Steve Bruce

[AntrimBlack]

17 minutes ago, av1 said:

Absolutely. I think though tactics are less important with defender's than in other positions. As a defender your job is simply to mark the bloke infront of you. It doesn't really matter if you're playing for Tony Pulis or Arsene Wenger, your job is largely the same. 

The issue with Bruce is how he deals with offensive players. 

 

Correct. That is his problem.

[TRO]

20 minutes ago, VILLAMARV said:

As ever TRO I agree with a lot of what you say but for me this is where we diverge. The manager is a negative manager. He's alright and a good bloke n that and you, I and others have a lot of time for what he's doing especially considering the horror show that he inherited.

Will it be enough for promotion? well we'll start finding out in a weeks time eh?

Well said AV1. Nail, head and all that.

Why anyone expects anything else from him is beyond me.

He's here to do what he does. He doesn't care about free-flowing football. He might grind out enough results though.

Best thing is the talking stops now.

[TRO]

22 minutes ago, VILLAMARV said:

As ever TRO I agree with a lot of what you say but for me this is where we diverge. The manager is a negative manager. He's alright and a good bloke n that and you, I and others have a lot of time for what he's doing especially considering the horror show that he inherited.

Will it be enough for promotion? well we'll start finding out in a weeks time eh?

Well said AV1. Nail, head and all that.

Why anyone expects anything else from him is beyond me.

He's here to do what he does. He doesn't care about free-flowing football. He might grind out enough results though.

Best thing is the talking stops now.

Indeed

[TRO]

20 minutes ago, AntrimBlack said:

Correct. That is his problem.

Well, now he has fixed the defence......we will see if he focuses on the offensive bit.

[omariqy]

The guy actually thinks Richards can get himself fit and play a part. Dinosaur manager.

[Dave J]

Yep & that's the problem - he also worryingly thinks he can get a tune out of Gabby.

 

[theboyangel]

3 minutes ago, Dave J said:

Yep & that's the problem - he also worryingly thinks he can get a tune out of Gabby.

 

Hang on, I get the dislike for Bruce but gabby has not been motivated or fit to play arguably since O'Neill walked out.

bruce, like it or not has got gabby fit, motivated and back in contention for a place in the team. (I bet you cheered when he scored the winner against small Heath) 

bruce isn't the worlds greatest manager but shouldn't be inanely blamed or abused for every little thing.

 

[TRO]

18 minutes ago, omariqy said:

The guy actually thinks Richards can get himself fit and play a part. Dinosaur manager.

Well, if you can find someone to buy Richards I'm sure he will be the first to shake your hand.

In the meantime he has a club asset, that he is responsible for as the manager ,so it is incumbent on him to maximise any opportunity to get some value from him.

It's easy from where we sit.......not so easy when you have the job.

 

 

Edited July 29, 2017 by TRO

[TRO]

13 minutes ago, theboyangel said:

Hang on, I get the dislike for Bruce but gabby has not been motivated or fit to play arguably since O'Neill walked out.

bruce, like it or not has got gabby fit, motivated and back in contention for a place in the team. (I bet you cheered when he scored the winner against small Heath) 

bruce isn't the worlds greatest manager but shouldn't be inanely blamed or abused for every little thing.

 

I support your comments with the exception of " I get the dislike of Bruce" I know you never meant it personally.......but I actually don't get the dislike for Bruce.

I am actually happy he is our manager.

I think it must be a pretty miserable existence being a Villa fan and being so opposed to so many things he is doing......it would affect my ability to enjoy being a supporter.

He is not perfect by any stretch, I don't know any fan who says he is......He had bought well and there will be many that come and go as we progress, that's the nature of the beast.

It's warming to see so many in support of glen Whelan after his debut, but so many were opposed initially.

Give this guy a chance and stop the notion that at every window the job should be complete.....we are building to get up, but we are not there yet.

[Dave J]

28 minutes ago, theboyangel said:

Hang on, I get the dislike for Bruce but gabby has not been motivated or fit to play arguably since O'Neill walked out.

bruce, like it or not has got gabby fit, motivated and back in contention for a place in the team. (I bet you cheered when he scored the winner against small Heath) 

bruce isn't the worlds greatest manager but shouldn't be inanely blamed or abused for every little thing.

 

Sorry I had no intention to abuse the guy - sorry again if it came across this way- I do still struggle to understand why Bruce thinks he can get a game out of Gabby- and for me a goal against SH does not give him a " get out of jail free " card - I'm not forgetting his antics or total dross performances imo of the recent seasons.

[theboyangel]

7 minutes ago, Dave J said:

Sorry I had no intention to abuse the guy - sorry again if it came across this way- I do still struggle to understand why Bruce thinks he can get a game out of Gabby- and for me a goal against SH does not give him a " get out of jail free " card - I'm not forgetting his antics or total dross performances imo of the recent seasons.

And you shouldn't - agbonlahor let the club and fans down terribly.

however, Bruce deserves credit (as does gabby) for getting him back into shape and motivated. 

If gabby manages to be of use this season and proves his worth then fair play.

Edited July 29, 2017 by theboyangel

[Dave J]

1 minute ago, theboyangel said:

And you shouldn't - agbonlahor let the club and fans down terribly.

however, Bruce deserves credit (as does gabby) for getting him back into shape and motivated. 

If gabby manages to be of use this service and prove his worth then fair play.

This is where I differ from most fans - I don't believe Agbonlahor is good enough even at this level imo  - all I'll say is don't get carried away by pre-season - this is the one time of the season that his pace sets him apart from others - once others get up to full fitness the gap again closes and in my opinion he'll be out.

[terrytini]

I know almost nobody opposed to all things Bruce.

I would guess 90% have just one real issue, his negative approach.

And I'm not sure that counts as disliking him, just saying it as it looks.

[7392craig]

11 minutes ago, Dave J said:

This is where I differ from most fans - I don't believe Agbonlahor is good enough even at this level imo  - all I'll say is don't get carried away by pre-season - this is the one time of the season that his pace sets him apart from others - once others get up to full fitness the gap again closes and in my opinion he'll be out.

How do you turn every thread into the Agbonlahor thread? He was talking about Richards. ON TOPIC: I think Bruce is doing this the only way he knows how, it's worked in the past. It will be crap football but it will accumulate points. (Hopefully)

[TRO]

6 minutes ago, terrytini said:

I know almost nobody opposed to all things Bruce.

I would guess 90% have just one real issue, his negative approach.

And I'm not sure that counts as disliking him, just saying it as it looks.

Terry that's reassuring.

Today I saw plenty of accurate passing,more movement,some little triangles up top, tracking back,closing down,squeezing the opposition against a well established Watford team

Our most influential striker missing......and a debut to a midfielder that reminded me of Gareth barry

I was quite heartened to be honest.

[Dave J]

11 minutes ago, terrytini said:

I know almost nobody opposed to all things Bruce.

I would guess 90% have just one real issue, his negative approach.

And I'm not sure that counts as disliking him, just saying it as it looks.

I think Bruce is one of football's genuine guys ( not easy to find in modern day football ) but I honestly do not believe he is the correct man to take us where we wish to be - I believe we will get promoted but this will be in spite of him being manager and not because of him being manager - you may ask why I say this - my answer is this, often big clubs get on a roll and like a juggernaut they become very difficult to derail - fan expectation goes through the roof - the stadium becomes hostile, belief spreads through the club and you can use the same analogy as that of a boxer being beat before stepping through the ropes 

[Dave J]

12 minutes ago, 7392craig said:

How do you turn every thread into the Agbonlahor thread? He was talking about Richards. ON TOPIC: I think Bruce is doing this the only way he knows how, it's worked in the past. It will be crap football but it will accumulate points. (Hopefully)

Well it was just an exchange of thoughts with another poster to be honest with you.

[terrytini]

30 minutes ago, TRO said:

Terry that's reassuring.

Today I saw plenty of accurate passing,more movement,some little triangles up top, tracking back,closing down,squeezing the opposition against a well established Watford team

Our most influential striker missing......and a debut to a midfielder that reminded me of Gareth barry

I was quite heartened to be honest.

Agree that for twenty minutes/ half hour there were triangles, movement, pressing and some pace to our passing.

It was indeed encouraging.

I still think his overall mindset is too negative and even in that good period there were too many times for me when players getting the ball in forward positions had nobody within 30 yards. 

There is no question in my mind his first priority is always defensive . This always creates problems going forward but we certainly did that better today, first half.

Whether people will be happy with his approach by September etc will depend upon how much we get out of those forward forays.

[TrentVilla]

4 hours ago, carewjust4u said:

I actually thought we played positive football for very large portions of the game today against a team that did well in the prem...but hey-ho, people like to see what they want to see.

That works both ways.

[VillaChris]

I still back him but I also quietly smile at a few who thought after a pre season we'd come back playing majestic free flowing football...it ain't going to happen.

Dosen't mean we won't win games. I'd happily sign up for 20 1-0 wins right now but I doubt we're going to have many 3-2 end to end games next year.

And think about it for a second...why would SB change? Yes the club and fans want an entertaining team but if he starts attempting to play a style he's not really capable of coaching, we're going to go on another January style run and he's out of the door.

Better to stick to a basic gameplan that grinds out plenty of points and wins and keeps the fans reasonably happy (as everyone prefers to support a winning team in the end).

You can give them all the millions to spend but that's why likes of Pulis, Big Sam and SB never change as their football gets them years and years in the premier league and all the money and prestige it brings. I'd include MON in that group aswell. His gameplan wasn't a million miles away from SB's but we just had better players who could execute it.