First Press-ing

[dave.woodhall]

....and they're off.

http://thebirminghampress.com/2017/08/let-the-fun-begin/

[Drummond]

I'd agree, but in my view Villa Park and the Villa are a bigger team with more pressure than many expect. The opposition always seem to manage to up their game for the big occasion and our lot always seem to be overawed. Our fans are desperate for success of some sort, and expect more than we've had and I think that's a huge burden for everyone.

[ChicagoLion]

Too many opposition teams seem to enjoy playing there a little too much.

[paul_e]

The last couple of paragraphs are really important and I agree totally that this isn't a problem he created but it is one we need to solve.  The past, for club and manager, are in the past, he needs to win games like this if he wants to keep the job and we need him to do that if we want to go into 18/19 in the premier league.

I also agree with Drummond, I think people don't realise how much pressure comes, from the weight of history, with the job until they're here and they struggle for a few games, then the fear kicks in and they start playing within themselves, of all the recent managers only Sherwood wasn't crippled by it but he was just inept.

[brian green]

An unusual conclusion to piece for the ever practical author.  Tongue in cheek of course but curses are the stuff of desperation.  As Paul says above the chalice is in Bruce's hands, a role for which he is exceptionally well paid.  The entire diaspora of inability to turn bright starts into satisfactory wins cannot be dispelled at a stroke but much of it can be dispersed by basic improvements.  The first should be basic fitness.  We tired sharply in the second half against Hull, especially Whelan.  We tire, we drop deeper, we hoof, we concede.  This ties into the more proactive use of substitutes.  The contemporary game demands that subs are there for more than injury replacement and last ditch hoof conversion.  Sherwood had a brilliant spell by throwing caution to the winds then got body slammed by his own ego.  What do you say to a child who is afraid of the dark?  There is no such thing as a bogey man.

[eamonn]

Can 45 more press-based puns really be found?

[robbo1874]

Second pressing etc, etc

[boozey182]

The whole club seems to be a massive contradiction. We are a big club, with a big club stadium etc, but have performed like a small club for the best part of a decade. Our fans expect the success big club, but also that everything will go wrong soon. We aren't successful enough to attract the very top quality players and managers, and the ones we can attract seemingly can't cope with representing a club of our size.

We need strategic leadership to negotiate this mess. A proper plan to get us more aligned, and I'm really concerned that there isn't a plan in place, other than putting all our eggs in Steve Bruce's basket. I don't trust him with our eggs. He'll swap them for sausage rolls.

I'm not saying he needs to be sacked or anything like that. At least not until the results warrant it. But I'd like to be reassured that the plan is the club's to work with the manager, rather than the other way around. We are really running out of time to start over again if this season turns in to another 'transition'.

[AVH87]

The 15m figure for Hogan seems to get quoted a lot on here, I read that he signed for 9m upfront, which could rise to 12m.

Either way I think the price tag could be weighing him down a bit, I still think there's a good player in there and after a couple of goals for us and a settled team around him it will click.

[darren woolley]

Good read Dave.

[aj2k77]

Hogan wasn't £15m yeah, it's just another stick to whack ''wasteful Aston Villa'' with. £9M on him was obscene enough without jackanory storying another load on top. Hogan won't do well in a Bruce Villa side. Particularly poor signing but likely to do well elsewhere in a team that plays more fluid.

[clash city rocker]

For too long now we'be had no player that can take a game by the scruff of the neck. Possibly Benteke could at times but him aside I can't think of anyone in the past 5/6 years.

[Villafirst]

For too long now we'be had no player that can take a game by the scruff of the neck. Possibly Benteke could at times but him aside I can't think of anyone in the past 5/6 years.

Kodjia can do it on occasions, but not on a consistent basis.

[frankmosswasmyuncle]

Good read Dave, again posing some of the strange and mysterious aspects of our club/team that seem to have blighted us forever!
Simply managing and/or playing for the mighty Villa and the Villa Park curse seems to stifle our play on the pitch...other teams seem to enjoy playing at VP a lot more than we do.
A few wins will hopefully put a smile on the players' faces, provide some sense of self-belief and lead to a more free-flowing, confident approach.

Forever the optimist! UTV!