GrassyNoel

1 hour ago, Grasshopper said:

@TRO

Great post.

It seems to me that the formation and set up at Barnsley is as close to our best offering as can be . Steve Bruce needs to adopt a system that represents the best squad in the division like most folk have said.

4-4-2 gives us the best balance IMO and should be our default formation, subject to injuries and suspensions to key players.

4-2-3-1 is a possibility playing 2 holders for a tough away game

4-1-4-1 is another possibility, but leaves a striker too much to do.

4-5-1 should be avoided at all costs unless we are coming off a run of defeats and want to stop the rot.

4-3-3 is a possibility when the swagger comes back and we are winning comfortably....particularly at Home.

3-5-2 Is another formation I would avoid, with aging centre backs.

5-3-2 Is a formation we should never have to consider with our squad.

Having said all of that.....11 players have to be on top of their game to win anything.

I’m printing this. 

2 minutes ago, bobzy said:

"Reading looking for a third to kill the game off!"

 

 

 

Maybe we'll oblige.

Bringing Hutton on shows me he didn't want to drop him in the first place. Blind.

I thought I'd braced myself for a loss tonight. I was wrong.

Just now, Danishlad said:

its gonna be 3 or 4 nil again

Maybe if we play two in goal.

Just now, Demitri_C said:

Bruce you pathetic dinosaur with your shit tactics

 

Best thing tonight are your posts and that beautiful avatar - assume that's you?

Guess we got tired of waiting...

1 minute ago, TheAuthority said:

What's the sponge for? Genuinely interested.

To direct electricity to the brain better in the chair. 

More passes at a Christmas party.

1 hour ago, BOF said:

The writing's on the wall now.  I can't imagine he'd be allowed to continue in this vein.  It's still early, but they'll want some encouragement very soon.  Drawing with Hull on the opening day is fair enough but getting tonked by Cardiff is not.  If we were to lose heavily to Reading tomorrow (which is scarily likely) then the manner of the defeats could be his undoing.  If you're there or thereabouts in matches and playing well enough then you can forgive some short term form-finding losses.  But if you're being blown away then it can't continue.  Our next 4 league games are @ Reading, home to Norwich, @ Bristol City & home to Brentford.  We'd need to be picking up 9pts from those, meaning a total of 10pts from 6 games. At this moment that's not looking likely.  Even though 3 of them have started poorly, I'd say that counts for very little.  If we get to game 6 and we're still languishing at the bottom end and not looking like a winning team then I'd say he's gone at that point.   Barring some absolute hidings, I don't think we should get rid any sooner.

Spot on. Also, those teams will undoubtably pick up the vibe that all's not well at Villa. Their tails will be up. 

2 minutes ago, pacbuddies said:

5 games into next season is 5 games too late. Xia has to wake up and realise that his 2 managerial appointments to date have been absolute failures (remind you of a former owner?). How many times over the last few seasons have we changed manager mid season? Bruce has proven that he is incapable of being any better (look at his record at Sunderland). The time to sack him is now not when he has screwed up next season for us as well.

This is how I feel tonight. To be honest, after 5 games, even if we were on 15 points and no goals against, if the football was as bad as it has been I'd probably still be unhappy - it'd feel like the wheels could come off at any point. I want us to swagger out of this league because it's beneath us. Newcastle have given me that feeling this season. And yes, arrogant as it may sound, I do think it's beneath us. 

I was in favour of pre-season and further additions...

...but on the other hand we could end up in the same poisition as this season where we effectively give all other teams a massive head start before acting.

I'm so confused right now. 

11 hours ago, perchman said:

Absolutely gutted.

I took my youngest for his first ever game the other week, for his 5th Birthday. I didn't want to risk the 250 mile round trip only for him to hate it so I tested the waters by taking him to Reading v Wolves at the Madejski seeing as it's only 15 mins from home.

 

Well, stupid me, he left there being a bloody royal didn't he, which not only broke my heart but upset his ten year old brother immensely.

Anyway, after umming and arring for about 4 weeks, on Thursday night I bought Myself, and the 2 boys tickets for the Reading game to see if it wasn't to late to swing him back to being a villan.

 

This morning I wake with the most horrendous pain in my face and before I know it, I'm being pumped full of anti-biotics due to an abscess. I'm guessing I'm not going to feel well enough to take them tomorrow and I think that hurts more than my jaw right now.

 

Gutted

From just outside Reading.

Sorry to hear this mate. Get well soon.

Keep the faith - you're lad may swing round a few times before settling down. My lad's been raised on Villa but had his head turned by Spurs lately as his mates are all Yid fans. No worries, hurts a bit but want him to have his own mind plus he seems to care about Villa also. Be patient with him, he'll still love going to Villa with his old man I'm sure.

2 hours ago, dont_do_it_doug. said:

Bold statement. Are the individual players not relevant?

Marxist football! It's the future! 

11 hours ago, Johnnyp said:

I still maintain we can beat any of these 24 teams in a one off game and Aston Villa should never have a complex about playing Huddersfield Town. Never. Let them worry about us.

This is arrogant and presumptuous and disrespectful and exactly how I feel and I love it! UTV!!

I maintain it's not the act of chopping and changing managers that necessarily leads to poor results, but who you change to. If you get it wrong six times, blindly sticking with the seventh regardless of results is pinning all cause for poor form on changes rather than the correctness of the manager for your club at that moment in time (any of the poor choices can go elsewhere and be successful, many factors come into play when it comes to success - Ranieri anyone?).

So we've got Exhibit A - chopping and changing. We're about to get Exhibit B - unconditional support. I'm not including Lambert here as existing evidence - he was operating under supernaturally bad conditions. Bruce isn't.

It's out of our hands now - either Steve turns it around and we all benefit from a better Villa, or...

As that's the reality we face, it's a loud UTV from me. 

Coyle out, Mowbray in within 24 hours. That's how it's done.

I sincerely hope conversations with interested parties are taking place as we speak. 

12 hours ago, LakotaDakota said:

Everyone seems to agree that Zola is a laughing stock up the road, They have got 4 more points than us in 2017....

The sooner this thread is moved to "Other Football" the better

Zola on his way to B6 then...

4 minutes ago, villa4europe said:

Going OT here, not a chance with MON, do t get me wrong he knew how he wanted to play and actually bought players that could play that way which automatically makes him better than anyone we've had since (Bruce's use of his own signings tells you everything you need to know about him) but he was heavily flawed, no plan b, incredibly stubborn

No I agree, just had to draw the line. Gregory would be my shout. 

MoN was all those things, but spiteful is the main attribute I think of with him, timing his leaving for maximum damage. It worked, hope you're satisfied. 

4 minutes ago, osmark86 said:

we should be the biggest challenge for manager's around the world.

"Who can polish the ultimate turd that is Villa and turn them into a footballing outfit?"

if only some cocky and talented manager would jump at that challenge.

 

Totally. We should be mouth-watering for some cocky upstart looking to make their mark. Biggest team in the U.K.'s second largest city. Well supported, historic, former giants and supportive owner. It's on a plate FFS.

Saunders - Taylor - Atkinson. Absolute footballing geniuses. Can we honestly mention any manager we've had since MoN (at a push) in the same breath? 

I can only conclude that Villa is just too big a job for most. 

2 minutes ago, dounavilla said:

He just said 'we go again' ..... we are doomed!

Ah no! "Honest bunch o' lads" next...

Wish I had a season ticket to rip up. 

No matter how far down the wrong road you have travelled, turn back. 

~ Turkish proverb 

1 minute ago, sheepyvillian said:

Why oh why ,did we appoint this man ?

Wonder if there's a gaffer we'd all agree on...