Steve Bruce is insulting Aston Villa fans with ‘mass hysteria’ jibes… it has to stop
The Carabao Cup whimper, alongside the lowest attendance since the 1980's, means all eyes are on the the Championship
AN indifferent start to the season and an early exit again from about the only cup that Villa might have half a chance of picking up in the current circumstances.
The Carabao Cup whimper, alongside the lowest attendance since the 1980's, means all eyes are on the main priority - the league game with Nottingham Forest.
Steve Bruce can rightly point out that the Carabao Cup for him isn’t where the pressure is at, it’s the league and the essential job of getting us promoted.
Not going up this season is unthinkable because without the large parachute payment chunks, we’d have to trim the squad to fit in with the FFP and you can bet that staff would also have to be cut back as well.
I fear no promotion this season will consign us to the Championship for quite some while.
How long would our Chinese owners' interest remain if we don’t get to the land of milk and honey in the (bloated and money ruined) Premier League?
Now bearing in mind, cup game aside, the massive support we give Villa home and away and with the poor start to the season, you would imagine Bruce would understand the questions being thrown his way? Nope.
A good few times he’s said the talk of a crisis is "ridiculous" and also that there has been "mass hysteria".
As someone who has backed Bruce, I find it insulting to have the manager talk about such things.
He might not mean it how it sounds, he might be having a pop at the press as well (never a good idea) but Bruce needs to look at where we finished last season. 13th.
And where we are currently this season. So, to explain more fully...
Dear Steve Bruce
You are starting to do the us vs them. It’s not healthy. A fan like me, and there are many of us, want you to succeed.
But this talk of 'mass hysteria' is insulting to those behind you and further alienates those unsure or who don’t believe you to be the the man for us.
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Fans have high expectations fed by your comments, the board comments, the player comments and our own opinions. We can’t help having high expectations, we support Aston Villa. We expect.
Every player (and manager, including you) who come here say what a massive club it is, what a great heritage it has, what an honour it is to be at Villa.
Then we see some pretty turgid displays on the pitch and we question the effort. We are there to support but we can only support effort.
I’m sorry, if we don’t see that, we groan, when we do see it, we roar.
The points tally to date hasn't been good enough in many fans' opinion, in yours as well, I have no doubt.
Yes, fans have opinions. How dare we.
We should – according to the manager handbook – go, clap, sit quietly at other times, accept any old XXXX - you can fill in your own word there.
Results haven’t been great, the support HAS been.
Get that chip off your shoulder and start (or go back to) praising the fans who are 100% backing you, singing your name and turning up at both away games and at home matches in great numbers and have some understanding for some (apart from the abusive numpties) who aren’t sure about you.
Do you blame them? They’ll love to be proved wrong if we pick up and you get us promoted.
Some won’t like you. It’s football. You should be used to that.
We are all experts but most of us know ultimately only one persons opinion matters, the managers, it’s your job on the line but it is our club on the line.
I’m sorry, but we will continue to have this passion, we will continue to hurt when we lose and express joy when we win.
You are long enough in the game to understand this without the mass hysteria digs.
Every fan likes a good result and the Norwich City, Wigan Athletic and now Barnsley results were a breath of fresh air.
Bore draws won’t wash with us, sorry if you don’t like that fact, as you have said before, you are at a big club now. Big clubs come with big expectations.
We expect more than a dull draw against Brentford, sue us. "Tired and jaded" - sorry, we’re not buying stuff like that.
I spoke with a member of the team of 1982 last week, mentioned that and he put his head in his hands.
Ron Saunders would have had any player shot if they said they were tired after six games.
I repeat, I’m a fan, this is not a dig. I don’t want you out, I don’t want the manager merry go round.
But if results don’t continue in an upward fashion then as a club I know full well the redundancies for good honest staff and the stripping of the main team that will be required, so yes, the pressure is on you.
That can’t come as a surprise? So why are you so surprised?
I even spoke to you – you were kind enough to come over for a chat – during the Wigan game, full of praise and saying what a breath of fresh air that match and Norwich was.
You said "it always feels good when you are winning" and I replied that "it wasn’t just about the winning, it was freeing up the players to go forward, cross the ball, try down the centre, shooting.
If they were losing the ball they were closing down the opposition in numbers, they were hungry".
I’d accept that win, lose or draw. Against Boro we had £27million worth of striker talent on the pitch, where was the supply?
No proper crosses, no incisive passes to them. They need supply. This is not rocket science.
Now lets get back to some love, stop concentrating on the few who criticise – and if they do it politely and without the foul language I know the odd one uses around by the bench where we both sit.
If you take away the passion from the fans, football is lost and the wages the players and managers get from our passion would also be gone. You cannot have it both ways.
Oh and your son getting lippy on Twitter against a Villa fan - that’s just embarrassing.
Please smash Nottingham Forest, set the team up to win... not draw.
Many thanks, if not, you might see what real mass hysteria is!
Yours, a non-hysterical, high expecting lover of Aston Villa.
