Steve Bruce

[rodders0223]

2 minutes ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

https://7500toholte.sbnation.com/2017/12/30/16833870/steve-bruces-selective-targeting-of-the-aston-villa-fanbase-is-going-to-end-badly

 

Brilliantly summed up.

I now realise why Sunderland fans hate their most successful PL manager ( and I mean HATE) He's a right word removed.

[villan_007]

1 hour ago, lexicon said:

'Absolutely nowhere near' - 7 points. 

.... Not much else to say. 

I think there is everything to say. That gap is us winning 3 on the bounce and someone losing 3. It's never been the other way round.

We've been 'absolutely nowhere near' sitting comfortably in the automatic spots. Not once. 

[TRO]

11 minutes ago, rodders0223 said:

I now realise why Sunderland fans hate their most successful PL manager ( and I mean HATE) He's a right word removed.

And what about O'Neill is he revered?

[TRO]

Its been quite kind on here tonight....He can have his kebab in peace.

wait until Monday Night......the big guns will come out when we get stuffed.

Edited December 31, 2017 by TRO

[turvontour]

He doesnt sound great in that interview does he?

[NurembergVillan]

23 minutes ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

https://7500toholte.sbnation.com/2017/12/30/16833870/steve-bruces-selective-targeting-of-the-aston-villa-fanbase-is-going-to-end-badly

 

Brilliantly summed up.

I agree with you most of the time, but not on this occasion. That article is rubbish.

I'm in bed so I can't be arsed to dissect it now, but whoever wrote it clearly hasn't been on this thread in the last 6 months.

Key point - Bruce is saying there isn't a crisis but the fans are crying out that there is. Yet the article closes out by mugging off Bruce as if it's he who's calling it a crisis.

It's the tasty crouton floating in a bowl of word soup.

[Zatman]

24 minutes ago, rodders0223 said:

I now realise why Sunderland fans hate their most successful PL manager ( and I mean HATE) He's a right word removed.

Do they hate Peter Reid?  

[DCJonah]

Our owner set the target of automatic promotion averaging 2 points a game. 

Don't think anyone thinks we have a divine right to piss the league based on what we spent. But like our owner, a lot of fans had high expectations based on the money spent putting together the squad. 

[Rob182]

41 minutes ago, AvfcRigo82 said:

Good points Rob and yes indeed smoke and fire while there is also a line to. 

You could definately divide this thread up into 3 sections with a healthy handful in each camp with ones own prefrences and outlooks on things albeit different.

While I don't condone certain things, the thread titled individual has not exactly helped matters himself either.

His comments have caused more unrest in an already disgruntled ants nest of a thread.

You’re not wrong there. The last time he came out with these comments, I saw a (relatively) small amount of complaints and articles about it. This time round, I’ve seen many, many more complaints (rightly!) and also more fan articles about it. I have a feeling that last time Wyness/Xia might have had a quiet, and perhaps even understanding, word with him, whereas this time I think he’ll get a bit more stick from them. 

[sidcow]

5 hours ago, AndyM3000 said:

We aren't even missing loads of key players. Terry and Kodjia are big losses but that's it, the rest of the squad are all about as good (or bad) as each other.

And I am not 100% convinced on Kodjia. Despite scoring loads of goals last season there were still more than a sprinkling of dissenters about his overall contribution to the team and he hardly scored during his comeback.  I know there are probably good reasons behind this but as I say I am still not 100% convinced his absence is somekind of disaster. 

 

[AvfcRigo82]

@JAMAICAN-VILLAN that is one hell of an article.

This for me sums up every little thing in perfect detail.

This article carrys the voice of many frustrated Villa fans from the last 12 months.

Spot on.  

Edited December 31, 2017 by AvfcRigo82

[DCJonah]

29 minutes ago, NurembergVillan said:

McCormack, Hogan and Kodjia are our big money signings at £12m, £12m and £15m respectively.

This summer, Boro spent £17m on Assombalonga and £11m on Braithwaite; Reading spent £8m on Aluko (they may as well have signed his sister); Sheff Weds spent £10m on Rhodes; Fulham spent £9m on Rui Fonte; and Wolves have a dodgy set-up that enables them to sign players worth £20m for either less than their market value or on loan.

And this is just forwards.

If we looked at midfielders, even Small Heath managed to spend nearly £6m on one of them this summer.

There are plenty of sticks to beat Bruce with (and someone already beat us to it with the "ugly" one), but spending isn't one of them for me.

This ignores signing John Terry and getting Snodgrass, Johnstone and Onomah on loan. How many championship clubs could do that?

Also signing international, premier league experience in Whelan and Jedinak for low fees. 

We've spent a lot putting together this squad and we've been able to attract top quality for the level we are at. 

 

 

[andym]

8 minutes ago, NurembergVillan said:

McCormack, Hogan and Kodjia are our big money signings at £12m, £12m and £15m respectively.

This summer, Boro spent £17m on Assombalonga and £11m on Braithwaite; Reading spent £8m on Aluko (they may as well have signed his sister); Sheff Weds spent £10m on Rhodes; Fulham spent £9m on Rui Fonte; and Wolves have a dodgy set-up that enables them to sign players worth £20m for either less than their market value or on loan.

And this is just forwards.

If we looked at midfielders, even Small Heath managed to spend nearly £6m on one of them this summer.

There are plenty of sticks to beat Bruce with (and someone already beat us to it with the "ugly" one), but spending isn't one of them for me.

But surely the point is that we have got a lot more of the expensive players than other teams. Reading spent 8m on Aluko yes, but the rest of their transfers were about 5 mil combined. The previous season they spent 8 mil combined while we spent 50 mil+ (inc Jan).  Sheffield Wednesday spent 10mil on Rhodes, but the rest of their signings this summer were 3 mil combined, and last season it was 10 mil total.

Out of the top 15 all time highest championship transfer fees we have 4 (although Chester squeaks in equal 15th with quite a few others at 8mil). I suspect wage bill wise as well its going to be similar, Terry surely must be the highest paid championship player ever, and he would walk into every single side in this league easily.

You are right in that Bruce may not have had resources far beyond above every side in the league, but he has compared to the majority, and what he has is definitely no worse than any side except maybe Wolves. He has certainly had enough for us to be better than 7th halfway through the season, better than 6 points behind the likes of Bristol and Cardiff who definitely haven't had the resources he has, and better than 17 points from the top.

 

 

 

 

[TRO]

3 minutes ago, turvontour said:

He doesnt sound great in that interview does he?

He doesn't and I don't think he should have a pop at a section of the fans.....but on the other hand....people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

He or any other manager is entitled to defend themselves.

anybody who has a pop....should not expect the victim to lie down and die.

I cannot defend the turgid football that has been dished up, so perhaps a more diplomatic response may have been more helpful.

but hey!

we are all different arn't we.

[NurembergVillan]

Just now, DCJonah said:

This ignores signing John Terry and getting Snodgrass, Johnstone and Onomah on loan. How many championship clubs could do that?

Also signing international, premier league experience in Whelan and Jedinak for low fees. 

We've spent a lot putting together this squad and we've been able to attract top quality for the level we are at. 

 

 

The quote I'm disagreeing with is that we've spent enormous sums on players.

You can't counter that by saying that we've signed good players for free/cheap/on loan.

We've either spent enormous sums or we haven't.*

 

 

*We haven't.

[AvfcRigo82]

14 minutes ago, TRO said:

Its been quite kind on here tonight....He can have his kebab in peace.

wait until Monday Night......the big guns will come out when we get stuffed.

 Yep.  Hang fire - The ammo is ready and waiting..

[DCJonah]

1 minute ago, NurembergVillan said:

The quote I'm disagreeing with is that we've spent enormous sums on players.

You can't counter that by saying that we've signed good players for free/cheap/on loan.

We've either spent enormous sums or we haven't.*

 

 

*We haven't.

But transfer fees are just one part. We have clearly had a financial advantage over most when it comes to fees and wages we have been able to offer. 

It's all money being spent and it's allowed this squad to be put together. 

And any manager who was able to make probably the biggest signing in league history in John Terry and have now a 3rd/4th choice forward signed for £14 million has no right to make any excuses about lack of funds. 

[TRO]

3 minutes ago, AvfcRigo82 said:

@JAMAICAN-VILLAN that is one hell of an article.

This for me sums up every little thing in perfect detail.

This article carrys the voice of every single frustrated Villa fan from the last 12 months.

Spot on.  

No it does'nt.....I'm a frustrated villa fan and I'm with Nurembergvillan, i think large portions are rubbish and has a tendency to be vindictive.

There are genuine points to aim at Bruce, but I don't think much of that.

[AvfcRigo82]

5 minutes ago, TRO said:

He doesn't and I don't think he should have a pop at a section of the fans.....but on the other hand....people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

He or any other manager is entitled to defend themselves.

anybody who has a pop....should not expect the victim to lie down and die.

I cannot defend the turgid football that has been dished up, so perhaps a more diplomatic response may have been more helpful.

but hey!

we are all different arn't we.

Sounds like he is trying to take on the fans and a slight dig back at the board with his comments.

[Tayls]

46 minutes ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

https://7500toholte.sbnation.com/2017/12/30/16833870/steve-bruces-selective-targeting-of-the-aston-villa-fanbase-is-going-to-end-badly

 

Brilliantly summed up.

Duuuuuude. Come on. This is horrendous! 

I got annoyed as soon as I read the ‘bare bones’ section. At no point did Bruce indicate that we are “down to the bare bones” because we are playing Elphick. The person who wrote that suggested that, so actually it is he who thinks playing Elphick means we are “down to the bare bones”. When I think of that, I look at the bench - now, the bench today was VERY different to what we have had over the past few weeks or so. 

Bruce is right to argue back with the fans - he’s employed to do a job and he has obviously been reading things where people have been criticising that job and asking for him to be fired...FIRED -  now, personally, that is not a situation I would like to be in, so if getting some results and showing a glimmer of being able to turn bad form around comes along, then I would also rub it back into people faces. There is a hysteria, we are in bad form at the moment, we probably could be doing a bit In terms of points that we have amassed... but we don’t have a right to be any higher than what we are at the moment. 

The whole article is just based on assumptions and the writer is clearly anti Bruce, so, it lacks validity. 

Edited December 31, 2017 by Tayls
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