Bruce Sacked at last (now official)

[frank black]

It’s league results that matter and we haven’t completely cocked this up yet. He’s under no immediate pressure, but maybe in a few weeks time.

Fingers crossed he does the job and it all goes quiet on the Bruce out thread.....has this thread broken any records as the longest running most reset poll ever?

[Duncan Shaw]

So I was on a work night out, sat talking with a Liverpool and Chelsea fan whilst we were eating and checking the score on the phone.  Now these two are long serving fans of both clubs, not glory hunters, and good football fellas that you can have a really good sensible chat about the game with and who know the ups and downs we've had, mainly through me, over the last few years.  So I said I think he's time's up and they were both incredulous...."who would you get that would do better?" "but he's had no money to sepnd" "he'll get you up, it's his forte (although they said he'll take us back down again!)"

Just show how we have fallen off the radar for alot of fans who only then hear/believe the propaganda in the press that he gets put out there!

[Nunkin1965]

I don’t think he helps himself at times.
I saw the line up and knew we’d struggle. After all if he can’t get our full strength cobbled together first XI into a decent organized unit with a playing style that works then how the hell is it going to work with players who don’t play regularly.

[Brassneck]

It showed during his post match interview that he took some stick from the away support. They're as loyal and patient as they come but once they turn, it normally means one thing unfortunately.

I don't think he took any stick but the team certainly did.

There were sarcastic chants of "We've had a shot" as we approached half time and had our first shot of the night.

Personally, I expected this performance.  In the past 3 seasons, we've put in similar performances against Yeovil, Boro, Peterborough, Luton and now Burton.  We need to stop kidding ourselves that we can just chuck a bunch of reserves together and expect them to play to the same standard as the first team.

[tomd2103]

It showed during his post match interview that he took some stick from the away support. They're as loyal and patient as they come but once they turn, it normally means one thing unfortunately.

I don't think he took any stick but the team certainly did.

There were sarcastic chants of "We've had a shot" as we approached half time and had our first shot of the night.

Personally, I expected this performance.  In the past 3 seasons, we've put in similar performances against Yeovil, Boro, Peterborough, Luton and now Burton.  We need to stop kidding ourselves that we can just chuck a bunch of reserves together and expect them to play to the same standard as the first team.

Not if you want to actually win and go through you can't.  I do question whether that has really been the case in recent years though. 

[Brassneck]

It showed during his post match interview that he took some stick from the away support. They're as loyal and patient as they come but once they turn, it normally means one thing unfortunately.

I don't think he took any stick but the team certainly did.

There were sarcastic chants of "We've had a shot" as we approached half time and had our first shot of the night.

Personally, I expected this performance.  In the past 3 seasons, we've put in similar performances against Yeovil, Boro, Peterborough, Luton and now Burton.  We need to stop kidding ourselves that we can just chuck a bunch of reserves together and expect them to play to the same standard as the first team.

Not if you want to actually win and go through you can't.  I do question whether that has really been the case in recent years though.

Personally, I have no problems in fielding a reserve side.  I don't like this competition any more and hardly any team plays a full strength side in the early rounds.

Realistically, league football is where the money is and managers are happy to rest players for cup games.  MON even did it in the last 16 of the UEFA Cup once.

If we go out and win on Saturday, last night will soon be forgotten.

What it did for me is answer a few questions, ie, the players that Bruce starts with are the right ones. RDL was awful (I've never been his biggest fan)

[Walmley_Villa]

A fair bit of pressure on him for Saturday now against a Sheff Utd team that have won their last 3 games. 3 draws and a defeat against teams we should be looking to beat is not a good return.

[andyh]

I’m still more upset about the performance on Saturday than last night.
The slow (pedantic) football against one of the worst teams in the division, with the lift of a new player on the pitch and another new one being paraded before the game, and the new owners there, and coming off the back of one of our better performances where he quite happily (smugly) took the plaudits, bordered on the fecking criminal.

To me, this perfectly highlights the complete inconsistency of his team and that’s because he has no discernible way of playing other than to wing it.

I am completely and utterly sick of his spin and deflection. I have said it many times before.
Thanks for steadying the ship Steve.
Bye.

[VinnieChase84]

Almost 3/4 people in here now want him gone.
Genuinely believe a poor performance Saturday will be the final straw

[NeilH]

Almost 3/4 people in here now want him gone.
Genuinely believe a poor performance Saturday will be the final straw

Which history has proven is not a fair reflection of the general consensus of Villa fans. At the Reading game, bar the booing come the final whistle, I got absolutely no sense that those sitting around me on the Holte wanted him out. Admittedly I am not there every week (for obvious reasons), but talking to some of the people I knew around me, there seemed an resigned acceptance that warts and all he remains the only man to get us out of this league. I do not believe last night was a watershed ala Doncaster and I think he would have easily have been able to dismiss it to his paymasters as an unnecessary distraction. I think we may well be looking at our position in Xmas as turning point in the boards desire to keep him or not.

[Chinchilla Bathhouse]

Almost 3/4 people in here now want him gone.
Genuinely believe a poor performance Saturday will be the final straw

Which history has proven is not a fair reflection of the general consensus of Villa fans. At the Reading game, bar the booing come the final whistle, I got absolutely no sense that those sitting around me on the Holte wanted him out. Admittedly I am not there every week (for obvious reasons), but talking to some of the people I knew around me, there seemed an resigned acceptance that warts and all he remains the only man to get us out of this league.

Didn't they notice him fail to do that for the last two seasons? I find it astounding that people who watch football could have so little knowledge of the game that they'd think that.

[footyskillz]

December is where it's at .
Playing all the biggest clubs in the league

I stated and listed the fixtures before
May be altered due to TV sure several will be

Boro away 1st
Wba away 8th
Stoke home 15th
Leeds home 22nd
Swansea away boxing day

Come January see where we are after that lot and how we perform too

[cdbearsfan]

Last night was certainly anaemic, but it will only be when that low level,and itbwas really low level, starts cropping up in the league that I think he may find himself in hotter water.

Three points from three games against a terrible Ipswich team (with ten men for most of the game), a mediocre Brentford team and a fucking atrocious, bottom of the league, Reading side is evidence that such rubbish IS cropping up the league.

Beat Sheffield United on Saturday, or get rid of him during the international break.

[Risso]

I think the weekend will be pivotal for Bruce.  Play badly and lose and I think he could well be gone.

[VinnieChase84]

I think the weekend will be pivotal for Bruce.  Play badly and lose and I think he could well be gone.

Agree. With the added time of an international break it would be tempting to make the change then