Bruce Sacked at last (now official)

[Malandro]

Project Jedinak will finish Bruce off.

Too slow for midfield? Shoehorn your favourite to centre back.
Stupidity.

Fist face out.

[Clampy]

Ritchie De Laet - probably our best player pre season. Can’t now get a game. This is the Steve Bruce I generally despise. See also Glenn Whelans performance v Brentford only to be benched Saturday.

Agree about De Laet. That's a strange one considering how good he looked during pre-season. Whelan is not going to play every game though at his age. I can see him coming back in up at Sheffield United though.

[Ads]

Kodjia, who is excellent in the air.

I assume he had 3 in the back in mind as he wanted to play two up front. It was highly likely Jack was going and then something extraordinary happened.

I don't want to rely on Green maybe coming good. Not in such a key position for how we play.

[Mister E]

Teams are going to created and every defence gives up a chance a game.

The goal against Hull was an individual error.
The first against Wigan was an individual error.
The goal against Ipswich was an individual error.
The first against Brentford was an individual error.
The second against Brentford was a midfielder out of position leaving an overlap and Chester not moving across in time.
The penalty on Saturday was an individual error.

We need more cohesion but I suspect Bruce thinks that will come with games. What is hard to fathom is when  players make fundamental errors.

What you've described above is a trend; a trend developing in a team managed by a former international defender (he did make a couple of England appearances, didn't he? No matter!) and coached by a former defender.
He's had his time … he'd had his time a while back.

[Ads]

I don't think so. I cannot for the life of me fathom Chester's decision making and I doubt he can. That sort of thing is inexplicable.

[ozzjim]

I can understand his want for good wide players and getting balls in the box. McGinn has a great cross on him too. However, this is fundamentaly undermined by him then using Tuanzebe at right back. Elmo was undoubtedly one of our most creative players from right back crossing from deep last season, and clearly doesn't have the pace to play further forward in this system. So play him right back or bench him. DeLaet was excellent pre season, as admitted by Bruce, so why bench him. Playing DeLaet and Tuanzebe give the back 4 much more pace, allowing us to be more compact as a side too.

Then there is the centre forward issue. Kodjia is hot and cold. If we are slinging balls in then we need a striker that can feed on that as backup to him, or adapt our style of play. Bruce seems utterly incapable of the latter, which when you have the likes of Grealish, ElGhazi,McGinn and Bolasie at your disposal seems a bit tragic. A manager with a tactical plan would win 85% of their games with that talent at their disposal. Bruce will be undone for making illogical basic decisions and only having one way of skinning a cat
 

[Legion]

What CL said earlier. Lengthy quotathon avoided.

[Ads]

Elmo is good crossing from deep. Perhaps Bolasie coming in will allow him to move further back and Axel central.

[Risso]

I've no problem with the likes of El Ghazi and Bolasie coming in.  We're missing Snodgrass, and Adomah isn't the player he was in the first half of last season.  The stupid thing is wasting two of the available loan spots by loaning Tuanzebe when we have Elmo, Hutton, De Laet and Bree as potential right backs, and a back up goalie.  We are desperate for a decent left back, central defender and striker, but now cannot get one of each because of the players already brought in.  I also cannot see why he is sticking with Jedinak in defence, when he has already made far more mistakes than Elphick whilst playing there.

[brian green]

Agree with every word Stu.  I see your Fast Show and raise you The Jerk.  Navin R Johnson starting all over from bankruptcy.   "All I need is this ashtray. All I need is this ashtray and this lamp. All I need is this ashtray, this lamp and this remote. All I need is this ashtray, this lamp, this remote and this chair.  All I need is...."

These four right backs.  These four right backs and these five wingers.  These four right backs, these five wingers and these four holding midfielders.....

[The Edge]

I don't think so. I cannot for the life of me fathom Chester's decision making and I doubt he can. That sort of thing is inexplicable.

True but what can be explained is that Chester is under enormous pressure being the only proper centre back in the team at the moment. Last season he had John Terry alongside him and his game improved massively. This year he has an ageing midfielder to partner him so his game will inevitably suffer.

[Ads]

He's the lead centre half, but so what? He's capable. He played with Baker he was no more mobile than Jedinak.

Trying to blame Jedi for his mistake is stretching it much too thin.

[The Edge]

He's the lead centre half, but so what? He's capable. He played with Baker he was no more mobile than Jedinak.

Trying to blame Jedi for his mistake is stretching it much too thin.

I'm not blaming Jedinak for his mistake. I'm blaming Bruce.

[Ads]

That's stretching it thin as well. Players have to take responsibility.

[Chris Jameson]

Dyche might fancy giving it a go - Burnley have peaked I think. New project and all that?.

As and when Bruce goes I'd be incredibly underwhelmed by Dyche. I can see if we go up (I know, I know...) Benitez coming in, he'll have money to spend and won't have Mike Ashley to deal with. The pessimist in me sees Sam Allardyce coming in and H&V exploding.