collapse collapse

Please donate to help towards the costs of keeping this site going. Thank You.

Recent Topics

Damian Vidagany - Director of Football by Toronto Villa
[Today at 03:52:03 AM]


Other Games 2025-26 by Toronto Villa
[Today at 03:50:03 AM]


FFP by Rory
[Today at 01:04:34 AM]


Going West - Brentford away by Brend'Watkins
[Today at 12:57:13 AM]


Squad 25/26 by stevo_st
[Today at 12:55:38 AM]


Alex Moreno - Gone by eamonn
[Today at 12:20:33 AM]


Summer 2025 Transfer Window - hopes, speculation, rumours etc. by eamonn
[Today at 12:01:40 AM]


Unai Emery by eamonn
[August 21, 2025, 11:50:58 PM]

Recent Posts

Re: Damian Vidagany - Director of Football by Toronto Villa
[Today at 03:52:03 AM]


Re: Other Games 2025-26 by Toronto Villa
[Today at 03:50:03 AM]


Re: FFP by Rory
[Today at 01:04:34 AM]


Re: Going West - Brentford away by Brend'Watkins
[Today at 12:57:13 AM]


Re: Squad 25/26 by stevo_st
[Today at 12:55:38 AM]


Going West - Brentford away by dave.woodhall
[Today at 12:37:56 AM]


Re: Alex Moreno - Gone by eamonn
[Today at 12:20:33 AM]


Re: Alex Moreno - Gone by Brend'Watkins
[Today at 12:15:01 AM]

Follow us on...

Author Topic: Bruce Sacked at last (now official)  (Read 2410302 times)

Offline OzVilla

  • Member
  • Posts: 7998
  • Location: Sunshine Coast, Australia
  • GM : 16.08.2023
Re: Bruce out
« Reply #15120 on: July 06, 2018, 11:47:47 PM »
On balance and considering our position I think this is the right call.

Offline pauliewalnuts

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 74628
  • GM : 28.08.2025
Re: Bruce out
« Reply #15121 on: July 06, 2018, 11:53:23 PM »
Looks like we're going young and hungry then.

Here's hoping it is as brilliant a success as the last time we tried it.

Offline PaulWinch again

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 55183
  • Location: winchester
  • GM : 25.05.2026
Re: Bruce out
« Reply #15122 on: July 06, 2018, 11:55:19 PM »
Looks like we're going young and hungry then.

Here's hoping it is as brilliant a success as the last time we tried it.

Yeah they’ve missed the key component, ‘talented’.

Offline OzVilla

  • Member
  • Posts: 7998
  • Location: Sunshine Coast, Australia
  • GM : 16.08.2023
Re: Bruce out
« Reply #15123 on: July 07, 2018, 12:01:05 AM »
I think this time we have better young players and the standard is a bit lower for them. It was the most encouraging bit of his statement for me.


Offline kippaxvilla2

  • Member
  • Posts: 28075
  • Location: Hatfield - the nice part of Donny.
Re: Bruce out
« Reply #15124 on: July 07, 2018, 01:14:36 AM »
Bruce to be fair has always thrived at clubs with very little expectation.  Now that ours have been massively downgraded, maybe it will work in our favour?!

Offline brian green

  • Member
  • Posts: 18357
  • Age: 87
  • Location: Nice France
  • GM : 19.06.2020
Re: Bruce out
« Reply #15125 on: July 07, 2018, 06:59:21 AM »
Especially without Wyness and Round bolstering his ego. 

Offline Ads

  • Member
  • Posts: 42979
  • Location: The Breeze
  • GM : 17.04.2024
Re: Bruce out
« Reply #15126 on: July 07, 2018, 07:38:51 AM »
RHM, O"Hare, Green and Davis are players I would have trusted a lot more last season. Two add serious pace, which I think we lacked.

Doyle-Hayes is an interesting one in the deep laying play role for moving that ball on quickly.

One thing is for sure, the team will be backed heavily with some of our own in the side and 20k plus season ticket holders and rammed away ends week in week out.

Offline ROBBO

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 7780
  • Location: MELBOURNE
  • GM : 15.01.2026
Re: Bruce out
« Reply #15127 on: July 07, 2018, 08:37:06 AM »
If the kids can't step up then we are looking down the barrel as we cant buy anyone and probably can't afford loan players, what a mess.

Offline Nunkin1965

  • Member
  • Posts: 3445
  • Age: 59
  • Location: Planet Earth
  • This is only a problem.
Re: Bruce out
« Reply #15128 on: July 07, 2018, 08:44:50 AM »
Looking forward to roaring the team on. Hopefully some exciting opportunities for some of the younger members of the group and they are given support and encouragement rather than the opposite. They’ll need time and they’re going to need our backing.

Which means not dismissing then as not good enough after 5 minutes.

Offline Clark W Griswold

  • Member
  • Posts: 5239
  • Location: Wallyworld
Re: Bruce out
« Reply #15129 on: July 07, 2018, 09:21:55 AM »
If the kids can't step up then we are looking down the barrel as we cant buy anyone and probably can't afford loan players, what a mess.

I think Green, O Hare and Davis will start to have a bigger impact. Not so sure about Hepburn Murphy as from the outside looking in he seems a bit Stefan Moore to me. Really those 3 need to come in as the replacements for Snodgrass, Grealish and whichever big money forward we can sell for a decent sum.

Offline Chico Hamilton III

  • Member
  • Posts: 19658
  • Location: South London
Re: Bruce out
« Reply #15130 on: July 07, 2018, 09:27:12 AM »
I would prefer the kids being let loose to attack and play exciting football.
I would rather lose 4-3 than win 1-0 and defend for 90 mins

Me too, all day long. Trouble is, it would mean Bruce doing the opposite of everything he's ever done since becoming a manager. Old dog, new tricks.

Offline Ads

  • Member
  • Posts: 42979
  • Location: The Breeze
  • GM : 17.04.2024
Re: Bruce out
« Reply #15131 on: July 07, 2018, 09:38:11 AM »
O'Hare technically appears a bit of Grealish clone and good fulfill the link between midfield and attack.

I'm not saying he's as good, but it's useful having that type of player already here.

Be brilliant if he had a breakout season though. Be like Spurs flogging Walker for £50 million while having a player who looks like one of the best full backs in the world at the moment already there.

Offline old man villa fan

  • Member
  • Posts: 3458
  • Location: Birmingham
Re: Bruce out
« Reply #15132 on: July 07, 2018, 10:37:56 AM »
If you bring in young players to the team, you have to play on the front foot.  This takes pressure of them individually. You cannot afford to play slow aimless football.

Sorry but Bruce does not fit in to a scenario of managing a young inexperienced team.

Offline SoccerHQ

  • Member
  • Posts: 43244
  • Location: Down, down, deeper and Down.
  • GM : 19.06.2021
Re: Bruce out
« Reply #15133 on: July 07, 2018, 10:42:18 AM »
As it stands I think this is the right decision. Given our finances I think we have little choice aswell.

Could easily have changed my mind by end of August though.

Offline sirlordbaltimore

  • Member
  • Posts: 2847
Re: Bruce out
« Reply #15134 on: July 07, 2018, 01:23:49 PM »
RHM, O"Hare, Green and Davis are players I would have trusted a lot more last season. Two add serious pace, which I think we lacked.

Let's not forget we DID start the season with Green, and if it hadn't been for his injury he was clearly very much in Bruce's first team thoughts. We wouldn't have even signed up Snodgrass if he'd remained fit i'm sure.

Davis got LOTS of trust. He only got taken out the firing line because a section of our support had already started getting on his back as far as i recall. Absolutely zero patience from the plebs, which is another reason we can't throw too many kids in. They just expect WAY too much from them way too soon. It's not going to happen. Bringing in Grabban to take the weight off him was a very wise decision IMHO

RHM or O'Hare didn't look the answer to first team problems to me though. Not last season anyway. Not forgetting RHM missed a load of it through injury as well. I suspect he'll be the one that does make his mark if any this coming season though.

O'Hare is a potential gem based purely on his talent, but it is just potential at the moment. Needs to grow up a bit though. Plus he's out injured for a good while anyway




 


SimplePortal 2.3.6 © 2008-2014, SimplePortal