wazzap24 Posted May 7, 2017 Share Posted May 7, 2017 13 minutes ago, DCJonah said: I wish I could have seen more from him, it sucks not having belief in your team but I'd just be kidding myself if I said I believe he can change things next year. I wanted Bruce out but I wanted a something from our end of the season to tell me I was wrong. What I've seen has just convinced me more. I'm on your bus there Jonah, I think we'd all like to have seen more from him, particularly towards the end of the season. It might be that the job of making us 'good' was just bigger than we thought, or it might be he just isn't up to it. Either way, unless the Doc does something unexpected, he's going to get the chance to take us into next season and I think we should try and at least get behind him again and see where we are come October. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillanousOne Posted May 7, 2017 Share Posted May 7, 2017 10 minutes ago, sne said: One positive from today was that we were without our creative outlet and playmaker in Hutton, our bearded guy who heads the ball a lot and makes sure we don't have to keep the ball in the team in Jedi, and our striker Kodija who scores all our goals even thou he get's no service. And we still didn't lose, or look worse than usual. very true, in fact we may have actually looked better 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrytini Posted May 7, 2017 Share Posted May 7, 2017 1 hour ago, Stevo985 said: What the actual ****? Are you talking about today? I'm stunned. Yup. Last fifteen minutes or so was okay, which only illustrated how poor the rest had been. IMO of course. And I did see every single minute. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveAV1 Posted May 7, 2017 Share Posted May 7, 2017 Just now, theboyangel said: Who was playing right back then? the left footed Taylor? Sadly it was the right call - neither of the full backs are centre halves. If Jedinak were on the pitch, the decision would've been to move him back as cover and bring on another midfielder but we didn't have the personnel to do that. I can't blame Bruce today for bringing on Elphick. I can always blame someone for bringing on Elfick! You're right about left back my mistake. But would it really have mattered as it was a dead rubber? It would just have been nice to give the kid a go. Davis did really well, but would Bruce have brought him on if Hogan didn't get injured? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrytini Posted May 7, 2017 Share Posted May 7, 2017 1 hour ago, Stevo985 said: Hourihane and Lansbury were the best players on the pitch today by a country mile. Hourihane especially was excellent. I like them both, and thought that, finally given a little licence to get forward, played better than previously. But for me they were a long way from excellent. Not that I need or expect them to be excellent - they were okay and still need to do better - in my view of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theboyangel Posted May 7, 2017 Share Posted May 7, 2017 I think Bruce wanted to give the fans something positive to go home with - in all fairness to Bruce and the players, we didn't look like a 10 man team and were matching Brighton (who had more reason to want to win the match than us). I don't rate Elphick either but injuries made that substitution inevitable. I doubt he'll be here next season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wazzap24 Posted May 7, 2017 Share Posted May 7, 2017 19 minutes ago, theboyangel said: What was clear today was that Bruce needs some assistance in coaching attacking movement. We got into some great positions today only to dwell on the ball or players not reading each others runs or movement. There were plenty of chances but we could dramatically improve our attacking play. Bring in a forward minded coach to drill the midfield and attack into some decent flowing moves. If he did this and got the right bloke in, we'd win the division at a canter. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theboyangel Posted May 7, 2017 Share Posted May 7, 2017 Just now, wazzap24 said: If he did this and got the right bloke in, we'd win the division at a canter. I agree, it's been clear to me since the January lull! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaChris Posted May 7, 2017 Share Posted May 7, 2017 2 hours ago, Dr_Pangloss said: Bruce gets a C- grade from me, simply not good enough to finish bottom half with the time and resources he has had. We have looked like utter dog shit for the most part as well. Pressure will rightly be on next season, if things don't look promising after 5 games I'd wager that the Dr will pull the trigger. Yeah I think Dr Xia will look at things now and think he should've fired RDM a bit sooner. There's what 5 games in August and then 6 in September if this season is the guide. It's a lot of points to waste already in a season as we found to our cost this year when the likes of Newcastle and Huddersfield were miles ahead of us on October 1st. Think SB will get the 5 games in August and then things will be assessed over the September international break. Remember he'd have had a full 2 months on the training pitch so simply we have to come out in August and get the points on the board. Playing a hell of a lot better in the process. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrytini Posted May 7, 2017 Share Posted May 7, 2017 He finally moved in the right direction today. But of course it was unfamiliar to them all ! No doubt why it improved as the game went on.... gives cause for a sliver of hope . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaChris Posted May 7, 2017 Share Posted May 7, 2017 1 hour ago, Stevo985 said: Hourihane and Lansbury were the best players on the pitch today by a country mile. Hourihane especially was excellent. Yeah I've seen a few people saying those two had much more licence to support the striker and push forward. Interested did they take turns to hold infront of the back 4 given no Jedinak or did we just see it as a pressure free end of season game and just went for it. We need to come out in August with that mentality as it's no good expecting whoever is upfront to have to beat about 8 men to score like Kodjia had to do. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrytini Posted May 7, 2017 Share Posted May 7, 2017 1 minute ago, VillaChris said: Yeah I've seen a few people saying those two had much more licence to support the striker and push forward. Interested did they take turns to hold infront of the back 4 given no Jedinak or did we just see it as a pressure free end of season game and just went for it. We need to come out in August with that mentality as it's no good expecting whoever is upfront to have to beat about 8 men to score like Kodjia had to do. Not really we largely just abandoned the Jedi role as such - and credit to Bruce for - albeit very very belatedly - trying it. No surprise that we tried to play a bit more football without Jedi and Hutton, and with the midfield allowed forward . Where might we be now if thatd been tried much sooner, is a valid, but now redundant question. Fingers crossed he persists with it because with these players some familiarity with it will work wonders. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theboyangel Posted May 7, 2017 Share Posted May 7, 2017 8 minutes ago, terrytini said: He finally moved in the right direction today. But of course it was unfamiliar to them all ! No doubt why it improved as the game went on.... gives cause for a sliver of hope . Thinking about it - we were probably so pleased that following Bruce coming in and halting our last minute leaky defence we initially forgot about the attack as we were still pinching the odd goal to win matches. It became more apparent in January/February when we lost so many matches we should have been winning. It has taken too long for the new signings to bed in and begin to function as a team but you're right, there was a sliver of hope we're going in the right direction. Chuck in some additional attacking coaches and it'll become more than a mere sliver! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeyp102 Posted May 7, 2017 Share Posted May 7, 2017 27 minutes ago, DaveAV1 said: Move Bree to center half, drop Amavi to left back and bring on O'Hare. We were 1-0 down in a dead runner, it would have given the kid a run out and perhaps as a striker he may have even scored. We could have found out a bit about the kid, whereas we already know Elfick is a liability, which he didn't take long to prove! If he'd done that he would have been rightfully vilified for being extremely naive and like "Tactics Tim". You may not like him, I get that, but to criticise him for bringing on a defender when one had been sent off is just absurd. He got the substitution spot on. It's like you're just trying to find anything to knock with him. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveAV1 Posted May 7, 2017 Share Posted May 7, 2017 28 minutes ago, theboyangel said: Thinking about it - we were probably so pleased that following Bruce coming in and halting our last minute leaky defence we initially forgot about the attack as we were still pinching the odd goal to win matches. It became more apparent in January/February when we lost so many matches we should have been winning. It has taken too long for the new signings to bed in and begin to function as a team but you're right, there was a sliver of hope we're going in the right direction. Chuck in some additional attacking coaches and it'll become more than a mere sliver! Under RDM we conceded 11 goals in 10 games under SB we've conceded 37 in 36 games, not much of a defensive improvement and we swapped it for zero attacking intent. He gave up on the Jedi role today because we didn't have Jedi, was it a conscious decision or just circumstances. Worried of Villa Park. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post markavfc40 Posted May 7, 2017 Popular Post Share Posted May 7, 2017 3 hours ago, dudevillaisnice said: patience is already thin with the majority. It seems that way on here but I don't sense that at the games. Most fans seem right behind him and are understanding of what he came into and have a belief in him going forward. It has been a disappointing season no doubt about that and I am as disappointed as anyone but I think time will show that this season wasn't a wasted one and was a necessary one in terms of stopping the backwards trajectory and us now moving forwards. I think as much as it was easy to get carried away with us splashing the cash last summer it was naive to think that the dire mess the club was in, the rot that had set in over half a dozen years and the dire stench of defeatism that ran through the club could be removed in one summer. The fact we spent money meant that many of us, including me, felt we'd have a a chance at competing for a top 6 finish. I assumed the money had been spent well though and in hindsight much of it wasn't and it most definitely left us with an unbalanced squad. We also then had RDM who despite overseeing the huge overhaul of players didn't really have a clue how to piece it all together. Then came Bruce. To put in perspective what he inherited had we have continued the points per game tally under RDM we'd have finished on 41 points. That first 12 games where we won one game before Bruce arrived more than suggested that the wreak of a losing mentality was still very much part and parcel of the club and would take some clearing. There is little point in still harping on about the past though I guess and it is time to look ahead and I think the foundations are in place now to move forward with some positivity That losing mentality has now gone now at Villa Park. Where it still lingers is away from home and that certainly needs addressing. The spine of the team looks solid. Hopefully we can keep Johnstone who has grown in stature and looks more assured with each passing game, Baker and Chester are a solid partnership. Jedi in front of them and Kodjia up top. Taylor is as good a left back as we have had in years and Bree showed great promise today and if he forces his way in front of Hutton we will have a fine right back. Where we have been found wanting is creativity and someone to carry the burden of goals with Kodjia. I think Hourihane and Lansbury are excellent players at this level and whilst they haven't flourished yet I think that is down to simply getting used to their new surroundings and building up understandings with the players around them. The same goes for Hogan up top. Then to supplement the players I have mentioned so far we have Grealish, Green, RHM and based on today Davis. All exciting young players capable of shining at this level. I know my post may come across as very positive and has hardly made mention of Steve Bruce. I don't really have any concerns there though. I think he will get things right here. I think he knows where we are lacking and I think 3 or 4 additions over the summer, combined with a number of players fully settling in and having a pre season together, and the manager setting a formation in pre season and sticking with it and we will come out of the traps flying. I don't know how much to take today as a barometer but Brighton finished second and we more than matched them as we did in the corresponding fixture. I don't think it is going to take much to see us up in the top two places next season and I am convinced the worst thing we could do now is to waste the lessons learned from this season and rip the whole thing up and start again. The aim next season is promotion and we don't need to look for a manager to achieve that we already have one who has done it numerous times before and on the back of what he has learned here over the last 7 months he is the most qualified manager we could find to take us into next season and take us up. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrytini Posted May 7, 2017 Share Posted May 7, 2017 (edited) 5 minutes ago, DaveAV1 said: Under RDM we conceded 11 goals in 10 games under SB we've conceded 37 in 36 games, not much of a defensive improvement and we swapped it for zero attacking intent. He gave up on the Jedi role today because we didn't have Jedi, was it a conscious decision or just circumstances. Worried of Villa Park. I take your point and of course goals conceded is a fair marker but I would say I feel far far more confident in us defensively than I did under RDM - I can't exactly say why but it does feel stronger. Not that our defence was especially poor under RDM either Mind, and Elphick today reminded us just what a liability - sadly - he's turned out to be, nearly gifted a goal after one minute !! Edited May 7, 2017 by terrytini Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted May 7, 2017 VT Supporter Share Posted May 7, 2017 52 minutes ago, VillaChris said: Yeah I've seen a few people saying those two had much more licence to support the striker and push forward. Interested did they take turns to hold infront of the back 4 given no Jedinak or did we just see it as a pressure free end of season game and just went for it. We need to come out in August with that mentality as it's no good expecting whoever is upfront to have to beat about 8 men to score like Kodjia had to do. Bacuna did the holding. Hourihane and Lansbury played further forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted May 7, 2017 VT Supporter Share Posted May 7, 2017 1 hour ago, terrytini said: Yup. Last fifteen minutes or so was okay, which only illustrated how poor the rest had been. IMO of course. And I did see every single minute. If you describe today's performance as "turgid" then to be honest you're literally never going to be happy with a performance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted May 7, 2017 VT Supporter Share Posted May 7, 2017 It's as clear as ever in this thread that some are putting their opinion of the manager ahead of their opinion of the game. It makes the majority of posts pointless. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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