Steve Bruce

[rodders0223]

7 hours ago, Villan4Life said:

From Bolo Zenden on Bruce when at Sunderland

 

https://rokerreport.sbnation.com/2018/9/16/17845398/interview-roker-report-meets-former-sunderland-barcelona-and-chelsea-midfielder-bolo-zenden

 

 

RR: Talk us through your reasons for leaving the club - as I understand, your contract expired and you moved on. After your departure you never played professionally again, and Sunderland were in fact your last club. Was that the way you envisioned you’d end your career?

BZ: Because I had played more than half of the games I was entitled to a renewal of the contract and Steve Bruce said the door was open to sign it whenever I wanted, but to be honest I politely put the contract to one side as I wasn’t really enjoying it anymore.

The final season I had at the club it was like a milestone to finish tenth in the league, but it could have easily been eighth or fourteenth, it was that close between a few teams. I just felt, as I stated earlier, that wasn’t the mentality to push on and get better - something I have always tried to do.

On the final day a few results went in our favour and we beat West Ham 3-0, but it could have been different had some other teams results not worked out. I wasn’t enjoying it at the end and I thought if I was going to have one more season, I wanted to enjoy it a bit more. Of course, it ended up being my final game.

I decided for myself to leave the club a month before the end of the season.

I only made it public after the last game against West Ham. I made a decision and I did what I felt I had to do. I don’t look at it as a bad decision, I just wish I had another season where I played and enjoyed my football because now my last game was against West Ham, I was captain, we finished well and I scored - it sounds perfect, but I didn’t know it was my final game.

First time reading this. Just, again, confirms everything about Steve "put our boots on" Bruce.

[Taxahunter]

The problem I have with Bruce, is that I my opinion, he is not a very good manager.

I see all the time when the ball is being played back to the keeper, he kicks it upfield, instead of taking a touch and play it out to either 1 of the center backs or to our left/right back, so we can start build up play from our defence. We keep handing over possesion by just hoofing it upfield, because we are not very good at getting to the 2nd ball, and our opposition can easily start to build up and attack applying pressure we are not very good at handling. On corners, and I saw that mentioned in the match thread, how often is our keeping catching the ball starting an attack quickly? I see the opposition keepers do that easily on our corners. 

We are playing with wide midfielders or wings, but not using them effectively. Elmohamedy, whenever he gets the ball is just trying to cross even though there is no players in the area, instead of using overlaps and it very rarely hits a teammate giving the ball to to opposition. Hutton is often free to get the ball, but is never being passed to. The same on our left side, Adomah is just woefull at crossing, either its too short or too long. We never ever gets to the byline and make cut backs, we always try to pass it high and it often ends up in the hands of the keeper. 

We need our midfielders to continue thier run from midfield into the channels. They are too stationary in midfield. They are running a lot, but mostly from side to side, and to rarely they are running deep, creating spaces for other players to make use of or have the ball being passed into these channels, drawing out the opposition defence.

There are much more to put my fingers on and to correct in training, but as mentioned by othere, the same mistakes happens game after game after game...Its just to hurtfull to see highly paid footballers not being able to do the most basic things when playing, because I would be able to cross better than Adomah and Elmohamedy combined and unfortunately Im not getting paid anything...

[Villan4Life]

1 hour ago, rodders0223 said:

First time reading this. Just, again, confirms everything about Steve "put our boots on" Bruce.

Also from players at Birmingham a pattern is emerging:

 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/2336801/Cunningham-blames-Bruce-for-demise.html

 

Quote

Former Birmingham captain Kenny Cunningham has criticised the club following relegation from the Premiership, blaming manager Steve Bruce and the club's board.

Birmingham dropped to the Coca-Cola Championship after a disappointing fourth season in the top flight.

Cunningham, 34, was thought to have been discussing a contract extension with the club but the centre-half has been released after labelling Blues as "like a stiff corpse" with "no heartbeat" and "no soul".

The defender has criticised the club for starting the season with only three strikers and blamed Bruce for poor tactical decisions and his recent revelations that two players - who he would not name - refused to play against Bolton on Sunday.

He believes relegation was largely "due to a lack of organisation, preparation and attention to detail at the football club."

In regards to Birmingham's relegation, Cunningham said: "Unfortunately, and I take no pleasure in saying this, the only person who must take responsibility for that is the manager."

"I fear that while things remain the same the fans and players will never experience the kind of success which I feel they deserve.

Comparing life at St Andrews to his time spent with a successful Wimbledon side earlier in his career, he said: "Birmingham seems like a stiff corpse in comparison to that. It has no heartbeat and, more worryingly, no soul."

The club have expressed their "disappointment" at Cunningham's comments.

A statement from Birmingham City read: "The club is currently experiencing an extremely sensitive period, yet Kenny, who remains an employee, has chosen to publicly express his views through the media, without seeking prior permission or consultation, and not directly to any member of the board, despite limitless opportunities to do so.

"As a player that has now been released, Kenny Cunningham has no knowledge of the club's financial position or the ambitions and plans in place to achieve success."

 

Edited September 17, 2018 by Villan4Life

[AntrimBlack]

It is amazing with the amount of evidence from previous clubs that the media continue to support him.

Also a little bit of due diligence by Xia's advisers would surely have steered him away from Bruce.

The 4 promotions probably held undue sway in their choice.

[sne]

18 minutes ago, Villan4Life said:

 

largely "due to a lack of organisation, preparation and attention to detail

 

This!

[sne]

3 minutes ago, AntrimBlack said:

It is amazing with the amount of evidence from previous clubs that the media continue to support him.

Also a little bit of due diligence by Xia's advisers would surely have steered him away from Bruce.

The 4 promotions probably held undue sway in their choice.

And that they were personal friends with Bruce

[StefanAVFC]

I am absolutely staggered at our form, and the mental gymnastics being employed by Bruce to justify it.

And now, only this morning the local press still continue their sickening sycophancy defending him.

He is a fraud. A dinosaur masquerading as a football manager and the season has a very good chance of getting away from us the longer we let it go on.

[sne]

I like the parts where he bangs on about how massive a club we are and at the same time claims he is the best manager we can get.

 

[NIVillan]

6 minutes ago, sne said:

I like the parts where he bangs on about how massive a club we are and at the same time claims he is the best manager we can get.

 

It is called getting the message out there.  If it is said and heard often enough people will start to believe it

[Vive_La_Villa]

I think what is clear is the past and what the club went through over the past year is affecting Bruce’s expectations. Every post interview seems to be about where we were and how bad things were in the summer. In that respect Bruce is right, the club has gone through a lot of issues and change and he has been part of it. But it seems he is using it as an excuse or struggling to get over it.

A new manager needs to be bought in as a fresh start. Taking over a squad that finished 3rd without having the excuse of nearly going in to administration and the problems that it bought. 

Then he needs to somehow be backed in January to sort out the defence.

[villa89]

1 hour ago, AntrimBlack said:

It is amazing with the amount of evidence from previous clubs that the media continue to support him.

Nevermind the media most of them are muppets who never watch us play. What's baffling is that so many Villa fans support him. Have they not seen us play in the last 2 seasons. 

[cyrusr]

37 minutes ago, AntrimBlack said:

It is amazing with the amount of evidence from previous clubs that the media continue to support him.

Also a little bit of due diligence by Xia's advisers would surely have steered him away from Bruce.

The 4 promotions probably held undue sway in their choice.

Don't forget at the time, there was not many alternatives and it certainly matched what we were looking for. He had just had another promotion and yes probably did hold their sway, however at that stage "money was no bar" and he could, and did, spend quite significantly. At the time it did make sense and whilst didn't necessarily send the heart racing, it was a sensible option to push for promotion and to go from there. I don't blame Xia for hiring him. 

With Bruce, I have tried to stay out of this topic, mainly because it goes round and round in circles. He lost me around this time last year with the poor start of the season. Whilst the players definitely improved, and to be fair to Bruce that could have been because of him, but at some points it still felt in spite of him. With most results, it felt that we were doggedly fighting for it rather than commanding games. In hindsight, it definitely seems that he was aiming for the playoffs rather than the automatics and he genuinely thought we could nick it against Fulham... Foolish and we all knew it. 

What is exceptionally troubling this season, is that he has had another window to sort out the problems. Yes, I appreciate that he may have had trouble to begin with regarding the finances but, IMO, that is fundamentally flawed. He would have had targets all along to bolster the squad and yet he has left a gaping hole in the centre of defence. Whilst it was nice to have Tuanzebe play in the centre for a change, it then showed our weakness at LB with Taylor. With both of these positions under-strength, particularly for an ex-defender manager, it is bordering on criminal. I don't think he had a "Plan B" for the summer should we not have been promoted and was relying on being able to keep Johnstone & Terry at the very least. To have let De Laet & Elphick go without cover coming in is unfathomable. Whilst Elphick has been suspect at times, De Laet has looked good, and would have been fantastic cover/competition. 

Attacking wise we seem to have improved but we are now unbalanced massively and it is costing us. Yes we may only have lost once in the league, we have had no clean sheets this season and that is really worrying. We have relied on individual brilliance rather than a tactical force. 

It is clear all the teams we have played have found us out and know how to stop us from winning. It simply isn't good enough to again lack a "Plan B" and the longer this goes on, the worse it is likely to get. The more it feels that Terry provided the leadership and strength at the back and to the squad generally. 

The logic to keep Bruce has been there right up to the end of the window, it would have been risky to get a new manager right at the start of the season but the logic is not there. We are struggling to win and it isn't the players, they are clearly amongst the best in the league and are under-performing. This to me leads to Bruce being the problem, he has looked more lost this season and the plug now probably should be pulled. I don't have the confidence of Bruce pulling it back, particularly without Terry to hold him up. Bruce's demeanour is like a man who is lost and out of ideas and steam.

They won't sack him before Rotherham, but it will be curious what they will do following that game. Possibly costing up what Terry would want as a player/manager? Feelers out to Arteta/Henry or even Villas-Boas? 

Which ever way we go, it does now seem like the grass is definitely greener elsewhere. 

[PieFacE]

I hate that we're all completely wasting time in keeping him here. He isn't going to get us promoted, he isn't going to get us playing good football, he isn't going to build a solid foundation here. There's no 5 year plan. 

What's the point?

Let's just get rid and get someone in with some fresh ideas. Bruce is well past it now. The Championship has moved on, just like the Premier League did a decade ago. 

Edited September 17, 2018 by PieFacE

[Vive_La_Villa]

1 hour ago, villa89 said:

Nevermind the media most of them are muppets who never watch us play. What's baffling is that so many Villa fans support him. Have they not seen us play in the last 2 seasons. 

I don’t think many fans support him. Most want him gone they just don’t believe sacking him will immediately change results look some seem to think. 

[jacketspuds]

10 hours ago, peterms said:

Possibly "You're getting muesli in the morning"?

"You don't know what you're chewing. You don't know what you're chewing."

[srsmithusa]

8 minutes ago, Vive_La_Villa said:

I don’t think many fans support him. Most want him gone they just don’t believe sacking him will immediately change results look some seem to think. 

you may absolutely be correct.  But the reason you may be correct is because most fans are idiots.  Most on here are finally seeing what has been clear to others for months and months. 

I'm not guaranteeing the future.  There is no guarantee that a new manager would "immediately change results".... but it might.   the odds of performances and results hitting a significant improvement if he stays? 1%  the odds of performances and results hitting significant improvement if somebody else tries? 10%  the odds of performances and results hitting significant results improvement if somebody really promising, dedicated, energetic, with a clear footballing vision takes over? 30%.   Where is the smart money?  we are currently at the roulette wheel betting on blue  (the only winning possibilities I believe, are red or black.)

[Hoof hearted]

11 minutes ago, jacketspuds said:

"You don't know what you're chewing. You don't know what you're chewing."

Thinks Granola is an Italian centre half! 

[Mantis]

1 hour ago, cyrusr said:

We have relied on individual brilliance rather than a tactical force.

This has basically bean Bruce's entire plan while he's been here. It's quite a damning indictment of him really.

[Vive_La_Villa]

25 minutes ago, srsmithusa said:

you may absolutely be correct.  But the reason you may be correct is because most fans are idiots.  Most on here are finally seeing what has been clear to others for months and months. 

I'm not guaranteeing the future.  There is no guarantee that a new manager would "immediately change results".... but it might.   the odds of performances and results hitting a significant improvement if he stays? 1%  the odds of performances and results hitting significant improvement if somebody else tries? 10%  the odds of performances and results hitting significant results improvement if somebody really promising, dedicated, energetic, with a clear footballing vision takes over? 30%.   Where is the smart money?  we are currently at the roulette wheel betting on blue  (the only winning possibilities I believe, are red or black.)

It’s probably wishful thinking but I’d like to believe the club is sounding out replacements behind the scenes for minimum disruption. I don’t think he is being reviewed on a game by game basis and his days are numbered regardless of results. 

[peterms]

40 minutes ago, jacketspuds said:

"You don't know what you're chewing. You don't know what you're chewing."

He's toast.