DaveAV1

Ah but we're drawn like moths to the flame

Quite right too, none of this new man, bloke hugging how's your father. It's bad enough with the players hugging and kissing when they score. Although we seem to have managed to cut that down considerably over the last few seasons.........

I really do hope you're right TRO because he is definitely going to start next season with us and I want to win every game and storm the league. I just don't have as much faith in him, blind or otherwise, that you do. I think by now we should be seeing signs of a consistent plan and players should be more comfortable with each other. Because when players are more at home playing together things like poor first touches and stray passes become less frequent. By the way I don't have a problem with a little blind faith, after all we are supporters and should be supportive. Sometimes blind faith is all we have to cling on to!

TRO I like a lot of what you say, it's always well put with reasons behind it, even if I don't always agree with everything. However I have to say that your defence of Steve Bruce does at times sound a little on the blind faith side. Some posters are criticised for not being able to see the good in Steve Bruce but at times you seem to see only good. Please don't take this wrongly, but no manager is perfect, even I get somethings wrong from the comfort of my screen.......

He was the only player who started that realised we were playing a derby. The only other who got it was obviously Gabby.

Perhaps Mike Phelan wouldn't be a bad addition to the coaching squad. A good assistant often shapes the style and set up of the team. Often managers careers are depended on who is behind them.

Does anyone know who was Bruce's assistant manager and/or 1st team coach at Hull?

I was busy yesterday and I didn't hear the sad news until later in the afternoon from a client, who's a Spurs fan. I was surprised that such a fit bloke had suffered a heart attack so young, but I just assumed he'd be ok and make a good recovery. So to hear of his passing was really shocking and incredibly sad. It's the finality of it that leaves a sort of numbness, particularly for his family and close friends, my heart goes out to you all. I hope that the rousing send off he receives from the Villa family on Sunday provides some small comfort and in years to come, when things are less raw, makes his children proud that their Dad was so highly thought of by so many people. RIP lad.

Try vaping. I've never smoked but my business partner has smoked all his life until he tried vaping. He hasn't had a fag for, I think, 5 years this summer. It's worked for him and he always had a roll up in his mouth. In fact it's become his hobby, he makes and collects box mods now.

I'm 10 years older and just slightly less fit than Ugo. I've just moved an Easter egg out of reach!

He is being given some leeway by many posters by using the assumption that he had a lot of stuff to put right from years of failure. Surely most of the stuff that needed sorting about was about behind the scenes infrastructures and nothing to do with day to day 1st team matters. Managers no longer get involved much with really running the club, certainly not at clubs the size of Villa, which is why they are now often referred to as head coaches. Getting the mentality and culture of the club turned round is part of the manager's remit, but he has a lot of help with that behind the scenes. His main job is to get the 1st team playing well and achieve good results in a sustainable way. At the very least for me, the jury is out on whether he's making sustainable progress in this respect. He's had 32 games now, which surely is enough to workout what the best set up is, but we are still jumping from, 442, 433, 352, 532, you name it we've tried it. To say it takes time to turn the club around is true, but that's not his job. To say it takes more than 32 games to turn the team around is very debatable and that is his job. If it takes that much time then why do clubs swap managers and appoint blokes like Fat Sam with reputations for quickly turning round teams and keeping them up? I hope that other posters are right and he has had more problems than we as fans understand and he is working through them. So that next season we hit the ground running without any behind the scenes distractions. But for me the actual stuff on the pitch that we can all see is miles away from a consistent winning team with a consistent plan. I want Steve Bruce to succeed because then Villa succeed and I actually like the bloke. But I'm a little worried right now.

I recall that Norwich game well. Big Ron was his gaffer then and coined the phrase, "Having a Ugo" for anyone who cocked up in training or had a bad game. That was great man management by Ron, making a joke of it and in doing so helping him to quickly move on. And move on from it he did, a great defender in a much happier era for us. Get well soon big fella.

No I obviously don't think the football was better in the 60s and agree dangerous play and deliberate acts likely to seriously hurt an opponent should have no place in any era. However Kodjia's was a foolish, heat of the moment act of petulant retaliation. He shouldn't have done it but to compare it to the type of violent acts you've listed is somewhat unfair on the lad. A mistake made, not the type of thing that needs stamping out. My reference to the modern game was directed more at Fredericks over reaction and running up to the linesman to try, successfully, to get him sent off. That's not an element of modern football that I like.

I think it's a clear technical red card, but no common sense shown by the ref. If he'd really kicked him he'd have gone off on a stretcher! But modern football is what it is I suppose.

I don't think he will win the appeal to be honest. Although he stops himself, his foot moves forward and into the player, albeit with almost zero force but the panel will say he showed intent. They will conveniently ignore the fact that their right back had his studs unnecessarily in Kodjia's chest, leapt up as though he'd just had the most heinous of crimes perpetrated on him and retaliated, before running to the linesman to report Kodjia for genocide. The linesman and ref obviously agreed and reacted as though their own families had just been wiped out in the slaughter. Technically it's possibly a red card, but a decent ref would have had a stern word with both of them and left it an 11 v 11 contest which it is supposed to be. But hey why pass up a chance to be in the limelight eh ref?

I'd do it for a fraction of the cost and I'm already halfway there!

But surely we've seen enough of them over the years to know them by now? Where as with the obvious exception of next Sunday, the games left are sort of a free hit. People would be far more understanding of the value of playing a few kids with potential, than playing the same old squad players.

I'm sorry but I don't see how it's the same principle. Youth players need time and the manager needs to see what they can do in a first team situation. Where's the value in giving more game time to the likes of Gardner and Bacuna?

It's the thought that counts

I like many others are very concerned about what will happen if Steve Bruce continues next season. Which brings another concern to mind in my opinion. We are led to believe that the club, with Steve Round leading the way, are intending to build an on pitch identity, so that whoever is the manager, we play "The Villa Way". Please, please tell me that we appointed Steve Bruce as a quick, albeit failed, fix and that what we have witnessed over the last few months is not the board's vision of "The Villa Way".

Is it the one with three big bunnies?

I should learn to type faster!

Amavi is so defensively frail, he needs too much time on the ball. He's better further up the pitch, at least his mistakes are in less dangerous positions. Next time we're offered £25m we all know what we should do! Perhaps an early goal against will see us attack more?

I'm sure there was nothing malicious on your part. I myself like Steve Bruce as a bloke, he passes my, "would I have a pint with him", test. However I want to believe he will get us promoted, but a part of me doubts him. I'm not sitting on the fence, more leaning up it waiting to see how things develop. I'm sure though that anyone who is obsessed enough with The Villa to come in here and spout on like we all do, whatever their opinion is, wants only what's the best for the club.

I think that's a bit harsh on GH, I don't think for a moment he's waiting for him to fail, he just thinks he will. I seem to remember a post of his not that long ago when he was showing signs of putting a tentative foot on the platform of The Steve Bruce Express. To be fair I've bought a ticket but I'm concerned that we may not have enough coal to get up the hill.