brummie

Yes and no. Five defeats on the bounce, 18 defeats since start of year, more than any other PL club, things clearly getting worse. Just before the international break. Good timing. I wouldn't be too upset if we ended up getting Howe. What worries me most is some boneheaded appointment like Gerrard or Terry.

Yes, basically, Dean can't do it without Grealish. That's what it boils down to. John Percy in the Telegraph, who is basically Christian Purslow's (CEO) mouthpiece and literally never wrong on Villa stuff has said tonight he's in big trouble. I hope we don't replace him with another 'project' manager, though, a Gerrard style appointment.

Ha ha, very good!

Pretty sure Dean Smith is going to get the bullet. Five defeats on the bounce, 18 defeats in 2021. Unsurvivable.

I saw this elsewhere this morning. It is Stewart Downing talking about Martin O'Neill. Bruce strikes me exactly in this mould, only problem being he's doing it over ten years later and he's not being given a huge amount of money like MON was, and obviously, no sixth place finishes. That shit does not work any more.

This is absolutely correct.

Three years ago tomorrow, Bruce sacked at our place, when the table looked like this. In the team which drew 3-3 at home to Preston (best shot of the night, the one involving someone throwing a cabbage at him): Tammy Abraham, Axel Tuanzebe, Jack Grealish, John McGinn, James Chester - some very solid players at that level. Shocking underachievement.

I think it says something for expectations that for them, missing a penalty or a shit back pass is the rough bit of "taking the rough with the smooth" whereas for us and you, it's more like getting fucking relegated or spending a decade finishing 17th. Like all those fucking Arsenal fans "Boo hoo we haven't won the league for 15 years". Try "Boo hoo we haven't won anything whatsoever for several decades"

"I'll go back to doing my normal fucking irritating, borderline cheating hop skip and jump penalties next time" #prayforbruno

Ah, that's 'the improvement conundrum' at work, whereby a manager gets a side looking so utterly abject that absolutely anything can be taken as a sign of improvement. So the media will say "They're improving" which is true in the literal sense but says nothing about how low the bar had been set by the manager. Like saying "Well, I'm not dead, so things are getting better. True, I've had all my limbs amputated and can only travel by being rolled around, but that's an improvement on being dead"

Ours say same about our trip there.

And when we replaced him with a younger manager who had previously only reached the heights of Brentford, we put in ten wins in a row and went from bottom half of the table to play off winners. Also need to remember Bruce had Grealish, the most expensive British footballer ever a couple years later, Tammy Abraham, John Terry - in the championship. Ultimately though, Bruce's failure saved us. We went to within literally days of going into administration and got sold to two hugely ambitious and supportive billionaires. Had Bruce won that play off final we'd probably still be owned by that crook Xia and back in the championship now.

That is what we used to hear a lot when he was with us. More than anyone, from the media.

I fucking love him. Arsenal giving us him for 15m then spending DOUBLE that on that shit keeper from Sheffield United is the worst transfer business in years.

Afternoon, all. *cheeky wink*

He was the best player on the pitch until he went off. He's just so, so unlucky.

We're looking good against Chelsea. Mix of second string, starters and youth players, giving it a go. Sanson - injured since joining - looked best player on the pitch but infuriatingly just went off injured. A good game, very watchable.

We are a very strange side to watch at the moment. At times look like we're missing Grealish, then we'll have spells where we look unstoppable. The pendulum swings so much one way then the other. Today good example, first half, OK at best. Second half after Bailey came on, brilliant. Similarly last week at Chelsea - a result which didn't really tell the story of the match, for long spells of that match we dominated the european champions on their own ground. We just need to ratchet up the ratio of hit vs miss, but it's hard to watch us in some of these spells - like today with Bailey's cameo - and not feel a sense that after years of turgid dog shit, things are getting much better. Good signings in the summer and plenty coming through the youth system (Ramsey is looking more and more like he's going to make the grade) and the balance looks good.

re Bruce when he was with us in the Championship. He had us floundering absolutely nowhere, was replaced by a rookie manager with 1/20th of the managerial experience he had, who, using the same players, put together a run of 10 wins in a row and got us, from nowhere, promoted. Binning Bruce was the absolute best thing we did, and it's blatantly clear to any Villa fan watching what he's doing with you now, that the situation around the manager (you obviously have the owner problem too) is exactly the same. He's stinking the place out and hanging around for a pay off. So depressing.

spending out of it not so clear cut looking at their recent business.

Decimated by covid and injuries. Mings, McGinn, Watkins, Traore, Bailey all out. Brentford always beat us. Away win. Carney Chukwemeka gets his first league start for us though. Much heralded as the new Grealish.

It's hilarious viewing this.

The same Real Madrid who were moaning about being skint and that's why ESL etc etc the other month?

For support, just read this in one of our forums. Steve Bruce @ Villa Park. 2021. " We trained all week in dry conditions and today at Villa Park the rain was very wet which we didnt prepare for" "Fucking hell man, that is golden. This bloke has made himself a millionaire from Football management." ----- "I have heard some absolute bollox from Steve Bruce over the years but that quote has rendered me speechless." ----- "Newcastle fan joined us for lunch today and I was on train back up north post match and chatted to a couple of Newcastle fans. They all absolutely hate Bruce"

^^^ and one thing I really remember is how utterly utterly depressing it was. You have all my sympathies.