Troglodyte

Gabby. Gabby!

I wouldn't wish to speculate on what his issues might be, but if there are mental health problems at play here, surely Bruce's approach to the gate incident has to come under scrutiny?

Jesus

I don't get the fuss over the line-up. We clearly need to make some changes due to the schedule, and I think it makes sense. We go three at the back, as we're away from home. We have wing-backs who can provide options and are happy going forward, but have a three centre backs and Jedi (plus Gardner, at times) to cover. Grealish can create through the middle and Gardner, while I'm not his biggest fan, is a decent passer of the ball. Yes it's not the most creative line-up but given the circumstances I don't think it's necessarily too negative at all. For me, the key is how Grealish will operate. He could be rusty but he could be raring to go. If he can find pockets in the middle then we should do well, but he could also go missing.

This just seems to be something from nothing. Everton still value him and although he clearly still has links to Villa it doesn't seem these supposed reports relate to anything immediate.

I'm not gunning for Bruce at all and it might not be the most sensible decision on paper, but I would probably jizz if King Olof became our manager.

Thanks again guys. We're going to go for Mexico, and now are in the process of picking the hotel. Looking at Occidental at Xcaret Destination, which joins on to the Xcaret park (you can pay a bit extra for unlimited access to the park during the stay). It looks really impressive and we love the fact that it connects to the jungle so you get monkeys and other wildlife in the hotel grounds. While we're certainly far from foodies or snobs, the only thing putting us off are a few of the negative reviews compared to other hotels at a similar or cheaper price bracket. There seem to be mixed opinions on the food among a few other things, and lots of people complaining about the amount of staff there pushing timeshares. So, if anyone has any recommendations for hotels in/around Playa del Carmen, I'd love to hear. Heard good things about the Rius in Stevo's thread - the Palace is booked up [edit - no it isn't, but it's pushing the budget a little bit and looks almost too modern, in a strange way?] but Riu Tequila looks good. Ideally we'd like somewhere with a bit of wildlife (monkeys would be great!), good evening entertainment, decent food and drink, and not hugely isolated.

Do people actually think this?

Yeah I've read a few posts on there - it's sometimes difficult because of the sheer number of threads and different opinions and experiences. I suppose I'm just asking for more here, but at least it seems concentrated in one place if that makes any sense! I think we are leaning towards booking Mexico. At the end of the day if it rains then it rains, and if we got incredibly lucky and there was a hurricane, at least we'll have insurance. @Demitri_C, we're still open to Aruba though; if you've got any more to share then I'm all ears (well, eyes I suppose).

Cheers. I went to the Caribbean as a young teenager (St Lucia, Jamaica) and loved it. Again the slight risk in August is with the weather for islands in the hurricane belt, and I don't think it's worth taking our chances weather-wise on a honeymoon. Aruba's far enough south to be well out of hurricane territory and seems as though it gets great weather all year. If you've been, would you say there's enough to do there for a good few days out while on the island? It seems like there's a bit to see for such a small place but most of it can be done in a couple of days?

Wonderful fellow Villans, I'm getting married in summer and we're looking for 10-14 nights away in the second half of August. Although the weather in Europe is great, we're seeing it as a chance to go somewhere a little further away together before kids (hopefully!) become a priority over the next few years. We want to get it booked ASAP but it's becoming really difficult to decide, so naturally I'll turn to a place with all the answers: VT. Basically we'd like to spend a bit of time relaxing so we're looking for a relatively scenic beach for the base, but we'd like somewhere with places to explore and a bit of culture as both of us would get bored just lounging around by the sea/pool for more than a couple of days at a time. Neither of us are huge fans of water-based activities, so although we'd maybe do a bit of snorkelling/scuba or whatever, we're more interested in seeing sights and like anything animal-related (but for some reason the other half doesn't fancy doing a safari) and somewhere with decent evening entertainment would be preferable. Obviously there will be other things we'll do on honeymoon but I'm looking for things that will kill more than three minutes Anyway, Mexico seems ideal and we'd both love to go there, but the concern is the weather. It's in the middle of hurricane season, and although hurricanes are rare and in other circumstances we'd go anyway, with it being our honeymoon we're really reluctant to take the risk, however small. Obviously there's the chance of lengthy periods of rain, too. Most people I've spoken to who've been to Mexico in the summer have said it was excellent with maybe a day or two of rain and the odd storm, but I wouldn't want to end up unlucky. Or are we just being daft? I've read @Stevo985's thread from 2015 and it's Playa del Carmen that would appeal to us, too. Other than that, we're looking at Aruba (looks lovely but a very small island so worried that we'd see everything in a couple of days), Zanzibar and Koh Samui. Anyone with experience of these places, your thoughts would be welcome - ditto anyone with other suggestions! There are other places but we're wanting to do something through a travel agent really so this cuts out a few options. We've also looked at a couple of twin-centre options but these seem to hike the price quite a bit. We looked at Sri Lanka too, stopping in the centre for a few days and then on the west coast for the second half, but it seems the weather isn't that great there in August, especially on the coast. I'd generally be happy sorting something a bit more adventurous myself, but for the honeymoon the Mrs-to-be is insistent on having 'security'. Thanks in advance!

We aren't Chelsea. We're in a completely different situation in every way. And we aren't going to bring in anyone even remotely similar to Antonio Conte if Bruce goes. We won't even get someone with the same haircut. I'm not saying you should just stick with managers at all times for the sake of stability, but being 'ruthless' is hardly a proven way to bring about a change in fortunes. Referring to Conte as an example is pointless. Stability in a practical sense means allowing time for the new players we've signed to adjust to the club. They'll need to build up some confidence, relationships and a sense of their role in the side. This takes time, especially when you've brought in the number of players we have. Yes we could bring in a new management team to get them playing in their style, but again that's a risk. This is especially the case when you consider the options we have of bringing in. Who do you think we could realistically hire, who you can be sure will get these players settled and playing as a cohesive unit? They will begin to do so over time anyway under a competent manager, and I don't think anyone can seriously say - despite his failings - that Bruce is totally incompetent as a manager. And this is the problem. Too many fans are demanding stability right now. It doesn't work like that. That's why time is needed. If the side still aren't looking better by the end of April, then I'd totally understand if we got rid of Bruce. But right now, the season's a write-off anyway, we aren't going to be able to attract anyone decent to make it worth getting rid of Bruce, so we might as well give the bloke some time. I can't state it with any certainty, but I would be shocked if performances and results don't improve. Again, if they haven't by the end of April then fair enough, but I'll be very surprised if we're still on the same trajectory then. What's wrong with Villa runs much, much deeper than the manager. But we are in the process of turning things around. Unfortunately, it's going to take a lot more time than most people would like.

I'm in the camp that says Bruce at least deserves until the end of the season. We need some stability more than anything right now, and at least he has a decent track record. Yes he's made some very questionable decisions recently but the man's not an idiot. However, even if he were to be sacked, many of the names tossed around on here are either totally ridiculous or utterly bizarre. Why in the name of all that is holy would Howe, Bielsa, Wagner (who turned down Wolfsburg not too long ago), Silva, Gallardo etc. want to come anywhere near us? All of them would be able to get jobs at clubs in far better positions. Then there are some suggesting that we go for the likes of Pardew, Redknapp, Platt, and so on. I'd rather take a drill to my own eyeballs than see any of that shower of shite manage my club. Others insist that the only successful managers are foreign. Their opponents cry that we need a British manager. Someone like Smith at Brentford, y'know, because they beat us (a rare feat only achieved by the most accomplished of tacticians) and he's a Villa fan too. So he must be good. I mean, he can organise his current team, so why not us? It's not like Bruce was able to do that effectively and lead his previous team to promotion only a matter of months ago... Other than that, there isn't really anyone unless you go for someone with a similar record and experience to Bruce, who would most likely have similar ideas and be entirely uninspiring, or we take a gamble on somebody (be that a more inexperienced manager from the Championship or lower, or someone from abroad) which could very easily backfire and see us set back to yet again continue in this death spiral for a further year or more. I can see why some would say they'd rather take the risk after all the dross that's been served up for so long, but we really do need a little patience first because one thing we haven't had since the start of that period is a sense of stability.

The team does need time to gel. There's a lot of promise for next season and hopefully things will click sooner rather than later so that we can hit the ground running in August. Obviously it's gutting that we're having to look that far ahead when we're only a few days into February, but that's how it is. They do seem a yard off the pace all the time, though, and we don't seem to want to take the game to the opposition or get in their faces. Low confidence is one cause, but it is concerning that Bruce doesn't seem to be having any effect at all at the moment. Personally I can't see much benefit in sacking him. Give the guy a bit more time (we can afford it now!) and see if he can get us playing properly. We don't want to just seem trigger happy, especially with someone who has a strong record and straight off the back of a transfer window. I'm really, really annoyed with how things are at the moment, but we're going to have to show some patience.

Hope Forest get back on their feet soon and I too would be supporting this if I were there. I'm from Nottinghamshire and my Grandad and a few others in my family were big Forest fans, so I've always wanted them to do well. My first shirt was a Forest one before I properly got into football and was converted to the claret and blue during primary school. At the end of the day, despite rivalries, football clubs are communities and in my opinion no-one should stand by while an owner destroys one.

I can't quite believe what an utter steaming pile of dog turd we've been. Awful, awful performance. Amavi very poor, Bjarnason way off the pace, centre backs too often left exposed but extremely disappointing nonetheless. Overall we've not been able to match Brentford's organisation, desire or application. Shameful.

On the bench for the game against Lazio this afternoon. Berisha starts in goal. I can only assume we've loaned him out only to be number 2 because he's homesick and there was little interest from elsewhere?

Sorry, you've not quite extended that metaphor enough for me to understand. Are you saying that if we sell Ayew we get a cheeseburger? Or two cheeseburgers?

Sportiello has gone to Fiorentina.

Think any complaints are a bit harsh. Although it's a bitter pill to swallow, Spurs have a far better team than we do. We set up in a defensive way but were organised and worked hard, and personally I don't think we could have asked for any more. I'm actually really pleased with the players' efforts. There's a lot of talk about us being more positive but, as pessimistic as it might sound, I think we'd have been behind a lot earlier if we wouldn't have paid so much attention to their threat, especially from wide areas. Was very impressed with Johnstone and hopefully we sign him up permanently. Chester and Baker are also showing that they're a very good partnership; Baker was disappointing for the second but he seemed to be still feeling the injury. I wouldn't for a second suggest he's of the same quality, but I see a lot of Martin Laursen in Baker's play. I hope we get a decent offer for McCormack this window and can invest the fee elsewhere.

So frustrating. The ref has been an absolute disgrace but despite that, and the fact we've been the better side in the second half, we don't really deserve anything after the utter ineptitude of that first half performance.

Hourihane's just scored an absolute belter for Barnsley.

Bit wild that from Bacuna.

RHM coming on.

Foul on Grealish. Again.