Scott Hogan - what's going on and where did it go wrong?

Hogan has been absent for what feels like an eternity, supposedly due to a groin issue. Is there more to this than makes the news? It just doesn't quite add up to me. If he's genuinely being held back because of an injury then I feel for the guy, but I can't help but feel that after what was frankly a disastrous season for the chap the injury could be a smokescreen. He's never seemed to be properly settled since he arrived and I don't understand how he went from top scorer to barely a murmur.

Is he a confidence player and basically has none left? Is he a bit of a diva who has had a long term strop because things haven't gone his way?

When you watch a video like this, he certainly looks capable and got the trophy to prove it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1yaZ_QTESI

But why have we never seen this Hogan? Is it purely down to Bruce's brand of football?

Yes, in a nutshell. I don't know if he ended the season doing it or had given up but I always thought his positional play was great, always ducking behind defenders and making really nice runs into space. In one of his last matches last season Grealish spotted a run and Hogan crossed in the ball from the byline - that's how I suspect he works. Most of the time though he was failing to get anywhere near to hoofball (he's 5'9" or 5'10") and spent his time running at the goalie whenever he had the ball.

For me there's an excellent player in there and I read somewhere Bruce was the one who bought him (as opposed to him being set up to arrive before Bruce arrived) so why if all we're going to do is play the way we do did Bruce not buy someone 6'+ and capable of holding up the ball?

Am I remembering this wrong or didn't he play at Brentford with a strike partner in a 4-4-2?

I'm hoping he's still here when Bruce goes because it's either that or we sell him at a fraction of his value and I reckon he could be brilliant for us with the attacking players we have.

Having just watched that video of his Brentford goals it's pretty clear the stuff he does (and the balls mostly played through to him on the ground and into space he's running into) aren't what Bruce wants us to be doing. Saying that I suspect Grealish and McGinn are his best hopes.

some players cant handle the pressure of a big club ,AV are,,

I think he could thrive with Bolassie & El Gazi on board whipping in the crosses

I just looked again at that compilation of Brentford goals, what the hell is he doing wasting his time at Villa.

Hogan's back and not been loaned out, this is excellent news. He's still no target man but if he's patient this could be his season for us. I genuinely think he's the best player we've not yet seen played to his abilities.

villajk wrote:some players cant handle the pressure of a big club ,AV are,,

Bruce has put this about so much that people are actually starting to believe it.
To me it is just another excuse to cover up his signings if they don't work out.
It is all about giving the players confidence to go out and embrace the occasion and honour of playing for Aston Villa!

The bottom line is stop knocking the players that you have signed and start building them up and playing to their strengths.

FoxyAV wrote:Hogan's back and not been loaned out, this is excellent news. He's still no target man but if he's patient this could be his season for us. I genuinely think he's the best player we've not yet seen played to his abilities.

There has been a bit of speculation about Bruce trying a 4-4-2 with Kodj and Tammy up front, maybe if Bruce does get two up front into his thick fucking skull and it proves to work we could start to see more of Hogan playing with a partner rather than being isolated on his own, which I think would be a good thing for him.

At this point, he's going to need a partner to work with to get him back to strength and confidence. Just imagine for a second a world where we've got a choice of Kodjia, Abraham and Hogan firing on all cylinders.

achilles wrote:

villajk wrote:some players cant handle the pressure of a big club ,AV are,,

Bruce has put this about so much that people are actually starting to believe it.
To me it is just another excuse to cover up his signings if they don't work out.
It is all about giving the players confidence to go out and embrace the occasion and honour of playing for Aston Villa!

The bottom line is stop knocking the players that you have signed and start building them up and playing to their strengths.

Agreed.

VTID85 wrote:

FoxyAV wrote:Hogan's back and not been loaned out, this is excellent news. He's still no target man but if he's patient this could be his season for us. I genuinely think he's the best player we've not yet seen played to his abilities.

There has been a bit of speculation about Bruce trying a 4-4-2 with Kodj and Tammy up front, maybe if Bruce does get two up front into his thick fucking skull and it proves to work we could start to see more of Hogan playing with a partner rather than being isolated on his own, which I think would be a good thing for him.

At this point, he's going to need a partner to work with to get him back to strength and confidence. Just imagine for a second a world where we've got a choice of Kodjia, Abraham and Hogan firing on all cylinders.

A 4-4-2 would be great but the idea of Whelan on the pitch fills me with dread. At least in a 4-5-1 he has someone there to cover him. What would Bruce do about McGinn and Grealish though, leave one out?

I can't see him doing it.

The only way I see two up front is us playing with 3 at the back.

Dazzle wrote:The only way I see two up front is us playing with 3 at the back.

This is Steve Bruce, it will be a 5-3-2.

FoxyAV wrote:

Dazzle wrote:The only way I see two up front is us playing with 3 at the back.

This is Steve Bruce, it will be a 5-3-2.

How does he fit in his 3 right backs?

DelboyVilla wrote:

FoxyAV wrote:

Dazzle wrote:The only way I see two up front is us playing with 3 at the back.

This is Steve Bruce, it will be a 5-3-2.

How does he fit in his 3 right backs?

This is easy. De Laet is our best RB so obviously he's in the reserves now with Hourihane, Hogan, Adomah and so on. Hutton plays on the left, Bree at CB and, oh, I just realised Elmohamedy is actually a winger who was played out of position all last season at RB, and anyway we can't have a RB actually at RB because we need to play a CB there.

My head hurts. Has Bruce gone yet?

If Bruce set up a chess board he'd put the knights in the corners, the rooks down the middle and both bishops on the same colour......

Yes we have Axel, he can play RB or maybe back up winger to Elmo?

It is going to be so easy for the new manager to look good and get us playing football and winning games? I must be like following Jedward on to the stage? Even with the smallest amount of talent you will look like a footballing genius compared to Potato Head!

When talking about players out of position people always forget about Bjarnason. Before he came to us he'd never played as 'defensive midfielder', and was seen as very good attacking one, I think he averaged something like a goal every four games. But because he happens to be combative, Bruce plays him as a DM.

It's hard to judge Hogan because of injuries and not being suited Bruce's style of football, and also being use wrongly in that set-up. Hepburn-Murphy is in the same position.

Bjarnason works well as a DM and still scores goals (that Wolves one...). It's the ones that don't work in the wrong position that get played again and again and again. As bad as the ones in the correct position being used the wrong way like Hogan.

I think it's less that he does a good job as a DM as such, and more that in the championship you don't really need to play with an out and out defensive midfielder every game, which is for me why we should be looking for a way to play McGinn, Hourihane and Grealish as our central three. At Barnsley Hourihane played in a two man midfield, and did a lot of defensive work for them, and McGinn is another who can get up and down and do his share of defensive work.

They have to learn to play Potato Heads way!

Hoof Pin Ball!!!!

Hogan should concentrate on growing a few inches in height! He needs to fit the system!

DelboyVilla wrote:They have to learn to play Potato Heads way!

Hoof Pin Ball!!!!

Hogan should concentrate on growing a few inches in height! He needs to fit the system!

Can you get platform football boots?

FoxyAV wrote:

DelboyVilla wrote:They have to learn to play Potato Heads way!

Hoof Pin Ball!!!!

Hogan should concentrate on growing a few inches in height! He needs to fit the system!

Can you get platform football boots?

Even if you could Bruce would accuse him of not pulling them on.

De Kuip wrote:

FoxyAV wrote:

DelboyVilla wrote:They have to learn to play Potato Heads way!

Hoof Pin Ball!!!!

Hogan should concentrate on growing a few inches in height! He needs to fit the system!

Can you get platform football boots?

Even if you could Bruce would accuse him of not pulling them on.

Ha ha!

FoxyAV wrote:

DelboyVilla wrote:They have to learn to play Potato Heads way!

Hoof Pin Ball!!!!

Hogan should concentrate on growing a few inches in height! He needs to fit the system!

Can you get platform football boots?

Saw some of the Watford v Spurs game yesterday and they showed Elton John in the crowd, I bet he has a pair from the 70's?