TheStagMan

@Vive_La_Villa Your post from the pre-match thread...... Top dreaming sir, top dreaming

Unbelievable. I have not enjoyed a game like I did that one for a very long time. Well done everyone. Awesome performance. Snodgrass is an utter machine . Absolutely everywhere today. And an assist. Welcome back Adomah and Jack and that new striker fella seems pretty good as well. According to the Sunderland fans he was a bit shit So looking forward to the run in. Come on Villa. We can do this!!!! Second as a minimum

Do we even have an anti-Wolves song? It's certainly never crossed my mind as something we needed. We will have to make do with something like: "you're just a shit west Bromwich Albion"

Smash and grab!!!!

No , the players are.

Bah!* *Still skiing so still don't care.

£20m for Traore. LMFAO. after the seasons he had for us and Boro he would be lucky to get a championship gig. *edit oh wait, daily star!

I am so confused and scared. What is going on in here?

Bah!* * I am currently skiing in Andorra so don't care!

It's good to see that we are now where we are. I have been very critical of Bruce's to date due to the performances put in on the pitch and the position of Villa in the league. To date, both have been poor and have not met expectations. There is nothing needed to justify that stance and nothing to criticise about it. No one can argue that we have been good enough to date, and December was shambolic. However, for whatever reason - be it Bruce suddenly having an epiphany in how he sets up the team, be it Agnew coming in, be it the players suddenly waking up, be it key players coming back, or be it the stars finally aligning and all the work in the background that we do not know about coming up trumps, we now look like a team, are putting in the performances and achieving results, and achieving them in style. It seems like a switch has been flicked and Aston Villa is now in the "on" position. Does the current form mean that people were wrong to call for his head? No Does the current form guarantee promotion? Only if it continues, and it hopefully will. Am I enjoying this turn around? Hell yes! Bruce has turned us around. As others have said, if he is responsible for the bad, he is responsible for the good as well, and I take my hat off to him for that. It has been a difficult time for him, and his reaction to the first goal against the scum speaks volumes. Would I want him as the manager for next season? I don't know. Let's get promoted first - there is still a long way to go (but it is now in our hands). For me it depends how the rest of the season goes - but the key thing is that is it no longer a definite "No" from me. He is winning me round. Well played Steve, Well played.

So since you can't let this go.......... How do you know that it would be to the detriment of the club? You are making things up there. Yes, Bruce has turned things around and I applaud him for that, BUT you absolutely CANNOT say with any level of certainty that another manager would have us in a worse position (just as you maintain that we cannot say that they wouldn't). Just because you think something it does not make it so. The performances up to the point of the last 10 games or so have simply not been good enough. Had he been sacked, despite the whining of his mates in the media it would have been justified. Now hopefully what we are seeing is the future and is sustainable, rather than a short lived run of form like last year (it certainly does not feel like last year). This shows that the decision not to sack him was a good one (at the moment). That does not equate to sacking him being a bad decision (as another manager may well have us in the same or better position). Unfortunately we will never know how the alternatives would have panned out. However - despite the great run of form, we are still not meeting the target of automatic promotion - although we are close. The job is not done yet and there is a lot of work to be done, at the moment we are in with a decent shout of second and first is achievable (although unlikely) - so until then, I and others who doubt his ability (with this club) will continue to worry until we are promoted - although we will enjoy the wins and good performances along the way. If we get promoted, fair play, I for one will admit I was wrong and will thank him. We can then start the debate about whether we think he should manage us in the prem. So a direct question to you If we have a fall off in form towards the end of the season and make the play-offs, but do not go up, or we finish lower than 6th - what would your position be then?

A bit behind here, have only just read the news about Steve Bruce's father. That is a shock. It was publicised that his mother was unwell, so I guess this was unexpected. Terrible news and thoughts go out to him and his family and I hope we give him a great reception on Sunday (if he is there) and that the Blosers do the same.

And..... Rob is now single :-)

It's no bother, we can send him to you....

it does look increasingly like I will not have to get his name tattooed on my arse and then show it to JV.

Didn't Hernandez want something like £100K per week though?

Is he their new Egyptian striker?

Dunno, I reckon he was hiding something.

Oh here we go more sarky digs from the usual suspects. Bruce had almost got us to where we need to be, so woe betide aanyone who has dared to question. BORING! Bruce is doing alright at the moment. Nearly where he needs to be. And credit to him for that. That does not excuse a year of shite beforehand that has been rightly criticised. I suggest you stop trying digs at people and enjoy where we are at the moment. As for man management...."I wish he'd stayed in Australia" Great man management that!!!! :-) Anyway, dragging this back to Ross. I hope he does prove himself and play a part in our return to the premier league as it is good for Villa. If he doesn't, that will be disappointing but I won't lose any sleep over it.

Heskey is coming back, isn't he :-(

Go back about 20 pages and you will see - or have you forgotten the time when we were far from OK? OK is a massive improvement from where he/we were, so if he can move up to good, then things will calm down a lot more.

I was about to say - is his clothing line the "King Jaffy Jaffar Range", and then I saw the later comments :-)

0% No-one anti-Bruce on here wants to see Villa fail "just to be right". In fact no-one on here wants to see Villa fail at all. Please stop with this rubbish. Now, today's game. Well organised and a good result. Credit where it is due, another good result. We looked confident today - this is what we want to see. A good foundation. If we continue to build on it, then we will not have any complaints. *edit* I don't speak for the twitterati. If you pay any attention to that rabble you deserve all you get! :-)

Terry is a difficult one. Best defender by a country mile and a leader on the pitch, so obviously you would want him back in the side, BUT Elphick has done very very well in the last few games and deserves to keep his place. Even if it was a case of sub Elphick and bring on Terry for a run out on 70 mins, it still sends the same message. Chester cannot be dropped as he has also been immense this season. Either Terry-Chester or Elphick-Chester is a good strong pairing. For once I will not criticise Bruce on that decision, whichever way he jumps (unless he drops both and puts Jedi in there!) or tries to play all three of them.

I hope so. I really really hope so.