Steve Bruce

[a m ole]

One more game and some of you guys don't have to watch any more until August!

[DaveAV1]

14 minutes ago, a m ole said:

One more game and some of you guys don't have to watch any more until August!

Ah but we're drawn like moths to the flame 

[Demitri_C]

46 minutes ago, blandy said:

In the 33 league games he's been manager, compared to every other team over the same period, so a 33 games league table villa is mid table, still. Personally that's kind of what I expected, ditto the turgid football and inability to change or adapt. I get that some people take a view that he'll get it right next season. I'm in favour of giving him time to try, but I don't think the comments have been unfair in the main. I can't think of a single game in those 33 where we've run the game and controlled it. That's a worry. It needs fixing.

The thing is the mess we were in to even be 12th for me is a miracle at the moment. The signs of a good team being able to win and not play well. I think things will get better next season. He definitely should not be sacked yet. 

[Demitri_C]

23 minutes ago, Don_Simon said:

"Passed the ball well"? Apart from a very small number of decent passes by Lansbury, and Bacuna on occasion when was this? 

About 80% of the game, there was probably only a few bad passes by jedinak and bacuna. But generally passing was good but no real quality going forward

[lexicon]

Just now, Demitri_C said:

The thing is the mess we were in to even be 12th for me is a miracle at the moment. The signs of a good team being able to win and not play well. I think things will get better next season. He definitely should not be sacked yet. 

This. Bruce coming in and stopping the rot was of vital importance. We really, really didn't want to do a Leeds. He does need to build on it now but he's done more than enough to get the preseason and we'll see from there. 

[Don_Simon]

I went to the game yesterday and although was elated to have won, the football on display was like an expensive form of self harm. 

The inability to keep the ball on the grass really surprised me. If a ball was bouncing, instead of taking a touch and passing it away, the easy option was chosen and it got launched. 

I was surprised the amount of times long balls were sent to Scott Hogan, who was completely ineffectual, but I don't blame him as service was dire. Is that how it was for him at Brentford? 

Bruce did the right thing in bringing Gabby on and going 4-4-2, but then to revert back to 4-5-1 as soon as we scored with Gabby on the left wing was infuriating and put us under a lot of undue pressure. 

The lack of movement pisses me off. From throw-ins especially. This has been a problem for years, why do they just stand still?!

Major credit to the back five, including Jedinak, they were magnificent. 

My sole hope is that Bruce has come in and his first port of call was to shore us up defensively and a lot of the focus has been on that. Then, in the summer, he works on the front five as at the moment, there is very, very little there. No system, no fluidity, niente. 

Bruce says a lot more work is needed in the transfer market over the summer. Of the 11 that started yesterday, only Hutton, Baker, Bacuna, Grealish, were here from last season. So who is to clear out? 

He has an absolutely massive summer ahead. 

(Apologies if these have all be covered in previous posts!)

[Don_Simon]

8 minutes ago, Demitri_C said:

About 80% of the game, there was probably only a few bad passes by jedinak and bacuna. But generally passing was good but no real quality going forward

Direct quote from our manager:

""It was the worst game of the season. The ball must have been screaming at one point, saying 'please don't bash me again'".

That is not the quote of a coach whose team have just passed the ball well. Ball retention and decision making when we had the ball was atrocious. I'd expect better from a team with the players that we have.

 

[Grasshopper]

4 hours ago, Spoony said:

You guys are just impossible to make happy.

What a strange thing to say!

Just about everything in my life is great, Personal stuff, job, finances, Hobbies. every thing is wonderful, and I'm extremely happy.

There's just one thing not going right atm. That's when I watch AVFC play football. It's absolute shit

[briny_ear]

24 minutes ago, Don_Simon said:

Direct quote from our manager:

""It was the worst game of the season. The ball must have been screaming at one point, saying 'please don't bash me again'".

That is not the quote of a coach whose team have just passed the ball well. Ball retention and decision making when we had the ball was atrocious. I'd expect better from a team with the players that we have.

 

See, this is the funniest thing about all this anti-Bruce campaigning. The most extreme critic of the way Steve Bruce's Villa have been playing is...

STEVE BRUCE!!!!

Tne Grasshoppers, terrytinis, etc. etc., look like wishy  washy moderates compared with our own manager.

No, the football certainly hasn't been great this season but under Bruce we have been defending well and even winning more matches than we lose, which is such a change from the football we have seen from Villa over the past few seasons (and the start of 2016-7), that I am prepared to give him a go at a summer window and a campaign next season to see where he can take us.

If there was an obvious and easy solution to the problem of finding a manager and squad who can turn the club's fortunes around, I'm sure the club would already have taken it. 

In the absence of anyone finding Harry Potter's magic wand, let's stick with a guy who has brought us more success but who has no illusions about the need to improve.

[Villan_of_oz]

13 minutes ago, briny_ear said:

See, this is the funniest thing about all this anti-Bruce campaigning. The most extreme critic of the way Steve Bruce's Villa have been playing is...

STEVE BRUCE!!!!

Tne Grasshoppers, terrytinis, etc. etc., look like wishy  washy moderates compared with our own manager.

No, the football certainly hasn't been great this season but under Bruce we have been defending well and even winning more matches than we lose, which is such a change from the football we have seen from Villa over the past few seasons (and the start of 2016-7), that I am prepared to give him a go at a summer window and a campaign next season to see where he can take us.

If there was an obvious and easy solution to the problem of finding a manager and squad who can turn the club's fortunes around, I'm sure the club would already have taken it. 

In the absence of anyone finding Harry Potter's magic wand, let's stick with a guy who has brought us more success but who has no illusions about the need to improve.

Three cheers for briny_ear....... Hooray..... Hooray...... Hooray. This post is so right, it couldn't be further from left. 

[sexbelowsound]

Whilst the football is utter garbage I still think we'd be daft to get rid of him. Yes, we might risk having another poor start to the season which could jeopardise our promotion hopes but its not a guarantee that a new manager will have a storming start to the season either.

I think Bruce knows what he needs to do to get us playing better and that's probably going to mean a busy Summer. At the moment we have far too much inconsistency within the squad and too many players who are barely even footballers.

Roll on pre-season.

[Grasshopper]

27 minutes ago, briny_ear said:

See, this is the funniest thing about all this anti-Bruce campaigning. The most extreme critic of the way Steve Bruce's Villa have been playing is...

STEVE BRUCE!!!!

Tne Grasshoppers, terrytinis, etc. etc., look like wishy  washy moderates compared with our own manager.

No, the football certainly hasn't been great this season but under Bruce we have been defending well and even winning more matches than we lose, which is such a change from the football we have seen from Villa over the past few seasons (and the start of 2016-7), that I am prepared to give him a go at a summer window and a campaign next season to see where he can take us.

If there was an obvious and easy solution to the problem of finding a manager and squad who can turn the club's fortunes around, I'm sure the club would already have taken it. 

In the absence of anyone finding Harry Potter's magic wand, let's stick with a guy who has brought us more success but who has no illusions about the need to improve.

Funny that all his "experience and ability" can't help him solve his own problems.

We play shit football because of him not despite him.

[sne]

19 minutes ago, briny_ear said:

See, this is the funniest thing about all this anti-Bruce campaigning. The most extreme critic of the way Steve Bruce's Villa have been playing is...

STEVE BRUCE!!!!

Tne Grasshoppers, terrytinis, etc. etc., look like wishy  washy moderates compared with our own manager.

No, the football certainly hasn't been great this season but under Bruce we have been defending well and even winning more matches than we lose, which is such a change from the football we have seen from Villa over the past few seasons (and the start of 2016-7), that I am prepared to give him a go at a summer window and a campaign next season to see where he can take us.

If there was an obvious and easy solution to the problem of finding a manager and squad who can turn the club's fortunes around, I'm sure the club would already have taken it. 

In the absence of anyone finding Harry Potter's magic wand, let's stick with a guy who has brought us more success but who has no illusions about the need to improve.

 

So he thinks we look shit too.

The worry then for me would be:

Does he have the ability and coaching staff to change it, or is this the way it will continue?

Sadly I think more of the same is what we'll see next season too.

I really do hope he finds Harry Potters magic wand, because we'll need to see a total transformation during the summer.

(although for that i believe he would need a Polyjuice potion rather than a wand...)

 

 

[hippo]

8 minutes ago, sne said:

 

So he thinks we look shit too.

The worry then for me would be:

Does he have the ability and coaching staff to change it, or is this the way it will continue?

Sadly I think more of the same is what we'll see next season too.

I really do hope he finds Harry Potters magic wand, because we'll need to see a total transformation during the summer.

(although for that i believe he would need a Polyjuice potion rather than a wand...)

 

 

More of the same will probably get us play offs though. - Thats what you're gambling with.

[bannedfromHandV]

12 minutes ago, Grasshopper said:

Funny that all his "experience and ability" can't help him solve his own problems.

We play shit football because of him not despite him.

You assume.

It's not a fact.

[VillaChris]

13 hours ago, Eastie said:

Not sure he's that hands on to be honest as calderwood said on arriving the attraction of the job was that he would be taking on  the coaching .

I don't think he's anymore hands on at the training ground than MON was tbh.

Steve Bruce isn't an innovative coach but a manager.

[mykeyb]

Can he get us promoted? - I doubt he will.

Do I want him replaced? - Yes, but its not going to happen.

If he is planning on having another big change in playing staff where does that leave the argument about continuity and stability?

[briny_ear]

11 minutes ago, mykeyb said:

Can he get us promoted? - I doubt he will.

Do I want him replaced? - Yes, but its not going to happen.

If he is planning on having another big change in playing staff where does that leave the argument about continuity and stability?

I've missed that one.

Where's the evidence he's planning on  another big change?

[Grasshopper]

36 minutes ago, bannedfromHandV said:

You assume.

It's not a fact.

quite right you are.

However I'm only, "assuming" what people are counter-ing me with, with the "Bruce knows what he's doing" being underlined as fact, as he has 4 promotions.......blah f*** blah.

The football's shite and we wont get promoted playing like this nor is SB capable of implementing any such style with the players at his disposal.

but hey.

its only my opinion, and as you so state, I'm wrong.

 

[DCJonah]

3 hours ago, Demitri_C said:

Last I checked Bruce's win ratio was higher than Sherwood, garde and black. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if it's higher than all three combined.

He also managed to get us back to back victories something we haven't done in bloody years. I don't get the Bruce hate, it's ridiculous.

What have sherwood, Garde and black got to do with hoping we get promoted next season. 

Bruce has done better than previous managers, he's achieved some good results this year. 

But like i said, the aim is promotion and if we don't achieve it next year we could see that target become more and more difficult long term. I've seen little from Steve Bruce to make me believe we will be strong contenders next year. I don't believe that he can flip a switch in pre season and we will suddenly become a much better team. I've also seen most of his signings struggle to play in his team, so I'm also concerned that new players in the summer will have a similar fate. 

I don't hate Steve Bruce. I just don't think he's going to get us promoted next season. If our situation was different, if our long term goals didn't rely on promotion next season I'd be much more relaxed and patient with him, I'd be much more prepared to give him time to build and improve. But i don't think we're in the situation to give him much more time. 

Xia will demand promotion next year, and with the money invested he's right to.