Steve Bruce

[HanoiVillan]

3 hours ago, TheStagMan said:

Really? (where is that laughing smiley?) The result says otherwise, the radio commentary says otherwise, the reports say otherwise. People who were at the match say otherwise, so - please tell - how EXACTLY did we compete in this game?

Remember - we played against a League one team who had more shots at goal, more shots on target and ultimately won 3-1.

 

The defence of Bruce is **** ludicrous at times. 

I was at the game, and we absolutely did 'compete'. We were the better team for periods of the match. 

I'm not saying it was good enough, obviously it wasn't, but we did 'compete'. 

[TRO]

1 minute ago, Grasshopper said:

Tro, all my posts are good, you just dont get most of them 

Well judging by my comments, particularly my last line, i think i do.

[Grasshopper]

1 hour ago, TRO said:

It was the same manager, that won away to 'brough and beat Bristol.

do you just wait for a defeat to try to drive home your point, even more?

It just proves he‘s as capable of losing as well as „fluking it“

[Robbie09]

Going to defend Bruce to a degree. He needed to give game time to the likes of Thor, Green and De Laet as they will be required at various stages this season. 

From the opening minute when Green’s attempt was tipped over the bar I thought we’d steoll the game - even more so when we scored as early as we did. Unfortunately it seemed so dis many of the players and they let the tempo slow and we just couldn’t raise it. 

Bruce was going mental at the players,  they weren’t pressing so is that his fault? The players were complacent and couldn’t up the tempo when required.

Yesterday he would’ve been slated if he’d picked the strongest team and players had suffered injuries (which are statistically more likely after the xmas period) so he rested a few and it backfired.

Let’s see where we are at the end of the season - I’d happily sacrifice a cup run for a play off place. Let’s be honest - the last 2 FA cup finals we’ve reached have hardly been enjoyable occasions!!

 

[VillanousOne]

1 hour ago, bannedfromHandV said:

So many factors, shit/disinterested crowd, obvious lack of interest from manager/club, squad players looking to impress individually, first teamers alienated at having to play in the squad/reserve team, motivated away team and support......not justifying it, not saying its okay, but if we get promoted, no one will even remember it. 

I'll remember it next year when we lose again to lower league opposition, and the year after and the after when we are quoted always as 'the team who is most vulnerable to cup upsets' i guess they won't be upsets anymore, just BAU.

[Dave J]

2 hours ago, OutByEaster? said:

So here we are on January the 7th with what almost feels like a new start. There are no more distractions, there's nothing confusing, nothing that isn't clear.

Steve Bruce has taken on a job with a clear aim and he has made sacrifices in his plan to achieve that aim. I may not like being knocked out of the cup in the fashion we were yesterday, and I might hanker for a more progressive style of football, but what I really want, and what Steve Bruce really wants and what the owner really wants and what I reckon all of us really want is now as clear as day.

Promotion is the job.

Not style, not cup runs, not making me smile every day of the season, not the beautiful game; just making all of us incredibly happy in May.

Now, given all of that, and given that I thought we'd struggle to make the playoffs this season, I think it's more than possible to suggest the manager is doing okay - don't get me wrong, the floor around my pram is littered with the toys of this season - I've been a critic and I've been more than that at times. I've also given credit to a manager who is soldiering on through a season that's at times been painful and ugly. Maybe I should have been watching the table, not the pitch. We're 5th, and 5th is okay.

We're in a position where we're 2 points clear of dropping out of the playoffs, and we're 5 points from second place - for me Wolves have one of the automatic places sewn up and with twenty games left I think there are still a dozen teams involved in the chase for the other spots that give you promotion or a shot at it.

Twenty games will tell us whether Steve Bruce is right.

Twenty games will tell us if the pragmatism and experience of the manager wins out over the occasional terrace dreamer carrying the lost ambitions of a very wounded Lion - whether results trump enjoyment.

We have a foundation, we're in the conversation. So for me, I'm giving Steve Bruce a fresh start, a clean sheet, shelving my reservations and starting today. I'm sure a number of you will find that impossible, that's your right, it hasn't been an easy tenure to enjoy and sometimes it's been difficult to endure - but it may still be one that ends where we want it to.

Twenty to Twenty=two games to play gaffer. 

Be right.

 

Why would you give this man a clean slate- fresh start or whatever ? What on earth has he done to warrant this?

He plays turgid football - he's clinging onto the play offs 5th is ok - is it? 

Sorry but if I were Wyness I'd have him in the office 9.00 and read him the riot act - I'd also tell him that I'm watching him like a hawk - fresh start not a hope in hell for me I'm afraid- how can he instill confidence in you that he will get the next 20 odd games right? I think it's a huge gamble that he will - he does nothing to inspire me that he can/will - hope I am wrong though 

[Robbie09]

Good job you’re not Wyness then

[AntrimBlack]

Bruce did the right thing because of the importance of promotion this season. Rested the first teamers; gave minutes  to players returning from injury; gave a (half) chance to a couple of youngsters.

The problem as usual was coaching. He sent them out like strangers, assuming that they could make it up as they went along. No system or tactics.

The game was unimportant to him, and it looked to me that the coaching staff could not be bothered to prepare them properly.  

[TheStagMan]

3 hours ago, Rob182 said:

Firstly; I’m glad you agree that ‘fluke’ was the wrong word, and therefore accept and agree with my post.

Perhaps you would like to go back and point out where I said i didn't agree that it was the wrong word to use?

[TheStagMan]

3 hours ago, TRO said:

Thats all well and good, but the speed that some folk use to crticise Bruce can easily happen in choosing an inaccurate word like Fluke......I think Matt Latissier used it to describe the game and when praise for villa is concerned, he wouldn't give us a flea to breed off.

We have mustered a 3 & a 4 so its not the shock some allude to, but I confess not enough and not expected.

The performance was disappointing and I am sure he had reasons for doing what he did, even though it never worked.

I understand your concern of picking up on one word and possibly missing your point, but can you not see the other side of the coin, too.....possibly discrediting a 5-0 win is unthoughtful too.

It wasn't my wording, I was sticking up for a fellow fan who was trying to make a point and getting stomped on for his choice of wording rather than the point he was making. 

Whilst i agree with most of what you say there, I would also point out the speed of some people to react and defend against what they think people have said about Bruce/the team is also ridiculous at times.

 

[TheStagMan]

1 hour ago, DaveAV1 said:

There are people saying we are on a good run of form. May I remind everyone that we only got 6 points in December, the standard has generally been set at 2 points per game, and we now need considerably better than that to get into the top two, which is the club’s target for the season. Ok we’ve won the last two, both results being excellent and the performance in the Bristol City game, our best of the season. That gave us all hope that a corner had been turned, not in just regards to results, but in regards to performances. Yesterday’s incredibly poor and embarrassing performance has wiped away much of the optimism and momentum gained at the start of the week.

The question then to be asked, is which of the two performances was the one off? The great performance on Monday or the rubbish one in the FA Cup. Many might point at yesterday’s game and say, it wasn’t the real first team and it didn’t matter. If you’d have asked Bob Shankley, Brian Clough or Alex Ferguson, let alone our very own Ron Saunders which games in their careers didn’t matter, I think you’d get a very straight and short answer. Winning is a mind set, you can’t turn it on and off like a tap. If we’d have gone into the Forest game with three wins on the bounce we would have been buzzing.

So was Bristol a one off? Well certainly the manner of the performance, let alone the result, wasn't what many were expecting. Steve Bruce has been in charge for over 50 games and we have never played like that against a decent team. The match before that was an extremely turgid affair, which, like so many of our games under this manager, could have gone either way. So perhaps we got everything right on the day and Bristol got everything wrong, throwing up a bit of a freak result. 

I know I enjoyed the bit of optimism I found bouncing about in my head for a few days post Monday evening. I even rationalised it by hoping that although it was unlikely SB had had an epiphany, perhaps Steve Agnew had imparted some influence and that influence may continue until the end of the season. But yesterday’s performance, regardless of the changes to the team, has left me almost back where I started as far as optimism is concerned. More especially because of the ease in which we slipped back into our old ways. Yes I was surprised by the way we played after the Bristol City game, but if you take that game out of the equation, then yesterday’s performance was really no surprise at all, in context with performances through Steve Bruce’s time here. 

I hope the Posh game was the blip, but I fear the truth is, that the one off was on Monday evening.

Thank You. Spot on, perfect post.

Edited January 7, 2018 by TheStagMan

[OutByEaster?]

1 hour ago, Dave J said:

He plays turgid football - he's clinging onto the play offs 5th is ok - is it? 

At the start of the season, if you'd offered me 5th and the playoffs, I'd have taken it. I realise that's a view that a fair few people will disagree with, but, yes, for me, 5th is okay.

 

[VillanousOne]

The 5:0 against Bristol City was not a fluke but still pretty rare, I have seen us play a handful of times under Bruce on the front foot and press the team and really try and get forward, but usually this is in response to some bad defeats and doesn't reflect how we usually set up under Bruce (which is to not to lose).

You could also argue that he got the balance of the team right and he and Agniew had actually coached the players to go on the offensive, maybe he felt confident in the team enough to do that as for me half the time Bruce doesn't seem to truly trust the players to do the job they have been brought here to do.

Either way if we play turgid defensive football vs Notts Forest then we will know that normal service has been returned.

 

[Lichfield Dean]

Watching Forest taking the game to Arsenal now. They aren't treating this as an unimportant game. When we play them they'll be the ones coming off the back of a strong performance that they can be proud of and that gave their fans something to cheer (even if they do ultimately lose to Arsenal).

[DaveAV1]

2 hours ago, bannedfromHandV said:

It was 2 different teams, not sure you can compare yesterday with the Bristol City game and ask which was the truer representation, surely given that the City game saw our best XI on the pitch that it's more likely that was the true version? 

Well yes that would be the logical explanation, but the performance yesterday was reminiscent of all the poor performances that have often been served up this season. Only time will tell, we’ll perhaps have more clues next weekend. 

[jim]

18 hours ago, Rob182 said:

A fluke 5-0  

Maybe not a fluke but it is certainly the exception rather than the rule.

[Morley_crosses_to_Withe]

29 minutes ago, Lichfield Dean said:

Watching Forest taking the game to Arsenal now. They aren't treating this as an unimportant game. When we play them they'll be the ones coming off the back of a strong performance that they can be proud of and that gave their fans something to cheer (even if they do ultimately lose to Arsenal).

Most of our players who’ll face Forest will also be coming off the back of a strong performance given most of them didn’t feature yesterday.

Terry, Taylor and Hourihane (who all started yesterday) are seasoned professionals who’ll surely be able to put yesterday’s loss behind them. 

 

Edited January 7, 2018 by Morley_crosses_to_Withe

[Demitri_C]

Wonder if leeds fans are as bothered? Id rather have the 3 points at forest than won yesterday

[foreveryoung]

We will be lucky to get 3 points from Forest the way they are playing against Arsenal 3-1

[Stratvillan]

Wenger out?