Express & Star

Analysis: Steve Bruce and Aston Villa stuck in a cycle as anger mounts

Though it has not yet reached the stage where supporters are in large-scale open revolt, the rumblings of discontent around Villa Park are growing louder and the outlook ever more ominous for manager Steve Bruce.

Published

Having enjoyed a few days of relative respite courtesy of last week’s win over Rotherham, Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday brought the pressure crashing back down on Bruce who, as he begins his second century of games in charge, increasingly wears the look of a man stuck in an endless cycle from which he can find no obvious escape.

His team, right now, appear to be going nowhere fast after a loss which bore some depressingly familiar hallmarks.

Confused and disjointed in attack, Villa remain alarmingly vulnerable in defence and were exposed by an impressive Wednesday outfit who, with more decisive finishing, could well have won by more.

For the third game in four, but the first time at home, Bruce heard supporters call for his dismissal. Once again, it was a minority, yet the loud boos which greeted the final whistle left no doubt as to the mood of the majority.

Once again, Bruce used his post-match press briefings to stress the need for time. That, however, is a commodity of which he is now beginning to run short.

After the summer from hell and the arrival of seven new players in the space of less than five weeks, there was always going to be a period of transition.

But Bruce has been in the game for long enough to know you cannot remain travelling forever, at some point you have to reach the destination. Right now, it is not clear where precisely he wants that to be, let alone the best way to get there.

The opening 15 minutes of second half was a case in point. After an opening period when the 4-4-2 system which worked effectively against Rotherham had found little traction in the face of an organised Wednesday, Bruce moved Jonathan Kodjia out to the left wing, bringing Jack Grealish into the middle to play behind Tammy Abraham.

Though Villa conceded the opener to Marco Matias’s low strike, the period still delivered their most flowing attacking moves of the entire match.

John McGinn’s leveller might, admittedly, have been a brilliant bolt from the blue. But with Grealish beginning to pull the strings, Villa started to stretch the visiting defence for the first time. It was a little surprising, therefore, to see Grealish then moved back out to the left flank, where his influence waned as his team eventually subsided to defeat.

In truth it matters little how Bruce sets up his team in attack when they remain so fragile at the back.

This was the fourth time in just nine league games Villa’s defence had been breached at least twice. It might have been more but for some wayward Fletcher finishing and some determined last-ditch defending from Alan Hutton.

The presence, once again, of Mile Jedinak at centre-back, will be pointed to by Bruce’s critics and it is true the Australian international endured another unsteady afternoon.

Yet it is also difficult to recall a time when James Chester, who has now completed 100 consecutive full Championship games for the club, looked so out-of-sorts.

Villa have won just one of their last seven and it is somewhat surprising to find them still just five points off the top of a division which, this season, appears more wide-open than ever.

That is both a help and a hindrance to Bruce, for while it is possible to make the argument Villa are only a couple of good results from being back on track, those who have lost faith in his ability will intensify calls for a change to be made before the contenders disappear over the horizon.

Right now, that appears unlikely, at least not prior to Friday night’s trip to Bristol City.

A club still in a state of flux and currently searching for a sporting director has no real appetite to make the short-term outlook even messier.

But patience in the boardroom is finite. Having delivered the manager a squad which ranks among the best in the division, they rightly expect results to follow.

There can be no more excuses. The time to deliver is now, or never. No-one knows that more than Bruce.