Middlesbrough v Villa: Saturday 30th Dec, 3pm. | Page 2 | Vital Football

Middlesbrough v Villa: Saturday 30th Dec, 3pm.

The Football League have now announced the Match Day officials that will take charge of the game between Middlesbrough and Aston Villa this Saturday.


<br><br><a href ="http://www.vitalfootball.co.uk/router.asp?7523988">Click here to read the article</a><br><br>
 
Erod - 28/12/2017 00:24

Pullis previous jobs to keep team in the league.
Boro will want him to get them out of the league.

So we might see a different Pullis
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Can he be any different though ? Only time will tell I guess.
 
It would be nice if Bruce picks a more mobile and dynamic team for his penultimate game in charge. However, if Adomah is out then we will probably be left with the two old men being overrun again and one of them likely to assist Boro's first. Hopefully I will change my mind when I see the starting elevens but at present I can only see a 2-0 home win with growing unrest in the away end.
 
McParlandTheGreat - 27/12/2017 13:51

Pulis is an interesting case. When we had Lambert he'd come out with lines like "I know Paul, he's a good manager, it'll be a tough game". And sure enough we'd get at least a draw when we were probably expecting a loss. As though he was more defensive than he needed to be. Ring a bell? However, he's a better manager than Bruce and a more successful one. He knows how he wants his team to play, knows how to coach them to achieve that. His teams are well organised, if rather boring and negative. Standard Pulis approach is be difficult to beat and make the most of dead ball situations.

Bruce needs to persevere with Grealish and Hogan. Play Davis up front and he'll be marked out of the game. Drop Whelan and stick Hourihane back in. A back line of Hutton, Elphick, Chester and Taylor with Jedi and Hourihane in front ought to be able to keep Middlesborough out; Monk improved their attack but from a pretty low level.

It all depends on what we do higher up the pitch. Drop Snoddy, forget about Onomah. Bring in Bjarnason as at least he has a motor (I think) and by the law of averages he has to click sometime. He has to at least put O'Hare, Doyle Hayes, and maybe Suliman on the bench. Hope Adomah isn't out for too long.

But he won't do any of these. Yes, I expect him to still be here. After 2nd Jan is another matter.
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You say Pulis is a better manager than Bruce,but the only success he has had was promoting Stoke and reaching the Europa league.
Bruce has 4 or 5 promotions from this league and as that is all we are concerned about at the moment,I think I would class Bruce as a better manager than Pulis.
We need a little bit more luck with injuries and an addition or two to the squad and I think Bruce will get us back up in the top 6,which is where I would honestly expect us to finish.Top 2 is never going to happen,but a crack at the 3rd promotion pllace is still within his grasp.
There is a lot of knee jerk reaction to our minor slump because we "expect",but we need to have more patience and remain cool,calm and collected.
 
Pulis has kept average and below average teams in the PL year after year. Pulis has never been relegated. PL is a go-to manager for teams in trouble in the PL. And he did reach the Europa league.

Bruce has had as many relegations as he has had promotions. Occasions when he has kept a team in the PL for any length have been rare. Few teams has he stayed at for long, either because he's walked out or been sacked. He's never been a go-to manager in the PL. Has Bruce ever come remotely near the Europa league?

I rest my case, m'lud.
 
The notion that we were never going to be in the top two seems to be a popular one. I must admit that when the season kicked off I had a realistic belief that a top two finish and automatic promotion was a distinct possibility. Now I know we've had a lot of injuries but I thought that that was why we assembled a large, expensive squad. Even a top six finish seems a difficult proposition now.
Bruce needs to do something to get us back on track asap.
A win on Saturday with a change of pace and approach would be a start.
 
I see the poll has now gone to 85% lose. It is to be hoped the players confidence levels are better than ours or we are beaten before we go onto the pitch.
 
I'm hoping they've all had a rocket up the arse and we will see a fully committed and adventurous approach from now onwards starting at The Riverside .
A Winn would be most welcomed .
 
The only chance we have is that Bruce drops the ones that are always dropping bollocks and play some of our talented youngsters who have something to prove and will put a shift in.

What's the chances of that?...... slim, very, very slim.

 
Whelan should be dropped along with Hutton. Just too many mistakes from Whelan and Hutton is a major weak link at the back.
 
Pulis has never been relegated because he got the sack twice. Stoke were going down with him there and so would the Baggies - they still might.

As for the game it will be as dull as the last few times we played the Baggies. 0-0 bore draw for me.
 
Right , will be off in a bit , hoping my new Villa hoodie that I ahd for Christmas will prove lucky.

COME ON YOU LIONS

:94: :94: :94: :94: :94: :94: :94: :94: :94: :94: :94: :94: :94:
 
Hope the boys put in a performance for you and the other travelling Villans Sirdennis.

Come on Villa! :94: :94: :94:
 
Bruce has guaranteed “ we will be better “ so I hope that happens.

After the last performance a number of players cannot complain if dropped so Bruce has a great opportunity here to change it up.

 
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