striker

I feel TRO you are not giving Villa players enough credit by again protecting the current Villa manager. You only have to look at how the likes of Hourihane and Lansbury played for their previous clubs plus even James Bree at FB or indeed Laet. Throw in Onomah, Snodgrass, Adomah, Grealish and O'Hare plus Hogan who previously thrived on through balls and you have players who love the ball at their feet. Of course there's plenty of scope for a Santos to come to Villa and play a more progressive game it just that Bruce chooses not to play that way.

The differences between Villa and Wolves are imo down to the managers. If Santos was at the Villa the squad is plenty good enough to play every bit as well as Wolves do. Conversely if Bruce was managing the current Wolves squad then I feel they would be playing the way Villa are now. Sounds like I'm Bruce bashing but not really. It' just that Bruce and Santos like their teams to play in different ways with one more eye catching than the other but both still pretty effective at the moment. It will be interesting to see if Wolves can keep playing the same way throughout the winter especially if injuries hit? Reading between the lines of Bruce's quotes in the media, our manager doesn't think so although Bournemouth didn't do too badly.

You quoted me before I edited my post. Personally I feel Bruce purchased Hogan with the idea to have Grealish as the supply line. However with the Grealish injury Hogan was asked to play more as a target man which clearly isn’t his game and probably why he has looked so poor. I’d be looking to move on others before Hogan and Thor. Thor can fill in at FB or midfield if Villa suffer more injuries. In January Villa need a striker of the same ilk as Davis and maybe a CB but preferably both on loan as everywhere else is basically covered.

Yeah mate Villa could go down that route though I’m not sure it would be the right thing to do with the amount of games to play after January plus playoffs if that’s the way it turns out? Id rather get someone in on loan as a back up to Davis with Hogan still available should Bruce want to change it as Grealish is available again. Could well be that was the reason for the Hogan purchase in the first place with Bruce looking to play Grealish in behind Hogan threading those through balls to him? Not even Bruce would be stupid enough to think that Hogan was a target man.

No team in the Championship is going to loan one of their top strikers. Villa would have to buy and since there’s very little money to spend well it ain’t going to happen.

It’s there I think due to when joining I was a visiting Everton fan but I’ve always liked the Villa too. I’m now a fully fledged Villa fan in mind and body but still look out for Everton results as my second team.

Not missing Kodjia or Terry at the moment despite the forecasts on here. Said it previously. Bruce with less player options is a much better manager so we’ll done to Bruce and the team.

I think the last time Villa needed to freshen it up and didn’t they lost the game so hopefully Bruce will have learn’t a lesson? Tough game today but if Bruce gets the team selection right then Villa should win.

No don't think it's anything due to fitness at the moment. More so that if villa keep losing possession eventually that will catch up with the team at the business end of the season. Thats what i think some posters are worried about. As to the cause of poor possession it might well be a lack of movement (options) around the player in possession or the way in which Villa are set up to play. Both those explanations ( only my opinion) would therefore reflect on the manager and coaches. Maybe reason enough to explain why Bruce isn't endearing himself to all the Villa faithful despite recent results?

At the root of that concern over performances is whether the inability of Villa to keep possession consistently especially when under the cosh or just inviting more pressure will take it's toll by the end of the season. I think it's certainly a valid concern if your players are, in almost every game, having to constantly track back and chase the ball due to losing possession which is going to mean a lot of your players hitting burn out before the season ends. Moreover if you are constantly giving the ball away to better teams they will hurt you. If Villa fail to obtain automatic promotion then they will most cerainly play one of those better teams in the playoffs on a more expansive sapping pitch.

The above posts (which are all excellent by the way) pretty much sum up my opinion as well. I just wonder if some of the Villa players are as frustrated as the fans the way Villa are being asked to play at the moment?

Thanks mate.

The loss of Kodjia is a blow alright but not as much as it would have been last season. Hasn't been the same since coming back from injury. I also feel Villa will play more as a team now without him if Bruce can get the setup right. The loss of Hogan is only a blow in as much as its a loss of numbers rather than missing him for his ability. He's been awful since going to Villa. It might be a godsend too as it may reduce Bruce's tinkering due to lack of options and concentrate his mind on playing the best players available to him just as it was at his previous clubs?

The thing is if Wolves are also interested and his people look at the table even if it stays as it is or Villa improve, I'm not sure he'll choose Villa? Can Villa afford to fork out 3m-4m in January without shifting players? If you believe what Bruce is currently saying then it must be no.

I really don’t think Bree was a poor signing. What I’ve seen of him he looks decent enough when played but Bruce chooses not to play him on a regular basis. The loss of Terry is a blow alright not only for his playing ability but his organisational skills and leadership qualities. Those last two traits will be a bigger loss than the first.

Just to touch on squad rotation. I remember Bruce stating a few games ago that he should have rested the younger players as they had looked tired and he blamed himself for that. The same should apply to all of the players yesterday when there was decent replacements available to freshen things up. This was a major worry for me (mentioned this previously) that due to the constant lose of possession and the way Bruce was setting the team up to compensate for that, the Villa players would start to suffer badly from fatigue and it would have a long term affect. Bruce has also said recently that the Championship was only starting now with a long winter ahead but he felt he had the squad to deal with it. Well the team wasn’t rotated yesterday after two tough games in a week so I guess Bruce must take part of the blame for that.

Didn’t see the full game just the hilights. You can’t legislate for a worldly so soon after the start of the game and their second goal was beautifully worked but it just seems to me under Bruce that the majority of the time Villa play a half decent side they are out thought, outplayed or both. Villa need to be winning these games or certainly not losing them if they want to get an automatic promotional spot and generally it’s not happening.

Yeah mate no worries (I didn't see the game against Fulham) but I just don't think he's affected the games that i've seen in the way that he did last season. That may be due to his recovery from injury of course but I certainly feel Villa this season are less reliant on his individuality because as we've seen goals are now coming from all the pitch and that is certainly a good thing would you not agree?

Disagree. He's been largely ineffective this season with Villa look better without him but its only my opinion.

Not too many of his ilk around at the moment and no doubt Premiership scouts are already watching so Villa need to sign him up long term especially if promotion isn't achieved this season. Love watching him play and when he learns to finish better Villa will have another Benteke on their hands.

Posted something similar in another thread. Considering the way Bruce wants to play and you seen it last night Villa are a better team without Kodjia. Only my opinion of course but I think after the emergence of Davis who is very much a team player and so important to the way in which Villa play now Kodjia would be better deployed as a super sub coming off the bench late in games to take advantage of a tiring defence. I know thats a very controversial point of view but Kodjia is a complete maverick and may not fit into Villa's way of playing anymore although I'm sure Bruce will try to shoe horn him into the side again when fit.

Stats can be deceiving though depending on circumstance. Its only my opinion of course but i'd rather use my eyes and my eyes are telling me that Villa are giving the ball away too much. Don't know whether you saw the game against Preston but Bruce was screaming at the players in the early stages of the game to keep the ball and he has done this repeatedly in previous games. Thats why I think Villa need someone like Gareth Barry just to sit in front of the defence to keep the ball as a calming influence. Jedinak can't do it, nor can Whelan. I'd give Jordan Lyden a chance. Better passer and more comfortable on the ball than Jedinak or Whelan but Bruce won't play him. Maybe Lansbury will improve things when he comes back from injury but he's played there before and been less than impressive. So if Villa are to make any signings in January a more technical midfielder would be first on my list just to add more composure which in turn would take some pressure of the defence. I'd also like to see another target man come in on loan maybe just to give Davis a rest. Bamford maybe at Boro? Really don't think Villa need much more than that.

Haha probably right mate. The whole point of having such a midfielder is to be able to retain possession longer and not invite just as much pressure on the defence as good as it is at the moment. The amount of times misplaced passes given to the opposition from Villa midfielders is really starting to irritate me when composure on the ball would see Villa retain possession more. Last night for instance against Preston heading the ball back to the opposition (particularly in the second half) like a game of ping pong instead of just controlling the ball with chest or trapping it, then passing to a team mate would probably have seen Villa win by more with less effort. If Villa continue in the same vain with their fullbacks and wide men having to go up and down the touch line like a yo yo dictated by loss of possession then by the business end of the season the Villa squad will suffer too much from fatigue and injury.

After watching Villa over the last couple of games a midfielder who can actually retain the ball would be the only signing I’d make in January. If I see Jedinak head the ball one more time to the opposition from the halfway line instead of trapping and laying it off to a team mate then I’m going to personally shave his beard off.

Decent professional performance by the Villa with Davis again very impressive and yet another clean sheet. Credit to Bruce as well. My only criticism is far too much poor retention of the ball which invites pressure and better teams than Preston will exploit that unless it improves but Villa up to fifth and heading in the right direction.