Demotion to the second tier mustn’t have put such a severe dent on the stature of Aston Villa as much as their apparent failure in their pursuit to crawl back to the Premier League has been. Even prior to the first kick of the ball, Villa were tipped as one of the favourites to ease themselves through the Championship and earn a ticket back to the Premier League.
Contrary to the popular belief that existed at the time the season kicked off, the Villans are in fact making themselves fall in a pretty awkward position with the way they have plied their trade in the Sky Bet Championship this term and are severely damaging the illustrious pages of their history.
After 31 league outings, Aston Villa have mustered merely 36 points and are placed 17th in the Championship table, just 6 points adrift of the relegation zone. Under the tutelage of Steve Bruce, post their downfall during Roberto Di Matteo’s regime, the Lions are yet to register even one win in 2017 and have been once again victimised by the crippling fear of failure.
Despite a number of good signings, Bruce has failed to deliver and it is high time for Tony Xia to scrap the former Hull City manager of the managerial badge and here are three big reasons for such a drastic measure.
Tactical Helplessness
Bruce has been blatantly fruitless in winning tactical battles against the fellow Championship managers. He tried to keep the basics right and simple and his team clicked. But once he tried to experiment (or when the heat started to make an impact), he started to use the rule of thumb by constantly shifting between 4-2-2, 4-2-3-1, 4-1-4-1 and 3-5-2, and agonisingly, none of his tactical changes bore the results to boost his credentials. Maybe he needed to stick to his basics which he operated with while he was new to the club but now, the scenario has slipped away from his grasp.
The Dire Need For A Change
The fans have started to voice their dissatisfaction towards their manager and quite rightly so. A new face on the steering is the call of the hour and just like the way Bruce brought a breeze of fresh air to the club when he was brought in, a calculated risk that a new manager might do the same for the club once again could well be taken.
Clear Lack Of Ideas In The Team
Aston Villa did use their financial muscle to lure some of the most wanted commodities in the business but despite that, they have failed to get the best out of their new signings. His players have failed to capitalise on the chances, have been leaky at the back and the creativity in the middle has been in complete shambles.
On an average in their last 11 games, they have scored 0.7 goals, conceded 1.5, registered a pass accuracy as low as 69%, have taken 12.4 shots, completed 14.9 tackles and 12.3 interceptions per game on an average which gives the blueprint of their failure that has occurred lately. Even their goalkeeping department has been bereft of confidence and thus, Bruce’s stay at Aston Villa should indeed be terminated.
Statistics Credits: WhoScored
