Aston Villa Banter Archive December 27 2017

27 Dec 2017 23:21:49
Well there is split on if Bruce should be sacked or not. Me personally i want him sacked.
I hold my hands up and say I was delighted with his appointment and the signings he made it was aswell. But it hasn't worked out for him or something players. Our chairman has backed him massive with money. Yes we have injuries that's unlucky but we never have looked like challenging wolves at top. Yes they spent money but we spent bloody load last yr. so we can't complain about that.
People say that another upheaval will harm us maybe so but staying in this league will aswell.
I like a fresh up and coming manager who plays attacking footy. We all know names bouncing round so won't go thru all that.
A question to people who still stand by Bruce, if we lose our next to like we did against Brentford will you change your mind?
Because even if we win I still want Bruce out I don't like his style of footy his tactics and playing people out position.

27 Dec 2017 18:02:54
Cheers Daz for the back-up, good points made yourself there fella! seems more on here have their back-up! One more quick point about you lot stamping your feet about brucey, his record at other clubs speaks for itself, but as of this week, we now have the final piece of the backroom puzzle, don't underestimate what steve agnew brings and does as a coach, ask any player who has played in a team with bruce and agnew coaching in unison, show some steel boys and girls, we're not that far away, and none of us knows what brucey can do in the january market yet, let's not go lilly-livered now, keep the faith!
INBRUCEITRUST!

27 Dec 2017 21:25:47
We're having our wobble now, get some players back and fit, get an on loan decent striker, with a bit of luck, ship some of the crap out or on loan at least, get behind the team especially at home and we'll go up, THEN, if Dr Tony agrees with some that Bruce ain't got the chops to be a proper Prem manager, replace him then, not now.

On paper we have the strongest squad in the division, but I can't remember a game where our strongest team has played all at the same time? My only criticism of Bruce is that we should stick to 4-4-2 with 2 proper strikers, let the opposition worry about us and not us about them, home and away

UTV.

28 Dec 2017 11:33:03
On the money Allyp, its like you were channelling churchill fella, just remember to finish the post off next time with'oh yes'! - i don't suppose you've been doing up any houses round our area where a certain Argentinian who is somewhat short in nature and plays in Spain, is going to rent a house till the summertime as he's coming over on loan for about £100 a week do you guvnor? lol!

28 Dec 2017 12:01:34
Lol 82 😂 ain't heard a sniff of anything, only that Snodgrass has completely fell out with West Ham and won't be going back, so might have to do a feature wall or 2 or remote controlled entrance gates that even a Sweaty can open if he joins us permanently.? It's unusually quiet on the rumours front

UTV.

27 Dec 2017 17:31:00
I would love to think that Dr T has read the posts on this site since the start of the season. He would have read extremist views like mine, whilst consistent would probably be in the minority. He would have read the balanced and positive comments of ChrisAVFC and Flackie and many others who would have agreed that managers should be given time. If he reads all of today's posts he will see that these optimistic contributers have lost patience and hope for change sooner rather than later. Tony if you read this realise that now is the time for change, most of your loyal following are telling you so.

27 Dec 2017 20:01:38
Give him Middlesbrough, win or bust.

27 Dec 2017 20:15:50
Decisive enough for me agreed.

27 Dec 2017 14:23:49
Got my crash helmet on and body armour on so I'm ready for war for this post. Last night was not a good performance by any stretch of the imagination in fact the last 3 have been woeful the fact of the matter is we have injuries that no other team have in this league I think you can all say hand on heart that before all of these we was going along rather nicely for the majority of you to call for his head after these games is not only embarrassing but stupid aswell we have all made mistakes in life those who live by the sword shall die by the sword you get the sketch we have had 5 years of embarrassment and now because we are having a bad run you want heads well be it on your own heads if the dr swings his sword because I will tell you something for nothing another whole new management team will unsettle everything that has been done over this last year we are a average team now but in my humble opinion we will go up this season #INBRUCEITRUST.

27 Dec 2017 14:56:57
Good post villadaz as you rightly say a full management reshuffle would be so bad, for the players and the club and then in return the fans. Icouldnt agree more the fans should be careful what they wish for. Last night was pretty woeful but this team will bounce back. We desperately need a striker but where from and how, with no funds. Got my armour on as well mate.

27 Dec 2017 15:53:21
can fully see what your saying as said exact same thing on facebook last night. we have had some of the worst luck going at the minute with injury's, i reckon we could almost put out a decent starting 11 with the ones we had, but think if we don't win both the next games he won't be in charge coming the peterborough game.

27 Dec 2017 16:29:24
We have a striker that has to search for the ball.
Hogan was ok before we bought him, what has changed?
He seldom gets a ball to chase, he plays a different role from when he was a Brentford.
Why do managers buy a player who plays a specific role then play him differently? It's like buying a pair of brown shoes when you wanted black shoes. You can wear them but they look stupid.
I have questioned Bruce's ability to change styles in the past but he is set in his ways. If he stays as is then we may struggle some more. Other teams have worked him out and are willing to contain and then break.
Was Hourihane injured, Lansbury injured?
Very few people will want an alternative manager but someone has to give the players a kick up the ar. e.
OK JT is out but a good manager would have got repplacements waiting. We have Samba and Elphick, WOW.
WE Can't buy anyone but we can loan players, please no more pensioners for f. sake.
If Bruce cannot find out what we need then he must go.
Bright spot?
If we fail to get promoted then we sAve £2m from JT bonus.
Now that I don't think JT is willing to give up his bonus. Do you?

27 Dec 2017 16:39:40
I can see what your saying completely and I agree to a certain extent, if we had Kodjia fit we wouldn’t be in this position, same with terry. However:
1) Bruce consistently plays Whelan no matter how many awful games he has or goals he costs us.
2) Bruce chose to play Jedinak at the back against derby despite having Elphic fit.
3) After watching Jedinak struggle against Derby he continued to play him against Sheffield which ultimately cost us the two goals.
4) Rather than have someone like O’hare (who I don’t think is the saviour like some) on the bench he will have Ritchie de Laet and Hutton, both right backs?
5) We consistently hoof it (to no one 90% of the time) when the keeper has the ball even when there is no pressure, that has to be something Johnstone is told to do! It happens too regularly not to be.
6) He seems to pick his favourites, Snodgrass has had woeful games where he looks uninterested and bored yet he still got picked the following game.

There are so many baffling things he is doing, and the facts are we struggle against anyone in and around us. Injuries haven’t helped and had Terry been playing vs Sheffield United we win that game, however we can’t blame injuries for some of the decisions he is making.

27 Dec 2017 07:44:16
We were awful yesterday and have been against 90% of teams anywhere near the top 6, however some of the claims being made (on here aswell) are just silly. Say what you see, point out the flaws, don't just make things up for something to say, there's already enough wrong with them.

27 Dec 2017 10:08:17
I say what I see and I can see the flaws in our team,
Shame that Bruce thinks otherwise!
Most fans can see what's needed hut nothing changes which depresses me more
Well pulis is waiting for us on Saturday and we all know how he sets teams up and Bruce needs to work out how to combat him,
Forgot Bruce don't do tactics?

27 Dec 2017 10:58:38
What’s being made up chrisavfc?

27 Dec 2017 11:06:38
I also say it as I see it, not through claret and blue eyes, I did that when I was in my early teens.
I honestly feel we can kiss promotion goodbye again, never at anytime did we look like winning the game against Bradford.
We have seen all the opposition now and every team with the exception of Burton do the simple things and the important things better than we do.
We have no Passing ability, no vision, lack of quality, poor movement, void of direction, and shooting ability is shocking.
There will be the fans saying I am moaning amongst other things, but I am stating facts and saying it as it is, we are nothing more than a very mediocre championship side, and at the moment I hate to say we appear to be going nowhere.
I will say it again, we have several young players available for selection who would improve our capabilities considerably, they would also be more pleasing to the eye and just maybe surprise a few sides with their vibrancy and enthusiasm.
Where is plan B Mr Bruce, the pedestrian plan A is not failing, “it has failed”.
I await the excuses for our current trend.

27 Dec 2017 11:31:21
Bradford?!

27 Dec 2017 11:42:11
Well done Dave, they are facts and everything you’ve wrote can be seen week in week out. Like you said “no movement” yet people are writing about how they feel sorry for the strikers because they never get the ball played through to them, to get that sort of pass you have to make a run, you have to make some space for yourself. I’ve watched hogan for 120 minutes over the last two games and he is shocking, he might have made good runs when he first came but he does the square root of nothing anymore, so how can you feel sorry for him?! Read stuff about how Snodgrass is always at a decent level, the guy don’t even run, barely breaks a sweat, hit every free kick he’s taken for us at the wall, walks around like the top man when really he’s another one holding us back. Bruce did well to get us play offs losing key men for extended periods but now we’ve gone 5 without a win is it? And it seems like we have these periods far to regular and it will cost us. He needs a win against Middlesbrough and then he needs us back in the top six by middle of January or it could and should be game over for him.

27 Dec 2017 11:44:25
Sadly, and it goes against every bone in my body to say this. but I agree.
Last two/ three performances have been second class. It’s not the result, although they should be better, it’s the manner of the results. No urgency, no real killer threat, our football is obvious, and easily worked out.
We have passengers in a team that can’t carry anyone.
We have players playing, because our manager likes them, rather than them being the best in that position.
We players off form, still getting in the team.
We make like for like substitutes, rather than making a change to change the game.
The formation we play, is antiquated, and painful to watch.
We don’t play to our players strengths, and then play these players out of position.
Worse of all, we are now conceding goals that are from our own making. This says that the small belief the players had has now gone.
This needs addressing sooner rather than later, if acting on now, we could still salvage something.
If we don’t, and sadly let the dinosaur continue we will continue to sink. next year we will be fighting for top half, if not relegation.

27 Dec 2017 11:51:11
Ok well spotted Flackie, a silly mistake, Brentford.
The remarks and observations are still the same mate.

27 Dec 2017 11:55:55
I agree, post above was meant to follow!

27 Dec 2017 12:23:02
Chris, he got in amongst their backfour once last night and put the ball in the net, yes it was not allowed but with ammunition he will score, in most decent footballing sides he would score goals.
He also got behind the defence and supplied the cross for our goal.
He needs a target man up front with him and better service from midfield.

27 Dec 2017 12:39:57
Worth pointing out if we played Bradford they would probably beat us aswell.

27 Dec 2017 12:42:38
Lol 😂.

27 Dec 2017 12:46:10
Bruce likes his experienced players he has brought in but these are the players who are making all the big game changing mistakes!
Whelan keeps on making errors with piss poor passing,
Snodgrass is vastly overaged,
Jedi who I like as a footballer legs are gone like Whelan,
So I ask once again why o'hare or sulaman or Hayes can't get a look in from bench,
We have no pace in team and the build up play is snail like,
How many games has Bruce had to improve us?
I don't like seeing managers get the sack but enough is enough now he needs replacing,
Next question who?

27 Dec 2017 12:47:23
Ha ha ha. love it.

27 Dec 2017 13:02:35
What hurts me more to say is that aston villa are the worse footballing team in the championship
Have we really put any team to the sword over 90mins?
10mins here 10 mins there if we are lucky to witness.

27 Dec 2017 13:51:13
How can people still defend Hogan. We had a large spell on top and whenever somebody tried to play that killer pass he had moved from that great position to hiding behind 3 defenders. 75%+ of balls that didn't reach him were due to his positioning or being stuck on his heels. He tries hard but doesn't provide much else. There wasn't a lack of service from what I saw and hasn't been in other games I've seen either.

27 Dec 2017 14:39:16
When he first came I’d have agreed with you Dave, he was making runs all the time and was so positive and active, but watching him not it just seems like all those runs not being found and constantly being used as a target man has just destroy his confidence, against Sheff United, he would go to make a run, then it looked like he quickly realised “these idiots aren’t going to pass it” so then he’d try move back to get it into feet and end up in no mans land and we’d lose the ball. I would like to see him up top for a good 4/ 5 games with Davis but Bruce is so scared of losing he won’t sacrifice 3rd man in the middle, and if we go two up top grealish won’t be played, not in a number 10 anyway and it seems like he’s the only one who attempts to play to hogans strengths. I for one can see why Bruce hasn’t used the youth players because at times like these when your under pressure it’s just not the done thing throughout football, you use younger players when your cruising, however now it’s getting to serious panic stations and we should see a situation like Davis starting the Norwich game, with O’hare. We are desperate for energy and some positivity going forward! And I hope Whelan isn’t anywhere near the team, working it out we’ve conceded 5 in our last 3 that we’re from individual mistakes, Whelan last night and derby is responsible for 2, he is shocking. Jedinak cost us 2 against Sheff United but he was out of position. Get Jedinak in where Whelan is, Hourihane back in there, 2 up top Davis and Hogan, O’hare on either wing and Adomah if not grealish the other. Playing Elphic last night highlighted just how stupid it was to play Jedinak at centre back, Bruce has to take the blame for stupid decisions like that! It really is time to roll the dice now, I’ll still back him to do a job if we get a win at Middlesbrough, if we don’t, and it’s the same old then you really can’t defend him anymore.

27 Dec 2017 14:43:09
Sorry rknewell have to disagree mate.
He did not get a decent service at all, 75% of what.
He made one and put one in the net, players must look for him, if he moves he will be followed, we need the brains in the side to see and read this.

27 Dec 2017 17:44:49
There were a couple of times he was unmarked in the channel before going missing for no reason. One specifically where jack and josh were knocking it back and forth to create space for the pass. By the time the pass was played by Jack, Hogan had started running into the middle of the 3 central defenders. You could say they took too long for the pass but if he stayed he would still have been in a good position against 1 defender rather than 3 and by moving as late as he did the pass had been played before they could change tact and ball was given away. There were at least another 2-3 times that the ball was played down the side of the defence for him to run onto and he was flat footed or just seriously outpaced. He's not the only player struggling to read the game at the moment but when that's supposed to be his primary strength he loses any credibility as there's nothing to fall back on. I still think we'll make playoffs but at the moment we're relying on a striker who's forgotten how to play and jedi who just looks lost at the moment (position changing doesn't help but he was reading everything far better before his injuries this season)

27 Dec 2017 17:51:24
Agree 100% villadave

Hogan must be pissed off making runs for the fun of it. We just end up hoofing it up to him saying “ there you go Scott make something of it”

We have no one in the middle of the park who can pick a pass or see the run.

When he was at Brentford he had woods and The ex Chelsea lad supplying him every game. Now he has Jedinak and Whelan who can’t pass wind.

27 Dec 2017 19:59:51
This is what I mean by making up faults, there’s enough to highlight we don’t have to fabricate them, we all watched the game he wasn’t “making runs for fun”.