Steve Bruce

[TheStagMan]

1 hour ago, Vive_La_Villa said:

He did leave a mess but we had new owners that seemed to understood the situation and was allowing a new manager time and backing to turn it around. 

It will be interesting to see if Bruce is given the same level of support.

By Mike Ashley? Hmmmmm I wonder. 

[TheStagMan]

1 hour ago, TRO said:

Not trying to labour the point, but that is in stark contrast to how Dean Smith reported on the squad on his initial appraisal......someone is right and someone is wrong here.

Yes, you are wrong. 

[TRO]

1 minute ago, TheStagMan said:

No I wasn't on holiday, I was astounded that anyone could honestly think that he did not leave a mess.

 

Dean Smith is hardly likely to come out and say its a mess. He has more class than that. Anyone looking at the state of our defence and the financial peril we had been put in from the recruitment gambles that had been made would readily conclude that we were a mess. Unfininshed business my arse! 

 

My soul is absolutely fine thank you very much. Its a cheap, and frankly pathetic argument to make "hater" when they hold an opinion that you disagree with.

 

I think I will leave it there with you TRO. You are obviously getting rattled.

No I am not rattled with the debate.

Equally, Dean Smith is hardly going to come out and say the fans are being hard on Steve Bruce, it cuts both ways.

However, unprompted he did say " This squad was good enough to go up automatically" when I took over......He also said after the final " That was 2 Steve Bruce signings who scored our goals today"

You are not stupid Stag......what message do you think he was trying to get across in a veiled way?

yes you are right and I agree.....lets just drop it and agree to disagree.

[TRO]

3 minutes ago, TheStagMan said:

Yes, you are wrong. 

well if your right....Dean Smith is wrong too.

Edited July 17, 2019 by TRO

[kurtsimonw]

2 minutes ago, TRO said:

No I am not rattled with the debate.

Equally, Dean Smith is hardly going to come out and say the fans are being hard on Steve Bruce, it cuts both ways.

However, unprompted he did say " This squad was good enough to go up automatically" when I took over......He also said after the final " That was 2 Steve Bruce signings who scored our goals today"

Dean Smith is clearly deluded. To think we've got a Steve Bruce apologist as the manager of this club.

[Tommo_b]

Haha oh my god oh my god, from Rafa to Bruce, you kinda have to feel sorry for them!

[TheStagMan]

2 minutes ago, TRO said:

No I am not rattled with the debate.

Equally, Dean Smith is hardly going to come out and say the fans are being hard on Steve Bruce, it cuts both ways.

However, unprompted he did say " This squad was good enough to go up automatically" when I took over......He also said after the final " That was 2 Steve Bruce signings who scored our goals today"

You are not stupid Stag......what message do you think he was trying to get across in a veiled way?

yes you are right and I agree.....lets just drop it and agree to disagree.

I imagine that he was being classy and giving some professional courtesy, unlike Bruce who moaned and whinged his way through 2 seasons about the weaknesses in the squad, how difficult it was, how he wasn't being supported, how the fans were hysterical etc. It's the difference between having a positive manager and a negative manager. If you speak positively and build people up then it builds confidence and a winning mindset. If you are constantly negative, hard done by and underdogs etc, that winning mindset is difficult to come by. That's what I think he was trying to get across. 

If he really thought it was a good enough squad, he would not have bought in several players in January. That speaks more to me about his view on the squad than any statements made.

Anyway. yes, lets just disagree or this will drag on for many more years. 

 

[TheStagMan]

5 minutes ago, kurtsimonw said:

Dean Smith is clearly deluded. To think we've got a Steve Bruce apologist as the manager of this club.

Yes, now you are just being silly. How about we have a man in charge who is positive and has professional courtesy? It's a really refreshing change from what we had before.

[TRO]

3 minutes ago, TheStagMan said:

I imagine that he was being classy and giving some professional courtesy, unlike Bruce who moaned and whinged his way through 2 seasons about the weaknesses in the squad, how difficult it was, how he wasn't being supported, how the fans were hysterical etc. It's the difference between having a positive manager and a negative manager. If you speak positively and build people up then it builds confidence and a winning mindset. If you are constantly negative, hard done by and underdogs etc, that winning mindset is difficult to come by. That's what I think he was trying to get across. 

If he really thought it was a good enough squad, he would not have bought in several players in January. That speaks more to me about his view on the squad than any statements made.

Anyway. yes, lets just disagree or this will drag on for many more years. 

 

decades

[kurtsimonw]

2 minutes ago, TheStagMan said:

If he really thought it was a good enough squad, he would not have bought in several players in January. That speaks more to me about his view on the squad than any statements made.

Several players?

A right back who he loaned out?
A goalkeeper due to a season ending injury to another keeper?
A backup centre back?
Tom Carroll?

So yes, he bought in Mings for the first team.

You're right, his transfer business does show what he really thought. That the first team was 90% complete, and that we just needed a backup CB. His comments back up his transfer activity perfectly.

[Dave J]

This thread will run and run. Personally I find it bizarre that even Bruce's most staunchest supporters on here do not accept this as a sh@tty thing to do.

Some might well argue that he has done nothing wrong here - my issue is this - football is not like any other business.

For all we know many Wednesday fans may have forked out on shirts, training tops and in all good faith had Bruce's name emblazoned on these- many may have been looking forward to his tenure and decided to invest time and money in Wednesday because of him ( why? ).

As I say football is not like any other business where people put their whole life into a club.

The Bruce fans can argue all day long about technically not doing anything wrong - buts it's still a sh@tty thing in my humble opinion.

[sne]

3 year contract 

 

[TheStagMan]

2 minutes ago, kurtsimonw said:

Several players?

A right back who he loaned out?
A goalkeeper due to a season ending injury to another keeper?
A backup centre back?
Tom Carroll?

So yes, he bought in Mings for the first team.

You're right, his transfer business does show what he really thought. That the first team was 90% complete, and that we just needed a backup CB. His comments back up his transfer activity perfectly.

So what you are saying is that Mings, Hause and Steer had nothing to do with our run to the play off final and we would have done just as well without them? Not to mention the improvements he made to the other players?

 

[TheStagMan]

1 minute ago, sne said:

3 year contract 

 

really? Wow!

[blandy]

14 minutes ago, TRO said:

However, unprompted he did say " This squad was good enough to go up automatically" when I took over......He also said after the final " That was 2 Steve Bruce signings who scored our goals today"

.....what message do you think he was trying to get across in a veiled way?

There are often two alternatives a manager does when he takes over. The first is typically "they aren't fit enough" type thing, the second alternative is "This is a good squad/I've been surprised at how good the players are" type approach - each of these they do to send a message to the players, to the supporters and also to be respectful of whoever the previous manager was.  The aim is to add a bit of additional competitive motivation to the players (train harder, work harder), to give a struggling squad a bit of a confidence boost (they're much better than people say, they can still succeed this season) and to kind of imply to the fans that the new manager has a plan as to how to "rectify" the current struggles.

But basically, managers never come in and say "the squad is useless, the last manager was useless, the fans were right to lob vegetables" - these early press lines are ultimately meaningless.

If/when some success is ultimately achieved, most managers are magnanimous and tend to give credit to their staff, the players they inherited...etc.

[ciggiesnbeer]

 

“There is a huge challenge ahead of us, but it’s one that my staff and I are ready for.

Inspiring first words from the manager there. From the David Moyes school of motivation.

[kurtsimonw]

3 minutes ago, TheStagMan said:

So what you are saying is that Mings, Hause and Steer had nothing to do with our run to the play off final and we would have done just as well without them? Not to mention the improvements he made to the other players?

 

You're welcome to find a quote where I have said that.

I said the first team was 90% complete (Mings being the other piece) and that the only other signing that he any impact whatsoever was Hause, a backup CB. So, as I said, 1 addition to the first team and one addition to the squad. Other players? I thought our squad was poor and a "mess"? Or are you suggesting that our squad was indeed a good squad, and the upside even better?

[TRO]

3 minutes ago, Dave J said:

This thread will run and run. Personally I find it bizarre that even Bruce's most staunchest supporters on here do not accept this as a sh@tty thing to do.

Some might well argue that he has done nothing wrong here - my issue is this - football is not like any other business.

For all we know many Wednesday fans may have forked out on shirts, training tops and in all good faith had Bruce's name emblazoned on these- many may have been looking forward to his tenure and decided to invest time and money in Wednesday because of him ( why? ).

As I say football is not like any other business where people put their whole life into a club.

The Bruce fans can argue all day long about technically not doing anything wrong - buts it's still a sh@tty thing in my humble opinion.

Dave I respect your views, but.....

The folk who are purported to Support Steve Bruce as a complete entity and unconditionally , is a myth.....They are supporting SOME Of the things he did during his stewardship versus those who don't have a good word to say about anything he did.

There is a clear distinction here in my book.

What he has done at Sheff Wed is none of my business, I am a Villa Fan, it doesn't concern me.....On the surface it looks poor form, I will agree.

What Steve Bruce does or will do at other clubs is of no concern of mine....I only comment on what he did with us.

[Demitri_C]

8 minutes ago, ciggiesnbeer said:

 

“There is a huge challenge ahead of us, but it’s one that my staff and I are ready for.

Inspiring first words from the manager there. From the David Moyes school of motivation.

Roll our sleeves up, baton down the hatches and go again

Expect to hear that alot newcastle fans

[sne]

1 minute ago, TRO said:

Dave I respect your views, but.....

The folk who are purported to Support Steve Bruce as a complete entity and unconditionally , is a myth.....They are supporting SOME Of the things he did during his stewardship versus those who don't have a good word to say about anything he did.

There is a clear distinction here in my book.

What he has done at Sheff Wed is none of my business, I am a Villa Fan, it doesn't concern me.....On the surface it looks poor form, I will agree.

What Steve Bruce does or will do at other clubs is of no concern of mine....I only comment on what he did with us.

That's all fine, but then perhaps don't treat the people who criticize Bruce as driven by hate.

You may not have done it, but there's tons of post who brush off any critique against him as driven by hate. It's a silly way of trying to diminish legitimate critique.