wilko154

This man is everything we need. The formation he plays is the exact formation that would get the best out of our squad if implemented in the correct way, it would get the best out of the midfield in Grealish, Hourihane, McGinn and the best out of wingers in Bolasie, El Ghazi and Kodjia. Full backs would be a sticking point but I'm sure for one season it could be worked on. Very interesting video, the depth of tactics he has implemented at Shaktar are something we have missed at Villa Park for years.

Pretty sure the loan rules were changed last year so you can only recall players when the loan window is open (basically have to wait until January)

Rogers is being linked with Manchester United today, there's no way he's coming to Villa Park. I would offer it to Rafa Benitez, he's done it in this league before and is currently unhappy with the lack of funds since Newcastle were promoted to the Premier League. We could offer him unlimited funds next year if we are promoted. However again I think it's unlikely he will come to Villa Park. I've seen managers such as Allardyce, McCarthy, Moyes being touted; however they aren't what we need. We need someone progressive, with attacking intent to utilise this unbalanced squad in the correct way. They need to get the fans back onside early. Dean Smith would be a decent option, but it would be a gamble in the sense of he's never managed or been at a big club like Villa. The pressure is a lot different as Bruce and those before him have found out. The other option is to go the young and upcoming route Nuno proved it last year and Howe has been doing so for a while in the Premier League. Again it's a gamble as you have to find the right man for the job. For me Henry is a gamble too far, he's never managed a club and it's an unknown quantity we can't afford this season. Paulo Fonseca is a man I would take from Shaktar Donetsk, again unlikely but is a very good up and coming manager. Ivan Leko from Club Brugge is another who is being touted as an excellent upcoming manager. Brugge are playing some brilliant stuff in Belgium. Andre Villas-Boas is another who has something to prove and plays attacking football which we need at Villa Park. A lot of these names are unlikely to want to move to the Championship but it's worth a go, there's a lot to offer at Villa Park especially if they can get us back to the Premier League.

Eirik Bakke was really good

Surely they have now made the decision on the DOF and can sit down with him today and discuss the new manager to come in. Realistically they don't need to announce the DOF before they sack Bruce. If we go into the Millwall game with a caretaker manager (Delaney for me) we won't perform any worse than we would with Bruce in charge, we then have the international break as well to get a new manager on board. This is the best time to do it, 3 full weeks before our next game (minus Millwall which with the current regime we will lose anyway)

Great assist for the goal, but he lumped a lot of balls into the box before that to no avail. At one point he lumped one in when no one was even near the penalty area. I'll give him his due, when he has a bit of space and time he can deliver a good ball in as we have seen this season. Defensively he is pants.

Watched the first episode of The Cry last night, BBC 4-parter. Very good so far, reccomended.

No such thing. If we win and play well great, hopefully it's the turning point for both the team and Bruce (I very much doubt this will happen). If we win and play poorly not so great but it's 3 points on the board. You would then hope that the board are acnowledging the poor performances. We are supporting Aston Villa, not Steve Bruce. Come the end of the season 3 points could be the difference between promotion and another season in this division.

Back to basics is what we now need, players in their correct positions all over the pitch. Nyland Hutton Tuanzebe Chester Taylor McGinn Hourihane Bolasie Grealish El Ghazi Kodjia Either stick with Nyland or bring in Moreira and let him have a chance at number one. Hutton needs to move back to right back, alternatively give Bree a chance. Taylor needs to play and get some form behind him. Midfield of McGinn, Hourihane and Grealish, although it will be slightly harsh on Bjarnasson. Bolasie and El Ghazi right and left, with Kodjia up front. Kodjia had just hit goalscoring form before Abraham arrived, give him another chance up front and switch it in the second half if it isn't working. I have a feeling Bruce will play 4-4-2 in this one though, with Jedinak and Elmo both staring at the back.

I went to the game last night, it's the first time in my 29 years of supporting Aston Villa that I haven't celebrated a goal. I just don't care anymore, goals paper over the cracks of Bruce's shambolic tactical naivety. It's really not hard to pick a team, with a squad as big as ours we can field players in their correct positions for a large amount of formations. Last night we had a centre back at right back, a midfielder at centre back, a right back at left back, a midfielder at right wing, a striker at left wing. It just doesn't make any sense. It's almost like he wants to be sacked. Visiting Villa Park is now a chore, and I although I will go I just can't be arsed this week. He needs to go, and the sooner the owners pull the trigger and bring in a caretaker manager to at least pick a team that makes sense the quicker we will start picking up 3 points in games again. We are rapidly losing ground on the other teams in this league, in a season where there are no standout teams.

Ok I'll change the way I wrote it... as a right back Elmo offers absolutely nothing... As a midfielder he chips in with goals and assists but we have better options in our squad

Pretty much my point there...

I would, he's a manager that can coach a team and get players performing for him. I know some of the fans don't like him, but let's be honest we are in absolutely no position to be getting picky with people coming in through the door. It's like if we were offered Delph back on loan this season, some of the fans would hate it but he would improve the midfield ten-fold.

I always wanted to see a midfield three of Grealish, Hourihane and Lansbury; I don't think we ever saw it last season. Obviously McGinn has now trumped him by establishing himself into the side immediately, but it would be interesting to see if this could at all work.

Unfortunately the statistics don't tell the whole story. Bruce has been in charge of a squad that is comparatively better than the majority of the division, other recent managers have been in charge of squads that were comparatively worse than the majority (if not all) of the division). Bruce has the highest win ratio - 43.75% since Graham Taylor in 1987-1990 (I'm not entirely sure how up to date these statistics are... but they are there or thereabouts ?) Recent managers win ratio's: Di Matteo - 8.33% Garde - 13.04% Sherwood - 35.7% Lambert - 29.57% McLeish - 21.43% Houllier - 35.9% O'Neill - 42.11% It has to be argued that with the trajectory of wins that Houllier and Sherwood were accumulating before they were cut short, they were the better managers of recent times as both sides they inherited were not of a high Premier League standard. However as we found out with the 2015/16 squad we assembled, statistics can be very misleading.

Under a decent manager with attacking intent Lansbury would be a very good player for Villa. With a 3 man midfield of Grealish, Hourihane, McGinn with Bjarnasson & Lansbury as backups thats as good as any midfield in this leage. That then leaves us able to move on Jedinak and Whelan and get a large amount off of the wage bill. This then leaves Doyle-Hayes and O'Hare as backups if required. Since his injury last season he hasn't really been given a chance, and has never had the chance to play his own game in the midfield. Deployed as a defensive midfielder in his first season, he was never going to be the player that we signed from Forest.

Going to this one... but looking forward to the afternoon in the pubs over watching the football. I really don't care that much anymore, and until Bruce goes I can't see that changing. The last few weeks I have been pushing for an attacking line-up and although I still think it is our best way forward I just don't think we can pull it off under Bruce's management. The players don't seem up for it, and the defence is such a shambles that we always have the potential to concede more than we can score. For this one I would go with this: (Although there is no way Bruce will bomb out Jedinak and Elmo) Nyland Bree Chester Tuanzebe Hutton McGinn Hourihane Bolasie Grealish Kodjia Abraham Elmo offers absolutely nothing, he pumps the ball long whenever he gets possesion and the ball comes straight back at us. He needs to be taken out and Bree should now be given a chance, he's young and comfortable in possesion. The same goes with Jedinak/Tuanzebe. We need to find a settled defence and fast, Bree and Tuanzebe offer pace and with game time they will add composure on the ball along with their passing abilities. The ball needs to be played out from the back and into our midfield so we can play a possesion based game. McGinn, Hourihane and Grealish are our best midfield options, but they have to play as a 3 man midfield. As soon as you throw Grealish out wide you open up a gap between the two man midfield and the striker/strikers. This can be changed with one coming off and Bjarnasson/Whelan/Jedinak coming on, Hourihane is not a defensive midfielder. Out wide Bolaise is our main threat, we need to get him playing. Kodjia should be on the other wing, although I wouldn't be averse to seeing what El Ghazi can do. A two man strike force of Abraham and Kodjia doesn't work against decent oppostion, they are both too static and it doesn't help the rest of the team. For Abraham to be effective we have to play the ball on the floor and to his feet where he can roll his man, hold play up or play off the shoulder of the defender; he needs movement around him and Grealish will offer this playing just off him.

The majority turned at the end of the game on Saturday. Most of the away support have now also turned on him, I think Friday we will see the remainder turn if we don't perform and pick up 3 points. The longer the board leave it the worse it will get, and that just makes it harder for a new manager to come back from.

I've just read the below article and he seems like exactly the sort of coach we need, and a manger who would employ a similar tactic that would get the best out of the players we have. However I don't think he would drop to Championship football... http://futbolgrad.com/paulo-fonseca-coach-shakhtar/

I'm almost with you on this... But as I am going to both, and I spent last night miserable as sin, I am hoping we pick up 6 points for the sake of my relationship ?

Sherwood was a crap manager with a crap squad. It didn't matter who was in charge of that team. We now have one of the best squads in the league, yet we are sat mid-table after a pretty straightforward start to the season.

Last season we had: Hull D, Cardiff L, Reading L, Norwich W, Bristol D, Brentford D, Boro D, Barnsley W, Forest W = 13 points This season, Hull W, Wigan W, Ipswich D, Brentford D, Reading D, Sheff U L, Blackburn D, Rotherham W, Sheff Wed L = 13 points We haven't started better. Last season we went on to win our next two after Forest. Lets be honest, thats not happening this season.

Most managers in this league would bite our hands off to have the squad we have. Any manager in this division with Kodjia, Abraham, Grealish, Bolasie, McGinn, Hourihane and Chester should be getting promotion with ease. Rose tinted glasses off, we should be in the top 6 at the very, very minimum after the run of games we have had so far this season.