Bruce Sacked at last (now official)

[saunders_heroes]

I have a feeling in my loins that this is his last full week as our manager.

Be gone this time next week.

You guessing or have you got the nod from someone?

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Percy in the Telegraph:

Steve Bruce facing two games to save Aston Villa job


Steve Bruce is facing two crucial games as he fights for his future, as Aston Villa prepare to appoint a new technical director.

Bruce has been coming under increasing pressure after a dismal start to the season and needs to win at least one of the games against Preston and Millwall to improve his hopes of staying in charge.

The 57-year-old has managed just one victory from the last nine games and faced chants for his dismissal from fans in the 1-1 draw at Bristol City on Friday.

While newly appointed chief executive Christian Purslow has been determined to maintain stability, Bruce’s position is under growing threat with the club struggling to kick-start their season.

Villa were always keen to give the former Sunderland manager until the October international break to assess the situation, following a slow start to the campaign.

A defeat at home to Preston, who are bottom of the Championship, on Tuesday night will only increase the clamour from supporters for a managerial change.

Bruce’s future could come into further question with the imminent appointment of a new technical director, while a head of performance is also expected to come in.

Purslow is leading the hunt for a new supremo to oversee Villa’s football operations and interviews are understood to have been completed.

Jesus Garcia Pitarch, the former Valencia sporting director, has been one name in the frame but Villa sources have dismissed links to the Spaniard.

It is believed an appointment is close, however, and that may have further ramifications for Bruce, who hopes to complete two years in charge later this month. Bruce has not been fully involved in the selection process.

Villa are only two points off the play-off places but face Preston 15th in the table and Bruce said: “If we’re patient, and that’s never a given in management these days, I know we’ve got the nucleus of a squad that will put us in contention for promotion.

“That has got to be the aim. We’ve lost twice in ten games and we could quite easily have won three or four of the draws. We’d then be sitting in a different position.”

[Toronto Villa]

Unless we pick up two wins, and two good wins at that he’ll be out on his arse. It won’t shock me at all if we only pick up 1 point from these two games.

[Ian.]

I would hope beyond doubt they have already made their mind up regardless of the next 2 games. These two games are really irrelevant to the bigger scenario now.

[Ads]

What is a performance director? Is it an analytics bloke?

[brian green]

To establish a relationship with a manager of "last chance" or "we are not at all happy with your performance" is weak and nowhere near decisive enough to cut through the muddled, bungling incompetence of the last eight years.  We need owners who are bold, decisive and far sighted not ditherers swayed by media matery.

[QuintonVilla]

Luckily for him we're playing the bottom two teams in these crucial games.
Imo it's unlucky for us because even though we want us to win every game, if he does win both it just papers over the cracks and doesn't really prove anything. It would be detrimental to us and our season in the long run and would just prolong the inevitable.

[Clampy]

Luckily for him we're playing the bottom two teams in these crucial games.
Imo it's unlucky for us because even though we want us to win every game, if he does win both it just papers over the cracks and doesn't really prove anything. It would be detrimental to us and our season in the long run and would just prolong the inevitable.

Whilst I can see what you're saying, picking up wins would not be detrimental to us in the slightest. Wins are important because we don't know what the future holds or who is going to be in charge.

[aj2k77]

Beat those two, sack the lazy, cliche riddled, dullard. Job done. Better position, better manager.

[eamonn]

But thats unlikely to happen. Four to six points from this week and he's probably safe til the next break in mid-November.

[aj2k77]

But thats unlikely to happen. Four to six points from this week and he's probably safe til the next break in mid-November.

And if that is the case then what the fuck are the owners/ceo up to? How can you build anything when you're moving from month to month with uncertainty. If you think a manager is no good then a couple of results against nothing sides shouldn't change that view. Likewise if you rate a manager two bad results shouldn't make you think the opposite either.

If they rate Bruce, then A I'd like to know why and B we should be concerned. His time here has been a failure.

[andyh]

Of they ‘do’ rate him so much, maybe they should come out and say so.....to end all of the speculation and to try and bring the fans and the manager back together.
If we were to manage 4-6 points this week then maybe........, I don’t know, offer him a new contract?

[Ads]

To establish a relationship with a manager of "last chance" or "we are not at all happy with your performance" is weak and nowhere near decisive enough to cut through the muddled, bungling incompetence of the last eight years.  We need owners who are bold, decisive and far sighted not ditherers swayed by media matery.

Do you not think that the two appointments alluded to, Sporting Director and Performance Director are significant in choosing a manager?

I don't see how just sacking somebody and having no clue who to replace him with is bold or decisive or an indicator that we've moved away from bad decisions.

We've consistently picked the wrong man and having solid structures in place, for whom a manager or head  coach can work in symbiosis with seems to me to be in fact a signal of some joined up thinking.

The reality is a number of clubs will sack managers post Saturday, as its given an opportunity to assess what their performance has been and what's out there. Given who we're playing, if the decision seems likely (and I both think and hope it is) then the risk of waiting against 24th and 23rd places sides seems less.

I find it at odds what you say equally about being beholden to the media, of which I see absolutely no evidence and your cries to appoint Henry in the summer for appearance sake. The two positions appear in conflict with one another.

[ktvillan]

I think the "saviour" bit in his first season is being over-egged as well.  Someone has said Preston currently are better than their league position suggests, for me so were we when RDM was sacked.  I recall us playing some great football going forward (Preston and maybe Ipswich aside) but undermining it all by giving away a series of sloppy late goals, often involving Elphick or Gollini, to turn probable wins into draws (as opposed to under Bruce now where we seem to  be more often scoring late goals to turn probable defeats into draws) For me, all that needed addressing was to tighten up the defence, especially last 5-10 minutes.  Bruce did that, but it was hardly a monumental achievement.   And we're almost back to exactly the same position two years later, having spent another not-so-small fortune and almost bankrupted the club.  Let's not forget RDM and Clarke only got 11 games.   I think we'd have done better in the long run if they'd been given a chance to turn it around, although there's a heavy dose of hindsight in that opinion. 

[QuintonVilla]

Weren't Cardiff below us when he took over? And Wolves were hardly pulling up trees either. He's failed in his two years here, simple as that.