Steve Bruce

[TRO]

1 hour ago, markavfc40 said:

Just listened to some of his after match comments and once again brutally honest. That first half was diabolical though and that is twice now in the last handful of games when the players haven't put a shift in and he has to take responsibility for that and I think he has.

The midfield options at his disposal are diabolical and it said it all that he took off Westwood and Gardner at half time. With Jedi ill, who in fairness hasn't been great himself, but it leaves us lacking in both an attacking and defensive sense in midfield. The fact that we looked better in the second half with a midfield of Bacuna and Tishibola says it all about Gardner and Westwood.

Massive transfer window now. If he can sort out the midfield we can still have a sniff of the play offs. If he is unable to then we have no chance. The fact we are still only 7 points off top 6 with a non existent midfield is testament to Bruce tightening the defence and relying on bits of individual magic from the forwards but that will only take us to where we are no now which is mid table inconsistent fodder.

At least he is honest Mark

I think the whole future of this season relies on this window.

personally I don't think the required fix for midfield will be done( just my opinion).we cannot keep relying on getting the right players in a panic scenario.the right ones need to be planned for and that takes good timing.

We best take every game as it comes, take one eye of the league table and two eyes on every game and see where it takes us.

Steve will soon have to make these unsavoury decisions about players and the giving them a chance maybe affecting our future.

We all know who they are.....we need to raise the bar.....equally it's not fair to the decent players.

ps we all have to be positive , but you could not possibly carry on getting results with the performances we have been mustering.

Edited January 2, 2017 by TRO

[PieFacE]

I didn't watch it,  but Westwood and Gardner keep being picked whilst Tish is on the bench.  Sort it out.  

 

We played better football offensively under RDM imo. But we're better at the back under Bruce.  And stop playing Bunn ffs.  

[Stratvillan]

Can't judge him until he's had at least one transfer window. He has inherited a championship fantasy / nightmare league squad. Jedi is ill, he can play 2 ineffective midfielders with experience or a youngster and a winger!  You can't blame him for picking the former. If he does it again it's an issue. 

As someone else said Luton sounded the end for Richards etc. this will do the same for Westwood. 

We can't blame Bruce..... Yet!!!!

[Stevo985]

44 minutes ago, Tommo_b said:

I swear it was only a year or two ago people were raving about how good Gardner is/was going to be?! 

Probably by people who had never seen him play.

[Woodytom]

Almost like the standard of football we play is an issue and needs addressing .

Better players are required but not to simply 'turn up' which we aren't even doing in a lot of games recently.

Questions need to be asked of Steve Bruce imo.. With regards his woeful football and strange decisions!

[Guest av1]

45 minutes ago, TRO said:

Its only his injuries that that has kept him here as long as he has.

it has disguised the ability of the player, as sad as that is....but he is not showing the form for this level of football. You can tell when a good player is off form and when a player is not at the level......sadly he is not.

 

 

Absolutely. People say he has been unlucky with injuries, but if it wasn't for those he would have been off oir books a long time ago, plying his trade in league 1. 

47 minutes ago, TRO said:

I'm damned if I know why he was offered a 4 year contract , it must be for commercial and not footballing reasons.

 

We can but hope. 

[JAMAICAN-VILLAN]

22 minutes ago, Woodytom said:

Almost like the standard of football we play is an issue and needs addressing .

Better players are required but not to simply 'turn up' which we aren't even doing in a lot of games recently.

Questions need to be asked of Steve Bruce imo.. With regards his woeful football and strange decisions!

I get what you are saying but it as if you are always purposely ignoring the fact that we have some shite football players in the squad who can barely pass!!

Bruce can only try to set up a way to be effective with what he has at his disposal.

Can't go onto the pitch or use a videogame controller to boost abilities.

[Woodytom]

1 minute ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

I get what you are saying but it as if you are always purposely ignoring the fact that we have some shite football players in the squad who can barely pass!!

Are you really suggesting that I don't recognise the players are shite?

1 minute ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

Bruce can only try to set up a way to be effective with what he has at his disposal.

Can't go onto the pitch or use a videogame controller to boost abilities.

No he can't, but there is no excuse for not turning up. It's unacceptable and is becoming a bit of a regularity recently. Hence my concerns in recent weeks where Ive felt results have masked performances and have rode on an element of luck.

I don't actually think we've played well since the Brighton game.

[poitier]

25 minutes ago, Woodytom said:

Questions need to be asked of Steve Bruce imo.. With regards his woeful football and strange decisions!

I think we have got exactly what would have been expected from Bruce based on his history, that includes poor football and strange decisions. I think he is a decent, capable manager, but I'm not too surprised by anything that has happened since he came.

[Jareth]

Bruce has a 50% win ratio - needs to bring in a few of his own players and that ratio will improve.

[Mantis]

Starting to think there might be some truth in the stereotype of Villa fans.

[Wainy316]

With his half time hauling off of Gardner and Westwood it at least gives some hope that he is actually seeing what we're seeing out there.

[Villarocker]

I think he already knows that Westwood and Gardner doesn't work but had his hand forced by Jedinak being out. Maybe now he will realise that he has to try anything but them two in the middle whenever Jedinak is out? I hope so! 

[Rugeley Villa]

Brucie is the man for the job. There are one or two other names that would of been too but I'm very confident we will get promoted next season.

[Woodytom]

9 hours ago, Mantis said:

Starting to think there might be some truth in the stereotype of Villa fans.

What's the stereotype?

[OutByEaster?]

I like Bruce, he's the right man for the job, but one thing sticks out for me today - the stories in the press and the post match interviews with the manager are all about Jack Grealish learning not to wave his arms about, learning that he'll be kicked and he needs to get used to it - essentially blaming Jack for the reaction to some appalling treatment.

I think there's a case for blaming Bruce for not 'waving his arms around' enough.

Having put the idea of the whingeing superbrat into the mind of the referee before the game, Warnock was able to influence the result by putting in place a circumstance where the referee was thinking twice about who was the victim every time Jack was fouled, he'd put in place the environment in which he knew the crowd would help him by adding to the feel that this was pantomime not assault.

From our perspective, Bruce before the game should have been talking to the press about protection, about hatchet men, about mean old Cardiff and the poor idealistic boy - setting a different scene in the mind of the referee. Having done that, the game should have been punctuated by constant moaning from our bench, this is a game where having your assistant sent to the stands for righteous indignation and fury at half time would have been helpful, we needed to be vocal and visible in our criticism of the referee and of the opposition. we needed six players around him, not one player waving his arms, we needed a manager that was in his face and on the pitch, a coaching staff that were making the fourth official's life unbearable - in short, given the unreasonable way in which Cardiff were playing, we should have been much more unreasonable. Pick a big name manager and ask yourself, how would they have reacted, what would this game have been like under Jose or under Wenger or under Benitez or under Pulis - it's a different picture i think.

For me Bruce has the reaction to Jack on this one wrong - and Jack is entitled to be saying "Never mind me waving my arms, where were the rest of you?" Cardiff kicked the crap out of him and no-one else joined the fight.

I don't see training, I don't know these people and I'm sure Mr Bruce sees the bigger picture and the longer term development of the player, but I'm fed up of us being the team you can bully and kick around, I'd like to see us be the unreasonable arsehole bully in the division a little more often when we need to - when you mess with us, we bite - that thing. Yesterday Cardiff kicked one of our players all around the park, on the ball, off the ball, wherever they could, and other than the player himself, we didn't seem to react at all. 

[Woodytom]

Whilst I appreciate that different teams have different approaches, Cardiff's approach and indeed bruce's reaction displays everything that is wrong with English football. 

You see it on a Sunday league pitch.....'get stuck in'!

All blood and guts with very little finesse. 

[Grasshopper]

14 minutes ago, OutByEaster? said:

I like Bruce, he's the right man for the job, but one thing sticks out for me today - the stories in the press and the post match interviews with the manager are all about Jack Grealish learning not to wave his arms about, learning that he'll be kicked and he needs to get used to it - essentially blaming Jack for the reaction to some appalling treatment.

I think there's a case for blaming Bruce for not 'waving his arms around' enough.

Having put the idea of the whingeing superbrat into the mind of the referee before the game, Warnock was able to influence the result by putting in place a circumstance where the referee was thinking twice about who was the victim every time Jack was fouled, he'd put in place the environment in which he knew the crowd would help him by adding to the feel that this was pantomime not assault.

From our perspective, Bruce before the game should have been talking to the press about protection, about hatchet men, about mean old Cardiff and the poor idealistic boy - setting a different scene in the mind of the referee. Having done that, the game should have been punctuated by constant moaning from our bench, this is a game where having your assistant sent to the stands for righteous indignation and fury at half time would have been helpful, we needed to be vocal and visible in our criticism of the referee and of the opposition. we needed six players around him, not one player waving his arms, we needed a manager that was in his face and on the pitch, a coaching staff that were making the fourth official's life unbearable - in short, given the unreasonable way in which Cardiff were playing, we should have been much more unreasonable. Pick a big name manager and ask yourself, how would they have reacted, what would this game have been like under Jose or under Wenger or under Benitez or under Pulis - it's a different picture i think.

For me Bruce has the reaction to Jack on this one wrong - and Jack is entitled to be saying "Never mind me waving my arms, where were the rest of you?" Cardiff kicked the crap out of him and no-one else joined the fight.

I don't see training, I don't know these people and I'm sure Mr Bruce sees the bigger picture and the longer term development of the player, but I'm fed up of us being the team you can bully and kick around, I'd like to see us be the unreasonable arsehole bully in the division a little more often when we need to - when you mess with us, we bite - that thing. Yesterday Cardiff kicked one of our players all around the park, on the ball, off the ball, wherever they could, and other than the player himself, we didn't seem to react at all. 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[TrentVilla]

39 minutes ago, OutByEaster? said:

I like Bruce, he's the right man for the job, but one thing sticks out for me today - the stories in the press and the post match interviews with the manager are all about Jack Grealish learning not to wave his arms about, learning that he'll be kicked and he needs to get used to it - essentially blaming Jack for the reaction to some appalling treatment.

I think there's a case for blaming Bruce for not 'waving his arms around' enough.

Having put the idea of the whingeing superbrat into the mind of the referee before the game, Warnock was able to influence the result by putting in place a circumstance where the referee was thinking twice about who was the victim every time Jack was fouled, he'd put in place the environment in which he knew the crowd would help him by adding to the feel that this was pantomime not assault.

From our perspective, Bruce before the game should have been talking to the press about protection, about hatchet men, about mean old Cardiff and the poor idealistic boy - setting a different scene in the mind of the referee. Having done that, the game should have been punctuated by constant moaning from our bench, this is a game where having your assistant sent to the stands for righteous indignation and fury at half time would have been helpful, we needed to be vocal and visible in our criticism of the referee and of the opposition. we needed six players around him, not one player waving his arms, we needed a manager that was in his face and on the pitch, a coaching staff that were making the fourth official's life unbearable - in short, given the unreasonable way in which Cardiff were playing, we should have been much more unreasonable. Pick a big name manager and ask yourself, how would they have reacted, what would this game have been like under Jose or under Wenger or under Benitez or under Pulis - it's a different picture i think.

For me Bruce has the reaction to Jack on this one wrong - and Jack is entitled to be saying "Never mind me waving my arms, where were the rest of you?" Cardiff kicked the crap out of him and no-one else joined the fight.

I don't see training, I don't know these people and I'm sure Mr Bruce sees the bigger picture and the longer term development of the player, but I'm fed up of us being the team you can bully and kick around, I'd like to see us be the unreasonable arsehole bully in the division a little more often when we need to - when you mess with us, we bite - that thing. Yesterday Cardiff kicked one of our players all around the park, on the ball, off the ball, wherever they could, and other than the player himself, we didn't seem to react at all. 

Totally agree. Think back to one of Jack's first games though when he came on against Hull managed by Steve Bruce....

They kicked lumps out of him and got about 6 yellow cards and eventually a red, after the game Bruce had a bit of a pop at him.

In short Bruce is taking the position he is because he would and indeed has taken the same approach against him. 

I think in this instance Bruce's old school mentality and playing style is actually negatively impacting on his management. 

[lexicon]

What we saw from Bruce that elevates him above the likes of RDM was the understanding that he needed to change things up at half time and the changes he made had a positive impact (in terms of performance).

Haven't seen that for a long time.