Bruce’s “dinosaur” tactics dismantle Barnsley
A quite unique thing unfolded before our eyes early on Saturday evening. Not only did Aston Villa win away on Sky Sports, but Steve Bruce managed the odd feat of proving himself right by proving himself wrong.
To say that Mr Bruce had a difficult build up to the match against Barnsley would be putting it lightly. There have been fresh calls for his sacking from almost every angle whilst the owner has been conspicuous in his silence. The pressure seemed to be getting to him at his Friday press briefing as he took aim at the fans suggesting they don’t know what they are talking about – having a pop at your owns fans never ends well.
Steve Bruce was most upset by the fact that some had labelled him as a dinosaur, suggesting that he was obsolete in this oh so modern world. Now, I am not a fan of Bruce one bit but this struck me as odd at the time because if you look at the way he has set his teams out this season, he has used either a 4-5-1 or 3-5-1-1 with an emphasis on ball retention and game control. This is a thoroughly modern and fashionable way of playing. It hasn’t worked, but it is by no means antiquated.
Despite all the name calling and derision Bruce insisted he was still the right man for the task and when Saturday came, he produced. Weirdly, he threw away his modern notions of possession football and wing backs and set the team out in an orthodox, old style 4-4-2. The strikers worked as a partnership and the wingers stayed wide and ran at the opposing full backs as we conceded possession and played on the counter.
What Villa did on Saturday was all the things Bruce has been accused of doing without actually doing so, yet it worked splendidly. Bruce simultaneously proved that how he’d been using the squad was wrong and that he was the man to use it correctly.
Steve Bruce has a squad suited to quick attacks, running with the ball and defending deep. Bruce grew up and played in an era when every club used 4-4-2. He knows it inside out and his knowledge of the many ways it can be adapted is what he needs to pull on to turn a good win into a good run of wins.
He may be a dinosaur, but dinosaurs can roar and right now he needs to.