villianusa

Don't think we need him, but will welcome him if he comes.

2 minutes ago, terrytini said:

Oh, very sorry I thought you were being sarcastic !! It happens so often on here.

I'm sure having watched us play that he was allowed further forward today.

Again, that's opinion that he allowed him, not that he had the confidence to finally listen to what the manager has been telling him all along.

I appreciate your opinion, Terry, I just don't know whose's is right. I'll be happy to come back and admit I'm wrong if proven so.

Enjoy the Villa win and your weekend.

4 minutes ago, TrentVilla said:

No obviously you didn't, I apologise for using irony I appreciate it doesn't travel well to the other side of the pond.

I don't care what Bruce said re settling. I care how he uses them on the pitch and he has in my opinion misused him to date.

Im not trying to prove anything as fact. But it is a matter of fact where he has been played in his time here.

I'm originally from Birmingham but thank you for your stereotype jibe at Americans.

And in my opinion, Hourihane had issue settling into the team with such large expectations. I could be wrong, just as you could be, but until either the manager or the player says something, we won't know what is fact. Either way, I am very happy with his performance and Villa finally got one in the win column.

Just now, wazzap24 said:

Having been to the game today, it was obvious from the start that he'd been pushed 10-15 years further forward and was almost playing as an 'inside left forward'. 

Whilst I agree, I doubt Bruce was deliberately telling him not to be adventurous on the ball, he was playing him to deep and again, worrying too much about what teams might do to us, rather than what our players can do to them. 

He's been a symbol of Bruce's reign so far in that regard for me. 

A slight tweak today and look at the difference. We finally saw the player we signed and wow, what an absolute wand of a left foot that is. 

He's not a 90min, charge around the pitch kind of player, he has quiet spells in the game, but if you give him the ball, he'll give you 5/6 moments of real quality and he'll win us games. 

Wazzap, thank you for your insight. I appreciate your balanced view after what you saw at the game today. If it was a tinkering and not a mental thing on Hourihane's part, then Bruce would have something to answer for.

Just now, dn1982 said:

He must've told them previously not to get ahead of the ball too much as until recently Hourihane hasn't been anywhere near the box. 

Again, people are making assumptions of what is said in the dressing room and trying to prove it as fact. All I'm looking for is proof and not opinions being forced to be fact.

2 minutes ago, terrytini said:

I'm sure. If you aren't, fine.

How are you sure? That's all I'm asking? 

1 minute ago, TrentVilla said:

Oh okay. You are right he just decided to stop playing the way he always played previously and try and reinvent himself. 

Did I say that? Bruce said that players hadn't settled in after joining the club. There could have been some hesitancy in his play after joining such a big club. You don't that, neither do I, but I'm not the one trying to prove my opinion as fact. I'm offering another possible solution, as I believe that's what forums are for.

11 minutes ago, TrentVilla said:

No, it's Bruce's fault when he doesn't play people in the way they played at their previous clubs that made them successful and got his interest.

Again, show me where he gave Hourihane the instruction not to be more adventurous and get in and around the box.

15 minutes ago, terrytini said:

He never was.

Hes just been very poorly used until today.

He was poorly used, or didn't perform to his ability? He still deeper today, but he pushed on to the edge of the box and his opportunities came. Now, if you can show me where Bruce told him not to push forward, then I would agree with you. Or was it that he didn't have the confidence to do it? I don't know for sure, I'm just wondering how you do.

Just now, DCJonah said:

What? Hourihane was an option? 

The guy who scored loads for Barnsley. Has 4 in the last 3 games. 

That was for Barnsley, not Villa until today. He had been below average during his time here. If a player is bad it's Bruce's fault for picking him, if the player returns to the team and plays well it Bruce's fault for not picking him sooner.

It would be the same with Hutton if he was dropped (and rightly so) after his early season performances, but then came back to the team for whatever reason and did well. Bruce would get blamed, and people would say he should never be dropped in the first place and he was just going through a rough spell.

Just now, DCJonah said:

It didn't help when he was back up to Bacuna. 

Bacuna

**** Bacuna. 

Not many options at that time. I didn't agree with Bacuna, but both were poor at that time, but at least Bacuna gave us a bit of energy. Hourihane started to show that today. 

8 minutes ago, Czechlad said:

I am glad Bruce finally gave him a chance, but I really have to question Bruce here. How was Lansbury and Bacuna ever preferred over Hourihane? 

Hourihane got his first league start tuesday, and is the league's top goal scorer by saturday. 

Because you only have to go back a short distance to see that the majority felt he was under performing. Bruce has said that a number who joined this last year has taken some time to settle. It seems he may have been one of those. Let's hope this was the catalyst to move him on to bigger and better things.

1 minute ago, Daweii said:

The one touch football at times is what we've missed. It's amazing how creative you can be when playing at pace. Villa on paper is the best team in the league, but we were playing so slowly in the first three games that nothing was happening. Something as simple as fast one touch passing is making a huge difference today. 

I would disagree about the Hull game, as I feel we played very well at times, but totally agree with the last two games. It's difficult for any team to defend when the opposition is one-two passing the ball around them.

I don't know, but maybe Gabby is completely out through and Hogan has been patched up enough to be on the bench. I am with others when it comes to it looking at a patched up side after the money we have spent. 

Saying that when a good percentage of money spent was on Codeger and McCormick our options are limited at the moment. Lansbury (another big signing), hasn't performed well at all outside of the Hull game, but I feel he could have come in and taken a bit of the pressure off of Omonah.

Hutton, he is a very lucky man.

"There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance the next time." - Malcolm X, lets hope he was right.
 

I hear people say "The best form of defense is attack," or "We need a solid spine and defense," but in the end, none of that matters if we can't put the ball in the back of the net. Our conversion rate this season is 4.76%, while the top 6 teams rage from 12.3% to a little over 20%. We are creating chances, but we have struggled for years to put the ball in the goal. We went out and bought three of the best forwards in the league and for one reason or another only Codger has had some success.

Hogan got injured, Ross got fat, and then Codger gets injured last game of the season. No matter if Gabby is playing well or not, he isn't the most prolific goal scorer, so we need to find a solution to this. Hogan is coming back from injury and I think will come good in time, but not the time that the club or especially Bruce has. Our key short passes in and around the box are well lower than the top six and even Reading who we play tomorrow. The only slight bright spark is Reading's conversion rate is lower than ours. They have Bacuna now, so that should improve tomorrow.

We need to start scoring goals, and creating more chances in front of goals, not out wide in the box, but in front of goals. History has shown (in the last book I read) that 85% of goals come from the no further out than the penalty spot. The defense won't have many games as bad as Cardiff throughout the season so we need to get our conversion rate in front of goals up between 10-15%. That is a Championship winning team, and not one with 4.76%.

We need to create more chances but Wolves have only created one more than us and they are in 2nd place. Cardiff has created 32.

My view is we need to go 442. Two banks of 4 with two wingers who can put balls into the area I spoke of earlier. I believe Albert should be right and Green or Onomah are the best on the left. I would have kept Amavi and played him as left wing as I felt he could have a good future in that area.

Johnstone

Bree

Chester

Terry

Taylor

Whelan

Hourihane

Albert

Green/Onomah

Hogan

Gabby/Davies

Just now, AntrimBlack said:

The players should know their role before they step on the pitch. It is all very ad hoc at the moment, like the school playground.

It really is down to the manager and his coaching staff.

I totally agree the tactics are down to the manager and coaching, but the passing is down to the players. If you look at some of the passes from the like of Hutton and Lansbury (there were others), this is down to the players. They can pass better than that, and they just aren't doing it. The players have to be accountable and hopefully, Bruce will support this by dropping some of them on Tuesday. If he doesn't, then I might question his sanity.

Just now, DCJonah said:

If he gets 10-15 more games we are taking a huge gamble on the future of this club. 

Read the 2nd paragraph.

After the embarrassment of yesterday's game, if he can't get a response and a sustained response over the next 10-15 games then he needs to go. I believe/believed in him, but I am very worried he is going to be the next in line of failed managers. 

Teams and players can have bad runs, but a manager is the one who has to galvanize everyone and get everything back on track. If he can't, and we lose again Tuesday, then he should be gone by the weekend. I, like most, haven't got a clue who I think can or would want to replace him. With the restriction on spending, what manager will want to come in and work with the players we have? Dean Smith may be!

The tactics weren't the best yesterday, but to his defense, some of the players on show yesterday put in a drunken player performance. The players are better than how some played yesterday, so many of them need to answer a few questions also.

1 minute ago, markavfc40 said:

I praised him over the summer and now within 45 minutes of full time in our third game of the season, after one win, one draw, one defeat you're saying posters like me have been slow to put their head above the parapet. I mean really mate come on get a grip ffs it is not some competition where we call each other out on being right or wrong about players or managers as the bottom line is that we all want the same thing don't we which is to win games regardless of who is on the pitch or who is on the touch line.

As for Bruce he needed to hit the ground running this season as he would always be judged quickly having been given 3/4 of last season. I don't think 3 games into this season is long enough to make a definitive judgement but I'd imagine by the end of this month, so 3 more league games, he needs to win a coupe of them as otherwise he could well be out come the international break.

Always happy to read your posts, Mark. Very level headed and never a need a score points off others. Well done.

How was the fans reaction after the game?

3 minutes ago, Paul33 said:

I've been hearing for months now that the players don't like Bruce or his coaches and the players don't get on with one another either .... now it is seriously starting to show!

 

 

Where have you heard this from?

5 minutes ago, TrentVilla said:

 

Its odd, I seem to recall a lot of people in this thread belittling the concerns raised in pre-season. Yet I don't see them saying the same now.

And? People are allowed to changes their opinion.

We are losing to a top of the table team though.

Bruces seems to have his tactics working well.