I want Steve Bruce to leave Aston Villa.
A big statement three games into a new season, but hear me out. I don’t consider myself to be too demanding a fan. I don’t expect to win every game or even believe that anything less than promotion is failure. What I do demand is a team worth supporting. A team who can get me to the edge of my seat with excitement, a team capable of entertainment. Bruce has not produced anything that can be described even loosely as entertaining. His team is slow, ponderous and completely devoid of any creativity. There is no spark at Villa and I have no faith that Bruce is the man to provide it.
Football is a results industry we are told but that’s simply not true. Football exists for the same reason as professional wrestling does, entertainment. It has no intrinsic value outside of its bubble, three points wont solve famine or stop war. If every team played like Bruce’s Villa, Sky Sports would be shut down in two years. If it’s not worth watching, it’s not worth being. 
In fairness to Steve Bruce his remit is not exciting football, it’s promotion – a feat very much still possible.The problem lies in that Bruce obviously thinks that the way to achieve this is through hard graft alone, but having a team that works hard should be the starting point of building a team, not the end goal.
Bruce’s roll up your sleeves and get stuck in approach is not only antiquated but a disservice to the players at his disposal. Bree, one of the most exciting full backs in the division last year is kept out of the squad by Hutton. Scott Hogan, his big January signing, isn’t scoring because the team are so far behind him they might as well be in different stadiums. Both Lansbury and Hourihane have been shunted around every midfield position available because Bruce has no idea what to do with them. These are players he signed.
Bruce largely escaped criticism last season because Kodija’s goals were papering over the cracks but with him injured, Bruce’s shortcomings are laid bare. His complete lack of tactical nous coupled with a penchant for blaming the players after every defeat without shouldering any blame himself is a sure fire way to cause unrest in a dressing room that needs to be united to accomplish its mission.
Bruce cannot continue to try and long ball his way to promotion. It’s not working. Everyone can see it except Bruce himself, and that’s why he must leave.
