Pimlico_Villa

I can see us getting taught a lesson here and losing heavily. Biggest fear is their rockweiler-like intensity and high press versus our clumsy on the ball defenders. If Whelan plays, he’ll force us to mess around with the ball in our own defensive third and they’ll have 3-4 players all over him trying to win the ball. It’s the worst combination to play when the opposition presses high. Can’t see us coping with that and think we’ll concede goals very early. Even if we had Ronaldo, Messi and Bale up front, we’d still lose if Whelan plays.

Only concern is that he likes Whelan. Watched in isolation, Whelan is a tidy and industrious player that is usually difficult to fault. However, having in the team desecates our attacking capacity. Because he sits far too deep, he forces us deep as a unit and the gap between our MF and Forwards is too much. I said before yesterday’s game when I saw the team sheet that we’d struggle to get anything. Whelan just kills us.

Exactly what I said. Those types of passes are ineffective and flatter the statistics. If you'd have said how many of each 60 were forward, intent-driven passes, then that is evidence of the style we want being implemented. Just saying they tried to make 60 passes each gives no real insight at all and isn't helpful.

It is when upgrade 1 nil down.

But how many of those were pointless, ineffective 5 yard passes to Whelan, after which they got the ball straight back?

I'm still reserving judgement on Smith, but on balance haven't been massively impressed. Think there is a real danger he over-engineers tactics here.

Also worried that Board is lookinh incompetent. Surely concern was building around Bruce weeks, maybe months ago, in which case a shortlist should have been developed so that we were primed and ready to act quickly. If, as it looks, we have only spoken to Henry and JT, then shows we are still very kneejerk and not well thought out or considered. This concerns me as I had hoped the infrastructure and decision-making processes at the club had been fixed. Being so slow to act in making a new appointment shows that we are still lumbering through in an unstructured, undisciplined way. Gives plenty of fuel to Bruce sympathisers in the Media as makes us look like we got rid of him on a whim, despite it being well overdue to say the least. Can see the comments now: "just shows that Villa still have issues/haven't resolved anything/making same mistakes". Does our rep no good in attracting proper Managers either.

Yep, he just hates seeing goals scored.

Bruce will set up ultra defensively and play for the point.

The issue I have with Bruce saying that these things take time is that I don't see what we are working towards. If we could see that we at least had a style or approach that we are trying to fine tune, then I would buy into that. Fulham started late last season but you could see exactly what they were working towards. With Bruce, I just cannot see what we are trying to implement, style-wise, and hence it is difficult to get behind him and see his long term value. Granted, it is difficult to develop a long term sustainable style with so many Loan players, but Bruce is not even showing the inclination, let alone the capability, to do so. He just hastily assembles quite delicate squads and then relies on individual quality of the players. We'll just get stuck in an endless cycle with this approach. The game has evolved so much and tactical intelligence is absolutely par for the course.

Does anyone know if CEO is responsible for Manager appointments?

Please enlighten us as to what Bruce is trying to do because I can't see what he is trying to do atall. No game plan, no tactics, no discernible approach whatsoever. What does he do all week for all the money we pay him? We have to get a proper Manager in that is relevant in 2018.

So true

Should also add CEO as he is also an Investor

The biggest travesty with playing Jedinak at CB is not that he isn't a CB, but that the last 2 seasons have shown that he simply cannot play every game, especially if there is more than 1 game in a week, which there usually is. CB is a much more physically demanding role than sitting in CDM and only moving around a 15m radius. If there is one constant you have in your team (in the League) it is your CB partnership and GK. If Bruce continues to pick him for each game, he will definitely pick up injuries. A replacement will be put in for 1 game and then Bruce will revert back to Jedinak. The result is nothing but disruption, made harder by the fact we have a GK that is still settling in. This is a mistake you'd expect from a rookie Manager, not one whose main strength is experience.

New CEO also is personally invested in the club, so won;t be hesitant to act

Think Evans is an Albion/Obsessed Fan anyway. Hilarious that he is forced to cover us! B'ham Mail always paranoid about losing Club access. It is a click bait, Bruce Tribune anyway. Never read it.

I’ve said this for a while, including on here, and been laughed at. Really, really suspicious what he is doing.

No way Bruce plays 2 up top. He hates playing even 1!

Bruce said a couple of weeks ago that we are short in the wide positions, so he brings 2 wide men in. Great. But then why send 2 wide men out on loan (Green and Adomah). Net impact is 0. Completely and utterly clueless. If he had an ounce of self respect, which he hasn't, he'd walk.

Could not agree more!

Even against that opposition?

For those that emphasise that we are currently unbeaten, do you not realise that, Brentford aside, the games we have drawn have been bread and butter games that were must-wins given the Nov and Dec fixtures? Whichever way you look at last season, drawing too many winnable games cost us. The games we have drawn, we drew in the exact same fashion we would have done in Bruce's first season - they epitomise perfectly how Bruce has not progressed or learned a single lesson since then. Once we do lose a game, which is inevitable, I wonder what Bruce sympathisers will fall back on? Surely they must be clutching at straws now. BTW: I might send a copy of this book to Bruce:

Hope Mendes is trying to find us a proper Manager. One that is relevant in 2018

Draws in this League are absolutely no good at all. We learned that in prior 2 seasons, but Bruce hasn't. He loves a draw, just can't help himself