europe, not just in England.
We have to break the pattern of recent years …
I often ruminate on what might have happened had Houllier stayed fit and carried out his plan to discard the Collins-Dunne model and bring in more progressive footballing squad-members.  Pointless really, but that is what we do as fans!

[tomd2103]

Ultimately it comes down to a choice between

a) setting off on a progressive era of developing a good footballing style throughout the club (the so-called Villa Engine I guess), underpinned by a strong youth development ethos and high quality coaching and scouting.   

Or

b) sticking to short term thinking and hoping the same or another  old school manager can drag us kicking and screaming with eye-bleedingly awful football back to the promised land.  Or not.  Plenty of candidates including Bruce, Allardyce and Moyes.

It's option a) for me every time.  My football knowledge isn't broad enough to know who could bring that but Southampton, Wolves, Fulham, Huddersfield, Bournemouth and Watford have all managed to unearth at least one decent coach.  There's been plenty of flops too so it's not straightforward by any means, and that's where Wyness and Round need to earn their money.  I like the idea of Smith but also have the slight doubt that it's a bit of a Graham Turner-esque appointment.  That said we were at a much higher level than Shrewsbury back then, whereas we aren't far ahead of Brentford right now. Even so there is still a lot more pressure and higher expectation factor than the likes of Watford or Bournemouth.  You need someone who can handle that.

 

Been having a think about this for a few days now and the stark reality of how much we need to be in the Premier League has really sunk in since the full-time whistle on Saturday.  Now, finances might dictate that we have to work on a reduced budget with a real emphasis on bringing through the young players at the club and if that is the case, then we should be looking to bring in a manager who is able to work within those kind of boundaries.  If, however, there is just about enough in the coffers next season to keep our better players and add a couple of shrewd signings, would we be better keeping the more short term outlook and having one last real go at getting up before the parachute payments dry up completely?  If that is the case and as unpalatable as it may sound to some, then I would seriously consider Sam Allardyce.  Yes, it wouldn't be a progressive type of appointment and he isn't a particularly likeable character, but I have always thought he is the best of the type of manager he is (I would include the likes of Pulis, Bruce, Hughes etc. in that group).  If we don't go up next season, we are looking at even further financial restrictions, so would it be worth having one more shot at it with someone like him?

I'm torn about it really, because as much as I admired the way Fulham played in the first half and would like to see us play in a similar way, I wouldn't have really cared less how we played had we won on Saturday.  We desperately need to be back in the top flight if the club is going to move on.  I think it also has to be remembered that although Wolves and Fulham went up playing an attractive style of football, Cardiff went up with Neil Warnock as manager and playing a completely different way.  As I said, financial circumstances might dictate the direction the club takes this summer, but I think we will have to accept that the model many of us would like to see (more progressive model with a focus on developing younger players) might not bring instant results and our stay in the Championship could be extended by a few years. 

[old man villa fan]

If we continue the way we did last season, the gamble of putting everything on red and coming up black, will change to putting everything on the ball dropping into the green pocket. If we fail, that will be the end of realistically getting back into the PL in a long, long time.

[Ads]

No time for wallowing. We are where we are and you accept that reality and do something about it.

[old man villa fan]

Quite right. Nothing comes easy and there are no quick fixes in our position. We have to get into the modern world of football and build a team properly.

[tomd2103]

If we continue the way we did last season, the gamble of putting everything on red and coming up black, will change to putting everything on the ball dropping into the green pocket. If we fail, that will be the end of realistically getting back into the PL in a long, long time.

Agree, but I think a total overhaul of the playing side of the club is likely going to result in an extended stay in the Championship anyway.  I can stomach that if there are signs of progress both on and off the pitch, but I'm not sure how popular that approach will be amongst our fanbase.   

[Little Class]

Think you are wrong putting Moyes in same bracket as Bruce and Allardyce.  Football might be dull, but as others have said, who cares that much if the result is right.  Moyes built and sustained a club, with young players, the other two haven't and won't.   No-one has suggested a realistic better option other than hoping 'one of ours' might make us a bit better than Brentford.  People wanted Rowett but Derby weren't fun to watch.

[itbrvilla]

If we continue the way we did last season, the gamble of putting everything on red and coming up black, will change to putting everything on the ball dropping into the green pocket. If we fail, that will be the end of realistically getting back into the PL in a long, long time.

Agree, but I think a total overhaul of the playing side of the club is likely going to result in an extended stay in the Championship anyway.  I can stomach that if there are signs of progress both on and off the pitch, but I'm not sure how popular that approach will be amongst our fanbase.   

I thought they did some root and branch analysis when they came in. Or at least it was the plan. Doesn't appear to have made any difference. Never fucking does with this pathetic club. What does Wyness do exactly?

[Ads]

If we continue the way we did last season, the gamble of putting everything on red and coming up black, will change to putting everything on the ball dropping into the green pocket. If we fail, that will be the end of realistically getting back into the PL in a long, long time.

Agree, but I think a total overhaul of the playing side of the club is likely going to result in an extended stay in the Championship anyway.  I can stomach that if there are signs of progress both on and off the pitch, but I'm not sure how popular that approach will be amongst our fanbase.   

I thought they did some root and branch analysis when they came in. Or at least it was the plan. Doesn't appear to have made any difference. Never fucking does with this pathetic club. What does Wyness do exactly?

Pathetic club? Turn it in.