Steve Bruce

[hippo]

5 minutes ago, vreitti said:

I've heard him acknowledge this several times this season already. Empty words, just to keep the fans and media 'happy', because it's so painfully obvious for all to see. The thing is he doesn't actually seem too bothered about it, otherwise we'd surely start to see more consistency in the performances. The fear is, as it's been ever since he was appointed, sooner or later these lackluster performances will catch up, and we'll start to drop points, home and away. If we want to keep the good results going, we simply have to do better from a footballing perspective. We're riding high at the moment, but too me we still don't play with any great deal of confidence. Every week I feel we are just one terrible result away from totally losing momentum. 

Bruce deserves full credit for our current form. However, there is no way we'll maintain these results the way we play, that is blatantly obvious, looking at the better teams in the division. We've already dropped vital points to our biggest promotion rivals, and the more upper half teams we face, the worse it'll get.

I think that is the overall problem with Bruce. Personally I think he is the best man for us right now - but his limitations are there for all to see bottom 5 of the prem playing pretty basic football. We more or less know thats Brucies limit. If Jaap Stam or say Jovanic got the results Bruce had we would probably be a lot more optimistic as the ceiling of these guys in unknown.

However we are where we are - personally I have had enough of these long term visions whist the team gets spanked on the pitch. We are in the mix for promotion - maybe even top 2. Lets worry about the wheels falling off if and when that happens.

[AvfcRigo82]

7 minutes ago, HeyAnty said:

Bruce got numerous teams promoted from the Championship playing exactly the way we are playing now.  Championship is a results game, not playing a good football game.  If you made me choose now i would say we will be promoted automatically playing like this.

Also may i add, playing like this is why Bruce cant cut it in the premiership.  You need to be able to play football there to survive.  He will need to go if we are to push on in prem.   Hence why i am looking at the bigger picture of next season and persevering with this season.      

This  

[Guest av1]

52 minutes ago, PieFacE said:

If this is true I reckon Hernandez will be almost certain. 

He picked up a injury in August and it was predicted he would miss 6 months. It would be a incredible gamble in the circumstances. BBC

 

Hull City will be without Abel Hernandez for up to six months after the striker ruptured his Achilles in Tuesday's 3-2 defeat by Wolves

 

[Vive_La_Villa]

1 hour ago, omariqy said:

Under Bruce we will be a team that can counter really well and in numbers. He is very similar to MON in that he buys and picks players with individual skill and hopes that will be enough. At home is where I worry as we need to beat the teams above us at home and I can't see us breaking those teams down the way we play. 

Ironically the style may work against the teams above us at home as they may have a go at us. Not sure how the crowd would react to playing like the away team at home though. But it's probably our best bet of winning. 

[Demitri_C]

Hernadez is good but we cant afford another gamble with injuries, we signed injury prone hogan who has flopped so far.

Gayle or Ulloa if avaialble for me would be better options 

[striker]

1 hour ago, Vive_La_Villa said:

Fundemental Problem for me is still the off the ball movement. It's the main reason we lose possession so much. There are never enough options. its 3-4 passes then ball in to the box or given away. 

That has to be down to coaching. 

 

1 hour ago, TrentVilla said:

Bit right now Bruce’s way is working for us, all credit to him. I just think we could and possibly should be a better side than we are with the players we have in terms of using the ball, I’m not demanding 1970’s Brazil.

 

1 hour ago, omariqy said:

Under Bruce we will be a team that can counter really well and in numbers. He is very similar to MON in that he buys and picks players with individual skill and hopes that will be enough. At home is where I worry as we need to beat the teams above us at home and I can't see us breaking those teams down the way we play. 

The above posts (which are all excellent by the way) pretty much sum up my opinion as well.

I just wonder if some of the Villa players are as frustrated as the fans the way Villa are being asked to play at the moment?

[vreitti]

28 minutes ago, bannedfromHandV said:

Is it? Maybe you have better eyesight than the rest of us then.

It's apparently been blatantly obvious for months and yet, we keep winning.

 

Perhaps you should stick to your own opinion and not speak on behalf of "the rest"!

Of the 'better teams' we've thus far played, we've lost to Cardiff, Reading, and Wolves. We drew with Bristol C, Boro and Brentford. We've beaten Fulham, who I regard as a great team. Actually come to think of it, our fixturelist hasn't been that tough so far.

Edited November 22, 2017 by vreitti

[sne]

 

 

Edit: Whoops, thought I was in the transfer thread 

Edited November 22, 2017 by sne

[bannedfromHandV]

11 minutes ago, vreitti said:

Perhaps you should stick to your own opinion and not speak on behalf of "the rest"!

Of the 'better teams' we've thus far played, we've lost to Cardiff, Reading, and Wolves. We drew with Bristol C, Boro and Brentford. We've beaten Fulham, who I regard as a great team. Actually come to think of it, our fixturelist hasn't been that tough so far.

What are you talking about, fixture list hasn't been hard?

 

We've played 1st and 2nd away, what a joke of a comment.

 

[dont_do_it_doug.]

Oh look a win.

"But it's not the win we wanted"

I didn't see the game last night, but it sounds like a grit your teeth and bear it job, which is not all that surprising given we gave our best showing of the season 3 days earlier. 

As we're having the standard conversation about 'style' I'll add that I've enjoyed most of the games I've seen this season, which is the majority in person. More than I have for several years. That opinion isn't going to shift wildly based on one game, particularly one I didn't see. 

It's Bruceball. We're over a year into it now and whilst it's gotten MUCH better over that time it is rarely going to be scintillating. It is, however, now at least watchable. 

Helps that we're winning. 

Edited November 22, 2017 by dont_do_it_doug.

[terrytini]

Agree with pretty much all that’s been said in the last couple of pages, especially regarding both ball retention and most of all “pass and move”.

And I agree with those that continue to say it’s NOT that we lack the right players, how we play is how Bruce plays, full stop.

However I think the strengths he does bring to us are useful also, and given that he is now regularly playing a more positive version of his brand of football there is reason to think we will continue to accumulate points.

Id have preferred a different roadmap but I see this type of football, done well, as being as productive as any other in this League in the second half of the season.

I think 11 games is an okay sized sample, and in the last 11 we’ve Won 8, I think that can continue.

[terrytini]

Agree with all that @dont_do_it_doug. ( except I haven’t enjoyed much at all until the last two months) there is stuff we do that other teams don’t do as well, Bruce’s way isn’t all bad by any means, when done well.

[vreitti]

5 minutes ago, dont_do_it_doug. said:

...I've enjoyed most of the games I've seen this season...

Good for you. I'd give anything to be able to say the same.

[vreitti]

15 minutes ago, bannedfromHandV said:

What are you talking about, fixture list hasn't been hard?

 

We've played 1st and 2nd away, what a joke of a comment.

 

We've also played the bottom 6, not that it makes any difference, you wouldn't understand what I'm getting at regardless.

Edited November 22, 2017 by vreitti

[dont_do_it_doug.]

9 minutes ago, vreitti said:

Good for you. I'd give anything to be able to say the same.

Shame. Do you go away from home?

[vreitti]

27 minutes ago, dont_do_it_doug. said:

Shame. Do you go away from home?

Sadly I live in Finland, so I don't go at all, bar the odd game every 10 years or so 

I've had the luxury of televised games for the better part of my life though. A little less now, since we fallen to the second tier. But the way we now play under Bruce, I no longer necessarily even watch us anymore. I do still have some hope it changes for the better.

Ps. Our youth prospects excite me though, and of course Grealish. To think what he might turn into under different management and playing style... I just cannot stop believing.

Edited November 22, 2017 by vreitti

[bobzy]

1 hour ago, vreitti said:

Perhaps you should stick to your own opinion and not speak on behalf of "the rest"!

Of the 'better teams' we've thus far played, we've lost to Cardiff, Reading, and Wolves. We drew with Bristol C, Boro and Brentford. We've beaten Fulham, who I regard as a great team. Actually come to think of it, our fixturelist hasn't been that tough so far.

We've played away from home against 3 of the top 4 teams (excluding us, of course) as well as being away against our biggest rivals. 

(FWIW, we've also just beaten QPR away - they have the 5th best home record in the league (again, excluding us)).

 

But yes, it's been a pretty piss easy fixture list.

[bannedfromHandV]

1 hour ago, vreitti said:

We've also played the bottom 6, not that it makes any difference, you wouldn't understand what I'm getting at regardless.

Please, enlighten me with your wisdom for I am a mere mortal incapable of reasonable thought

[bannedfromHandV]

1 minute ago, bobzy said:

We've played away from home against 3 of the top 4 teams (excluding us, of course) as well as being away against our biggest rivals. 

(FWIW, we've also just beaten QPR away - they have the 5th best home record in the league (again, excluding us)).

 

But yes, it's been a pretty piss easy fixture list.

Hang on, are we letting facts get in the way of the 'truth' again?!

[Vive_La_Villa]

1 hour ago, vreitti said:

Perhaps you should stick to your own opinion and not speak on behalf of "the rest"!

Of the 'better teams' we've thus far played, we've lost to Cardiff, Reading, and Wolves. We drew with Bristol C, Boro and Brentford. We've beaten Fulham, who I regard as a great team. Actually come to think of it, our fixturelist hasn't been that tough so far.

Correct my if I'm wrong but 5 more games and we've played everyone once so if we are still within reach of top 2 is it fair to say the good form isn't a fluke?