Villarocker

League games?

If Xia allows him a run of 11 games with 11 points, or close to it, after having 3/4 of last season, two transfer windows AND a pre-season, quite simply he needs to start taking the flak too. Surely you can't go from giving RDM 11 games to giving the new manager the same but, after 3/4 of a season and two transfer windows? He might just as well have kept RDM!

I've read the thoughts of those who went to the game and they seem to back up what Bruce says about chances created. However, I also saw more than one report where Johnstone was made MOTM so that would suggest 'Boro could have knicked it too. Overall, it's just not good enough, is it? 7 points from 7 games is rubbish given the money spent on this squad for this level. Surely there are managers out there who can get more from this bunch of players. I said at the start of the season that he would get 8 (league) games and I think his next will be his last.

Or, maybe necessary if the player is unhappy with the manager and thinks another game without winning will see the axe fall?

Don't know about anyone else but Deisler posting this makes me optimistic of a new manager being in charge very shortly. A very good post, especially the part about the assistants being unable to train players very well!

Agreed now is the time to get rid and get Dean Smith in. He had Brentford, Brentford FFS, around the play offs last season until they sold their top two scorers in Winnall and Hogan. He brought Jota back from on-loan and he bagged 12 in 23 for them. He's since sold him and two other regulars to the scum and still managed to out-play is at Villa Park. Smith is performing miracles whilst Bruce is failing to inspire. Surely that must signal wanting signs to the board even if they don't consider Smith as a replacement.

This ^^^^ is so true!

Exactly! The other way to look at it is 1 win in our last 5 league games.

We're playing a team tomorrow that has just been buggered by our local rivals. We need to just go at them and destroy them.

We, according to the general consensus as well as Steve Bruce himself, are 5 points off where we would like to be - in other words two points per game - and so we are now playing catch-up. Therefore, with 4 of the next 6 league games coming at home, and including 3 teams that are below us in the league table, we need to be aiming for at least 14-15 points from those games. That would get us much closer to where we want to be. Anything less than 12 points and we are falling further behind and also losing points from our home fixtures which is where we seem to get our better results. The following 6 fixtures after the above are all, bar 1 against Blues away, against teams currently above us. They also contain 4 away fixtures! That set of games will be tougher but, if we want to get to the top of this league, we need to be aiming to take at least 10-12 points from those fixtures. All-in-all, that's a minimum of 24 points from 36 from the following games: Brentford H, 'Boro H, Barnsley A, Forest H, Burton A, Bolton H, Wolves A, Fulham H, Blues A, Preston A, Sheff Weds H & QPR A. I can see us beating Brentford, Bolton, Sheff Weds at home, plus QPR away.. Can see draws against 'Boro, Forest and Fulham at home. I can see us getting draws at Barnsley, Burton, Blues, Preston and us losing away at Wolves. That's a reasonable 19 points from 36 but possibly not good enough given the start to our season. That would also mean only losing 1 in the next 12 games, which seems a lot to ask for given we have already lost 2 out of the first 5 games. Given the start to our season, personally, I can't see this current Villa team getting as many as those 19 points but would love to be proven wrong.

I know it's only 5 games mate and that's what worries me about him going on about FFP. It is like he's getting his excuses in early. We know about our financial restrictions but, despite them, he has arguably the strongest squad of players in this league to work with so there's really no need to mention the FFP restrictions, unless of course he felt that he needed to buy even more players.

@TRO, For me, one of Bruce's biggest problems is that he seems to have no idea what formation to play or who to play in it. I would like Bruce to find a settled formation with the same, settled eleven starting game in - game out, even if it's league games played Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday. Unless a player is injured, suspended or self-confessed suffering fatigue, just play a settled side and let's have them gel on the pitch when it really matters - match days. Show us a sign that you know what formation you want to play, pick eleven players to suit it and then stick to it. I would also like him to get over FFP restrictions. He brought in three players during the summer that were Premier League players last season. Loads of clubs in our league would have loved to have been lucky enough to do that so he needs to forget about it and get on with getting us out of this shitty league.

Not sure I believe this to be honest mate. Sounds like a load of bollocks!

I think you will fit in perfectly and can expect around 60k per week - welcome to the club! PS: Don't expect to get a game unless you can play right back!

And you wonder why you've been banned!

I keep seeing this thing about having to go up this season but, I am not sure I really buy into that. I mean, does it mean we will be playing Newport County in two years if we don't go up? Who knows what the plans really are? How do we know Xia won't bring some other sponsorship in earlier than planned to fund getting up the season after? I understand the concerns based on the fact we are close to our FFP limit but I doubt it means the end of everything AVFC if we don't. Going back to my original point, I would prefer us to win with a style of football that everyone can see has been thought out and trained into the team. Rather than win ugly and clinging on to the one goal lead for the last half hour of games etc. You say winning breeds confidence and that is fair but, scraping through by one goal with backs-to-the-wall football will not breed as much confidence as playing a team off the park and winning comfortably by 3 or 4 goals.

Can't argue with the stats but I must admit, I didn't notice him in that game either so maybe it's just me ignoring what he does.

But, if he is giving him until the end of September anyway he will have already managed through a quarter of the season. OK, I am not saying that it is beyond the realms of possibility that a new man could come in and still get us promoted but, the chances are pretty unlikely. So, by sticking with him for another 2-3 months we will only be wasting another quarter of a season - not half. People say we should fire him and bring in a new manager, maybe paying compensation for him. Well, paying off Bruce and his cronies, together with paying compensation for another manager and his cronies = £s. Dr Xia says we are close to the red line with regards to FFP so maybe that needs to be taken into consideration when we talk of managerial change too?

Sorry mate but I just don't see that from him. I think it goes unnoticed because he brings nothing to the game. Maybe I'm wrong and would love someone to provide stats to show it because I dread to think we have another dud midfielder on our books.

Xia's tweet about results being all that matters concerns me a little. Yes, winning is everything but it does seem like he is quoting Steve Bruce there. We had a great run of results at one stage last season but the football didn't change and that's why we have pretty much continued in the same overall manner as last season - the football "style" is the same. I'd like us to win every game in September but doing so means nothing if the same boring, sometimes clueless, football continues as eventually, the poor run of results will follow. We need to start winning and doing so by playing more pro active football with a bit of style to it that suggests we have turned a corner and found our way of playing.

True! Better to go up, get more money, and then go down than to stay in this league with nothing in the bank.

If Xia's aim is to give Bruce the whole of September I think that he might as well stick by him beyond that no matter what. I just don't see a new man coming in and getting us promoted having missed the first 9 or 10 games. He would need time to get settled into what his best 11 would be and we would be writing this season off and going again next season. Groundhog day for Villa. No, for me personally, if we give Bruce September then we might just as well go with it and see where we're at come January. If the owner thinks that a change is needed, give the new man a January window to see if he can do some good deals and have the last half of the season to get used to what we have ready for next season.

I was using Snodgrass as a comparison as we have recently signed him. I do think recent form is more important to go by than past history because, going on past history, Gabby may be a better option than Snodgrass too and I think there's no doubting Snodgrass is better than Gabby right now. Some may be bothered that Blues have signed him but I am not. I would have had the same opinion about signing him regardless of whether he stayed at Brentford or signed for Notts County. I am more bothered that we didn't go in for him as, since the end of last season, I have said that he would be a good signing for us as he seemed to be exactly what we need, or so I thought.

The same could happen with any signing. We could get a player nobody wants and he could be a world beater. Besides, Hogan could go on to have a similar scoring record for Villa so your point could yet be proved irrelevant. Stevo asked for evidence to show Jota was worthy of buying and I gave an example of that.

Jota scored 12 in 23 for Brentford from Jan 1st whereas Snodgrass scored 0 in 15 for West Ham. Time will tell but, for me, Blues did the best business in terms of the two above players.