Another manager bites the dust. Having said that, Bruce has had an extended run compared to those four or five before him. But was this the correct answer to the situation?
From the owners' point of view it was probably the kindest thing they could have done to Bruce as the relationship between he and the fans was going sour. But how unfortunate was he? 2-0 up at half-time last night, Villa perhaps should have finished 4 or 5 goals to the good, but the fans took the view that Villa came out second-half to just hold what they had, and then a mini-disaster hit Villa as their skipper got sent off for being the last man in a clear penalty decision. A foolish act on the skipper's part as the keeper may well have saved the forward's attempt. But the penalty was easily converted and that left Villa with ten men and with two relatively inexperienced centre-backs to face the music.
If Villa had lost - as appeared to be case as Villa entered injury time - then opposition to Bruce from the fans would have been a logical outcome. But they didn't lose as an equaliser came after Villa belatedly pulled themselves together and fought back. And then Villa might have won it at the death with a penalty kick, but it was saved. Preston would rightly have felt robbed if Villa had won.
Bruce - to my mind - is desperately unlucky. Yes, some of his decisions in terms of player selection have seemed strange, but, hey, he was the manager and was just trying to find the right permutation. Sometimes it worked - last season at least.
Not the perfect manager at Villa, but given the state of things as they were in 2016, he was not a bad answer to the Villa's needs. He wasn't that far away from succeeding in my opinion and he certainly turned around a bad attitude in the dressing room when he arrived.
Now, the question is clearly who will be appointed now? The next question is: will he last as long as Bruce?
From the owners' point of view it was probably the kindest thing they could have done to Bruce as the relationship between he and the fans was going sour. But how unfortunate was he? 2-0 up at half-time last night, Villa perhaps should have finished 4 or 5 goals to the good, but the fans took the view that Villa came out second-half to just hold what they had, and then a mini-disaster hit Villa as their skipper got sent off for being the last man in a clear penalty decision. A foolish act on the skipper's part as the keeper may well have saved the forward's attempt. But the penalty was easily converted and that left Villa with ten men and with two relatively inexperienced centre-backs to face the music.
If Villa had lost - as appeared to be case as Villa entered injury time - then opposition to Bruce from the fans would have been a logical outcome. But they didn't lose as an equaliser came after Villa belatedly pulled themselves together and fought back. And then Villa might have won it at the death with a penalty kick, but it was saved. Preston would rightly have felt robbed if Villa had won.
Bruce - to my mind - is desperately unlucky. Yes, some of his decisions in terms of player selection have seemed strange, but, hey, he was the manager and was just trying to find the right permutation. Sometimes it worked - last season at least.
Not the perfect manager at Villa, but given the state of things as they were in 2016, he was not a bad answer to the Villa's needs. He wasn't that far away from succeeding in my opinion and he certainly turned around a bad attitude in the dressing room when he arrived.
Now, the question is clearly who will be appointed now? The next question is: will he last as long as Bruce?
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