Vive_La_Villa Posted September 26, 2017 Share Posted September 26, 2017 15 minutes ago, rodders0223 said: Away days at Leeds, Derby, Wolves etc will be the true test for Bruce. We flopped badly against Cardiff so here is hoping we truly have turned a corner. I hope so because I will gladly eat that humble pie. Would take a draw in those games as long as keep winning our home games and beating those below us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodders Posted September 26, 2017 Share Posted September 26, 2017 Impressive. Need to back this up by taking care of business against Bolton next saturday. Do that and we've got the 14 from 18 for September that I thought would be necessary to keep us on track, and was also skeptical Bruce would get. Provided this attitude and style carries on - most particularly against top 6 sides then we'll throw ourselves into the mix. Still remaining very cautious based on prior experience, but I can't deny tonight was a pleasant surprise. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Dave J Posted September 26, 2017 Popular Post Share Posted September 26, 2017 15 minutes ago, Demitri_C said: No matter what anyone thinks of Bruce no one can deny him that. He looked a dead man walking. It's remarkable how he has turned it around. He didn't do a lambert and just get worse and worse. He rolled his sleeves up and fought his way when he was crucified. no matter how this ends I wil have a bit of respect for him for that. Well done brucie That's very unfair on Lambert in my opinion. When you consider the dross that we have endured since he left - it makes you stop and think that the job he did in keeping us in the prem was remarkable on a shoestring budget - I also don't consider he lost his dignity or took any cheap shots at the fans and in my view left with his pride and integrity intact. The villa job has probably ruined a promising young manager imo and I'm not certain he will come back from it. 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa4europe Posted September 26, 2017 Share Posted September 26, 2017 went away and imposed our football rather than setting us up based on what they were doing we smashed 2 teams on the trot now, got to have the confidence to keep it going rather than changing us all the time 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briny_ear Posted September 26, 2017 Share Posted September 26, 2017 6 minutes ago, Heretic said: Good result, but the goal isn't to beat Burton, it's promotion. And to get promotion we have to be able routinely to beat the Burtons of this world on their own patches. That was a big part of the problem last season. Unless you will only be satisfied with a 138 point season, I need to break it to you that we won't always beat the other promotion rivals. Consistency against the lesser clubs is really key in this league. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NottingVilla Posted September 26, 2017 Share Posted September 26, 2017 It's Jimmy Danger being back imo...maybe not so obvious to the untrained eye...but the difference with/without is palpable. I can't be adding extra dressing to Bruce's kebab for beating Burton Albion. The real test will be where he's failed many times before with us. With Jimmy though, we play less like a bunch of pussies. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Villarocker Posted September 26, 2017 Share Posted September 26, 2017 (edited) Tell you what Bruce deserves credit for: Keeping Johnstone for another season (at least?) = He's improved no end and catches the ball a lot more instead of punching it. Bringing Elmohamady in = Made a telling contribution already and moving him to right back has given us someone who can bomb forward but actually deliver an end product. Dropping Adomah to start with and then bringing him back on the left wing = A big gamble to drop one of last season's leading attackers and then bringing him in on the opposite wing to score goals for fun. Bringing Davis in AND keeping faith in him = Found a beast to lead the line. Someone who has brought the best out of Hourihane and also chipped in with a couple of goals. Bringing Snodgrass in = Another attacking threat but at last we have someone to pass a thtough-ball. He also takes mean set-pieces and is another goal threat. Bringing in Terry = A very experienced head to steady the ship at the back. Plenty of clean sheets to indicate things are working well and maybe the reason for the improvement in Johnstone's decision making? We needed to stop relying on Kodjia for goals and seemingly we have crossed that bridge and you have to credit Bruce and his team for that. We now have more players that can score goals and a centre forward that brings others into play. Love him or loathe him - Bruce needs to take a lot of credit for all of the above. Edited September 26, 2017 by villarocker 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don_Simon Posted September 26, 2017 Share Posted September 26, 2017 11 minutes ago, DevonIsAPlaceOnEarth said: Steve, I am very sorry. Keep up the good work please. It is waaaaaaaay too early to be apologising. We are currently doing what a squad like ours should be doing. Nothing more and nothing less. I wanted him gone and if an outstanding candidate became available, (Hello Jose), would still want him out. However, if like another poster has said we get results against our promotion rivals away from home, I'll start to believe he's turning / turned it around. Fingers crossed! (For turning it around,not for Jose). 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heretic Posted September 26, 2017 Share Posted September 26, 2017 1 minute ago, briny_ear said: I need to break it to you that we won't always beat the other promotion rivals. Consistency against the lesser clubs is really key in this league. No need to break anything to me. Mathematically, consistency against the Burtons is probably going to get you midtable. The reason the guys at the very top are there is because they can pick up points against rivals close to them. Beating the also-rans won't get you promoted, that's the low hanging fruit. It's true we don't have to beat all the top teams, but nobody would be so foolish to suggest we would or should. The reality if you want to get out of this league, you're going to have to do well against the high-flyers. The BBC red button tells me tonight that Cardiff put on a 'breathless' display against Leeds to win. Whilst you can leave people with their breath, it's wins like that at home against tough guys and grinding out draws at their place which will see you in the mix for the PL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterms Posted September 26, 2017 Share Posted September 26, 2017 39 minutes ago, Demitri_C said: Egg on your face? or how about a double helping of humble egg pie?! I shall develop a recipe for humble pie, with a topping of potatoface, and post it if and when the situation demands. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevonIsAPlaceOnEarth Posted September 26, 2017 Share Posted September 26, 2017 5 minutes ago, Don_Simon said: It is waaaaaaaay too early to be apologising. We are currently doing what a squad like ours should be doing. Nothing more and nothing less. I wanted him gone and if an outstanding candidate became available, (Hello Jose), would still want him out. However, if like another poster has said we get results against our promotion rivals away from home, I'll start to believe he's turning / turned it around. Fingers crossed! (For turning it around,not for Jose). Perhaps so, I was adamant that he had lost the changing room and that he should have gone after the Bristol game. It's academic now, its a results business like you say. Wolves will be the crucial one. It's great to be feared side though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRO Posted September 26, 2017 Share Posted September 26, 2017 3 minutes ago, Heretic said: No need to break anything to me. Mathematically, consistency against the Burtons is probably going to get you midtable. The reason the guys at the very top are there is because they can pick up points against rivals close to them. Beating the also-rans won't get you promoted, that's the low hanging fruit. It's true we don't have to beat all the top teams, but nobody would be so foolish to suggest we would or should. The reality if you want to get out of this league, you're going to have to do well against the high-flyers. The BBC red button tells me tonight that Cardiff put on a 'breathless' display against Leeds to win. Whilst you can leave people with their breath, it's wins like that at home against tough guys and grinding out draws at their place which will see you in the mix for the PL. We simply need to keep winning irrespective who its against......in 1980/81 we lost to Ipswich 3 times......made no difference we got 26 wins they didn't. Its just a question of focusing on the things that matter......its just winning against anybody and everybody. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRO Posted September 26, 2017 Share Posted September 26, 2017 Just now, DevonIsAPlaceOnEarth said: Perhaps so, I was adamant that he had lost the changing room and that he should have gone after the Bristol game. It's academic now, its a results business like you say. Wolves will be the crucial one. It's great to be feared side though. They are ALL crucial....but you are not wrong. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCJonah Posted September 26, 2017 Share Posted September 26, 2017 19 minutes ago, Dave J said: That's very unfair on Lambert in my opinion. When you consider the dross that we have endured since he left - it makes you stop and think that the job he did in keeping us in the prem was remarkable on a shoestring budget - I also don't consider he lost his dignity or took any cheap shots at the fans and in my view left with his pride and integrity intact. The villa job has probably ruined a promising young manager imo and I'm not certain he will come back from it. Couldn't disagree with this more. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vive_La_Villa Posted September 26, 2017 Share Posted September 26, 2017 We'll all happily eat humble pie but its way to early for that. Its looking a lot more promising than it did a few weeks ago though. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heretic Posted September 26, 2017 Share Posted September 26, 2017 Just now, TRO said: We simply need to keep winning irrespective who its against......in 1980/81 we lost to Ipswich 3 times......made no difference we got 26 wins they didn't. Its just a question of focusing on the things that matter......its just winning against anybody and everybody. True. But generally speaking, because it's a pattern that repeats, a team wanting to be at the top knows its fortunes will be broken or made against the best teams in the division. Beating the lower ranked teams (e.g. Chelsea or Man City looking down the table) is considered a given at your Chelsea and Man City. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vive_La_Villa Posted September 26, 2017 Share Posted September 26, 2017 Just now, Heretic said: True. But generally speaking, because it's a pattern that repeats, a team wanting to be at the top knows its fortunes will be broken or made against the best teams in the division. Beating the lower ranked teams (e.g. Chelsea or Man City looking down the table) is considered a given at your Chelsea and Man City. In this league you can draw or even lose the odd game to the better teams in the division as long as you beat everyone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillanousOne Posted September 26, 2017 Share Posted September 26, 2017 Kodjia had a bad game, Bruce out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRO Posted September 26, 2017 Share Posted September 26, 2017 (edited) 5 minutes ago, DCJonah said: Couldn't disagree with this more. Oops...me too I thought the 5 year contract ( on the way out)for Gabby was a bit spiteful, but hey ho. maybe someone else signed it off.? Edited September 26, 2017 by TRO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heretic Posted September 26, 2017 Share Posted September 26, 2017 Just now, Vive_La_Villa said: In this league you can draw or even lose the odd game to the better teams in the division as long as you beat everyone else. Mathematically, it's true in every league. But the point remains - the odds are that your fortunes are made against the better teams. Wins against Burton are the very minimum to be expected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts