John

It's looking likely that we're going for the Henry/Terry dream team then. Doing a Rangers and Derby by appointing ex-players, in our case one of whom has coaching experience at international level and the other has recent knowledge of the club, the players and of the division we are currently operating in. They will both have immediate respect in the dressing room given what they achieved as players and they will raise the profile of the club. What potential signing would not be attracted by the prospect of signing for a club managed by them? Potential sponsors would also be forming a queue to be associated with our club. Teams (not least Chelsea and Arsenal) would be happy to loan their young players to us given who they would be working with. They both have the potential to make it as managers and if we can attract them both then I think they have a more than decent chance of turning things around on the playing side. Someone will take a chance on them so why not us? Not every former player has become a great manager but some have. Unlike some of our other potential managerial targets they may also want to come here now. They will have fresh ideas and enthusiasm. What's not to like?

That's what makes me doubt that he will be willing to take our job.

"Henry believes the Villa job is his if he wants it? " I would want to be sure our choice wanted the job and would take it before we offered it to him. We don't want another Solskjaer situation where other candidates know they weren't our first choice.

Quite right. Remember those day's when it was said that Brucie could get us promoted and then we could change manager when we were in the PL? Perhaps Big Sam could do it this season?

We will need a new manager bounce that a kangaroo would be impressed by to get into the promotion race with this under performing squad.

Bruce out! Oh he is.... K-Mac out!!

So if we go for a new boss who has not done the job before I would be looking at Terry, Henry, Arteta and Rui Faria. I'm not sure that all of these would want the job and of these Terry would have the bonus of knowing the club and some of the players rather than starting from scratch. If we go for a new boss who is currently in a job then the doubts would be whether they would want the job and how much FFP might impact or not on our choice, I would be looking at Bilic, Fonseca, Wagner and Dean Smith. Or is it just as likely to be Big Sam or Mick McCarthy?

Agreed, he's turned us down once so I for one would not be asking him the same question again.

Garry Monk anyone? (We have a bit of a history of appointing managers who have worked on the dark side of the city)

Southgate is very reluctant to look outside the PL for England players (He seems to conveniently forget that he ever played for us) Mount gets in because he's only on loan temporarily. Abraham is more likely to get selected when playing for us than Jack for that reason, although should Jack find his form of last season again we will have more grounds to be unhappy with him not getting international recognition.

A tough place to go even for a team in form. We will be without our captain so a clean sheet is more unlikely than is normally the case. What team will we play? It's anyone's guess with Mac making the choice again. Will we get a new caretaker manager bounce? I really hope so but doubt it. We have not won at Millwall since 1975 and have lost every one of our six league and cup games there since. We have won 7 of our 20 league games against Millwall and have drawn 7. They have beaten us 6 times and the odds are that they will have their 7th win on Saturday afternoon. We face another team that occupy a relegation spot after just finishing outside of the play off places last season. Let's just try to score more goals than they do. I hope we can somehow get the win we need that will see us in the top half of the league when prospective new managers look at the league table and that on Saturday evening we can say Danny Baker, Gary Oldman, Daniel Day Lewis, Des O'Connor, Ray Allen & Lord Charles your boys took a hell of a beating!

All of the assistants gone then! Bobby Mac in charge again....

I suppose the new boss has to be someone currently between jobs or new to management with one eye on FFP. I would think for me the following fit the bill in order of most posible: Slaven Bilic, John Terry, Henry, Wenger, Conte and the Special One.

Thanks for turning things around when you came in and getting us so close last season. Thanks for sticking around when you were going through so much with the loss of your parents and when we were in such a financial mess this summer. You did a decent job and are a decent bloke. I think in time most of us will accept that. We can now both move on and hopefully will both prosper in the future.

A bit over the top for me and so much for the turnstile search. Brucie might be on borrowed time but throwing a cabbage at him represents criminal a salt.

At half time it was a question of how many goals that we would win by rather than whether we would win. They appeared to be just what we had needed to face last night namely a team that had less confidence and were in worse form than ourselves. At the end we proved to be just the team for a club at the bottom of the league to have faced. At half time it was Alex Neil’s managerial future that looked likely to be under more threat than Steve Bruce’s at the end of the game. What a difference a referee can make! Preston had offered no threat up front and little resistance at the back in the first half, but a spot of dressing room half time cup throwing had them taking the game to us at the start of the second period. The referee’s subsequent intervention when he gave the visitors a very soft penalty and then compounded that by sending off our captain left us in disarray. Chester’s challenge on Nmecha was an innocuous one and if the referee really felt compelled to award a penalty then that should surely have been adequate punishment. Had it not been for that sending off we might well have been in the top six rather than two points off the play off places this morning. I suspect that we would probably have weathered Preston’s early second half efforts and cruised to a comfortable win, but it wasn’t to be. Had we been in any sort of form we would have been out of sight before Chester’s dismissal because the Preston defence made our own look almost solid up until then! The referee changed the course of this game, but we too readily surrendered the initiative when we went down to ten men last night. Other teams go down to ten men and it doesn’t have the same devastating impact upon them as it did on us yesterday. We should have tried to add another goal when we were still a goal ahead rather than negatively rely on a defence that is brittle even with Chester in it to hold out for the rest of the game. When we did move forward in stoppage time their defence showed itself to be as leaky as it had been in the first half. We left it too late to find out. If there is one player and one position that we cannot afford to lose a player for most of a second half and for another game due to an unwarranted suspension, then it’s James Chester and our central defence. Why did a player who has scored one goal in 7 years step up to take a vital penalty? Our designated penalty taker may have already been substituted and others may have been sitting on the bench but Bolasie who had already scored wanted to take it and surely Jack or McGinn should have also been ahead of Whelan in the queue to take the spot kick? They should have prised the ball out of the substitute’s hands. My player ratings from a game that we looked like winning at half time and then did again with the last kick of the game but didn’t are: Mark Bunn – 4 – Surprisingly it was he rather than Moreira who replaced Nyland and Bunn doesn’t inspire too much confidence either does he? Came out of his area on 24 minutes to get his feet to the ball before Robinson and blocked a cross at his near post on 50 minutes. Sent the wrong way from the spot by Johnson for their first on 56 minutes. Gallagher’s 79th minute free kick went past a poorly lined up wall and our keeper for the day left too much room to his left to allow their second to creep between him and the near post. Their 86th minute third from Moult appeared to go straight past him. Gathered a 66th waist high shot from the left edge of the box from Robinson and kept out a 79th minute. Perhaps Burnley could spare us one of their three keepers in January? Ahmed Elmohamady – 6 – Hit a couple of decent crosses and had a decent enough game. James Chester - 6 – His sending off left me wishing we had Mile available on the bench to bring on. Axel Tuanzebe – 6 – Finally played in the centre and looked well worthy of retaining his place last night both with and without our captain alongside him. Moved a loose ball forward to Bolasie to hit in our third. Alan Hutton – 6 – Might have got to the corner that led to their third. Birkir Bjarnason – 6 – Looked comfortable and increasingly effective in the middle in the first half. Pushed to the ground at the far post to ensure he did not get his head to McGinn’s late corner and give us our late penalty. Conor Hourihane – 6 – Faded in the second half but he was not alone in that. Jack Grealish – 6 – Hit a 14th minute shot from the edge of the box over the bar. Showed some fleeting signs of still having the ability to run a game in the first half. John McGinn – 6 – His challenge on the touchline allowed Abraham to run on to hit home our second. Has not quite seemed to take games by the scruff of the neck in the way he had been doing of late but it’s asking a lot of him to do it on his own every time. Tammy Abraham – 6 – Scored our second and what should have been decisive goal on 37 minutes when he ran into the box from the left and stroked the ball past Maxwell into the corner of the net. Unlucky to be substituted on 56 minutes following the sending off to make way for a defender. Jonathan Kodjia – 6 – Had a 9th minute downward header from a Hourihane free-kick blocked at the near post and was found by Elmo inside the box on 16 minutes but his shot was deflected by Maxwell at the near post across the face of the goal and out for a corner. Scored our opener on 26 minutes when Hourihane swept the ball wide to Elmo whose cross was headed past the keeper and into the far corner of the net by Jonathan. Had unusually done some work in his own half in the first quarter of the match less involved in the second half prior to being substituted. Substitutes: James Bree – 6 – Replaced Abraham on 56 minutes. Got a good block in on Fisher at the near post on 81 minutes. Yannick Bolasie – 6 – MOTM - Came on for Kodjia on 74 minutes and hit our 91st minute equalizer in at the near post. He must be starting games now. Glenn Whelan – 4 - Replaced Hourihane on 83 minutes and made a difference but unfortunately not a positive one. Showed acceptance of responsibility by taking the spot kick that should have given us a late winner on 96 minutes but his decision cost us the game because his penalty was poorly hit to the keeper’s left and was just begging to be saved. Just because the ball was in your hands when the penalty was awarded does not mean you have to take the penalty Glenn when you are ill equipped to do so! Up the Villa! John Lewis

At half time it was a question of how many goals that we would win by rather than whether we would win. They appeared to be just what we had needed to face last night namely a team that had less confidence and were in worse form than ourselves. At the end we proved to be just the team for a club at the bottom of the league to have faced. At half time it was Alex Neil’s managerial future that looked likely to be under more threat than Steve Bruce’s at the end of the game. What a difference a referee can make! Preston had offered no threat up front and little resistance at the back in the first half, but a spot of dressing room half time cup throwing had them taking the game to us at the start of the second period. The referee’s subsequent intervention when he gave the visitors a very soft penalty and then compounded that by sending off our captain left us in disarray. Chester’s challenge on Nmecha was an innocuous one and if the referee really felt compelled to award a penalty then that should surely have been adequate punishment. Had it not been for that sending off we might well have been in the top six rather than two points off the play off places this morning. I suspect that we would probably have weathered Preston’s early second half efforts and cruised to a comfortable win, but it wasn’t to be. Had we been in any sort of form we would have been out of sight before Chester’s dismissal because the Preston defence made our own look almost solid up until then! The referee changed the course of this game, but we too readily surrendered the initiative when we went down to ten men last night. Other teams go down to ten men and it doesn’t have the same devastating impact upon them as it did on us yesterday. We should have tried to add another goal when we were still a goal ahead rather than negatively rely on a defence that is brittle even with Chester in it to hold out for the rest of the game. When we did move forward in stoppage time their defence showed itself to be as leaky as it had been in the first half. We left it too late to find out. If there is one player and one position that we cannot afford to lose a player for most of a second half and for another game due to an unwarranted suspension, then it’s James Chester and our central defence. Why did a player who has scored one goal in 7 years step up to take a vital penalty? Our designated penalty taker may have already been substituted and others may have been sitting on the bench but Bolasie who had already scored wanted to take it and surely Jack or McGinn should have also been ahead of Whelan in the queue to take the spot kick? They should have prised the ball out of the substitute’s hands. My player ratings from a game that we looked like winning at half time and then did again with the last kick of the game but didn’t are: Mark Bunn – 4 – Surprisingly it was he rather than Moreira who replaced Nyland and Bunn doesn’t inspire too much confidence either does he? Came out of his area on 24 minutes to get his feet to the ball before Robinson and blocked a cross at his near post on 50 minutes. Sent the wrong way from the spot by Johnson for their first on 56 minutes. Gallagher’s 79th minute free kick went past a poorly lined up wall and our keeper for the day left too much room to his left to allow their second to creep between him and the near post. Their 86th minute third from Moult appeared to go straight past him. Gathered a 66th waist high shot from the left edge of the box from Robinson and kept out a 79th minute. Perhaps Burnley could spare us one of their three keepers in January? Ahmed Elmohamady – 6 – Hit a couple of decent crosses and had a decent enough game. James Chester - 6 – His sending off left me wishing we had Mile available on the bench to bring on. Axel Tuanzebe – 6 – Finally played in the centre and looked well worthy of retaining his place last night both with and without our captain alongside him. Moved a loose ball forward to Bolasie to hit in our third. Alan Hutton – 6 – Might have got to the corner that led to their third. Birkir Bjarnason – 6 – Looked comfortable and increasingly effective in the middle in the first half. Pushed to the ground at the far post to ensure he did not get his head to McGinn’s late corner and give us our late penalty. Conor Hourihane – 6 – Faded in the second half but he was not alone in that. Jack Grealish – 6 – Hit a 14th minute shot from the edge of the box over the bar. Showed some fleeting signs of still having the ability to run a game in the first half. John McGinn – 6 – His challenge on the touchline allowed Abraham to run on to hit home our second. Has not quite seemed to take games by the scruff of the neck in the way he had been doing of late but it’s asking a lot of him to do it on his own every time. Tammy Abraham – 6 – Scored our second and what should have been decisive goal on 37 minutes when he ran into the box from the left and stroked the ball past Maxwell into the corner of the net. Unlucky to be substituted on 56 minutes following the sending off to make way for a defender. Jonathan Kodjia – 6 – Had a 9th minute downward header from a Hourihane free-kick blocked at the near post and was found by Elmo inside the box on 16 minutes but his shot was deflected by Maxwell at the near post across the face of the goal and out for a corner. Scored our opener on 26 minutes when Hourihane swept the ball wide to Elmo whose cross was headed past the keeper and into the far corner of the net by Jonathan. Had unusually done some work in his own half in the first quarter of the match less involved in the second half prior to being substituted. Substitutes: James Bree – 6 – Replaced Abraham on 56 minutes. Got a good block in on Fisher at the near post on 81 minutes. Yannick Bolasie – 6 – MOTM - Came on for Kodjia on 74 minutes and hit our 91st minute equalizer in at the near post. He must be starting games now. Glenn Whelan – 4 - Replaced Hourihane on 83 minutes and made a difference but unfortunately not a positive one. Showed acceptance of responsibility by taking the spot kick that should have given us a late winner on 96 minutes but his decision cost us the game because his penalty was poorly hit to the keeper’s left and was just begging to be saved. Just because the ball was in your hands when the penalty was awarded does not mean you have to take the penalty Glenn when you are ill equipped to do so! Up the Villa! John Lewis

I've been thinking about a nice punitive penalty for the knuckle draggers. How about deducting them 15 points and giving them directly to us. That would really hurt them.

Could it be that we paid his wages rather than a loan fee? I think that from the limited time he has played so far that he looks like he could work well with Abraham as they seem to be on the same wavelength.

I think 4 points from 6 would be acceptable. It would be 3 points better than we managed from these two fixtures last season. We need to win this one first. It's about this match and how many points we will have after it rather than getting a new manager by losing game after game. One result won't necessarily save Bruce's job but it might cost us any hope we still have of getting promotion at the end of the season whoever is our manager then.

We face Preston on Tuesday night. This is a game between two of the founder members of the Football League. Our visitors were the unbeaten first League Champions in 1888-89 and were also FA Cup winners thus becoming the first team to claim the league & cup double. They were champions again in the following season and were runners-up in the next three. As we know we were the next team to win the league and cup double in 1896-97. We were League champions in 1893-94, 1895-96, 1896-97, 1898-99 and 1899-1900, also claiming the FA Cup three times before that century had closed. Clearly times have sadly changed for Proud Preston and the Mighty Villa since those heady Victorian years. Our last home win against The Lilywhites came in 1973 when Bobby Charlton was their manager and Tommy Docherty was ours. They have drawn their two league visits to Villa Park since then, 1-1 last season and 2-2 the season before that. At the time of writing they find themselves at the bottom of the league table, but they were only 2 points off the play off places last season and we therefore cannot take a win for granted because surely, they will start picking up points soon. Hopefully we can claim the much-needed win that we need on Tuesday. A 2-0 win would be nice!

Abraham was substituted because he had an injury according to Bruce which is fair enough with another game to come on Tuesday. A point is better than nothing but we needed the win that we never really looked like getting. Not near to being a good enough display to put before the fans that made the trip to Bristol and for those that watched it on television.

Might it be, Abraham up front with playing Kodja wide on the left. Grealish in a free role behind Abraham and a midfield three of Thor, McGinn and Hourihane with the rest 99% of the time playing as a 5-man defence (with Axel playing right back & Mile alongside Chester of course)?

So would he be! He'll be happy with double figures this season, he's not a main striker so he has done surprisingly well so far. Hope it continues for him (other than obviously in games against us and where those goals could have a detrimental impact on our season).

It's always Parsifal that he might be more willing to listen to our overtures this time if we have him a Ring.