Regista

We aren't cursed at all. With a decent coaching set up this squad will improve massively if we get someone in who will give us an identity, a positive brand of football etc. We now have players good enough, we just need the right manager now. As mentioned numerous times, Bruce will always succeed at teams like Hull. The way we approach games is absolutely pathetic. I worry this 'stability' idea is all Tony is thinking about, you have the wrong guy in charge!

Genuinely worried about going down. This is a mess, somebody please tell me this will be ok.

People spamming twitter saying we need stability. You can't stable a pile of dross with no ideas.

This is absolutely disgusting. I pray to god Bruce goes but I worry who we will be able to attract as manager now. Feel most sorry for Hogan. Sorry mate, you won't even get a pass from JK let alone a chance at goal.

Christ, just because we aren't getting battered does not mean we are playing well. The way we attack is pathetic. Our one chance from a hoisted FK on the half way line and a flick on.

Exactly. We bought Hogan and don't play to his strengths, because tactically we don't have a clue. He doesn't need time, we need a manager who will actually work with and coach a system in to these players.

Stability for the sake of stability is also pointless. We now have the owner, the players, just need a manager he suits this squad. Bruce will play another formation next game. With Bjarnason somehow managing to keep somebody else out the team.

Barring the goal we've looked more solid with Jedinak back but make no mistake we are f**king clueless going forward, we've not played well at all, Newcastle have just been awful. There is no system, it's a joke. We have no idea how to attack as a team, and that's down to management and coaching. We have the players to play much better football than this. Don't tell me he needs time, he won't ever get this team playing to its potential.

I'm so pleased I've seen a few comments tonight referring to Bjarnason being poor. He's a complete non-entity. He's doesn't even cover ground with any real intensity, and he offers absolutely zero going forward. Amount of times Hutton had the ball in space and instead of running beyond he stopped and held the attack up, clueless. Re Bjarnason because so far I've seen people saying he's doing ok/quite well!

A narrow 4-4-2 where the full backs need to provide all the width and ours don't get forward. Looks like Bruce is picking formations out of a hat and hoping to get lucky. What his obsession with starting this Icelandic guy is i don't know. He looks f**king awful. He may come good, I'll give him time, but he's way off the pace.

He wasn't the right man two months ago. Name me one convincing performance for 90 minutes this season bar Rotherham? Our earlier wins were lucky and unconvincing, we've not had one single 'excellent' performance all season, or even just to a 'very good' level, it's a joke.

That went off topic, apologies. BRUCE OUT - relatable

Most annoying thing is Twitter is full of people spamming AVFC related stuff demanding we play 4-4-2, mainly 15 year olds who don't have a clue. Like you say, it's now the most demanding formation in world football. Leicester will be the only team in recent history/near future to have success with it because they had the most combative midfielder on the planet. Stats that aren't measured on opta that go unnoticed are things like the intensity of distance covered in a game. For example Lallana covers similar distance to Kante in games but the intensity he keeps up on the press is obsurd compared to any other player. We don't have the players to play like this. It was different when it was 4-4-2 against 4-4-2, with a big man little man up too etc, it's all different now.

It's theoretically all opinion but I do believe the majority of people who suggest 4-4-2, don't have a good enough understanding of the players we have and their suitability to roles in that formation. Unless of course they refer to a narrow diamond being a 4-1-2-1-2. One thing that will be affecting the players input at the moment will be Bruce's lack of continuity. Despite how much they are paid it's a natural human instinct if a leader does not portray a clear idea/plan for them to then decrease output, some of it subconsciously. Performing at 10% lower than your capabilities is huge. I am sure that players will be lookimg round asking what the hell is going on. All these different formations and systems being tested, no consistent team sheet. This will create a lot of doubt in players minds, and automatically lessen the desire, effort, overall output if only by a small amount. To me the players are playing like they don't fully believe in the ideas of our current management team, and why would they.

The main problem with Bruce is, there is no system!!!!! We now have players who can play in a positive system, but we don't have the manager or coaches at the club to implement it. Before anyone says, 'how do you know, do you take notes at BMH'- No I do not, but it's obvious to see. We have a man who has signed the best players in the league and now has no clue how to play them all. Go back to my first posts and you'll see how much I banged on about Lansbury not being able to play in a 2 man midfield. Shock, he does and we get overrun every game. Yes Bruce has achieved promotions at other clubs, but they are nowhere near as big as Villa. Part of going to a big club is the expectation levels, as well as the demands for more positive football. He's a great fit for a team like Hull. We haven't been coached at all on how to press as a team. If one person attempts it it doesn't evolve in to packs or a team press, it just stops. Instead we are instructed, yes instructed to sit back, which invites pressure, which makes us drop deeper etc. What this also does is have a knock on effect to work rates. Believe me when you play for a manager who concentrates a lot on pressing it automatically introduces a better work ethic, because you have to work harder off the ball. There are many more specifics I could go through but it would take me all night. At the end of the day Bruce is a good Manager for the right club/players, which sadly isn't us. For people saying it's not worked changing so far. All managers under Lerner post O'Neill didn't stand a chance with the ambition of the Chairman. I guarantee those who want Bruce out now also want continuity more than anything but we also need that to be with someone who will implement a system, but it has to be a positive system at the same time, with tactically astute coaches. These fans would be giving Bruce time if they could see a bigger picture, but he himself has no idea what the picture is, that's the problem. We will improve under Bruce because we can't get any worse. But I am convinced he isn't astute enough to get the best out of this squad. Any manager who publicly says he isnt bothered about tactics will not succeed at a big club.

Hoping this is more of a 4-2-3-1 and not 4-4-2. Although saying that, it won't matter when we end up defending for most of the game anyway.

Would like to know the reasons around why people think 4-4-2 will work with Lansbury as one of the CM's? Keep seeing it suggested but I will 100% go out on a limb and say that will definitely never work. We can't get a grip of the game with 3 in the middle, and without Jedi the gap we leave infront of the back four is ridiculous. Lansbury does not have the awareness, discipline or ability off the ball to play in a two, or the mobility for that matter. On the ball he is class, and needs to be playing as one of 3, and not in the deeper role either! Think 4-3-3 is our best formation, I'd even try Gardner out holding because that Icelandic bloke has looked very poor so far. Will give him a chance of course, because bar set pieces even Hourihane has looked bang average. Fear we don't have the manager to sort this out though. I feel he just isn't the right fit for this squad we now have.

100% this. Also doesn't mean I don't rate Bruce, I just really don't think he is the right fit for this club. He is a very good manager, but not a good fit for what we have now. We need a tactically astute manager who can get these quality signings playing how they should be. We may improve under Bruce but he will never get the best out of these players. I don't remember a single game this season we have actually been in control of, bar maybe Rotherham, the worst team in the league by a country mile. Even our wins have been far from convincing. Sick of the negative way we are playing. Unfortunately I think we will stick with him.

Main problem I have with the way we are playing at the minute, is like a few people have mentioned on here recently I think; I obviously want us to win every game, but when we line up how we did against Ipswich I'm left feeling in a lose/lose situation. If we don't win - speaks for itself. If we do, I don't want that to be how we start setting up week in week out because quite frankly it's ridiculous. Some people may argue it's about the result, but that's where we all differ. I for one am not content with the squad we have to be playing this dour football, it's mind numbingly pathetic. People may argue it takes time. Look at the Hull manager who has come in, the type of manager who is tactically aware, also proving it doesn't take months to change a system. I'm not mentioning him for any other reason than giving an example of what more tactically astute managers can offer. Before we didn't have the squad to benefit from someone like that, however I feel we now do. I would elaborate more on some of the things he's implemented there which is obvious to see but I feel there is no point at this moment in time. I just don't feel we have the right management team in place to get this team to fulfill its potential. Problem is I don't know who we could get in to take us forward. Well, I do, but they definitely wouldn't come here.

The things you mentioned aren't important attributes though. Having good energy levels is far more important for the other 2 CM's and RB, where he actually plays. You don't need to run up and down at DM, you need to be reading the game quicker than anyone else, keeping team shape, intercepting passing lanes, coming short for the ball, and actually passing to a team mate. Can you name some RB's who have moved to DM and done a good job? I don't mean an ok job for one game, I mean who actually look comfortable in that position, although I think our opinion of looking comfortable in that position will probably differ. Please don't include Philip Lahm in this, he's a world class footballer and isn't comparable in the slightest. Hutton is also not expected to be the attacking threat down the right, especially with Bruce, our full backs hardly push up. When we don't have the ball they set up as a very narrow four and Hutton is consistently caught out. Doesn't track runners or intercept passing lanes, and when he has the ball his distribution is quite frankly embarrassing. You sound like you feel Hutton gets unfair criticism but he's one of the players that's been stealing a living with us for far too long, he's simply a poor player. Let's give him a clap because he looks like he cares and puts in the effort, no, he's a seriously poor player. Next time he starts, watch how many times he gets caught out, not because the team is stretched but simply because he just isn't up to speed with the game and has no idea where his man is. Not quite sure where you get this concept of Villa having attacking full backs either. Maybe once or twice in a game he will push forward and put a god awful cross in, that is not being expected to get up the pitch all game, we don't keep the ball for long enough for that anyway.

Players can't just play somewhere because they have 'energy' and 'physicality'. In the role that holds positional awareness and reading of the game as two of the most important aspects, you ironically suggest probably the very worst player in our team in relation to those to play in that position. Sometimes I really do question people's understanding of the game.

Concerned about him starting tomorrow. Looked completely lost so far. Is also one of those players who steadily jog with no intensity like Stephen Ireland did, infuriates me. Early days but I think he looks poor.

Correct, as mentioned further down the thread it is an assumption, but one I am fairly certain about. That is based on how all Steve Bruce teams have played over the years. The point I was trying to make is that the evidence suggests that we do not have a system and a way of playing when we take to the field. Modern day managers and tactically astute coaches will drill in methods/sequences that would be obvious to see are being attempted from watching a game, and that's from day one! They might not start to be effective with these straight away but a few months in you would see evidence of a system starting to be understood. My concern at the minute is there is a formation on match day, a team picked, and a consensus to 'go out there and give 100%' with no real game plan. When you say I am 'speculating', I would agree but also add I am speculating and judging on what evidence I have seen on the football pitch so far, and that is a team who appear to be playing with no ideas of how to attack as a team. A proportion of our goals have come from individual brilliance. I am convinced a lot if it falls down to not having a tactically astute management team in place, no matter how many people come back with that's just 'speculating/assuming'. One thing is certain though is that even with a man manager here like Bruce we should still be doing a lot better, but I feel the players brought in do not suit this. We will see an improvement but I feel we won't ever be playing positive football under him, and we now actually have the players to do that. Be interesting to see how this plays out 'til the end of the season. UTV

This Grealish talk drives me insane! He is a number 10 who plays in a team who seem to fluctuate between 30-40% possession per game, who are so direct when they do have the ball, as well as offering the least amount of movement and players in a dangerous position in the final 3rd I have ever seen! As you can maybe tell, I am a massive fan of his and believe if we played in a particular way you would see a very different Jack Grealish. On top of this though the role he plays, requires risk taking, forward passes etc so he will make mistakes in this respect, but again all part of the learning curve. If people are expecting massive progress in a team like this where half his time is spent pressing opposition (which has improved a lot) then I feel we have a right to be disappointed, but ultimately it's not the best environment for him to flourish. I'm not saying build the team round him either, but I'm convinced he would actually start to reach his potential if we played a different way, but any elaboration on that is for the Steve Bruce thread.

Will be slightly concerned if this was his intial plan and he's bought no CB's in Jan though. Only have 3 first team CB's in the squad. Any injuries will mean square pegs in round holes. I know Bree can apparently play there but I'd think it best with young players sticking to one position. SORRY, we have Micah how could I forget!