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Steve Bruce


Demitri_C

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I honestly think performances will pick up as the season goes on with Bruce. There was a lot of upheaval in the summer and we are only now finishing up our recruitment and finding a settled team. Every training session and match that we play should improve the cohesion and confidence within the squad. We’re still inconsistent, but we HAVE looked good in flashes so something is working even if it’s only in small bursts. It’s up to Bruce now to nurture these flashes into 90 minute performances. I don’t think we are miles away. 

There may be other managers who could do more with this team, but I see no point in moaning about Bruce whilst he clearly has the backing of the owners. Until things get really bleak, I’ll back him to turn these ‘just OK’ performances into ‘good’ performance eventually. 

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I think Bruce does deserve some slack surrounding our start to the season.

Apparently our target was 11 points from the first 5 fixtures. Had McGinn played in Kodjia after that close-down interception turned attack, had El Ghazi played in Elmo after that beaut through ball from Thor down the left flank and had Chester's header not hit the crossbar following McGinn's cross, we would have been 3-0 up before HT and it would've been out of sight, giving us our target of 11 points and putting us within a game of Leeds and Middlesbrough who have made nearly perfect starts. Bruce can't control such errors.

@briny_ear made mention of us playing it on the floor more. We have been and it's good to see. We could of had 5 or 6 against Wigan. Kodjia's on track for a 30 goal season ?

My biggest fear, and it's a real one, is how we cope in transition from attack to defense. We have a lot of experience in defense but like I mentioned earlier, you can read and anticipate an action as much as you like, but unless you have the physicality to intercept it, you're in trouble.

The way it is now, our passing sequences aren't what they need to be to really spread our opposition. We still play quite direct even when it's on the floor. This leaves us vulnerable when we lose the ball in midfield and have to scramble back.

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8 hours ago, foreveryoung said:

As far as i'm concerned, he has the tools now, Mcginn, Bolasie, El gharzi, Grealish, Hourihane, Kodja, to name a few. Ain't many teams in the Championship with names like those, all Premiership players. Ok, defence is not great, but we should be scoring goals aplenty with the team we have.

I think we want to be seeing progress this season, top 3-4 by Christmas. If not I think we have to let Bruce go, as he has obviously reached his limit. Surely no one can argue with that?

I wouldn't bet on it.

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6 hours ago, AntrimBlack said:

In his post game interview Bruce was talking of big changes for Tuesday.

Does he perhaps not give this management thing enough thought.

I think the last thing that team needs is big changes; the team is confused enough without that.

Could we perhaps just try a little tweaking.

He was bemoaning the fixture schedule, complaining it is crazy to play so many games in a short space of time.

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58 minutes ago, TheStagMan said:

Don't be so utterly ridiculous. 

 

 

 

We never had a plan A in pre-season

Plan A in pre season was "get the players as match fit as possible", same as every other pre season for every other team. 

Also the 3 at the back pre season, didn't Bruce even say he likes that formation but we don't have the players for it? I'd imagine it's there as a plan B if we get the right players in - I actually think Tuanzebe Jedinak Chester would work pretty well, but then we only have Elphick in reserve, but we could always go to 2 at the back again if there's an injury I suppose...Elmo would work as RWB but need someone in for LWB

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Bruce cannot have an excuse this season. He's picked a significant portion of the first team now, either signing or plucking then from relative youth obscurity. If he doesn't add to our defensive qualities, it will be down to him not prioritising that need over the El Ghazi and Bolasie loan purchases.

If he does manage to sign an experienced centre back then this squad should be walking the league.

If he does the above and it doesn't result in promotion it will be down to either an inexperienced goal keeper (Bruce's fault), or Bruce's inability to line up the players he chose in a manner that works. Either way, he needs to inspire some confidence that this season will be different, and the last three games are failing on that front.

 

Can't afford to lose any more points against bottom half opposition. Two draws against the bottom two is not acceptable, especially one that had ten players for 55 minutes.  We now need to get a win from one of our next two difficult away games to compensate. Prove me wrong Bruce, please.  And sign a **** defender

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9 hours ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

 

Key sentence from the owners in the matchday program, and a fact alot of people seem to ignore when trying to downplay why good football and almost NO margin of error matters.

ALSO, why because "he has done it 4 times" matters for sod all in the grand scheme of things.

This is a different era.

You realise they won’t have written that themselves?

Steve probably wrote it for them!

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I think that we need to get over the whole we should be beating the bottom 2 teams quote at this stage of the season, I would be very surprised if both Ipswich and reading are in the bottom 5 come the end of the season, it’s not a true reflection of the table of their ability. 

 

Should we be beating them sure but Leeds and boro and whatother flavour of the week team that come along are going to have games where they don’t pick up any poInts from them so let’s not get too dramatic just yet, after the next 5 games lets see where things stand, although even then that’s a pretty earlier judgement call. 

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40 minutes ago, Tommo_b said:

I think that we need to get over the whole we should be beating the bottom 2 teams quote at this stage of the season, I would be very surprised if both Ipswich and reading are in the bottom 5 come the end of the season, it’s not a true reflection of the table of their ability. 

 

Should we be beating them sure but Leeds and boro and whatother flavour of the week team that come along are going to have games where they don’t pick up any poInts from them so let’s not get too dramatic just yet, after the next 5 games lets see where things stand, although even then that’s a pretty earlier judgement call. 

Agree.

Early last season when we started poorly I could understand ( and did so myself) adding that start to the previous season and saying that sample size was enough to show it “wasn’t working” 

But if the same logic is applied to this season, and we add in the points tally from the last 10, 20, 30 games, it shows it “is working”

Inverted commas both times because in either case it’s still subjective.

Id add - also subjective of course - that the Away performances at Cardiff and Reading at the start of last season were spineless, negative, and of course, pointless. It actually felt miserable watching. Not so this season, where we’ve shown some character, tried positive football, and taken 4 points. Additionally watching, whilst frustrating at Ipswich, has felt nothing like last year.

 

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2 hours ago, Tommo_b said:

I think that we need to get over the whole we should be beating the bottom 2 teams quote at this stage of the season, I would be very surprised if both Ipswich and reading are in the bottom 5 come the end of the season, it’s not a true reflection of the table of their ability. 

 

Should we be beating them sure but Leeds and boro and whatother flavour of the week team that come along are going to have games where they don’t pick up any poInts from them so let’s not get too dramatic just yet, after the next 5 games lets see where things stand, although even then that’s a pretty earlier judgement call. 

True, better to say we should beat teams in terrible form.

They get their shit together later and fly up the table, or not. They were around bottom of the table and in terrible form when we played them.

4 points dropped. It happens.

Edited by sne
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24 minutes ago, terrytini said:

Agree.

Early last season when we started poorly I could understand ( and did so myself) adding that start to the previous season and saying that sample size was enough to show it “wasn’t working” 

But if the same logic is applied to this season, and we add in the points tally from the last 10, 20, 30 games, it shows it “is working”

Inverted commas both times because in either case it’s still subjective.

Id add - also subjective of course - that the Away performances at Cardiff and Reading at the start of last season were spineless, negative, and of course, pointless. It actually felt miserable watching. Not so this season, where we’ve shown some character, tried positive football, and taken 4 points. Additionally watching, whilst frustrating at Ipswich, has felt nothing like last year.

 

Terry, in the first half against Brentford, we looked dominant and Bruce said something along the lines of, "That's more like it. We had more energy about us and we were moving it about more quickly". So, I would assume he meant this should be the template for our playing style from now on.

Would you: (a) agree that is his wish/intention this season? (b) agree that is the way forward, or should all Villa fans be happy with points on the board irrespective of playing style? (c) have faith the first half Brentford model can be consistently replicated? (d) accept that if his team fails to reproduce the first half Brentford model 'enough', that will probably be the stick that fans not unreasonably use to finish him off with?

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6 hours ago, briny_ear said:

You realise they won’t have written that themselves?

Steve probably wrote it for them!

Probably not, but they would have approved it before publishing. Otherwise Brucie would have said he’s doing an incredible job and deserves to at least double his wages!!

Unless Doris wrote it, in which case there would have been lots of stuff like, “We feel the team have got attacking football off to a T. They’re brewing up a storm of goals. We’re sure we can pot 3 more points today.”

I’ll get my coat. 

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Isn’t the reason the debate goes round in circles because it reflects what the team produces? Ok we’re playing a bit more attack minded, but we’re playing it with the same unsure, not quite got a real plan, make it up as we go along preparation as we have for the last 2 years.

So this produces the same sorts of performances and results and therefore the same argument. Which in turn prompts people to moan about the cyclical manor of the argument which becomes equally repetitive. People can only comment on what they see and unless that changes the comments won’t change.

The solutions are:

1. Bruce improves. 

2. Bruce leaves. 

3. The thread is closed. 

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