Match Thread - Bristol City v Villa Fri 28th Sept 7.45pm

[big ming]

Hopefully the last rites for Bruce. A proper team will always win out over a collection of talented individuals.
I predict a 2-0 defeat which I will take on the chin, if it produces the desired sacking of Bruce and his coaching team and ushers in a new era of progressive management and coaching. If he fiddles an uninspiring draw/fluke win, I will probably slash my wrists at the prospect of him of him surviving a while longer and further damaging the club I love.

[deadbuzzardalive]

I predict they will beat us, and Bruce will still be in charge when we play Preston a couple of days later.

[FoxyAV]

Andreas Weimann and Nathan Baker out for some revenge methinks.

[DelboyVilla]

I predict they will beat us, and Bruce will still be in charge when we play Preston a couple of days later.

This.

As we are never that lucky!

[Saunders82]

With the squad we have you never know what is going to happen, also Weiman & Baker and Kodjia & Abraham give the added X factor on this one, and whether we get rid of Bruce because of it, I just want to win & get back up the league & into contention again. Let Sawaris & Edens sort out the manager situation, I'm sure they know how dire things on the pitch are.

[VillaBill]

Bristol will be right up for it, their season unfolded after the 5-0 at Villa Park on New Year’s Day , shortly followed by their league cup run to the semis , difficult place to go

[Dazzle]

We’ll be on the end of a 3-1 defeat. Bruce’s luck of picking up a win when he desperately needs it ends. He gets sacked and blames the fans. We don’t give a fuck. Next chapter. UTV

[VTID85]

Much as I just want to see us win this despite Bruce - and would never bet, hope or wish against the Villa - it would come as no great surprise if this is his last game in charge.

[deadbuzzardalive]

If we lose to Bristol City, I think he'll still get the Preston game, and I think he'll get the win that he needs from that one to keep his job for another three or four games... Another possibility is us drawing the next two games, that wouldn't surprise, and would also keep Bruce in a job, despite not being much use to us.

The earliest I can see him going is in the next international break, by which time we've hopefully got a Technical Director in place, who will presumably be playing a big part in choosing the new manager.

[deadbuzzardalive]

Aside from all the Bruce talk and him leaving if we lose, we could actually do with three points tomorrow, otherwise the gap between ourselves and top two, is just going to get bigger and bigger, as will the gap to the play-offs... We need to just stop messing about, and get out of this league, and I'd gladly take a win tomorrow and again on Tuesday to help towards that.

[big ming]

Aside from all the Bruce talk and him leaving if we lose, we could actually do with three points tomorrow, otherwise the gap between ourselves and top two, is just going to get bigger and bigger, as will the gap to the play-offs... We need to just stop messing about, and get out of this league, and I'd gladly take a win tomorrow and again on Tuesday to help towards that.

The triumph of hope over experience.
Reality is that we stumble from mini winning run to shocking defeat/poor performance/mini losing run. Then wash/rinse and repeat.
We are not going to get auto promotion if we stick with Bruce. We are probably not going to the play-off's and, if we did, we are going to lose.
It's a pity we cannot take any points deduction from FFP this season, change the management and have a real tilt at it next year.

[deadbuzzardalive]

Well if you said to me that defeat tomorrow would guarantee Bruce's departure, then I'd gladly take it, but I've thought that for a number of games now, and he's still here, there as to come a time when we have to start winning games. As whatever happens I can't see him leaving just yet, not at least until we've appointed the Technical Director.

[achilles]

Just want us to start winning games with some conviction especially with the players we have but Bruce will make sure that doesn't happen so I am getting very despondent. Perhaps we might have to wait for the next international break for Bruce to go (plus his 'coaching' muppets) for a smile to return to Aston Villa!

Think we could easily lose tonight.

[De Kuip]

I think we'll lose tonight but I'd love a win just to shove it right down the throat of that fucking Essex dwarf of a manager of theirs.

[big ming]

Just seen the team news. I don't know what he is trying to do. I don't think he knows what he is trying to do, other than save his job.
I'm not going to bother watching. Please wake me when the nightmare is over and he has gone.

[achilles]

[achilles]

Haven't got a clue how that is going to work, more hope and pray!

[FoxyAV]

No wingers, but three really good ones on the bench? If I spend £10 on this can I justifiably claim it back if we get thrashed? Weimann for a brace, I reckon. He's going to destroy Jedinak.

[Fpuppys]

Looks like a 4-4-2 with 5 players out of position, CB playing RB, RB playing LB, DM playing CB from what I can see, not sure about the wingers but the true wingers are both on the bench.

[deadbuzzardalive]

How an earth can we see sign El Ghazi and Bolasie and not even play them, Bolasie I can understand to an extent because of his fitness, but just play Adomah there instead, no point in putting Grealish on the wing, when he was one of the best players in the division last season as a central midfielder, so much so that a Premier league team bid £25m for him... Worst thing is I can see Bruce scraping a draw with this formation, and then doing the same on Tuesday, all he cares about at the moment is avoiding defeats, because he know's his job is on the line.

[deadbuzzardalive]

Spoke too soon, won't even be a draw now, still I think people are going to be in for a dissapointment if they think this will mean the end of Bruce.

[big ming]

Another shambles.

[achilles]

Yes, just more of the same incomprehension rubbish!

[Fpuppys]

Win lose or draw, I've had enough of this shit, even the team can't make head or tails of what Bruce wants from them.

[big ming]

They obviously had a raffle on the team coach to see who would play and these are the losers.

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