8pints Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 Yes. But I think others could do it with more style/dominance. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post TheStagMan Posted May 31, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted May 31, 2018 (edited) Sorry, not posted for a few days as have been travelling with work. I think everyone knows my position on Steve Bruce as manager of Aston Villa, and we are now where I feared we would be. That's done and can't be changed, we are where we are, so what do we do now? My take on it is as follows: Steve Bruce inherited a mess of a club. I thought he was a sensible appointment at the time, but after not seeing improvements in playing style during the first season under him, and early into the second (despite the mythical pre-season), I worried that he would not achieve promotion, and ultimately has not, but that is not to say that he has not done some good stuff in his time here, he has saved the sinking ship and improved us from where we were, and we have become a force to be reckoned with in the championship. We no longer expect to lose games and we have got the morale back. Bringing Terry in was a master stroke. However, Bruce's approach has always been tried and trusted senior players who bust a gut for the club. This is a relatively expensive short term approach and has failed. Now, we came close, and Steve must be applauded for that, and especially given what he has been through in his personal life, to keep going as he has shows real character. So, ultimately we gambled, both financially and with the overall season-by-season approach - we tried things the Steve Bruce way and it has not worked. The question is, do we think that if we tried again, it would work? I don't think it would, we will have less resources and will likely lose some of our better players (Terry and Snodders have already gone), I think we might make the play-offs again, but ultimately that is not good enough - as we have seen, one poor half of football and it is goodnight. If we rolled the dice again and gave Bruce another season, we could well end up this time next year in a much worse position than we are now, so I think a new approach is needed (as the board has said). I think that new approach will take a few seasons to get us out of the Championship, and I think a lot of the "negative" statements from the club are trying to set expectations that we should not expect to bounce back up next season. We need a total rebuild in playing style and personnel. Do i think Steve Bruce could mastermind such a change, I'm afraid not, and as such, I think we need new men at the helm. Steve Bruce was the quick-fix candidate, and on paper was exactly what we needed, however the quick fix didn't work, and a quick fix appears to no longer be an option. Bring in the long-term rebuild candidate... Who is that? I don't know, I hope that someone at the club does...... Whatever the board decide though, they need to decide quickly. If Bruce stays, so be it, but he needs to have a plan that shows something different, if he goes then they need to get the new man in within the next couple of weeks. The sooner we start planning for next season the better. what we can't do is wait. *EDIT* Just seen the posts above for the yes or no vote..... You can take all of that as a "NO" Edited May 31, 2018 by TheStagMan 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eastie Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 (edited) 15 minutes ago, Vive_La_Villa said: No but I don’t think anybody can next season. This , I think it could take 2 or 3 years to bring in a new strategy that pays off as the younger players develop - it may be sooner but I’m prepared to give the new man time Edited May 31, 2018 by Eastie 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheStagMan Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 2 minutes ago, Eastie said: This Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomav84 Posted May 31, 2018 VT Supporter Share Posted May 31, 2018 1 hour ago, villabromsgrove said: We've talked all the way around whether we can get promoted with Bruce staying. Perhaps it's time that we have a simple one word answer, so that we can see where opinion currently is on Bruce? Can Bruce get us promoted next season .... Yes or no? for me the answer is "not sure" but a certain "no" to AVFC getting promoted if we sack him...i dont think the club could cope with rebuilding the backroom as well as the playing staff sufficiently to challenge the top 6 i'm still bruce in...but lets see how the season starts - if he gets the youngsters in the first 18 (which we wont have a choice) and lets the reigns off them we might see some entertaining games 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vive_La_Villa Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 3 minutes ago, tomav84 said: for me the answer is "not sure" but a certain "no" to AVFC getting promoted if we sack him...i dont think the club could cope with rebuilding the backroom as well as the playing staff sufficiently to challenge the top 6 i'm still bruce in...but lets see how the season starts - if he gets the youngsters in the first 18 (which we wont have a choice) and lets the reigns off them we might see some entertaining games I think there is a misconception of how good our youngsters are. If they were good enough they would play. Grealish aside, Gardner is one of the most talented players too come out of our youth setup and even he struggled playing for us. Ive no doubt some of our younger players will have decent championship careers similar to how Robinson has managed at Preston. But I don’t think they are as good as we like to believe and even when given a chance will struggle to match the expectations of the fans. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
romavillan Posted May 31, 2018 VT Supporter Share Posted May 31, 2018 1 hour ago, villabromsgrove said: We've talked all the way around whether we can get promoted with Bruce staying. Perhaps it's time that we have a simple one word answer, so that we can see where opinion currently is on Bruce? Can Bruce get us promoted next season .... Yes or no? No Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyvillan Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 No . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dn1982 Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 32 minutes ago, Vive_La_Villa said: I think there is a misconception of how good our youngsters are. If they were good enough they would play. Grealish aside, Gardner is one of the most talented players too come out of our youth setup and even he struggled playing for us. Ive no doubt some of our younger players will have decent championship careers similar to how Robinson has managed at Preston. But I don’t think they are as good as we like to believe and even when given a chance will struggle to match the expectations of the fans. Gardner has been knackered through injuries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAMAICAN-VILLAN Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 The ONLY argument I can literally give myself for keeping him is continuity and stability. I genuinely don't see the other positives. Just my opinion (Which of course could be wrong) based on evidence. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutByEaster? Posted May 31, 2018 Moderator Share Posted May 31, 2018 2 minutes ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said: The ONLY argument I can literally give myself for keeping him is continuity and stability. Finance? Sacking Bruce and his staff and replacing them with a new man and his staff will set us back five to ten million pounds. I wouldn't discount that as a factor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eastie Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 (edited) 7 minutes ago, OutByEaster? said: Finance? Sacking Bruce and his staff and replacing them with a new man and his staff will set us back five to ten million pounds. I wouldn't discount that as a factor. If he goes by mutual consent we may save a few quid and reach a settlement - he may feel the constraints of the job are no longer what he signed up for - he said if he got his way Hutton would get a new contract and expressed his disappointment we were unable to keep JT - the cutbacks along with the pressure of the job may make him feel it’s time to part company . ‘He quit hull partly due to financial restraints . Edited May 31, 2018 by Eastie 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demitri_C Posted May 31, 2018 Author Share Posted May 31, 2018 Tbh as gutted I am about terry going keeping a 38 year old on close to 100k wages makes no sense in tbis league. As for bruce well I think as no statement has been made I think Bruce is staying and I've been saying that for a while. I think we should stick with him. I think he might suprise a few people next year 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supervillan78 Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 Yes 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveAV1 Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 (edited) I don’t believe Steve Bruce can take us forwards. Even if the game last Saturday had gone our way, we would still have had an aging squad that didn’t have the quality or legs for the Premier League and we would still have needed a big rebuild. Ok we would have been better off financially, on the face of it, but we would have had to spend a huge amount of money and so probably been no better off in the main. The rebuild has to start now. We need to build a football culture throughout the club, that everyone involved buys into and understands. I very much doubt that can be achieved with Steve Bruce and nor do I know who it can be achieved with. We will see if anyone at the club does. Wyness said that we needed to build a team for promotion, another for staying up and a third to challenge for the top. Ok I understand that we will need to improve the quality for each stage but the basic culture needs to stay consistent, even if the personnel don’t. That is the continuity that the club needs, not just keeping hold of the same people who aren’t able to move is forward. And if you’re not going forward that generally means that before long you’re going backwards. Edited May 31, 2018 by DaveAV1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eastie Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 11 minutes ago, Demitri_C said: Tbh as gutted I am about terry going keeping a 38 year old on close to 100k wages makes no sense in tbis league. As for bruce well I think as no statement has been made I think Bruce is staying and I've been saying that for a while. I think we should stick with him. I think he might suprise a few people next year Wouldn’t read too much either way into no statement yet . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post pacbuddies Posted May 31, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted May 31, 2018 16 minutes ago, Demitri_C said: Tbh as gutted I am about terry going keeping a 38 year old on close to 100k wages makes no sense in tbis league. As for bruce well I think as no statement has been made I think Bruce is staying and I've been saying that for a while. I think we should stick with him. I think he might suprise a few people next year Surprise a few people! How? He has been in football management for over 20 years and has adopted the same style of play season after season so what uber miracle is he going to perform next season that will be such a shock! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkyvilla Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 I think he can. Wolves this year were a bit of a one off with their weird Portuguese shenanigans and I suspect the relegated clubs will have trouble like we did with deadwood players that aren't bothered. I'd certainly back us to get to the play offs again under Bruce. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thabucks Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 Maybe 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveAV1 Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 Zidane is free. I’m sure he must be bored to death with winning the European Cup and itching for a true REAL challenge. No compo to pay either, it’s a win win. Go get him Doc! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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