Steve Bruce

[praisedmambo]

20 minutes ago, vreitti said:

Did we really? I saw nothing in the Sky highlights to suggest we had any clear-cut chances that where a result of some 'sublime play'. 

Who said sublime play? If you listened to it we were creating chances. 

My point was: nobody's ignoring anything just because they feel a little hope that Bruce might actually know what he's doing. He's the most experienced manager we've had in years, and there are signs he actually had a clue how to set the team up...and, presumably as a result of that, we won. Reading didn't swamp us in the second half like Wolves did—we were set up differently. so Bruce has had 2 more days (about 5 in total) and something seems to be going on: the manager seems to be working on things. It's improving our chances. 

'But we got a late goal' 'but one of their shots might have gone in'—so might one of ours. That's what happens in football. 

I believe RDM was clueless. I believe Bruce has a bit more about him; therefore, the hope I have is we can improve. We still have a really limited set of players though, especially in midfield. 

FWIW I didn't want Steve Bruce and I was arguing that we had no chance of going up this season. We still have a long way to go and nobody's getting carried away. How could we after the last few years? Yesterday was pleasing though and there were some good signs. 

Edited October 19, 2016 by praisedmambo

[Dr_Pangloss]

The performance was horrific but at this stage that doesn't really matter. We demonstrated a mental toughness and desire to bounce back that we simply didn't have under RDM, rather than fold we went got a late winner, good early signs. Performances will probably improve with more time and better fitness. 

[Tommo_b]

And only 6 points off the play off places, woo hoo

[Gary Thomas]

55 minutes ago, Richard said:

I am amazed at how one penalty two minutes before the end of a match has basically changed everything for so many people. before and during the match right up to the penalty the selection was criticised , individual player performances were criticised. But that one penalty and everything seems ok now. The selection wasn't a problem , Gardner and bacuna are suddenly better players ,what went before the penalty seems to have been forgotten . Being critical of the original team selection is frowned upon, being critical of the actual performance for 99.9% of the game is shunned .

Don't know about that, but the truth is both played well last night, especially Bacuna.  Think most who saw the game would agree - penalty or no penalty.

[sexbelowsound]

6 minutes ago, Tommo_b said:

And only 6 points off the play off places, woo hoo

This is massive. With so much of the season to go we have plenty of opportunity to cut that gap.

[markavfc40]

Be interesting to see what he does on Saturday. The formation and system we played was perfectly suited to playing away from home against a side who like to keep possession. At home it will be a different story though as teams sit back against us and that system we played last night won’t work. Luckily I think we have the options to change the way we play.

The biggest thing from last night for me was the work rate of the players. After the game Bruce again said that he demands that his players put a shift in and if they don’t they won’t be picked. I think that showed. I have always maintained that this squad is as good as most in this division it just needed a mangaer capable of getting the best out of them. For me the early signs certainly in what Bruce as identified as issues and the effort he got from the players last night suggests we now have that manager. We have to build on this good start under him though as winning breeds winning and if we could get two wins on the spin the players will have plenty of belief going forward.

Edited October 19, 2016 by markavfc40

[Dr_Pangloss]

7 minutes ago, sexbelowsound said:

This is massive. With so much of the season to go we have plenty of opportunity to cut that gap.

Indeed, one or two big signings in Jan (big as in quality, not necessarily spunking £15m on championship players) would put us right in the mix. 

[AValon]

Already, Bruce is a lot more hands on during the game. More animated, more involved. I think, if anything, this is what he brings to the table, whereas Garde and RDM were almost invisible with their low key styles.

[hippo]

3 minutes ago, AValon said:

Already, Bruce is a lot more hands on during the game. More animated, more involved. I think, if anything, this is what he brings to the table, whereas Garde and RDM were almost invisible with their low key styles.

Its almost as though he has taken over struggling teams before and knows what to do.

[AvfcRigo82]

1 hour ago, Richard said:

First of all I am delighted by the win, it's been a while but really pleasing.

however I am amazed at how one penalty two minutes before the end of a match has basically changed everything for so many people.

before and during the match right up to the penalty the selection was criticised , individual player performances were criticised. But that one penalty and everything seems ok now. The selection wasn't a problem , Gardner and bacuna are suddenly better players ,what went before the penalty seems to have been forgotten . Being critical of the original team selection is frowned upon, being critical of the actual performance for 99.9% of the game is shunned .

such is the miraculous healing power of one penalty two minutes before the end of the match . I guess we were all that desperate for a win

For me it has not changed everything Richard. My feet are very much grounded because we are still 1 lousy defeat away for this place to turn sour.

The interesting things to take from this victory are 3 valuable points, improvement in performance for some and a big step in the right direction.

But ultimately for me, this is only the 2nd brick laid of the work in progress that is required here and where we want to be and for me that is winning the league, automatic promotion from the league or winning the play offs. Either way I want out at the first time of asking but I am no fool either and we are perhaps only one defeat away for the euphoria to come suddenly crashing down.

Furthermore, a step in the right direction nonetheless.    

 

FWIW we can sack all the cup competitions off this season too because they won't mean anything to us and we should just focus solely on getting out of this league.

[Dodgyknees]

Big game this weekend, Fulham are a good team. So important the fans act as the twelfth man! I remember being young and at VP, the roar of the crowd! We can do it again!

[Keyblade]

7 minutes ago, DK82 said:

Big game this weekend, Fulham are a good team. So important the fans act as the twelfth man! I remember being young and at VP, the roar of the crowd! We can do it again!

It's weird how by all accounts we have the best away support in the league if not the country but our home support is rather meh. I get that we don't have much to cheer about these days, but it's the same when we're away too!

[bannedfromHandV]

22 minutes ago, markavfc40 said:

Be interesting to see what he does on Saturday. The formation and system we played was perfectly suited to playing away from home against a side who like to keep possession. At home it will be a different story though as teams sit back against us and that system we played last night won’t work. Luckily I think we have the options to change the way we play.

The biggest thing from last night for me was the work rate of the players. After the game Bruce again said that he demands that his players put a shift in and if they don’t they won’t be picked. I think that showed. I have always maintained that this squad is as good as most in this division it just needed a mangaer capable of getting the best out of them. For me the early signs certainly in what Bruce as identified as issues and the effort he got from the players last night suggests we now have that manager. We have to build on this good start under him though as winning breeds winning and if we could get two wins on the spin the players will have plenty of belief going forward.

Wolves say hello!

 

Jokes aside though I agree with you, generally speaking.

[lexicon]

For us, the performance is always going to be secondary to the result. 

Points on the board are all that matter when you're in our position.

 

[VillaCas]

A good return with four points from two games, although its somewhat hilarious to contrast that anyone with anything other than positive commments after the Wolves game was told to shut up as "he'd only been here 48 hrs" versus the wankfest 72 hrs further along.

I wasn't at the game but spoke with a friend who was and it seems we would have been pretty lucky with a point and were extrodinarily lucky to get three.  Thats good and sometimes you make your own luck but talk of "improved performance" and "big steps in the right direction" are premature in my opinion.

In a previous post I said that I wouldn't be overcritical of Bruce and wouldn't form a full opinion on him until he has a chance to bring in his own players to fill the criminal gaps left by RDM. In the same way that I won't jump to a negative position, I will also wait before I shower him (fnarr fnarr) with plaudits, at least until we have won a few more games with decent performances.

So far, I like Bruce more than I expected to - it's undoubtedly different when he is your own manager rather an opposition one. I hope that he can string a few wins together now and whilst its nice to get points anyway we can, it would be even better if we can do so with a little panache

[AvfcRigo82]

It is laughable we will have the sty fans on edge all season now looking over their shoulders.. watching our results and seeing us creep up the league gradually...

You can gather a real sense of confidence in SB's interviews.. "I have only been here a week and only took 4 training sessions"

 

Quite amusing all round.

[Demitri_C]

1 hour ago, Richard said:

suggest you actually read more of my posts ,  you may find yourself refreshed more often

What about romantically nourished? 

[Gary Thomas]

46 minutes ago, Keyblade said:

It's weird how by all accounts we have the best away support in the league if not the country but our home support is rather meh. I get that we don't have much to cheer about these days, but it's the same when we're away too!

When people travel I think they have that bloody minded attitude they will back the team whatever and the minute anyone starts a chant everyone gets on it - even in the concourse!  That can happen at home - esp. Holte and North - IF we, as individual fans, choose to support  - even when things are not going well on the pitch.  That's a 'choice' we make. The game against Newcastle last year showed what can happen if fans choose to support - terrible team, terrible performances, incredible support. The home support has a crucial part to play this year and to my mind we should all support loudly, every game, unconditionally.  So enough of the apathy and just sitting quietly.  Lets play our part, wherever we sit at VP, and make our voice heard and maybe, just maybe, we can help the team get to the play-offs. Arise 12th man!!!!

Edited October 19, 2016 by Gary Thomas

[Richard]

6 minutes ago, Demitri_C said:

What about romantically nourished? 

That's a false narrative Dem

[markavfc40]

43 minutes ago, VillaCas said:

I wasn't at the game but spoke with a friend who was and it seems we would have been pretty lucky with a point and were extrodinarily lucky to get three.  

I wasn’t at the game either but watched a live fan stream, spoke with someone who was there and seen the highlights. Reading dominated possession but it seems to me we allowed them to have the ball in areas where they couldn’t hurt us. We had arguably the better chances and certainly just as many. Gollini wasn’t busy.

Maybe we were lucky to get more than a point. I think the game plan was to contain Reading though and it worked a treat as we limited the chances they had. As I said in an earlier post it is an ideal way for us to play away from home against a side that like to keep possession. It won’t work at home though where sides sit back against us. I think we have the options to go with a system that can break teams down. Bruce got it right last night for me and he now needs to do the same on Saturday against Fulham but that won’t be with last nights system.

Edited October 19, 2016 by markavfc40