Steve Bruce

[MikeAVFC]

3 minutes ago, TRO said:

who? Houdini or David Blane....I hear Dynamo is available.

Dean Smith, Chris Wilder in terms of this division. Or even look abroad, surely we can get someone of a decent calibre who can build this club up? You cannot tell me that there is nobody out there who can do a better job than Steve Bruce. Why can we not unearth our own Wagner, Nuno or Jokanovic... why do we have to go down the dull drab safe route? Let's show some **** balls and actually put a long term plan in place and appoint a head coach who fits in. 

[foreveryoung]

Difference between us and the promoted teams is, we lost against the shit, Bolton. QPR, Norwich, the draw at Hull, to name a few. If we beat maybe 2-3 of them we would have been automatically promoted.

Coming off the Sunderland smashing and destroying Wolves how then did we lose 3 and draw 1, this is what mugged us, still can't understand how this happened, on form teams just don't do this!! Can only think the team is to old and we wasn't the fittest.

[Rugeley Villa]

4 hours ago, Demitri_C said:

Have you been away for the last few days? If you have every media outlet is saying we have a 40m hole. It might be media bollocks but even brice has said we have to sell players so am abit concerned.

For me id rather sell adomah. I think we can get 10m for him 

No chance, he's too old to go for big money. 

[AntrimBlack]

8 hours ago, TRO said:

I think your comments have some sensible overtones.....and whether i agree with that situation, is something else.

but I often wonder just how much input some of these manages have ....and whether we, think they are more in control than they really are. and as you a say their comments at times suggest not.

....EG I heard an interview once with Gary Neville been asked " What does SAF say to you before a game" He replied with a sheepish grin and said " Nothing really" "He trusts us, we have done all the work on the training ground, We know what to do"

I think you are picking up on something that has real validity.

ps and I think your reference to pace is spot on.

I think that is your answer.

[AntrimBlack]

8 hours ago, villabromsgrove said:

I'm quoting myself to save having to re type it. 

At about three o'clock this morning I lay in bed thinking about Villa (as you do) .... I've puzzled over Bruce's post match comments on a number of occasions, when he sounded like a supporter rather than a manager. Comments like "I was disappointed with how deep we played in the first half", "I felt we sat back too much" etc etc. My reaction was "you're the manager, they're doing what you told them to do"!

What if this was not the case? What if he was being open and honest when he said "you don't need to tell experienced players what to do, you send them out onto the pitch and let them sort it out for themselves."

Did players such as Terry, Jedinak, Whelan, Chester etc discuss their lack of pace and possible vulnerability, and decide to play really deep to nullify a pacy attack? Did they decide that a long ball over the top would increase our corner kick percentage and allow the defenders a chance to get forward and perhaps score from a set piece? 

Were we being run by a bunch of senior players on the pitch playing within their limitations, and was Bruce just the guy who kept them safe and happy during the week with light training and an arm around the shoulder?

The only time we really saw Bruce's input was when we threw on extra strikers in the middle of the second half if we had gone behind. Or when we took off attackers if we were a goal up coming into the last twenty minutes. It was a regular pattern that didn't seem to have a great deal of design behind it.

Whatever was going on nearly worked, because despite our limited football we got close to promotion.

I may be wildly wrong and off the mark, but it would explain a number of SB's rather odd post match comments. 

Your entire post is setting the blame at Bruce's door.

You are saying that some of the senior players may have decided to `do their own thing'.

What sort of a manager let's that happen?

[USA_Villa]

Didn't Bruce was complain about not being able to buy certain players because of FFP restrictions? What on earth is he going to be like next time around when we're on a typical Brucie bad run of results/performances, and he's got a fraction of the money he's had before? I can hear the excuses now.

Time to move on. 

 

[AntrimBlack]

3 hours ago, holteend1982 said:

His first season doesn't count because when he took over we was in the relegation zone, we was a complete mess and he turned that around. Those who expected promotion in the first season especially after that start show the kind of unrealistic expectation a lot of our fans hold. 

It was Xia and Wyness, not the fans.

Although the fans could have realistically expected more than we got.

[Dave J]

3 hours ago, holteend1982 said:

His first season doesn't count because when he took over we was in the relegation zone, we was a complete mess and he turned that around. Those who expected promotion in the first season especially after that start show the kind of unrealistic expectation a lot of our fans hold. 

His first season absolutely does count imo - I have said many times that the club expected a play off place from Bruce's first season - otherwise why remove RDM after just 11 games - and whilst I am happy to be corrected I feel sure at his unveiling the play off's were very much on radar? 

Its pretty much 2 seasons of failure for me unfortunately 

[Nabby]

1 hour ago, foreveryoung said:

Difference between us and the promoted teams is, we lost against the shit, Bolton. QPR, Norwich, the draw at Hull, to name a few. If we beat maybe 2-3 of them we would have been automatically promoted.

Coming off the Sunderland smashing and destroying Wolves how then did we lose 3 and draw 1, this is what mugged us, still can't understand how this happened, on form teams just don't do this!! Can only think the team is to old and we wasn't the fittest.

What happened is in the Norwich /QPR / Bolton games is we conceded first and couldn't recover ...which happened again against Fulham. 

[terrytini]

45 minutes ago, USA_Villa said:

Didn't Bruce was complain about not being able to buy certain players because of FFP restrictions? What on earth is he going to be like next time around when we're on a typical Brucie bad run of results/performances, and he's got a fraction of the money he's had before? I can hear the excuses now.

Time to move on. 

 

I'm not disagreeing with your view, but I would say every single Manager we have ever had, regardless of the financial rules in place, has complained at insufficient funds for transfers.  And I'm quite sure the next guy will too.

[terrytini]

51 minutes ago, AntrimBlack said:

Your entire post is setting the blame at Bruce's door.

You are saying that some of the senior players may have decided to `do their own thing'.

What sort of a manager let's that happen?

“Wayne played wherever he wanted to,” said Allardyce. “He did play a little deeper than I thought he’d play, but I was pleased with his performance.”

https://sportsnaut.com/2016/09/sam-allardyce-wayne-rooney-untouchable/

[TRO]

3 hours ago, AshVilla said:

Still nothing from the club.

Hopefully silence is indeed golden and Bruce will be gone by the end of the week.

I think we had more chance of going up automatically than SB getting the sack.

[TRO]

2 hours ago, terrytini said:

I'm not disagreeing with your view, but I would say every single Manager we have ever had, regardless of the financial rules in place, has complained at insufficient funds for transfers.  And I'm quite sure the next guy will too.

True.....and then they proceed to spunk it up the wall on junk.

[TRO]

I think there will be some disappointed faces on here, when the announcement is made that he is staying.

[Kiwivillan]

4 hours ago, TRO said:

I think there will be some disappointed faces on here, when the announcement is made that he is staying.

I think we can kiss goodbye to any chance of promotion for a long time. I realised my main dislike of Bruce although I'm sure I've mentioned it before. He buys players that don't fit his system like Hogan because he has no system other than keep it tight don't concede and try and nick the win. He gets lucky by accident often see Davis he threw him on as had no choice then he runs with it like he's a genius till it stops working and tinkers with squad/formation  until something clicks again. Championship has moved on a lot in last 2-3 seasons and he's the dinosaur he always was

[MrDuck]

10 minutes ago, Kiwivillan said:

I think we can kiss goodbye to any chance of promotion for a long time. I realised my main dislike of Bruce although I'm sure I've mentioned it before. He buys players that don't fit his system like Hogan because he has no system other than keep it tight don't concede and try and nick the win. He gets lucky by accident often see Davis he threw him on as had no choice then he runs with it like he's a genius till it stops working and tinkers with squad/formation  until something clicks again. Championship has moved on a lot in last 2-3 seasons and he's the dinosaur he always was

There's some truth in what you say for a sure. I'm a little wary about the grass being greener though, as I remember all too well that a lot of people thought MON was a dinosaur that needed replacing - and didn't that work out well...  the wrong appointment can completely screw the club up, and we made the wrong appointment 5 or 6 times in a row. Bruce seems to have at least stabilised the club and rescued a toxic dressing room, so unless there is an obvious outstanding candidate I'd be inclined to give him another season.

I think another Bruce season would see us competing at the top end of the table again. A bad appointment could see us struggling at the wrong end.

[Kiwivillan]

MON screwed us by buying too many overpaid no resale value players like Dunne Beye Heskey and Lerner baulked at how much he had to keep funding his crap purchases. I blame MON a lot for where we are now. What happened to the team he went to after? He should stick to national teams where he can't spend money. Bruce has screwed us the same way. Snodgrass one of our best players is gone. Terry gone etc etc. 

If Bruce stays he won't change and I can only see a downturn in results until it gets toxic and he's sacked and that's another season written off 

[terrytini]

1 hour ago, Kiwivillan said:

MON screwed us by buying too many overpaid no resale value players like Dunne Beye Heskey and Lerner baulked at how much he had to keep funding his crap purchases. I blame MON a lot for where we are now. What happened to the team he went to after? He should stick to national teams where he can't spend money. Bruce has screwed us the same way. Snodgrass one of our best players is gone. Terry gone etc etc. 

If Bruce stays he won't change and I can only see a downturn in results until it gets toxic and he's sacked and that's another season written off 

I don’t understand part of your point here ?

You say Snodgrass is one of our best players yet say by getting him Bruce has “ screwed us “ ?

 

[Demitri_C]

10 hours ago, Rugeley Villa said:

No chance, he's too old to go for big money. 

McCormack did? He is only 30.  10m really isn't that much these days

[Dave J]

6 hours ago, TRO said:

I think there will be some disappointed faces on here, when the announcement is made that he is staying.

You're absolutely right and they would be very enititled to feel this way as well imo