6 hours ago, AshVilla said:

I like the way sky mention in the pre-match ipswich buildup that we we will be without gabby

Like we care? 

They don't either, it's just something to say when you have content to provide.

1 hour ago, Michael118 said:

(a)

               Johnstone 

Hutton  Chester  Baker  Amavi

                  Jedinak

    Bacuna  Gardner  Hourihane

            Kozak   Agbonlahor

Bunn Sellars Kodjia Bree Grealish Lansbury Elphick

 

(b)          

                 Johnstone

Hutton  Chester   Baker    Amavi

                   Jedinak

          Bacuna    Hourihane

                   Grealish

             Kozak   Agbonlahor

 

(c)              

                        Johnstone

 Hutton      Chester       Baker       Amavi

                          Jedinak

Bacuna    Lansbury   Hourihane   Bjarnason

         Agbonlahor/Kozak/Kodjia/Hogan

 

Picking team (a) and actually watching it play would be the equivalent of hanging yourself in front of a mirror as a dog chews on your vitals and Dr Joseph Venglos gently whispers, "let the experiments begin".

On 01/02/2017 at 11:01, KHV said:

That team looks pretty ordinary to me. I don't think that team contains much quality and it certainly doesn't excite me. It's just a collection of bang average championship players with a couple of players capable of producing a bit more. I think the keeper is suspect at best.

To me that's not a promotion side I'm afraid.

Fair analysis based on what you've seen of these players for Villa, but you haven't seen much and you haven't seen that formation, so let's give it a chance, otherwise, we truly might as well just slump into that never ending depression.

8 hours ago, Grasshopper said:

Bruce Out

Warburton In

So very brief!

Don't agree with the sentiment, but I truly enjoyed reading this post. Keep up the good work!

@Grasshopper interested to hear your thoughts on Steve Bruce.

Are you for or against him and can you back up your views with evidence?

It's fair to say that Steve Bruce is not exactly Jean Paul Sartre when it comes to deep thinking.

Indeed, it was Bruce himself who remarked, "I'm not really into tactics", during his time with Sunderland. He may have been half joking, but many a true word, etc

Instead, his forte is man management, whilst typically his number 2 is tasked with the technical stuff. We all knew that before we got him and it hasn't changed since.

As such, the gamble under Bruce is specifically about whether the players find him inspiring and Clemence is drilling them in the right stuff.

Whether you like the mix of roles and responsibilities or not, it's obvious that working in this way adds a layer of complexity to the gelling process at a club, something which is only further complicated by the addition of multiple new recruits all at once.

Relationships like teams take time to build. Xia has accepted this now with talk of going at it next year and so should we.

8 hours ago, Grasshopper said:

Tiger Woods has won 14 major titles (Only Jack Niklaus has won more - 18)

So if any one knows how to win a major its him. 

Steve Bruce has 4 promotions from Ch to PL (noone has more)

So if anyone knows how to get promoted its him

Tiger Woods is past it though - spent force

ALL Villa managers since God knows when become a spent force.

We are in fact the best at rendering players coaches & managers alike useless.

Only nowadays we need less time to do it. we've become super efficient at it. Maybe even the worlds best.

The only ones who can compete with us are Portsmouth & Leeds, However, Leeds are being Monk'd at the moment.

If we stay patient enough, give it time and a bit more money, I'm sure we'll be Bruce'd into a Portsmouth soon enough.

We all like to see progress.

But mark my words.

We could wait another hundred years.

And we won't ever see it.

Paragraphs out.

4 minutes ago, rodders0223 said:

Would rather have Gestede tbfh and just lump balls forward.

That's a joke. You are joking, right?

1 hour ago, smg said:

Play offs are gone which is disappointing but what would happen if we were promoted? We now need to relax and watch a team develop for next season. Give Bruce time, a preseason and another transfer window should see the development of a squad we are all looking for. If things have not worked out by the end of October make another change but knee jerk changes now will only take us back to square one which clearly hasn't worked with our previous managerial changes. Patience is needed, if as some have said it's all too much then they should step back it will be best for them and the club, come back when we are winning and successful.

Agree with this 100%

Dropped more points from winning positions than any other team.

Bruce in. He's still not had enough time. Lumpy? Yes. Ugly? Yes. But he gets to the end of the season.

We are going to win

@Grasshopper I think it was you that wanted Steve Bruce to 'grow a pair'. Does this line up suggest his gonads are swelling?

Patience, what's that?

This is 2017, where the minimum requirement is total, instant success, or you are FIRED five minutes after being appointed.

2 minutes ago, terrytini said:

Well on that I agree. Some of the comments against him have in my view been way way over the top tantrum like outbursts that are really quite embarrassing.

Agreed. We are all sick of it and just want to enjoy the thing we love again, but at the end of the days it's only football.

Really not worth getting that upset about when there's plenty otherwise to worry about in the world.

43 minutes ago, jackdaww said:

i detect a complacency on this board - an assumption we will stay in the championship.

this is no longer about making the playoffs , its about survival .

i am underwhelmed by the quality of the latest transfer intake , just who is responsible for bringing them in ?

Complacency or realism?

1 minute ago, jon_c said:

I'd say it was more akin to the ridiculous clamour to bring in another consistent failure as manager, and think it would go well. 

Not quite sure what you are saying. My point is that making decisions based on emotions only guarantees failure. We may yet drop even further under Bruce and his opposers can feel vindicated if that happens, but he has to be given the rope first.

1 minute ago, Jareth said:

I agree. What option does Bruce have next game? I would like to see Taylor and Bree come in, Grealish return and Jedinak back in - but that would still mean two players having their first game, 3 if you put Hogan on, and then another 2/3 having only their second and third games for us - we will not see a team performance for a while yet and it's time to drop any expectations and treat the rest of this season as one long training exercise. 

Exactly. Focus on performance and results will take care of themselves. 

Just now, Zatman said:

problem is he has said same things before in post match interviews that its getting like Lambert we go again

Well, that's true, but there are only so many things you can say as a manager when your team has played that poorly.

Fact of the matter is we are not a team at all yet and not only that, but we are also still a million miles off being one - there will be more pain like this before we click.

Despite what the result shows and what some will say about the quality of our players, we are capable of a lot better, as the first 15 showed.

Tony has done a great job in shipping out much of the dross, but in truth this is only the beginning. You don't change half the squad and gel instantly - it just doesn't happen.

The remainder of this season has to be about finding the formula and building for next year. 

5 minutes ago, Jareth said:

My realistic money is on Ulloa - he needs a club, wouldn't have to move house, has that promotion winning and prem experience. 

Decent player, though Ranieri has this very day been quoted as saying: "Leo Ulloa is not fit. He is working with the physio" - could be politics, of course.

1 hour ago, Jareth said:

Not even any pun potential. Bedeau OUT!

Something about Tony heading up the M6, looking for a centre half, brings one back in his dodgy Backup Renault, Jacob, Jacob Bedeau

Just now, dont_do_it_doug. said:

Not really. Even I can't interpret that riddle and I'm fluent in Tony.

He appears to be saying, if needs be we'll do it because we are the ones with the football knowledge and business acumen, so leave it to us.

Admittedly, that's not Uncle Tone saying we definitely are selling him but he's also not ruling it out.

It could be a warning shot to Jack. Buck your ideas up. Hope he responds in the right way soon or he will be out.

9 minutes ago, John said:

I can't see that letting Jack go would be one of those "right deals". 

Tony's tweet this morning suggests otherwise

We saw Jack at his best in that Liverpool semi final and he was superb on that day, but then the whole team were.

Those are the circumstances in which he thrives, where his team is in the ascendency and the sole responsibility for making things happen is not on him. Ok, he did it vs. Wigan and very welcome it was too, but others of his age in other teams when called upon to be the main man have stepped up successfully on a consistent basis, from the get go.

It definitely does hurt because he's one of our own and he has some serious talent, but it may be time. That said, I do believe he is a luxury we could now afford with quality support around him. Question is do we need him?

The only thing which would definitely change my mind about keeping him is if he refused a move because Villa is in his heart and he promised to buckle down and fight for his place in the team.

May be too late for that already.