Steve Bruce

[DaveAV1]

3 hours ago, London Villa said:

Pretty condescending though wasn't it mate. As was your follow up. As are so many comments on here when it comes to Steve Bruce.

No it wasn’t. (That was though )

Edited July 8, 2018 by DaveAV1

[Zatman]

Has Bruce made a statement himself regarding the situation

[VILLAMARV]

2 hours ago, Zatman said:

Has Bruce made a statement himself regarding the situation

[briny_ear]

5 hours ago, Dave J said:

But you appear to seem reluctant  to acknowledge that the progress made  is less that what most expected and would have been made with pretty much any half decent manager - Lambert got absolutely pilloried yet  he was forced to work with his hand well and truly yanked up behind his back, Bruce gets resource the likes of which many managers can only dream of and ends up doing nothing more than average imo 

Getting to the playoff final was “nothing more than average”? Does that imply that 20 teams were below average? Is that a sensible analysis?

I haven’t noticed any reluctance in these columns to acknowledge that progress was less than expected under Bruce. If it is not a constant topic of conversation, could it be because it is so obvious it is hardly worth saying over and over again?

Also the issue now is what’s best for us next season. The arguments here are that we are hardly in a position to attract a better manager given the very poor offering the club can make in terms of resources and infrastructure. So if Bruce is willing to stay on, doesn’t that look the best option?

This bigger picture needs to be addressed by anyone who wants Bruce to leave now. If there is a failure to mention  issues on this thread, it is probably that one - how the hell does  a club in dire financial straits with virtually no top management at club level persuade a new manager to join the club? 

 

Edited July 9, 2018 by briny_ear

[ciggiesnbeer]

15 hours ago, striker said:

I also feel with the exception of Hogan he built a squad on very reasonable outlay that should have been promoted.

I agree. Unfortunately the strategy of building a squad for "right here right now"  did not pay off. Much of that squad  as we now know must leave, either back to their clubs or we cannot afford them so must be sold.

While I know we as fans are mulling over the "do we want Bruce or not?" question I honestly think he maybe wondering "Do I fancy being manager at another nutcase club as it collapses?". Its not like he is going to struggle to find work, no matter what we think he is a well regarded manager by club owners.

Edited July 9, 2018 by ciggiesnbeer

[TRO]

3 hours ago, briny_ear said:

Getting to the playoff final was “nothing more than average”? Does that imply that 20 teams were below average? Is that a sensible analysis?

I haven’t noticed any reluctance in these columns to acknowledge that progress was less than expected under Bruce. If it is not a constant topic of conversation, could it be because it is so obvious it is hardly worth saying over and over again?

Also the issue now is what’s best for us next season. The arguments here are that we are hardly in a position to attract a better manager given the very poor offering the club can make in terms of resources and infrastructure. So if Bruce is willing to stay on, doesn’t that look the best option?

This bigger picture needs to be addressed by anyone who wants Bruce to leave now. If there is a failure to mention  issues on this thread, it is probably that one - how the hell does  a club in dire financial straits with virtually no top management at club level persuade a new manager to join the club? 

 

In our current state, we wouldn't get anyone to touch us with a ten foot barge pole.....If Bruce is to stay, I reckon he is only doing so, because he thinks he can salvage something from the wreckage.

[TRO]

Lets be honest with ourselves.....it wasn't long ago many fans would have turned their nose up at the prospect of Gareth Southgate being our Manager or Neil Warnock would have been laughed off the boards.

We really do need to examine our expectations and our perspective.

Steve Bruce may not be everyones cup of tea.....but he is nowhere near as bad a some make out.

Edited July 9, 2018 by TRO

[John]

1 hour ago, TRO said:

In our current state, we wouldn't get anyone to touch us with a ten foot barge pole.....If Bruce is to stay, I reckon he is only doing so, because he thinks he can salvage something from the wreckage.

He might also be staying because he feels that he should. He knows we're in a mess and the easy option would be for him to quit for that reason but perhaps he wants to try to help the club and it's fans at a time when we need all of the help that we can get. He's a decent man who tried to get us up last season whilst going through the pain of the loss of both of his parents. He just failed to do that because we lost that final play-off game and possibly the decision not to correctly punish a Fulham player who chose to stamp on Jack's leg in the first half of that game unduly influenced that crucial result. His leaving the club would not in itself resolve everything that is wrong with the club and he is also not alone in having some responsibility for our current dire situation. He does however, represent an easy target for those of us who can't forgive and forget his long past association with another so called football club.

Edited July 9, 2018 by John

[AvfcRigo82]

5 hours ago, TRO said:

If Bruce is to stay, I reckon he is only doing so, because he thinks he can salvage something from the wreckage.

Absolutely.

......   his ego!

[Dodgyknees]

3 hours ago, John said:

He might also be staying because he feels that he should. He knows we're in a mess and the easy option would be for him to quit for that reason but perhaps he wants to try to help the club and it's fans at a time when we need all of the help that we can get. He's a decent man who tried to get us up last season whilst going through the pain of the loss of both of his parents. He just failed to do that because we lost that final play-off game and possibly the decision not to correctly punish a Fulham player who chose to stamp on Jack's leg in the first half of that game unduly influenced that crucial result. His leaving the club would not in itself resolve everything that is wrong with the club and he is also not alone in having some responsibility for our current dire situation. He does however, represent an easy target for those of us who can't forgive and forget his long past association with another so called football club.

He didn't just lose the play off final though. We didn't just play one game. It started with a poor start to the season which meant we played catch up, and then when we caught up he played the wrong players against QPR (which he admitted) and we lost, which cost us momentum. He lost control after that, reverting back to the cautious football which saw us sit back at the play off final (first half) and guess what, we had to play catch up in the 2nd half. It's a familiar story with Bruce.

[sne]

5 hours ago, TRO said:

..If Bruce is to stay, I reckon he is only doing so, because he thinks he can salvage something from the wreckage.

£1.5-3m in salary per year 

Quite the bounty from a sunken ship.

But on a serious note, as he apparently is staying I hope he is up for the challenge and doesn't just go through the motions.

We'll need a totally new approach from now on, out with the old and expensive an in with the young and cheap. Play to the strengths of the players we have and build a system around this. 

Total rebuild from top to bottom, building for the long term this time.

No more pals at the twilight of their careers, only players we can develop and sell. No loaning and developing youngsters for other clubs at the cost of ours, unless they are outstanding players who will be certain starters for us.

These are not the areas where I'd usually expect Bruce to shine, but he's taken on the challenge so I expect him to have a plan for it.

 

[Jas10]

4 hours ago, John said:

He might also be staying because he feels that he should. He knows we're in a mess and the easy option would be for him to quit for that reason but perhaps he wants to try to help the club and it's fans at a time when we need all of the help that we can get. He's a decent man who tried to get us up last season whilst going through the pain of the loss of both of his parents. He just failed to do that because we lost that final play-off game and possibly the decision not to correctly punish a Fulham player who chose to stamp on Jack's leg in the first half of that game unduly influenced that crucial result. His leaving the club would not in itself resolve everything that is wrong with the club and he is also not alone in having some responsibility for our current dire situation. He does however, represent an easy target for those of us who can't forgive and forget his long past association with another so called football club.

Still haven’t gotten over that, such an injustice...

[striker]

28 minutes ago, sne said:

Play to the strengths of the players we have and build a system around this. 

 

 

Didn't do that last season though imo so I'm not sure if he is able to change his style of play?

[sne]

1 minute ago, striker said:

Didn't do that last season though imo so I'm not sure if he is able to change his style of play?

I agree, and that's why I wanted him replaced.

But since that doesn't seem to happen as long as Xia is here we'll just have to hope this old dog can learn new tricks.

[sheepyvillian]

6 hours ago, TRO said:

In our current state, we wouldn't get anyone to touch us with a ten foot barge pole.....If Bruce is to stay, I reckon he is only doing so, because he thinks he can salvage something from the wreckage.

A wage packet ? And not far to travel home ?

[Dave J]

11 hours ago, briny_ear said:

Getting to the playoff final was “nothing more than average”? Does that imply that 20 teams were below average? Is that a sensible analysis?

I haven’t noticed any reluctance in these columns to acknowledge that progress was less than expected under Bruce. If it is not a constant topic of conversation, could it be because it is so obvious it is hardly worth saying over and over again?

Also the issue now is what’s best for us next season. The arguments here are that we are hardly in a position to attract a better manager given the very poor offering the club can make in terms of resources and infrastructure. So if Bruce is willing to stay on, doesn’t that look the best option?

This bigger picture needs to be addressed by anyone who wants Bruce to leave now. If there is a failure to mention  issues on this thread, it is probably that one - how the hell does  a club in dire financial straits with virtually no top management at club level persuade a new manager to join the club? 

 

Getting to the play offs itself does not represent average - but you cannot hide from the fact Bruce has had resource made available to him and yet ended up doing an average job - imo

[bannedfromHandV]

44 minutes ago, Dave J said:

Getting to the play offs itself does not represent average - but you cannot hide from the fact Bruce has had resource made available to him and yet ended up doing an average job - imo

Average = still better than the last 4 predecessors

[Robbie09]

2 hours ago, sheepyvillian said:

A wage packet ? And not far to travel home ?

He moved away from Solihull 2 years ago so the commute isn’t one reason for him staying put.

Professional pride and a desire to see the job through are the more likely reasons.

[Dave J]

1 hour ago, bannedfromHandV said:

Average = still better than the last 4 predecessors

Yes but with better resource I would suggest imo 

[Villa_Vids]

I think Bruce will thrive more in this difficult situation, he enjoys being the underdog. Hopefully he can get us into a position to have another crack at promotion by the end of the season.