TheStagMan

I could possibly believe that there was something going on behind the scenes if it wasn't for the following: We have replaced the Owner, the board, the manager, most of the first team, the youth team coaches and many others at the club. The only consistently present people are Gabby and Doris the tea lady. Much as I would like to blame Gabby, it would be ridiculous, which just leaves Doris putting wacky baccy in the tea. Villa park is not cursed or haunted. John Terry would not put up with players not pulling their weight or some sort of backroom drivers (unless it is him, but it has been going on far longer than he has been here) EXACTLY the same problems have arisen at every club Bruce has managed. See the infamous Sunderland article from 5 years ago. The problems are crystal clear: No defined game plan or style Over reliance on one or two good players to paper over the cracks A lack of tactical nouse Over reliance on a defensive game with lump it up front tactics Players bought with little thought of how to fit them into a style Defence first and foremost, no plan B, backs to the wall lads Other teams will come at us for a scalp and WILL raise their game to the point where us having better individual players is not sufficient, hence all of the above comes into sharp focus ALL of this comes down to the fault of the manager. If the players are not performing or making stupid mistakes, they should be benched and have extra training to eradicate mistakes from their game play. If they do not improve, they should be replaced. This is not a Sunday league team (although we do play like one) - these are professional footballers who are some of the best in the division. They look lost. That comes from a lack of clear instruction and a defined game plan. Brentford had one, we did not. For the umpteenth time this season.

That's the thing though, isn't it - as the manager, it is his job to sort this out. he hasn't, and seems surprised it is still happening. Has to go. "the players are s**t" or "the players aren't performing" are the things HE is responsible for fixing - get some that aren't s**t (these are mostly his signings) and make the one's who aren't performing, perform and if they don't, then stop bloody playing them.

I'm sure he does want the club back in the prem, be a big promotion bonus in it for him. Unfortunately what he wants to deliver and what he is capable of delivering seem to be miles apart. I'm sure he doesn't want to fail at Villa - but how can we be given ANOTHER footballing lesson by a side with players who are individually less skilled and cost a tenth of ours......that has to sit with the manager At the end of the day, he will walk off with a nice fat pay off, his managerial career may be over, but he has enough mates in the game to makes sure he is alright and it wont be his fault, and it will be us the fans will be left suffering the results of his ineptitude.

You managed to miss the last 12 months of sh*te then?

errrrr, yes..... that is the object of a football game, especially for a team aiming for promotion, and if you haven't managed it for 5 games!!!!! then, yes, it is a bit of a crisis.

To sack or not to sack? That is the question...

Absolutely not. I also noticed that they were also not following the rules that if you go a goal ahead you should defend like crazy and hold on for dear life. They completely ignored this and carried on attacking and even tried to score another goal - I just cannot understand how they were allowed to get away with this. Damned unsporting behaviour if you ask me.

Unless your name is Steve Bruce.

I think it is more like 4 months. You are hysterical.

What can I say that has not already been said? We were given ANOTHER footballing lesson by the mighty Brentford. 3 points out of 15. Terrible. Bruce's ineptitude was partially covered up last season by Kodjia's goals, and this season by Adomah's. He has to go. No clue. Our "team" looks lost.

Only just OK, bordering on poor in fact. Remember the target at the start of the season was two points per game. 38 from 23 is way off that.

3 points from the last 12 is pretty crap to be fair.....

Worst performance i've ever seen from any football player since the beginning of football itself".

fixed that for you. You're welcome!

All fairly reasonable ideas...

Oxygen, Nitrogen and a little bit of Carbon Dioxide?

You are right, I don't.... but it's a pretty safe bet.

Yes, we would only have to play one of them.

It's not, in fact put the two things together and there is a pattern.

Jesus Christ, this again. NO it is not the return of two points from 3 games that has caused the knives to come out. In case you missed most of this thread (and this season) it is the negative tactics, piss poor management, our team looking inept, our lack of any playing style, the scraping of results, the lack of any visible plan B, the inability to influence a game, the excuses, the lack of playing to the player's strengths and the lack of sufficient improvement in the team for OVER A YEAR that has caused the knives to come out, the last few games are the icing on the cake showing that we have not "turned a corner" as the Bruce-in camp have been saying after each win, in fact our concerns have come true, our "good form" was not sustainable (just like last season). We have not beaten a top 8 team (certainly this season) and yet people are confident that we will go up via the play offs?????. It's not funny, it really isn't. It is actually devastating, and any true Villa fan should be seriously worried about the future of this club. I get that the objective this year is "get promoted by any means" and Steve Bruce has achieved this miracle FOUR times, FOUR but he really does not look capable of doing it again. He simply IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH - We have to get rid. There is a reason he has hovered around this level for most of his managerial career. As for the injuries excuse - Other clubs seem to have injuries as well, yet it is only us that is crippled by them - why is this? is it the lack of afore-mentioned plan B, would it be the fact that Bruce sacked off most of our strikers, and didn't think about getting in a replacement (other than Gabby?????? Jesus!), who thought that Terry, Chester and Samba was all we needed at CB for the season? Whatever it may be, injuries are part of football and it is the manager's job to mitigate injuries, and have the squad in a position where they are able to deal with the situation. If we had a system where everyone knew their roles, a different player could slot into that role and the overall team strength would remain at a similar/slightly lower level, we just seem to collapse. In addition, we could rotate players into and out of those roles so that they weren't playing as many games, had more recovery time and perhaps therefore would not get injured as much, and if they did then their replacement would be ready.

Go back and look at your own posts mate.... Yes I do have an agenda.... Villa to be successful, get out of this league and consolidate in the prem and then build from there. Bruce is not achieving that. 100% the buck stops at his door REGARDLESS of the cause - it is into him as manager to sort out the problems.

Oh good grief. So 15 to 20 decent players (read very good for this level) players are suddenly rubbish, and it is nothing to do with Bruce. Wow!

Seriously, you can't see that it would be easier to win against Brentford or Millwall than Man U, Arsenal or Spurs?

Errr, read the post above yours.... :-) Although I will qualify that with this statement: A win at Wolves.... ahhhhhhh hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Spot on.