Lord Willard Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 He's a doubt for this weekend. Had Wednesday off training with a knock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grasshopper Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 9 minutes ago, Lord Willard said: He's a doubt for this weekend. Had Wednesday off training with a knock. Oh dear, what a shame, never mind 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntrimBlack Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 1 hour ago, TrentVilla said: Not as costly as buying if you don't need to do so. Agreed. I was simply responding to the point about Bruce `trying him out', and disagreeing with that. I give Bruce more credit than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave J Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 2 hours ago, TrentVilla said: Spot on, we are going to be short during the ACN and the use of Gabby strikes me as try before you buy. Let's all keep our fingers crossed then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRO Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 (edited) 5 hours ago, Dave J said: TRO - you clearly have a lot of faith in Bruce, certainly not misguided in any shape or form at this level and yes a winner at this level as well. The acid test will come later down the line - however I do feel playing Gabby and putting the level of faith in him that we have witnessed thus far will in my opinion come back to bite him on the bum. I do Dave....but that is not believing everything he does will be to my liking. 1) I can be wrong. 2) No manager will ever do everything to suit us. I think we have a really good chance of resurrecting our pride under SB. Will he take us to the promised land, top six Prem'?.....I really can't say, but I would not write it off as a given that he won't......A lot will depend at that level of what financial backing he gets.....because he has not been over blessed in that dep't during his career.....so it could be new territory for him. Edited November 25, 2016 by TRO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 I would rather he tried others at the club rather than Agbonlahor. Others may well develop into better players, Agbonlahor wont 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dont_do_it_doug. Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 5 hours ago, Dave J said: TRO - you clearly have a lot of faith in Bruce, certainly not misguided in any shape or form at this level and yes a winner at this level as well. The acid test will come later down the line - however I do feel playing Gabby and putting the level of faith in him that we have witnessed thus far will in my opinion come back to bite him on the bum. To what end though? If he were to play any individual to the detriment of the team, Gabby or Grealish or whoever, then he will be held accountable for those results. That is his prerogative. I think it is unlikely myself given his level of experience, but I admit it is possible. You however are talking like it's a pending apocalypse, whereas the facts are that Gabby has, so far, contributed to positive results. The level of his contribution is debatable, but I personally don't think his contribution has been detrimental. Do you? Really? Would I have started him Vs Brighton? Probably not no. Would I start Ayew over him? Every single time. Do I think we're **** if Bruce continues to play him if he is earning that in training? No, I don't. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dont_do_it_doug. Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 3 minutes ago, Richard said: I would rather he tried others at the club rather than Agbonlahor. Others may well develop into better players, Agbonlahor wont That's fair. However if we are talking about RHM, I don't think he's ready. He has never looked ready for the big show to me. I could be wrong though. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted November 25, 2016 VT Supporter Share Posted November 25, 2016 1 minute ago, dont_do_it_doug. said: That's fair. However if we are talking about RHM, I don't think he's ready. He has never looked ready for the big show to me. I could be wrong though. And if we're talking about cover for the short term then RHM is also not an option as he's way off as it stands. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRO Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 2 minutes ago, dont_do_it_doug. said: That's fair. However if we are talking about RHM, I don't think he's ready. He has never looked ready for the big show to me. I could be wrong though. In a league where the slightest hint of not being comfortable with the physical side, will be exposed. RHM has a bit to prove on this score for me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRO Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 15 minutes ago, Richard said: I would rather he tried others at the club rather than Agbonlahor. Others may well develop into better players, Agbonlahor wont and you may well be right in the fullness of time. as much as it kills me to say this....right now ,sadly we are not in the development zone......we are in the " here & now" point grabbing zone. If a Brian Little or Gary Shaw was looming I would take a tempered view, but they are not. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 9 minutes ago, TRO said: If a Brian Little or Gary Shaw was looming I would take a tempered view, but they are not. How do we know they arent unless we try. In terms of where we are, I would respectfully suggest that on the basis of what you have said we are going to be in the here and now for a while, here and now to get promotion, here and now to stay up, here and now to stabilise ? when will we develop.? See I do not believe it is as black and white as you are suggesting. Sure we need results and yes it is pretty pressing but isnt that the case for most teams at different levels, and they manage to develop players. It is not a full team but one or two, most of the team are her and now, how many do we have we are developing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRO Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 1 minute ago, Richard said: How do we know they arent unless we try. In terms of where we are, I would respectfully suggest that on the basis of what you have said we are going to be in the here and now for a while, here and now to get promotion, here and now to stay up, here and now to stabilise ? when will we develop.? See I do not believe it is as black and white as you are suggesting. Sure we need results and yes it is pretty pressing but isnt that the case for most teams at different levels, and they manage to develop players. It is not a full team but one or two, most of the team are her and now, how many do we have we are developing? I take your point Richard....I was saying we don't want too much pressure on developing kids and not tasks like keeping two warrior like centre halves pre-occupied. He will get his chance, I am sure of that. In my view what we are asking Gabby to do and maybe what we would expect/hope from RHM are 2 slightly different things. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HolteExile Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 (edited) I just think reintroducing Gabby sends out all the wrong signals. The argument from Bruce (and a few others) seems to be he is only a stone overweight now, as opposed to two. So he is trying. Properly ran professional clubs these days often fine their players for every pound they are overweight when they return after pre-season. That sort of casual fecklessness and contempt for the job just isn't tolerated. Though it still is at Aston Villa, it seems. How can we on one hand say to Jack that he needs to sort himself out and make better decisions, and yet we give a useless old bloater who has been eating his career away since 2010 chance after chance. Why would any other young player feel compelled to tow the line, for that matter. It's only Aston Villa, they'll put up with any old s*hite. As they have shown time and again. If Gabby was talented but troubled, it might be a bigger dilemma. But he looked for all the world like a Sunday League player last week. What bit of ability he might have once had looks like it has been well and truly blunted. Edited November 25, 2016 by HolteExile 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dont_do_it_doug. Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 (edited) 1 hour ago, HolteExile said: How can we on one hand say to Jack that he needs to sort himself out and make better decisions, and yet we give a useless old bloater who has been eating his career away since 2010 chance after chance. Who is this "we" you speak of? Do you mean 'you'? I tend to find people have different opinions, often differing wildly when taking circumstances into account. Though I agree, if he's to even be a bit part player Gabby needs to make better decisions and sort himself out. Which seemingly he is doing? Edited November 25, 2016 by dont_do_it_doug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HolteExile Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 Well I am not personally dishing out contract extensions to Gabby, or giving him second, third or fifty third chances. As it's a Villa fans forum, thought it might have been reasonably easy to understand we in this context is Aston Villa FC? But obviously not, so my apologies. For the last part, yes, that's all he needs to do now. Airbrush out the last few years -particularly last season when he disgraced himself as club captain. He's trying ( not succeeding, as he's still overweight) to do the minimum now expected of any professional footballer so park the rest. We are not a rehabilitation centre for disinterested or doomed footballers. Our status might have taken a battering these past few years (helped in no small part by the likes of Gabby) but we should be holding the club to a higher standard than that. It is still a big deal to play for Aston Villa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tismyk Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 8 hours ago, Richard said: I would rather he tried others at the club rather than Agbonlahor. Others may well develop into better players, Agbonlahor wont Cant get any worse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAMAICAN-VILLAN Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 (edited) 1 hour ago, HolteExile said: Well I am not personally dishing out contract extensions to Gabby, or giving him second, third or fifty third chances. As it's a Villa fans forum, thought it might have been reasonably easy to understand we in this context is Aston Villa FC? But obviously not, so my apologies. For the last part, yes, that's all he needs to do now. Airbrush out the last few years -particularly last season when he disgraced himself as club captain. He's trying ( not succeeding, as he's still overweight) to do the minimum now expected of any professional footballer so park the rest. We are not a rehabilitation centre for disinterested or doomed footballers. Our status might have taken a battering these past few years (helped in no small part by the likes of Gabby) but we should be holding the club to a higher standard than that. It is still a big deal to play for Aston Villa. YAWN - The manager seems to think he is succeeding, has lost 6 kilos etc. Either way, what pointless crappy roundabout arguments. Edited November 25, 2016 by JAMAICAN-VILLAN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAMAICAN-VILLAN Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 (edited) http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/aston-villa-boss-steve-bruce-12232911? Quote Aston Villa boss Steve Bruce: Gabby Agbonlahor has had six months off! Villa boss explains how Brummie striker is determined to make up for lost time teve Bruce has revealed that Gabby Agbonlahor has been undergoing a regime much more gruelling than the usual pre-season workouts. Agbonlahor wasn't in favour under previous manager Roberto Di Matteo and hadn't played competitive football for almost half a year before Bruce took control of the managerial reins. And Bruce explained that Agbonlahor’s extracurricular fitness activities have been similar to what a player would undergo after sustaining a long injury. “Footballers now have six weeks off in the summer - they’ve played 60 games probably - then we have six weeks to get them prepared again,” he said. “In that six weeks you’ll have six or seven games to put some physical work into them to get them ready for the start of the season. “That’s just for six weeks off! It’s fair to say that Gabby has had six months off, so it’s like an injured player and how difficult it is when you’re coming back from a serious injury. “You’ve got to have some sort of regime and that’s where the sports science of today comes into the equation. “We’ve got an army full of them. Masseurs, sports scientists, physiotherapists, and doctors - there’s a whole lot of them.” Bruce, once again, reiterated his belief that Agbonlahor deserves his chance to make amends. He said: “He’s a Villa boy, he’s been here since he was a boy. He played for England, he’s a very good player. It’s up to me to get the best out of him and turn him around a little bit. I’m very pleased. “I just thought he deserved to be (in the team) after the performance the week before. We knew he’d only play for 60 or 70 minutes, but the workload he’s put in is huge. Fair play to him.” No but Bruce he just proved how shite he is, look at how he performed last week after 6 months out. None of this common sense not played for a long time need to get up to speed rust like any other player bollox. Just ludicrous, seriously having doubts about Bruce now... Edited November 25, 2016 by JAMAICAN-VILLAN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest av1 Posted November 26, 2016 Share Posted November 26, 2016 Beached whale Steve Bruce has revealed the depths Gabby Agbonlahor has gone to in order to get himself back into shape. Aston Villa’s once-maligned forward has shed more than a stone in weight since Bruce took charge six weeks ago. His fitness regime has been taken to new lengths recently, with Agbonlahor taking a dip in the club’s Bodymoor Heath swimming pool. And by the sounds of it, former captain Agbonlahor will be needing the armbands for some time yet. Bruce joked: “He’s even started swimming, would you believe? He’s not very fond of it, but he’s trying. It’s not a very pleasant sight when he’s in the swimming pool I have to tell you, but he’s trying like a beast! “I had to come out because it was that embarrassing. I had to throw him a floater.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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