Steve Bruce

[foreveryoung]

10 minutes ago, Tommo_b said:

Ha no, I don't really know what my trail of thought was, no one goes out to not win I guess, 

I don't think he would purposely go out not to win, but I do think there are plenty of times he goes out not to score.

[DaveAV1]

1 hour ago, Tommo_b said:

Maybe Bruce wanted to lose...

Do you think he's joined the Bruce out campaign?

[Villarocker]

We need to be on approx. 40 points at the halfway stage of the season. We will need to take 30 points from the next 15 games to do so. Sounds a lot but, to be fair, Bruce did say earlier in the season that we need to aim for 2 points per game. We just need to start doing it now.

[Hornso]

1 hour ago, villarocker said:

We need to be on approx. 40 points at the halfway stage of the season. We will need to take 30 points from the next 15 games to do so. Sounds a lot but, to be fair, Bruce did say earlier in the season that we need to aim for 2 points per game. We just need to start doing it now.

If we don't get at least 6 from the next 3, we're no chance of getting 30 from the next 15.

[Super-Villan]

https://twitter.com/villan_super/status/910602767403819010

Edited September 21, 2017 by Super-Villan

[USA_Villa]

19 minutes ago, Super-Villan said:

https://twitter.com/villan_super/status/910602767403819010

Quality

[sheepyvillian]

17 hours ago, bobzy said:

I get what you're saying here and I think everyone is in exactly the same boat - no-one wants to see Villa lose (well, aside from those actively hoping the side loses so that Bruce gets sacked - go figure).  However, there's certainly a case for being pragmatic this season.

We don't have a squad that is strong enough to win a cup (and particularly win a cup and get promoted) - if you want to call this "little club syndrome" then fine, but it's just fact.  We haven't won a major trophy for over 20 years and, at the same time, are now at our lowest point in that period too.  To suggest that we should focus our energy on playing our strongest team in every single game is, IMO, daft.  

What we should do is focus our energy on achieving one goal this season (I'd want this to be promotion) with a view to being competitive elsewhere.  We changed our team against Middlesbrough in the cup and lost.  Whilst losing is bad, I'd rather lose that game than our upcoming league fixture.  Personally, whilst I'd rather we had won, I can accept that defeat.

What we should do is focus our energy on trying to win every time we step over that white line . That is the whole point of the game ,and tbh , I'd rather not lose any game..

The fact we haven't  won a trophy for a number of years is irrelevant, neither have Spurs or Everton , but that doesn't deter them from thinking they can compete with clubs who have recently won cups and titles . Whoever the opposition, and whatever the occasion, it should always be the mentality of , we're Aston villa, let's give these supporters what they deserve. 

[Jareth]

9 hours ago, foreveryoung said:

Don't patronise him, no one there enjoyed that game last night, maybe a few randoms who just went to watch 'some football'.

Bruce must love the pressure because the weight he has put on his shoulders to win at Forest and many games in a row after that is immense. Last night, even if he wasn't bothered about the win, should have been entertaining attacking football. It was a home game after all. What we watched, yet again was a disjointed team and to me utter tripe. He has no idea what to do with this team and I guarantee you, we will win F**** all with him at the helm. The coaching is utter useless too, no idea.

Us fans need to understand the money spent and the squad we have. Bruce, even though he has bought most of the players, does not seem to know what he has bought. Its not his usual boring graft it out team, we have technical players, who should be playing as a full on attacking force, with terry looking after the back. Instead we have a team who really have no idea who's where, never chase the ball down, no pass an run, just hoof an hope. 

A friend of mine who was close to the dugout also noticed alot of tension between players an manager last night. I can imagine the likes of Mccormack an Hogan are being asked to produce something out of nothing, as Bruce has never been able to understand how to play a technical type forward.

You're ranting about Bruce's team, that game was the B team, and the reason attendance was so low. Anyone with their eyes open would have known he was going to make lots of changes. The attacks your are levelling on the manager are about the first team and last time they played it was 0-3 away from home. And all this talking up tension between manager and players, elphick and mcoremack do not like the manager, hogan went off injured, but all the determined Bruce out fan can see is their own vision of the future that they want so badly that everything else they see must fit in. 

[Demitri_C]

Glad we are out we would have had to play a midweek game right before we play blose at the sty. That for me is a much bigger game.

[Raver50032]

1 hour ago, Jareth said:

You're ranting about Bruce's team, that game was the B team, and the reason attendance was so low. Anyone with their eyes open would have known he was going to make lots of changes. The attacks your are levelling on the manager are about the first team and last time they played it was 0-3 away from home. And all this talking up tension between manager and players, elphick and mcoremack do not like the manager, hogan went off injured, but all the determined Bruce out fan can see is their own vision of the future that they want so badly that everything else they see must fit in. 

The problem is Jareth , we've been here before already this season. A big win at home against (what appears to have been) a dicey Norwich (shipped four again the following week) and then putting League 1 Wigan to the sword in the Cup... There then followed an unconvincing trip to Bristol, which courtesy of a deflection ended up as a score draw. Then we come to Brentford at home... nil (and with our keeper as MOTM)... Middlesbrough at home... nil... Okay, better but marginally because of the conditions and the scattergun trigger happy referee. I would offer Bruce an olive branch and declare we probably, on balance, deserved to win that game. But we didn't.

Then Barnsley away on TV. Played bobbins in the first half yet bungled our way to a 2 goal lead at half time. Second half was a better showing and again I would say that on balance, we deserved to win on that second half performance. Overall, still not convinced as I'd had my fingers burned not a week or so before.

So we come to Tuesday... of course I expected team changes. I didn't expect a resumption of 'nil' football. It's back to square one... the pattern is repeating. Only this time, he's antagonising the fans as though 'there's nothing to see here folks.' We've seen it for 11 months with next to no progress.

I hope for all our sakes that we see Nottingham Forest put to the sword on Saturday. Personally, my entourage and myself cannot see it happening. Excluding my daughter and my friend's step daughter, there's six if you include my friend's youngest lad who is a ball boy there.

Very, very disappointed right now. And there is scant evidence that things will get better from here on in. 2 transfer windows, a pre-season, and over a month of football played. 11 months. It isn't happening for him.

[Raver50032]

1 hour ago, Demitri_C said:

Glad we are out we would have had to play a midweek game right before we play blose at the sty. That for me is a much bigger game.

As is being pointed out Demitri, it isn't the same eleven playing in the cup. To be glad to be out of a competition is incredibly defeatist and not befitting of the stature or history of this club. I know, I know, we're small time Championship now etc etc. But come on... waving the white flag is not what we're about and should never be. I get your sentiment, I just don't agree with it.

All going out has done is stopped the fringe players from having front line game time to try and impress the manager and maintain some sort of match fitness if we ever need to use them.

[Stevo985]

I'm not glad to be out of the cup. I always want us to win games.

But I completely understand why we play a weakened team in that competition, and I don't really criticise Bruce for doing so and for us losing.

I'm much more interested in Saturday.

[Dodgyknees]

Anybody want to play formation and tactics

lottery before our next game? 

[Demitri_C]

2 hours ago, Raver50032 said:

As is being pointed out Demitri, it isn't the same eleven playing in the cup. To be glad to be out of a competition is incredibly defeatist and not befitting of the stature or history of this club. I know, I know, we're small time Championship now etc etc. But come on... waving the white flag is not what we're about and should never be. I get your sentiment, I just don't agree with it.

All going out has done is stopped the fringe players from having front line game time to try and impress the manager and maintain some sort of match fitness if we ever need to use them.

When i say i am glad we are out, i have highlighted the reasons in my earlier post e.g injuries.

I also think losing with 10 men to boro isnt going to destroy us as would play city or chelsea and getting battered 4-5 nil. We are not going to win it. We have bigger fish to fry like promotion..once we are back to where we belong i would definitely like to us again be competing for cups.

[Villarocker]

41 minutes ago, Dick said:

Anybody want to play formation and tactics

lottery before our next game? 

Formation = 4 - 3 - 3

Tactics = Keep it tight lads and please, please, please take your bloody chances when they arrive!

[villabromsgrove]

14 hours ago, foreveryoung said:

Don't patronise him, no one there enjoyed that game last night, maybe a few randoms who just went to watch 'some football'.

Bruce must love the pressure because the weight he has put on his shoulders to win at Forest and many games in a row after that is immense. Last night, even if he wasn't bothered about the win, should have been entertaining attacking football. It was a home game after all. What we watched, yet again was a disjointed team and to me utter tripe. He has no idea what to do with this team and I guarantee you, we will win F**** all with him at the helm. The coaching is utter useless too, no idea.

Us fans need to understand the money spent and the squad we have. Bruce, even though he has bought most of the players, does not seem to know what he has bought. Its not his usual boring graft it out team, we have technical players, who should be playing as a full on attacking force, with terry looking after the back. Instead we have a team who really have no idea who's where, never chase the ball down, no pass an run, just hoof an hope. 

A friend of mine who was close to the dugout also noticed alot of tension between players an manager last night. I can imagine the likes of Mccormack an Hogan are being asked to produce something out of nothing, as Bruce has never been able to understand how to play a technical type forward.

I think this post sums up our prospects under Steve Bruce. What we saw on Tuesday night was SB football. It wasn't pretty it wasn't organised and it didn't give our young players a platform or support to play decent football. It won't change. All that may happen is that when he plays his strongest eleven they will occasionally make this haphazard mishmash work, but only with moments of individual skill.

I've accepted that we're stuck with a potentially very decent squad of players that will continue to under perform, until Bruce is replaced by a positive footballing tactician with his own progressive coaches.

[AshVilla]

So i assume everybody's expecting a good result the weekend then considering Bruce sacrificed the cup because of it.

[Raver50032]

31 minutes ago, AshVilla said:

So i assume everybody's expecting a good result the weekend then considering Bruce sacrificed the cup because of it.

Difficult to tell Ash to be fair. Given the pontificating narrative of the manager, nobody will be able to criticise come whatever on Saturday, because the Barnsley result 'shut people up.'

 

Did it ****. All it has done is delayed the inevitable. What Tuesday showed was that, with different players, the mantra is the same. Must, not, lose... And we still did.

[Rob182]

I'm not confident about Saturday's game. With all the talk of taking 7-9 points from the next 3 games, I just feel like I'm seeing the same optimism that I saw after the Norwich game. I can actually see us losing against Forest, bringing us back down to earth. Obviously I hope I'm wrong. I hope Bruce gets us the win and we manage to put together a run. But I've not seen enough to think that we're any better than an 'average' Championship team that will win, lose & draw regularly.

 

Talking about the rotated team from Tuesday night. I don't think anyone minds seeing a rotated team, especially when you have a £12m forward as the striker, a promising youngster in O'Hare, one of the best first team performers in Onomah, a first team midfielder in Lansbury etc etc etc..... The problem is that Bruce just struggles to get consistently good performances from the squad that he has (on the most part) put together.

[DevonIsAPlaceOnEarth]

4 minutes ago, Raver50032 said:

Difficult to tell Ash to be fair. Given the pontificating narrative of the manager, nobody will be able to criticise come whatever on Saturday, because the Barnsley result 'shut people up.'

 

Did it ****. All it has done is delayed the inevitable. What Tuesday showed was that, with different players, the mantra is the same. Must, not, lose... And we still did.

I agree with the sentiment, but my feeling is that Bruce's "Shut people up" line will be accurate if we win the next two games comfortably. I know that is a hefty 'if'. 

I will gladly hold my hands up and I say I was wrong to call for him to go if we do that, and I hope others would do the same.