Re: Bruce stays or Bruce goes. All in here thread.

[deadbuzzardalive]

Wolves apparently in talks with Nuno Espírito Santo, whose just left Porto; the Championship is moving on as a league; I just hope Bruce is going to move on tactically as well, he's said that we haven't gone to China for pre-season, so he can work on new ideas with the squad, so hopefully he's going to at least try.

[NARLA24]

Wolves apparently in talks with Nuno Espírito Santo, whose just left Porto; the Championship is moving on as a league; I just hope Bruce is going to move on tactically as well, he's said that we haven't gone to China for pre-season, so he can work on new ideas with the squad, so hopefully he's going to at least try.

We are in for much of the same next season i am afraid mate. Like you said the Championship is moving on and , my feelings are, with Bruce in charge it is like having a dinosaur in charge.

[Trotters]

It's a tough one. He's just scraped by with earning a crack at next season. But it's a HUGE gamble for Xia because it's next season or bust, IMHO. And I can't help but think if we do go up, it'll be despite Bruce, not because of him.

With the money spent, the players in, the facilities available and a full pre-season to get things right, you'd have to be a proper muppet to fuck it up. Right?

[Dazzle]

It's a tough one. He's just scraped by with earning a crack at next season. But it's a HUGE gamble for Xia because it's next season or bust, IMHO. And I can't help but think if we do go up, it'll be despite Bruce, not because of him.

With the money spent, the players in, the facilities available and a full pre-season to get things right, you'd have to be a proper muppet to fuck it up. Right?

Xia and Wyness have to be completely cut throat from this point. Bruce should have a maximum of 6-8 league games at the start of next season, if we aren't right in there with the front runners after 8 games then Bruce has to be moved along and we must have an alternative ready to parachute in straight away.
I agree with trotts that it's shit or bust next season.

[AstonThriller]

We are in for much of the same next season i am afraid mate. Like you said the Championship is moving on and , my feelings are, with Bruce in charge it is like having a dinosaur in charge.

Yeah, the league is moving on, summed up by five of the top six clubs having foreign managers coaching them. I guess the one thing that could give us hope is Brighton. Much like Bruce Hughton knew the league inside out and built his team around a core group of experienced British players. Last season was very disappointing for various reasons but we must remember that in the last fourteen games we won eight, drew two and lost four. Despite how painful the displays were to watch at times, that's championship form.

IF we bring in some extra quality and get off to a flyer, I still believe we'll be too strong for most teams in the division and we will be promoted whether we have Bruce or not. Personally, I think the first six to eight games are vital for old Brucey. IF he doesn't impress I don't see the board hanging around, I think they'll make the change quicker this time.

[FoxyAV]

The problem we have is if we do get promoted who is going to come in to manage, as I doubt Bruce would cut it in the PL. Yet another new manager, yet more new players, yet a different approach and tactic(s).

[achilles]

Agree with @NARLA24 can't see Bruce changing at all but we will be up there as the squad's potential is awesome, whether that is good enough to get us promoted I really don't think so because of Bruce but I hope that I am wrong!

What I really don't want to see happening is us changing managers in mid season!
It really hasn't worked so far with Villa and Villa just end up scrabbling around for any available manager.
If the manager is deemed good enough by the board, to have a pre-season, transfers and start the season he should have the backing of the board for the whole season to get the job done!

To be honest Bruce must realise that he has only this season to get it right, it is glory or bust, definitely a defining moment in Bruce's future career!

[deadbuzzardalive]

If we're struggling and serving up the same football as last season then he will have to go, before a promotion charge becomes insurmountable. Really hope it doesn't come to that though.

For Bruce to succeed next season I think his best bet with his limited tactical knowledge (by his own admission) would be to just go straight 442 or a slight variation on it, and put as much pace in the team as possible, and just be go for it.

[Guest]

Maybe he will surprise you all and serve up fantastic football.

[DelboyVilla]

Maybe he will surprise you all and serve up fantastic football.

There is more chance of you buying me a beer!!!!

[DelboyVilla]

If we're struggling and serving up the same football as last season then he will have to go, before a promotion charge becomes insurmountable. Really hope it doesn't come to that though.

For Bruce to succeed next season I think his best bet with his limited tactical knowledge (by his own admission) would be to just go straight 442 or a slight variation on it, and put as much pace in the team as possible, and just be go for it.

We left it 11 games last season which comes up quickly in the Championship and ended with a lost season and limping to mid-table with the best squad in the league playing some of the most awful football I have seen?

Unless we change him now I can guarantee another miserable season and no promotion and a lost season again!

[FoxyAV]

I'm all for stability and continuity but from what I've seen of Bruce he's not the person to do it for us. We didn't win any matches this season with a big margin and I'd say almost all of the wins were of the butt clenching type where we didn't control matches for any length of time and never looked in control. It was plainly obvious Kodjia worked up front on his own, so playing Hogan knocked his confidence and wasted a position. Players were played out of position, Bruce didn't learn from mistakes, adapt or use his substitutes. We've come into the league with some good players, a hell of a lot of money, an owner willing to commit to the club and bloody good support and one or more people are screwing it all up by sending out 11 individuals instead of a functioning team. If it's not the manager then why isn't he or someone else doing something about it? Maybe it's a simplistic view of what's going on, but we now have some good players plus some of the best Championship players cherrypicked from the opposition. I don't think Bruce has done enough to risk fucking up the next season. As Steve Clarke (remember him?) said after the Huddersfield/Reading match yesterday, Huddersfield aren't a big club with big name players but they do play as a team, and that's why they're where they are now.

[deadbuzzardalive]

If we're struggling and serving up the same football as last season then he will have to go, before a promotion charge becomes insurmountable. Really hope it doesn't come to that though.

For Bruce to succeed next season I think his best bet with his limited tactical knowledge (by his own admission) would be to just go straight 442 or a slight variation on it, and put as much pace in the team as possible, and just be go for it.

We left it 11 games last season which comes up quickly in the Championship and ended with a lost season and limping to mid-table with the best squad in the league playing some of the most awful football I have seen?

Unless we change him now I can guarantee another miserable season and no promotion and a lost season again!

We aren't going to change now, just have to hope that club act swiftly if we get off to a bad start. I see Seerdorf has said today, that he'd like a job in the Championship or the Premier league.

[deadbuzzardalive]

Xia putting the pressure on, by agreeing with Dwight Yorke that the Championship is easy, and that there's no hiding place. He's getting a lot of stick for it, and I see where people are coming from to a degree, but I think he just means we should do well and if not there will be no excuses, which is a good thing, I think.

[Guest]

I cant really believe there is a thread "bruce stays or goes" lets sack him before the season starts in a few weeks and go back to square one AGAIN. great move

[DelboyVilla]

I cant really believe there is a thread "bruce stays or goes" lets sack him before the season starts in a few weeks and go back to square one AGAIN.  great move

Or we stick with Bruce for another season and end up a mid-table team again?

Rock and a hard place isn't it?

[FoxyAV]

I cant really believe there is a thread "bruce stays or goes" lets sack him before the season starts in a few weeks and go back to square one AGAIN.  great move

Thread started in April...

[Guest]

I cant really believe there is a thread "bruce stays or goes" lets sack him before the season starts in a few weeks and go back to square one AGAIN.  great move

Or we stick with Bruce for another season and end up a mid-table team again?

Rock and a hard place isn't it?

the amount of restructuring and changes within the club were massive, anyone who thought we were going to go up is radio rental. I will have a bet with amyone now we will be promoted this season.

[deadbuzzardalive]

I don't think there are many who wanted Bruce replaced because we didn't get promoted last season, it's more the fact that we didn't make a better go of it than we did; finishing eighteen points off the play-offs and thirty-one off automatic, with only sha, Wigan and Rotherham scoring fewer goals, that and the fact that there wasn't much in the way of promising signs in the way Bruce had us playing either, only backs to the wall stuff, and playing it long to Kodjia in the hope that he'd do something.

One good sign is that towards the end of the season, our win percentage was pretty good I think, but maybe some would argue that that was because we were reaching the end of the season and teams had nothing to play for.

I really hope Bruce can get it right though, as changing managers mid-season won't be ideal, and I think the club would just take what would be seen as a safe option at that stage, and appoint someone likey Moyes, which for me would just see the club going around in circles.

[Leafs1201]

Get this man out of our club ASAP, it's plain to see that his style of play is gonna be boring and tedious once again, we have the best squad in the Championship and once again it's looking like he can't get us playing, in reality this club needs to get promoted this season as otherwise we will fall far too behind mediocre Premier League clubs like Watford/Swansea/Bournemouth etc, will we get promoted with this man in charge though, will we hell.

[AstonThriller]

How could someone be so oblivious to the obvious fact that we need to score more goals and have more creativity in the side? It's shocking imo. His fanclub raved about giving him "a pre-season" but what has it garnered? Nothing but more mediocrity. Friendly or no friendly, it would give us hope if we saw some sort of plan in the tactics department and a more progressive style of play.But the plan already seems to be set in ice. "Let's rely on Kodjia again", that's all it is and it will hopefully get him the sack early this season.

[deadbuzzardalive]

If things haven't improved by the end of August, I really hope the club will be ruthless; trouble is, if we scrape a few wins here and there and find ourselves say two wins from the play-offs, it will probably be enough for him to keep his job, and by the time Xia realises what needs to be done it will be too late.

Obviously it would be so much better if Bruce gets it right and we get off to a flying start and don't look back all season

[Guest]

Dean Smith still doing well?

[deadbuzzardalive]

Considering that I don't think that Wyness or Round would be brave enough to try a manager who has no experience of English football, espeically part way into the season, then I think someone like Dean Smith is probably the best we can hope for if we want any kind of progressive manager.

He'd be better for the club than someone like Moyes

I think Terry will be a strong voice at the club, so wouldn't be surprised if the next manager is someone known to him, with Terry possibly taking on a coaching role.

Still got to hope that Bruce gets it right, my confidence in that happening though is almost zero.

[andrew24561]

Now I'm no Steve Bruce fan, but I do know that changing managers every season is not the way forward. Since MON left we have had 7 managers and 2 caretaker managers in the last decade, we need some continuity, but I doubt that we'll get it.

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