Steve Bruce

[Eastie]

3 minutes ago, Vive_La_Villa said:

This is how I see it: 

Anything but 3 point points tomorrow and he will get it bad after losing Tuesday. 

If we had played a strong team on Tuesday and still lost then he would have already got it really bad regardless of tomorrow's result. 

If we had played a strong team on Tuesday and won and then did not win tomorrow he would get it really bad because they are shattered. But also because he is a shit manager and we are a shit team. 

If we had played a strong team on Tuesday and won and then also win tomorrow he will get it a little bit less than he usually deserves. But this scenario can never happen so he will still get it bad.

basically better win tomorrow Brucey boy.  

No chance of that happening mate - we don’t play till Saturday

[Vive_La_Villa]

6 minutes ago, Eastie said:

No chance of that happening mate - we don’t play till Saturday

Haha I don't even know what day it is! 

[lexicon]

The broader point of Saturday being a very important game for him rings true, though. He's not started well this season and he needs a winning run to get things back on track. I think a loss could seal his fate. 

[TRO]

15 minutes ago, Eastie said:

I agree but the real test will be in October when we play wolves Fulham and blues - 7 from those 3 as well and we would be back in business but it’s hard to see it .

If we think we can, we can.....if we think we can't we can't.

Its really down to belief and application now.....The winning mentality has to shine through.

My worry always is if teams want to get physical and close us down and get in our faces .....we have a recent tradition of feeling sorry for ourselves as opposed to applying our superior skills and skinning them.We should welcome that and treat it as a compliment not a chore.

We generally do lack a bit of pace to get away from trouble, but we have to find a way to compensate.....when you start totting up fixtures they start to look harder.....we need to look at every team, game by game and no further.

Then you will see with a full team, we CAN win every game.

 

[markavfc40]

49 minutes ago, TRO said:

but did he have to make SO many changes.....a bit of momentum would have gone down well.

I think some of the criticism aimed at him is fair......some of it is questionable.

 

I think he was right to make so many changes. We have 3 games in a week coming up that will arguably define our season. We take 7 or 9 points and we will be either in or just outside the top 6, on a good run and well set to kick on. We take less than 5 points and we are mid table and probably looking for a new manager in the international break.

I also think given the size of our squad we needed to give a number of players a run out and a chance to impress and stake a claim to be involved in the league.

I get that it is nice to build momentum and that winning becomes a habit but none of those involved on Tuesday will start on Saturday so those that do should still be on a high coming off the back of a good result last week and a five game unbeaten run in the league.

Massive week coming up for us and hopefully come 5pm next Saturday the mood around the club will be a positive one off the back of three more wins.

[Super-Villan]

 

[mrjc]

19 minutes ago, markavfc40 said:

I think he was right to make so many changes. We have 3 games in a week coming up that will arguably define our season. We take 7 or 9 points and we will be either in or just outside the top 6, on a good run and well set to kick on. We take less than 5 points and we are mid table and probably looking for a new manager in the international break.

I also think given the size of our squad we needed to give a number of players a run out and a chance to impress and stake a claim to be involved in the league.

I get that it is nice to build momentum and that winning becomes a habit but none of those involved on Tuesday will start on Saturday so those that do should still be on a high coming off the back of a good result last week and a five game unbeaten run in the league.

Massive week coming up for us and hopefully come 5pm next Saturday the mood around the club will be a positive one off the back of three more wins.

Agreed, I think much of the general criticism is fair, but I have no issue with his approach to Tuesday at all.  I understand the momentum argument, but agree that the players in the 'league' team should have no disruption to their own momentum, plus there's nothing to say we would have won it with a stronger team anyway.

Obviously it would have been nice to have gone through, but I absolutely support prioritising our priorities.

[TRO]

30 minutes ago, markavfc40 said:

I think he was right to make so many changes. We have 3 games in a week coming up that will arguably define our season. We take 7 or 9 points and we will be either in or just outside the top 6, on a good run and well set to kick on. We take less than 5 points and we are mid table and probably looking for a new manager in the international break.

I also think given the size of our squad we needed to give a number of players a run out and a chance to impress and stake a claim to be involved in the league.

I get that it is nice to build momentum and that winning becomes a habit but none of those involved on Tuesday will start on Saturday so those that do should still be on a high coming off the back of a good result last week and a five game unbeaten run in the league.

Massive week coming up for us and hopefully come 5pm next Saturday the mood around the club will be a positive one off the back of three more wins.

yeah, I get that next week is a bit congested.....and who knows, he could be right, we will see.

But it kinda smacks to me of CSKA Moscow under O'Neill and we was looking for a bit of momentum then he played a depleted team ( presumably in an effort to protect the first team)and lost away 2-0.....we came back and in the league and failed a win until 9 games later against Hull......I still think that was his watershed moment.

The point I was making Mark, we need momentum, that breeds confidence too and also these young lads need to be in and around the first team IMO

PS why would he bring a DM on and take a striker off in a cup game?

Edited September 21, 2017 by TRO

[TRO]

30 minutes ago, Super-Villan said:

 

But that does not represent the whole ground.....and his comments right or wrong were not aimed at the whole ground.....I think stuff like that is not helping us to get back up either.

2 wrongs don't make a right.....they ought to stand outside his house with it.....then he will know who his enemies are.

[Rugeley Villa]

1 hour ago, Super-Villan said:

 

No thanks, that's the last kind of thing we need. How about get behind the team and see how we get on? Surely that's better than going to the game and instantly creating a negative vibe for the team. Any banners would b well OTT and laughable.

[Grasshopper]

2 hours ago, TRO said:

It seems to me that the formation and set up at Barnsley is as close to our best offering as can be . Steve Bruce needs to adopt a system that represents the best squad in the division like most folk have said.

4-4-2 gives us the best balance IMO and should be our default formation, subject to injuries and suspensions to key players.

4-2-3-1 is a possibility playing 2 holders for a tough away game

4-1-4-1 is another possibility, but leaves a striker too much to do.

4-5-1 should be avoided at all costs unless we are coming off a run of defeats and want to stop the rot.

4-3-3 is a possibility when the swagger comes back and we are winning comfortably....particularly at Home.

3-5-2 Is another formation I would avoid, with aging centre backs.

5-3-2 Is a formation we should never have to consider with our squad.

Having said all of that.....11 players have to be on top of their game to win anything.

 

@TRO

Great post.

[Rugeley Villa]

2 hours ago, TRO said:

It seems to me that the formation and set up at Barnsley is as close to our best offering as can be . Steve Bruce needs to adopt a system that represents the best squad in the division like most folk have said.

4-4-2 gives us the best balance IMO and should be our default formation, subject to injuries and suspensions to key players.

4-2-3-1 is a possibility playing 2 holders for a tough away game

4-1-4-1 is another possibility, but leaves a striker too much to do.

4-5-1 should be avoided at all costs unless we are coming off a run of defeats and want to stop the rot.

4-3-3 is a possibility when the swagger comes back and we are winning comfortably....particularly at Home.

3-5-2 Is another formation I would avoid, with aging centre backs.

5-3-2 Is a formation we should never have to consider with our squad.

Having said all of that.....11 players have to be on top of their game to win anything.

 

Ever fancied the job @TRO ?

[Grasshopper]

1 hour ago, markavfc40 said:

I think he was right to make so many changes. We have 3 games in a week coming up that will arguably define our season.

I agree, the changes were 100% understandable.

BUT!

He still sent the team out with, no formation, plan a b or c, and it showed. We are where we are because our rescources havent been managed properly since DrT took over.

The fact that the 9th 10th & 11th games of the season are "season defining" just accentuates the fact of how bad it all is

1 hour ago, markavfc40 said:

We take 7 or 9 points and we will be either in or just outside the top 6, on a good run and well set to kick on. We take less than 5 points and we are mid table and probably looking for a new manager in the international break.

I also think given the size of our squad we needed to give a number of players a run out and a chance to impress and stake a claim to be involved in the league.

I get that it is nice to build momentum and that winning becomes a habit but none of those involved on Tuesday will start on Saturday so those that do should still be on a high coming off the back of a good result last week and a five game unbeaten run in the league.

Massive week coming up for us and hopefully come 5pm next Saturday the mood around the club will be a positive one off the back of three more wins.

^ this is a really good example for the definition of "Hope".

Respect to you Mark, he lost me months ago.

[Grasshopper]

1 hour ago, Super-Villan said:

 

If Bruce is offended by this, he needs to

 - Get his finger out

 or  

- Get a sense of humour

Edited September 21, 2017 by Grasshopper

[markavfc40]

1 hour ago, TRO said:

 

PS why would he bring a DM on and take a striker off in a cup game?

He said that Hogan had a knock in his interview after the game and I don't think we had another striker on the bench having already brought McCormack on.

[sheepyvillian]

6 hours ago, DevonIsAPlaceOnEarth said:

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.

The only thing that will shut the dissenters up , is not winning two games comfortably ,but getting us out of this league, essentially via automatic promotion ,and achieving that aim by playing cohesive, fluid, attacking football , now that would result in proving ,including myself , a few people wrong .

[markavfc40]

11 minutes ago, Grasshopper said:

 

The fact that the 9th 10th & 11th games of the season are "season defining" just accentuates the fact of how bad it all is

^ this is a really good example for the definition of "Hope".

Respect to you Mark, he lost me months ago.

I think it is just realistic mate and I don't see it as living in hope.

We have Forest, Burton and Bolton. We are on a five game unbeaten run in the league, off the back of a big win in the league with for me one of the best squads in the Championship. I think it is season defining because if we haven't gotten into our stride now and can't build on that decent run then I am not sure we will string results together this season.

We stick with the formation we did last week, and very similar personnel, and play with a positive attitude then we will beat a lot of teams. Like I said all this is just stating the obvious though and not living in hope.

[Vive_La_Villa]

A mate of mine at work that used to follow the villa home and away but gave up on football and now follows Rugby summed things up today. 

He said to me he watched Villa Barnsley on the weekend and was shocked at how awful Villa were in terms of playing football. I explained to him that was actually one of the better performances and if he had watched Brentford at home he would be horrified. 

Don't be fooled by this weekends scoreline. We are shit! 

[Vive_La_Villa]

6 minutes ago, sheepyvillian said:

The only thing that will shut the dissenters up , is not winning two games comfortably ,but getting us out of this league, essentially via automatic promotion ,and achieving that aim by playing cohesive, fluid, attacking football , now that would result in proving ,including myself , a few people wrong .

I don't think fans even care about cohesive, fluid attacking football. We just want promotion. We were awful first half against Barnsley and look how happy fans were. 

[srsmithusa]

12 hours 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. 

My bad, I thought Bruce was in charge of all the squad.  Who's the manager of the B team then, cause he did a terrible job and should be fired.  "B team manager out."

Edited September 21, 2017 by srsmithusa
grammar