tomav84

This post is not meant as a dig to anyone, but just out of interest...what would it take for those firmly with two feet in the 'Bruce out' camp to switch to 'Bruce in'? Whilst i accept that one performance shouldn't drastically change an opinion, for better or worse, lets say that we go to Bristol and turn them over comprehensively, and follow it up with some impressive performances and results, how many would it take for opinions to change? I'm sure I've seen posts saying they would still want him out if he took us up as he isn't the right man to keep us there, which to me sounds odd...i think if you have been promoted, you deserve the right to play/manage in your new division (see Bournemouth, who had much the same team out when they played us in their first game). FWIW, I was leaning towards 'out' after the Cardiff game but back on the fence now after Norwich...

you also didnt mention mckormack. we have spent more on players than several premiership teams and are in the bottom 3 of the championship after scraping a mid table finish last season. the return on investment so far has been shocking

i disagree with parts of this...the best form of defence, is defence. its not just the 3 conceded he should focus on, but the 3 or 4 others that cardiff could and should have got. i counted minimum 3 clear cut chances that 1/2 a foot either side of johnstone would have gone in. 6-0 would not have flattered them. yes going forward we were non existent and failed to play to hogan and gabby strengths (which oddly at times we did vs hull) but need to address the shambles of a defence that we saw saturday.

would we be even discussing dean smith if he wasn't a villa fan? they've had a poor start and wasn't overly convinced about them last season moyes no, just no... trouble seems to follow pearson around little has been out of the game too long terry inexperienced if we cant get the chap from fulham, i say we stick with bruce

it's a romantic notion, but he's been out of the game too long

agree on giving the benefit of the doubt, in the air he looked good. but i fear he will have quick attackers/midfielders being told to run at him. i can see last night being the first of a few pens/goals he'll concede this season. kinda hoping we don't sell elphick now

Anyone have any update on the germany games? are they still going ahead?

quick, close the thread!

oh there will be loads of grasshoppers if that's the case...think the technical term is a swarm?

i naively thought that we would actually take the full 8000 available for this one...still fantastic support once again.

Indeed - i think the perception of us bruce backers is that our support is indefinite. we want him to start next season as manager and see how he gets on

yep mine too

i dont...i thought the pair of them were crap, and had roles to play in the worst ever season in villa history where all the wrong records were broken at times last season there were numerous calls to bring on veretout, only for us to remember why he never plays.

We would all want both, but given the choice it's win every time. Was I entertained on Saturday? No, but did i go home happy, yes! Had i been entertained but we had lost/drawn i would have been as miserable as i have been post game for much of the season, irrespective of how we played...it's no consolation to me. I'm sure SB feels the same way, after all, managers are judged on results...ask RDM - we were unlucky in many of those draws but he got the chop

next 3 games are massive...and should win them all. i say stick with him now, but a defeat in any of these 3 games and he deserves to go

i firmly believe, just one win will improve our fortunes. the pressure has gotten to the players, and each defeat just adds to that

**** me a voice of reason...we were in control until the first goal which is bloody good considering where we're playing

please please please, just dont get battered

not that howe would dream of coming to villa, but i believe he is one of those managers that will only be successful at one club. he didn't do brilliantly at burnley

i refuse to believe that we will go down instead of teams like blackburn, rotherham, burton, bristol city, qpr, wigan...especially when we still have to play them this season. stick with bruce, i dont just think he will keep us up, i think we'll be top half.

no expert on these matters either, but i think it's if they have a career ending injury or something...i.e. i suspect we might have been able to claim some insurance payout for petrov for example

why is it that the 'gross misconduct' definition is so much stricter with footballers? if most of us failed to turn up to work with lame excuses such as that we would be told not to come back, and wouldn't have a leg to stand on for any form of appeal to be taken seriously

i guess this is in the 'one for the future' category. the lad doesn't even have a wikipedia page!

yeah he's really shot himself in the foot here - the fans now expect him to make an impact much much quicker, IF he gets a chance...

i'll be keeping my money in my pocket on that one...