The honeymoon with Brucie went pop on that night at Leeds. And the next match, at home, seemed to suggest that there was a hangover, but when the late late great winner was planted by Jack, I would have thought that heads would have cleared and that the Villa bhouys would have gone to Norwich ready to blast them out of the water. After all, the Canaries' recent form was none too good and they started the match nervously.
So what is it about the Villa? As there are so many non-nationals in the team, do they not understand Brucie's Geordie twang, and have they taken his demands for more as a personal affront? Well, the answer must not be so simple as the locals Jack and Gabby (and Villa fans to boot, we are told) scarcely put a foot right on the Norwich pitch. And Gardner has not exactly set the place alight either. The whole thing is a mystery.
A wrong team selection has been mooted as a possible reason for the dim display, and as Albert and co. (the subs) showed a bit more urgency and finally inspired a shot on goal, then maybe there's something in the team selection reasoning. But if that is the case then what is a squad for? A squad is surely there so that when there are fixture pressures it does not matter so much as the manager should have options he can trust. But it looks as though he cannot (trust the options).
So maybe the issue is as a lot on this blog probably suspected, that the lack of hungry players on view is the wake up call for clearing the decks and bringing in the talent from the reserves to show their expensive counterparts (and the locals whose heads have got too big) what's what. And to bring in equally hungry players in the January 'window'.
It appears to me that the whole idea of rebuilding a team from simply spending money is totally fallacious; last year it didn't work, so why should anyone think it would work 12 months' later? Well, different owners and managers may possibly account for the error, but Bruce (for seven games at least) did manage to pep them up to raise some hope. Perhaps the reality check has come just at the right time?
Now we will see what Bruce does with the team at QPR. He has threatened he will bring changes, but what changes (apart from re-installing Bacuna and Tshibola) can he introduce right now other than the young players that have not even been on the bench of late.
I have a fear that I may be accused of not recognising that times have changed, but there was an old Villa principle that lasted for the best part of 100 years that the best system was to rear your own players from young and only buy in when it is absolutely necessary. The only time in that 100 years when that approach was dispensed with was between 1928 and 1936, when huge amounts of money were spent for those days, but the eventual outcome was relegation. The old method was then quickly reintroduced, so why has it been so easily rejected again?
I beg to suggest that old methods should not be dispensed with so easily. Yes, I now agree with those that have been calling for youth: it would seem the time has come. The lean and hungry brigade deserve a chance.
So what is it about the Villa? As there are so many non-nationals in the team, do they not understand Brucie's Geordie twang, and have they taken his demands for more as a personal affront? Well, the answer must not be so simple as the locals Jack and Gabby (and Villa fans to boot, we are told) scarcely put a foot right on the Norwich pitch. And Gardner has not exactly set the place alight either. The whole thing is a mystery.
A wrong team selection has been mooted as a possible reason for the dim display, and as Albert and co. (the subs) showed a bit more urgency and finally inspired a shot on goal, then maybe there's something in the team selection reasoning. But if that is the case then what is a squad for? A squad is surely there so that when there are fixture pressures it does not matter so much as the manager should have options he can trust. But it looks as though he cannot (trust the options).
So maybe the issue is as a lot on this blog probably suspected, that the lack of hungry players on view is the wake up call for clearing the decks and bringing in the talent from the reserves to show their expensive counterparts (and the locals whose heads have got too big) what's what. And to bring in equally hungry players in the January 'window'.
It appears to me that the whole idea of rebuilding a team from simply spending money is totally fallacious; last year it didn't work, so why should anyone think it would work 12 months' later? Well, different owners and managers may possibly account for the error, but Bruce (for seven games at least) did manage to pep them up to raise some hope. Perhaps the reality check has come just at the right time?
Now we will see what Bruce does with the team at QPR. He has threatened he will bring changes, but what changes (apart from re-installing Bacuna and Tshibola) can he introduce right now other than the young players that have not even been on the bench of late.
I have a fear that I may be accused of not recognising that times have changed, but there was an old Villa principle that lasted for the best part of 100 years that the best system was to rear your own players from young and only buy in when it is absolutely necessary. The only time in that 100 years when that approach was dispensed with was between 1928 and 1936, when huge amounts of money were spent for those days, but the eventual outcome was relegation. The old method was then quickly reintroduced, so why has it been so easily rejected again?
I beg to suggest that old methods should not be dispensed with so easily. Yes, I now agree with those that have been calling for youth: it would seem the time has come. The lean and hungry brigade deserve a chance.
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