nick76

Not bad considering where we were. Remember those teams were playing well and we weren't. Now we are getting on a roll that gap could easily disappear especially if we can sort our away form out. Five wins on the bounce at home. So when Bruce took over we were 8 points behind and now 4 after 12 games, therefore with 23 games left we will gain another 8 points, therefore we will be n the playoffs

Poor decision giving him this contract, given his contribution to the weakness of our midfield I thought he'd move on eventually. Strange decision given our supposed future ambitions.

With the strikers we have available and despite some of the form they are in, it should still mean that Gabby is nowhere near the team. I just don't see what he's offering to warrant some game time.

1. Born in Castle Brom, grew up in Erdington but have lived in Sydney for the last 12 years 2. Desperately tried to support football in Sydney but I find the quality poor and frustrating, and when you don't have the connection like we do with the Villa from birth you have a choice of watching or not, thus I don't. It proved to me watching local football that if Villa wasn't part of who I am then I would've left Villa a few seasons ago because quality has been poor for so long. As a Villa fan though that will never happen and I keep coming back every week..... 3. Grandfather was a Villa fan. I followed Villa home and away from my teenage years up until the age of 27 when i moved to Sydney for a job opportunity. Due to my current global role I get to come back to the UK a couple of times a year at least and recently went to the Newcastle game. Back in Sydney for the last few years we get to see most Villa games in the PL live on TV so I have got up at silly times on a Sunday morning to watch. This season is a little harder after being relegated as we aren't on TV very much apart from highlights.

If Bruce wants him then I'm fine with it. Our CM needs more and we dont have options until January at the earliest

Agree with all, Bruce has his work cut out. Wolves were all over us second half. as a side question I used to remember new managers winning their first game, it was almost a given but my memory must be shot but the amount managers we've had recently I can't remember that happening last. Anybody know?

To be fair to you we haven't many other options until January. If nothing changes by February then we'll both be in the same bucket.

Cant make up my mind about appointing him. People say this is going to split the fan base, I think for some like me it splits how we feel. I hate to say this of myself and it's not my normal self but what Villa and football does to us. If he struggles early on i'll probably be on his back and the opposite if he's successful. This appointment is going bring out those extremes. Risky move by the club but as they aren't as close as us and given the other candidates is a logical choice.

It's highly unlikely that'll we would get the calibre of long term manager in the position we are in. I'd rather get us back to the PL and then get a long term manager in as our calibre of options would then increase dramatically.

Don't know who I would be happy with but going after the flavour of the month in Wagner seems too much of a risk for us at the moment. He maybe talented long term and I'd regret it but at the moment we need stability and I think someone with good experience.

We need a balanced team, I was surprised the team that finished didn't start the game apart from from the kid. Play to your strengths RDM, players on form

80 mins crap, then 10 minutes with the right team and formation and then we looked like a team

I want him to not be happy, I want him to want more from us. So used to apathy at this club, it's good that the top dog wants more

Probably in China where some of these types of deals dont get into the Western press

Just read that Bham article and it doesnt sound good. Still looking chunky, not match fit and no influence on a game he should be looking to impose himself on both talent wise and also leadership wise as our former club captain.

I know wrong thread for what I'm about to say but it leads back to dropping Jack at the moment. Our attacking threat looks to be lethal once they have gelled but who starts is a problem. I even liked how Kodja and Gestede looked good upfront together which leaves Ayew on the right, Adomah on the left and McCormack behind them. That's incredibly top heavy though so in theory either Gestede or McCormack misses the starting team but definitely leaves Jack out

Cant believe he's still in our midfield. A lot of players left in the summer for their attitude, this guy should leave because of his ability is lacking. I know we didn't have Tish or Mile but we must have had another option somehow

This game summed him up for me. First half he was too selfish, second half as soon as he became a team player we scored two goals. He has to realise he's playing in a team. He's one of our best players but in his selfish mood I wouldn't start him, in his team player mood he would be one of the first on the team sheet.

Forest were lucky! We had 25 shots on goal with McCormack, Gestede and Kodja on the pitch who are 3 of the top scoring strikers in this league over the last couple of seasons, not to mention Ayew on the pitch. Not much else RDM could do in that. If RDM had taken off a striker for Mile and Forest scored you guys would've whinged that we were in the ascendancy and why disrupt that. He can't win. If by the way the game was going and we scored a third, you guys would be hailing him now. Such a fine line between being slaughtered or hailed. 25 shots with 4 of the best strikers in the league on the pitch should get you more than 2 goals. Added to that their first goal was a hit and hope. On another day that would've been 4-0. Yes we could've plugged midfield which is all good in hindsight.

We had so many chances and just didn't finish, they were lucky as well with 2 chances, 2 goals. We were the better team, our midfield with Westwood and Gardner is weak but I'm encouraged by our new players. More luck, better shooting, our new midfielders playing and we will be a playoff team.

While Ayew is one of better players he's not a team player so for me is dropped when Adomah comes in

Politicians?

I agree. I like Grealish as a player but he still has some work to do to prove himself for the first XI. Yes he is a first team player but he needs to earn that long term. I agree with an earlier post in that I hope it's incentive based rather than the fat guaranteed long contract like Gabby has got and now doesnt earn it.

Wow that's a negative way of looking at it. I can see a possibility of that but one of a number of ways of looking at it and hard for me to see it that way. If a trend starts happening like this then ok but first one I'm going to let it slide without a thought.

What a load of rubbish, of course he can do what he wants within the football rules. Yes we are the spirit of the club but the assets, direction and the future of the club is his to dictate. Whether he is here for 2 years, 10 years or passes it on after he dies to his family, that is his choice. With that he is entitled, whether we like it or not, to act however he pleases. Us fans are deluded sometimes, the only influence we have really is disgruntled fan pressure but that really doesn't have much influence because owners know on the whole we are loyal to the brand. Owners do what they want and only leave due to age or more likely boredom or it's costing them personally too much. The only rules he needs to play by are his rules and a couple of football governance rules. Your rules, my rules and every other Tom, Dick and Harry are just along for the ride with no say.