TRO Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 On 1/23/2018 at 20:20, poitier said: TRO, I think bringing Agnew in has resulted in more than the sort of incremental change that may have been slowly happening under Bruce. Of course there are other factors in our recent improvement, but Agnew seems to be key in this. Could well be a key factor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheepyvillian Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 On 24/01/2018 at 12:32, Vive_La_Villa said: It does happen though. Lambert dropping Hutton to the bomb squad was purely to please the fans in my opinion. It didn't please me in the slightest . As far as I'm concerned it had no justification whatsoever ,in fact , that whole bomb squad scenario was nothing more than a sycophantic ,token, gesture ,one of Lambert's many mistakes . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRO Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 (edited) Well done, Steve .....sounds like a very astute signing. once again, your little black book, comes up trumps. bless the little thing. Ps it seems like Tom Hanks, Jose too likes the name. Edited January 25, 2018 by TRO 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omariqy Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 18 hours ago, TRO said: Well done, Steve .....sounds like a very astute signing. once again, your little black book, comes up trumps. bless the little thing. Ps it seems like Tom Hanks, Jose too likes the name. Wow. Just wow. Who else is in this book? Who else has seen this filth? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AvfcRigo82 Posted January 27, 2018 Share Posted January 27, 2018 Quote Villa's transfer policy explained Axel Tuanzebe became Bruce's eighth signing this season on Thursday Not every Championship manager has the power Steve Bruce has when it comes to transfers. Unlike some clubs now operating with a director of football who cherry-picks players for a head coach, Aston Villa have allowed Bruce to sign whoever he has wanted. Every signing Bruce has made this season has been geared up to help him achieve one goal: promotion. The Villa boss is well aware he may not see next season if he doesn’t pull off what’s expected come May. With that in mind, it’s only fair Bruce is allowed to sign his players and use them however he pleases. And he has done just that. Not every player he’s signed in 2017/18 has been overwhelmingly welcomed by supporters, but they’re all central to Villa’s hopes of becoming a Premier League club once again. Focusing on the here and now Rather than sign players with one eye on the future, Bruce is very much working in the here and now. Bruce has jokingly referred to his Villa squad as ‘Dad’s Army’ - but there’s a reason why he’s recruited so much experience. Bruce’s seven summer signings had a combined average age of 29 when they signed on the dotted line. All of them but Sam Johnstone and Josh Onomah are now the wrong side of 30. Having said that, they’ve still got plenty to offer. Captain John Terry would have played every Championship minute had it not been for a devastating broken metatarsal in November. Glenn Whelan has dropped out of the side in recent weeks but he was integral during Villa’s successful autumn. Ahmed Elmohamady and Robert Snodgrass have been astute additions while Villa haven’t lost a league game Chris Samba has started. ‘I want players who can handle it’ was a phrase Bruce constantly relayed regarding his summer recruitment. By that he meant the pressure of playing for Villa - a bigger club than most if not all in the Championship. Astute loan signings Bruce is renowned as a manager who looks to utilise the loan market to attack the Championship. Axel Tuanzebe became Villa’s fourth loan signing this season on Thursday and a fifth is expected to be confirmed before the end of the window. Some might say Villa haven’t needed so many temporary signings but each of them has played a part, and they will continue to do so. Onomah arrived in August with the task of filling in for Jack Grealish, who missed the first part of the season through a freak kidney injury. Onomah has struggled for minutes since Grealish’s return, but while the local lad was out the Spurs youngster was key. On the face of it, Tuanzebe looks like another player Villa can cope without. He won’t get a look in at centre-back while Villa already have three useful defensive-minded midfielders in Birkir Bjarnason, Mile Jedinak and Whelan. But his versatility will ensure he plays regularly. Right-back has been an area where Villa have rotated this season and Tuanzebe is capable of playing there, too. Bruce’s constant dipping into the loan market shows a manager who is prepared to leave absolutely nothing to chance. “It’s my job never to be content,” Bruce told us. “If I’m content and happy with what I’ve got then I may as well pack up. “We’ve always got to try and improve and it’s my job to improve the squad in any way I can.” Bruce has learnt the hard way Bruce’s decision to let Jordan Ayew and Rudy Gestede leave last January, combined with Jonathan Kodjia’s Africa Cup of Nations absence, left Villa ridiculously light in attack and they paid the price. Scott Hogan arrived at the death but Villa had played virtually the entire month with Gabby Agbonlahor and Ross McCormack up top, and neither was brimming with confidence or in peak physical condition. That month was a disaster and played a huge part in Villa falling away so quickly. Bruce admits that now and is determined not to leave Villa light in attack again. Room will be made for young guns Villa’s array of options appeared excellent before Bruce dipped into the market and signed Tuanzebe - and with another arrival likely, supporters are understandably wondering what it means for their young talents. Andre Green and Keinan Davis have impressed under Bruce this season, as has Callum O’Hare when called upon. Rushian Hepburn-Murphy is another on the peripheries of the first team and Bruce will ensure they don’t become lost amongst the endless talent stood before him on Bodymoor Heath’s pristine training pitches. Bruce will continue to make room for the youngsters but promotion understandably comes first. Villa’s policy towards youth has changed over the last year and some of the under-23s now regularly train with the first team. That will continue to be the case. If Bruce deems Davis better equipped to face a particular opponent than Hogan he will select him, as he will with any of his other 20-odd first team players. Bruce and his coaching staff have instilled a harmony within this Villa team that few in recent history can match. Everyone is working towards the same goal and if that's achieved, Tony Xia's decision to hand Bruce the keys to the club will be justified. Here I think it sums it up really and we're heading in the right direction. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vive_La_Villa Posted January 28, 2018 Share Posted January 28, 2018 On 27/01/2018 at 09:38, AvfcRigo82 said: Here I think it sums it up really and we're heading in the right direction. We've got a make or break team to be honest. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomaszk Posted January 28, 2018 Share Posted January 28, 2018 It's up or bust. If we don't go up what a massive waste of time. If we do, fantastic. We should be more comfortable in my opinion. It's tight. Wonder how both clubs' seasons would have gone if you switched Rowett and Bruce in July? Who would be better off? Or would we still be 3 points apart. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vive_La_Villa Posted January 28, 2018 Share Posted January 28, 2018 3 minutes ago, Tomaszk said: It's up or bust. If we don't go up what a massive waste of time. If we do, fantastic. We should be more comfortable in my opinion. It's tight. Wonder how both clubs' seasons would have gone if you switched Rowett and Bruce in July? Who would be better off? Or would we still be 3 points apart. What if we had got Bruce in when we got RDM. Would it have been tighter last year? Would we be in a better position now? Without being a fan of Bruce I think he has done ok in the transfer market. Had he been given the same funds as RDM then who knows where we would be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post dounavilla Posted January 28, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted January 28, 2018 What if Pep was born a woman ? Would it mean Hutton would have hair? 9 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vive_La_Villa Posted January 28, 2018 Share Posted January 28, 2018 8 minutes ago, dounavilla said: What if Pep was born a woman ? Would it mean Hutton would have hair? Leave the prophet out of this. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eastie Posted January 28, 2018 Share Posted January 28, 2018 1 hour ago, dounavilla said: What if Pep was born a woman ? Would it mean Hutton would have hair? He had a hairy one once - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveAV1 Posted January 28, 2018 Share Posted January 28, 2018 38 minutes ago, Eastie said: He had a hairy one once - The Scottish Cafu with hair, that’s some revelation, right up there with finding out there was no Santa. Although I’m not convinced that Santa is a fake. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sne Posted January 28, 2018 Share Posted January 28, 2018 2 minutes ago, DaveAV1 said: The Scottish Cafu with hair, that’s some revelation, right up there with finding out there was no Santa. Although I’m not convinced that Santa is a fake. But there is, he's just not from the north pole. He's from Paraguay 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AvfcRigo82 Posted January 28, 2018 Share Posted January 28, 2018 I'd forgotten about that one season wonder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demitri_C Posted January 30, 2018 Author Share Posted January 30, 2018 I am abit concerned by Bruces latest comments. If Hogan gets injured we have Davis who has scored a mighty 2 goals this year in the league. RHM is always injured then gabby who alone has been injured and isnt a goal scorer either. I think its a absolute massive gamble to not sign a more experienced striker on loan. For me also shows poor prepration if we only had eyes for Ulloa and no other option. We are so close to getting promoted why risk another gamble? Quote Aston Villa striker search latest as Steve Bruce misses out on Leo Ulloa Aston Villa transfer news includes the latest on club's hunt for a forward Steve Bruce has admitted he might not sign a striker at all this month after missing out on Leonardo Ulloa. Ulloa snubbed Villa to re-join former club Brighton yesterday and while Bruce still has other targets, he might stick rather than twist. “We’ve had two particular targets - one has come off (Axel Tuanzebe) and one has gone to Brighton (Leonardo Ulloa). With Gabby (Agbonlahor) fit and (Scott) Hogan fit and Keinan (Davis) OK, ideally everyone would probably want four. With (Rushian) Hepburn-Murphy still knocking around it and him getting fit. If there’s a striker around that I think will be something different to what we’ve got then I’ll try, but at the moment we’re not close to anything at all.” Hogan’s recent goal glut has seen Davis left out of the team with his last Championship start coming against tonight's opponents Sheffield United over a month ago. Before this rest Davis had played constantly for four months since making his full debut against Norwich City in August. And the 19-year-old’s freshness is another reason why Bruce is so relaxed about the club’s failed bid to land Ulloa, revealing the ‘urgency' to add more firepower is no longer there. Tommy Elphick joins Reading on loan: Our verdict on the bit-part Aston Villa defender “Anybody who comes in wants to play, of course, but then again I’ve got 24 players here who have now served me so well and put us in the position where we’re at,” Bruce added. “My job is always to improve us so if there’s someone there that can improve us and help us then we’ll do something. If not then I’m not going to just dive into the market for the sake of it because it’s no use. “I’d rather give Hepburn-Murphy a go, give Keinan a go. Let’s be fair, since the Norwich game until last month Keinan has led the line fantastically well. With him having a break for a month then the urgency (to sign another striker) is not quite there.” Click Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dont_do_it_doug. Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 I mean, he's right. What's the point in signing somebody if they're not better than what we have? Funny how Kienan Davis appears to have been written off as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lerner's Driver Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 4 minutes ago, dont_do_it_doug. said: Funny how Kienan Davis appears to have been written off as well. Whose written him off Doug? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dont_do_it_doug. Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 20 minutes ago, Lerner's Driver said: Whose written him off Doug? I have seen plenty of people say if Hogan is injured we're screwed, here and elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demitri_C Posted January 30, 2018 Author Share Posted January 30, 2018 1 minute ago, dont_do_it_doug. said: I have seen plenty of people say if Hogan is injured we're screwed, here and elsewhere. Saying he has scored two goals (which is fact) is not exactly writing him off. But he doesnt seem to be a natural goal scorer like hogan is more of a heskey type target man that will get you the assists. hogan has double the goals in less/around the same starts. lets say davis gets injured that leaves gabby and RHM not exactly inspiring for a team targeting top two. we need a striker and its a huge huge gamble not signing one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praisedmambo Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 29 minutes ago, dont_do_it_doug. said: I mean, he's right. What's the point in signing somebody if they're not better than what we have? Funny how Kienan Davis appears to have been written off as well. He's scored two goals and Hogan's scored three and been rubbish in 90% of the games we've played—and when he does play he touches the ball about 10 times. We could 100% do with someone else. Two strikers isn't enough anyway. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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