VillaCas Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 I was against Bruce's appointment from the off - for me he is a very average manager who has achieved some limited successes (limited because they have happened only in the second tier) with a particularly dull and pragmatic style. On his arrival I predicted a 10th-12th place finish or higher if decent money was available in January - but even with a high level of investment the top ten looks beyond his abilities. Nothing I have seen suggests that next season will be greatly different - based on what I can see at the moment I would predict a top 10 finish outside of the top six next season With only one transfer window so far, I didnt expect him to right all the inbalances of the squad but for me he has made some crucial mistakes. The goalkeeping situation has not been resolved and has cost us lots of points, central midfield has not been strengthed and no direct replacements for Westwood and Tishbola have arrived, three forwards have left and one has been recruited leaving us woefully short of firepower and options. In particular, the whole set-up relies on the fitness and performance of Jedinak and if he fails to play or fails to spark the whole thing falls apart We should have gone all guns blazing to hire Wagner after RDM left - when Bruce was appointed, his supporters were saying "lets wait and see where Bruce and Wagner finish at the end of the season" - its looking pretty clear how that one will turn out and that is without taking into account the resources available to each manager. I absolutely believe that if Wagner had been recruited we would be in the play-off positions by now Bruce seems a decent guy but this dreary, plodding, fearful style of play is not going to get us to where we need to be - he will need to do something spectacular in the next few weeks for me to support letting him continue next season. It's just not working! with the resources available we should be doing far far better 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Vive_La_Villa Posted March 8, 2017 Popular Post Share Posted March 8, 2017 (edited) 52 minutes ago, VillaCas said: I was against Bruce's appointment from the off - for me he is a very average manager who has achieved some limited successes (limited because they have happened only in the second tier) with a particularly dull and pragmatic style. On his arrival I predicted a 10th-12th place finish or higher if decent money was available in January - but even with a high level of investment the top ten looks beyond his abilities. Nothing I have seen suggests that next season will be greatly different - based on what I can see at the moment I would predict a top 10 finish outside of the top six next season With only one transfer window so far, I didnt expect him to right all the inbalances of the squad but for me he has made some crucial mistakes. The goalkeeping situation has not been resolved and has cost us lots of points, central midfield has not been strengthed and no direct replacements for Westwood and Tishbola have arrived, three forwards have left and one has been recruited leaving us woefully short of firepower and options. In particular, the whole set-up relies on the fitness and performance of Jedinak and if he fails to play or fails to spark the whole thing falls apart We should have gone all guns blazing to hire Wagner after RDM left - when Bruce was appointed, his supporters were saying "lets wait and see where Bruce and Wagner finish at the end of the season" - its looking pretty clear how that one will turn out and that is without taking into account the resources available to each manager. I absolutely believe that if Wagner had been recruited we would be in the play-off positions by now Bruce seems a decent guy but this dreary, plodding, fearful style of play is not going to get us to where we need to be - he will need to do something spectacular in the next few weeks for me to support letting him continue next season. It's just not working! with the resources available we should be doing far far better Hang on a minute. How did you come to that conclusion? Wagner took over Huddersfield around the same time Bruce took over us but a year earlier. They finished 19th. Yes 19th!!! Had that happened at villa you would be all calling for his head oblivious to what could happen a season later! Edited March 8, 2017 by Vive_La_Villa 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobzy Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 54 minutes ago, VillaCas said: I was against Bruce's appointment from the off - for me he is a very average manager who has achieved some limited successes (limited because they have happened only in the second tier) with a particularly dull and pragmatic style. On his arrival I predicted a 10th-12th place finish or higher if decent money was available in January - but even with a high level of investment the top ten looks beyond his abilities. Nothing I have seen suggests that next season will be greatly different - based on what I can see at the moment I would predict a top 10 finish outside of the top six next season With only one transfer window so far, I didnt expect him to right all the inbalances of the squad but for me he has made some crucial mistakes. The goalkeeping situation has not been resolved and has cost us lots of points, central midfield has not been strengthed and no direct replacements for Westwood and Tishbola have arrived, three forwards have left and one has been recruited leaving us woefully short of firepower and options. In particular, the whole set-up relies on the fitness and performance of Jedinak and if he fails to play or fails to spark the whole thing falls apart We should have gone all guns blazing to hire Wagner after RDM left - when Bruce was appointed, his supporters were saying "lets wait and see where Bruce and Wagner finish at the end of the season" - its looking pretty clear how that one will turn out and that is without taking into account the resources available to each manager. I absolutely believe that if Wagner had been recruited we would be in the play-off positions by now Bruce seems a decent guy but this dreary, plodding, fearful style of play is not going to get us to where we need to be - he will need to do something spectacular in the next few weeks for me to support letting him continue next season. It's just not working! with the resources available we should be doing far far better 1. The "goalkeeping situation" was resolved, to an extent - we got rid of Gollini and brought in Johnstone. Our defensive stats are on a par with Huddersfield after they scored last night. It's not the problem. Further, central midfield has been strengthened? We've signed Lansbury and Hourihane as central midfielders and Bjarnason can also play there if needed. 2. Gestede, Ayew and McCormack have left. One of those three was playing as a striker for us, one played out wide and the other seemed to do a mix of the two. It would have been absolutely utterly bonkers to get rid of those three and bring in three attacking options again when we already have Kodjia, Agbonlahor, Grealish, Adomah, Kozak and to an extent Green, Hepburn-Murphy and Davis on the books. You can debate the likelihood of the senior players having an impact, sure, but they're still contracted by us and still cost money. Bringing in Hogan as a replacement for, basically, one striker is absolutely fine. 3. No-one supports Steve Bruce - we're all Aston Villa fans. I also don't remember anyone saying "let's wait and see where Bruce and Wagner finish at the end of the season", but it may well be true. Managers need time, though. Look at Wagner last season... 4. You need stability with it. Spending money is fine, and massively raises expectations, but you need a team to be settled. Judging teams based on money spent is stupid. It gives you an advantage when used correctly, but by no means guarantees instant success. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grasshopper Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 If I hear "STABILITY" 1 more time I'll throw up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post blandy Posted March 8, 2017 Moderator Popular Post Share Posted March 8, 2017 STABILITY 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supermon Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 We need the ability to be stable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grasshopper Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 1 minute ago, blandy said: STABILITY Thnx I feel much better now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grasshopper Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 Better out than in Bruce Out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Stevo985 Posted March 8, 2017 VT Supporter Popular Post Share Posted March 8, 2017 1 hour ago, VillaCas said: I absolutely believe that if Wagner had been recruited we would be in the play-off positions by now Based on nothing. I think Wagner is a good manager but this is just wild speculation. As others have said, Wagner took over Huddersfield LAST season and they finished 19th. Given time he turned it around. So you saying "I absolutely believe that if Wagner had been recruited we would be in the play-off positions by now" is no different to me saying "I absolutely believe that if Bruce is here next season we'll be promoted" 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommo_b Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 2 hours ago, VillaCas said: I was against Bruce's appointment from the off - for me he is a very average manager who has achieved some limited successes (limited because they have happened only in the second tier) with a particularly dull and pragmatic style. On his arrival I predicted a 10th-12th place finish or higher if decent money was available in January - but even with a high level of investment the top ten looks beyond his abilities. Nothing I have seen suggests that next season will be greatly different - based on what I can see at the moment I would predict a top 10 finish outside of the top six next season With only one transfer window so far, I didnt expect him to right all the inbalances of the squad but for me he has made some crucial mistakes. The goalkeeping situation has not been resolved and has cost us lots of points, central midfield has not been strengthed and no direct replacements for Westwood and Tishbola have arrived, three forwards have left and one has been recruited leaving us woefully short of firepower and options. In particular, the whole set-up relies on the fitness and performance of Jedinak and if he fails to play or fails to spark the whole thing falls apart We should have gone all guns blazing to hire Wagner after RDM left - when Bruce was appointed, his supporters were saying "lets wait and see where Bruce and Wagner finish at the end of the season" - its looking pretty clear how that one will turn out and that is without taking into account the resources available to each manager. I absolutely believe that if Wagner had been recruited we would be in the play-off positions by now Bruce seems a decent guy but this dreary, plodding, fearful style of play is not going to get us to where we need to be - he will need to do something spectacular in the next few weeks for me to support letting him continue next season. It's just not working! with the resources available we should be doing far far better The same Wagner who was hired in Novemeber 2015 and finished the season in 19th that year? Now I am not saying he isn't going to be good manager but Wagner has had one good season, let's see what Bruce can do given a full pre-season and a settled enviroment, no boardroom changes, new staff members, an influx of playing staff, in comparison the Huddersfield job was pretty settled and the only expectation on them was to avoid relegation, so taking all that into consideration, the work that Bruce and co have to do is twice possibly treble what Wagner has had. Next season we will be challenging for promotion. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
romavillan Posted March 8, 2017 VT Supporter Share Posted March 8, 2017 Next season we had better be challenging for promotion or we're in deep shit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NurembergVillan Posted March 8, 2017 Moderator Share Posted March 8, 2017 1 hour ago, Vive_La_Villa said: Hang on a minute. How did you come to that conclusion? Wagner took over Huddersfield around the same time Bruce took over us but a year earlier. They finished 19th. Yes 19th!!! Had that happened at villa you would be all calling for his head oblivious to what could happen a season later! I'm on my phone so I'm delighted you saved me the effort of typing that out. Wagner has had time, now they're reaping the rewards. Glaringly obvious. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Eastie Posted March 8, 2017 Popular Post Share Posted March 8, 2017 6 minutes ago, romavillan said: Next season we had better be challenging for promotion or we're in deep shit. I don't expect to be challenging for promotion , I expect promotion - a top 6 place is not enough next season - we should be looking to go up automatically given the squad we have . 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gilbertoAVFC Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 (edited) Just watched the game. Bruce saying "we created the chances to win". I will give him credit in that we did restrict Huddersfield and also that the pitch was shocking. However, we literally created one chance (Hourihane). The second half we did not have a single chance (maybe Chester's header from like 15 yards at a push). Brie had a half-chance in the first half after a ricochet from a corner, and Lansbury nearly broke the net out of absolutely nothing. Only one chance from actual play that involved a Villa player passing to another Villa player. This guy is setting the bar so low and Xia is buying it. It's a tough game away to Huddersfield, but they tried to get it on the deck, and we were just hoofing it without a second thought. Bruce is fortunate that Xia has utterly no idea how to play football and probably is better at whispering in his ear about needing time to "build a project" than Di Matteo was. He is a garbage manager who is getting us nowhere. And that's not me being fickle after three wins. We are just rubbish. We were rubbish against Derby, good against Rotherham and mediocre at home to Bristol City. Yes, we are better than the relegation fodder in this league. Great! None of them have spent any money. We are going nowhere fast with this absolute dinosaur in charge. Wagner must feel like a kid in a sweet shop when he comes up against somebody like Bruce. Edited March 8, 2017 by gilbertoAVFC 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PieFacE Posted March 8, 2017 VT Supporter Share Posted March 8, 2017 3 minutes ago, gilbertoAVFC said: Just watched the game. Bruce saying "we created the chances to win". I will give him credit in that we did restrict Huddersfield and also that the pitch was shocking. However, we literally created one chance (Hourihane). The second half we did not have a single chance (maybe Chester's header from like 15 yards at a push). Brie had a half-chance in the first half after a ricochet from a corner, and Lansbury nearly broke the net out of absolutely nothing. Only one chance from actual play that involved a Villa player passing to another Villa player. This guy is setting the bar so low and Xia is buying it. It's a tough game away to Huddersfield, but they tried to get it on the deck, and we were just hoofing it without a second thought. Bruce is fortunate that Xia has utterly no idea how to play football and probably is better at whispering in his ear about needing time to "build a project" than Di Matteo was. He is a garbage manager who is getting us nowhere. And that's not me being fickle after three wins. We are just rubbish. We were rubbish against Derby, good against Rotherham and mediocre at home to Bristol City. Yes, we are better than the relegation fodder in this league. Great! None of them have spent any money. We are going nowhere fast with this absolute dinosaur in charge. Wagner must feel like a kid in a sweet shop when he comes up against somebody like Bruce. Bree had a good chance, Lansbury hit the post or bar, can't remember. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gilbertoAVFC Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 10 minutes ago, PieFacE said: Bree had a good chance, Lansbury hit the post or bar, can't remember. Yeah I just said that, but both weren't "created", and neither were very easy (Bree had numerous blockers). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PieFacE Posted March 8, 2017 VT Supporter Share Posted March 8, 2017 1 minute ago, gilbertoAVFC said: Yeah I just said that, but both weren't "created", and neither were very easy (Bree had numerous blockers). Sorry, my fault for not reading correctly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaCas Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 3 hours ago, Vive_La_Villa said: Hang on a minute. How did you come to that conclusion? Wagner took over Huddersfield around the same time Bruce took over us but a year earlier. They finished 19th. Yes 19th!!! Had that happened at villa you would be all calling for his head oblivious to what could happen a season later! No you are dead wrong - totally different situation, with a totally different set of circumstances. Again not the same set of circumstances but as an example I wasn't calling for the head of Garde for example because I took the whole situation into account. My opinion is that Bruce was the wrong appointment and nothing so far has changed my opinion. I'm also firm in the opinion that had we bought Wagner in instead of Bruce we would be in the playoffs now - the only 'evidence' I can point to is what he has achieved with minimal resources v what Bruce has failed to achieve with one of the best two squads in the division 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaCas Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 3 hours ago, Stevo985 said: Based on nothing. I think Wagner is a good manager but this is just wild speculation. As others have said, Wagner took over Huddersfield LAST season and they finished 19th. Given time he turned it around. So you saying "I absolutely believe that if Wagner had been recruited we would be in the play-off positions by now" is no different to me saying "I absolutely believe that if Bruce is here next season we'll be promoted" Except I've taken what Wagner has achieved this season and imagined what he could have achieved given the resources that we could offer I would argue that your prediction of Bruce is based on far less recent history You are a fan of Bruce, fair enough. Im not a fan and believe that we will progress further and faster with a more progressive manager at the helm 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurtsimonw Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 9 minutes ago, VillaCas said: Except I've taken what Wagner has achieved this season and imagined what he could have achieved given the resources that we could offer I would argue that your prediction of Bruce is based on far less recent history You are a fan of Bruce, fair enough. Im not a fan and believe that we will progress further and faster with a more progressive manager at the helm I think you're missing his point. Wagner had a year at Huddersfield up until the point we appointed Bruce. If he was at Villa, why would he do even better? Are you completely ignoring the year he had at Huddersfield and the stability at the club? If he joined Villa, there's nothing to say he would do better, or worse than Bruce is saying. It's completely guesswork. Instead of going for a manager that had just finished 19th, we went for one that got promoted. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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