Brentford, the window and sacking Bruce: My arse

I’ve had a nightmare couple of days.
I arrived in Mexico for my latest holiday on Monday night, having totally forgot what the 31st signified window-wise when I booked.
So I’m in a supposed 5* hotel, yet the free wi-fi lasts 90 mins!
So being clever, I thought I’d buy a local sim and get the net that way. It doesn’t work like that.
So now, I’ve coughed up the £35 a week so I can post on here.
Bloody expensive or what?

Which leads me to Scott Hogan.
What the hell?
It seemed he was West Ham bound all through the window, yet we somehow gazumped them. I can only guess that this was a wages thing, where yet again we’re paying massively over the odds.
To be fair, I said the same about Kodjia, but quite simply, he’s performed, so I don’t begrudge it.
You have to feel Bruce (or maybe Xia?) has taken a big gamble here and if Hogan doesn’t perform, well, it’s yet another disaster signing.
It just smacks of desperation to me.
Still, I of course wish him all the best at the Villa.

Talking of disaster signings, I see McCormack’s gone to Forest on loan.
Good riddance. But I wonder how much of his wages we’re having to pay?
Forest are totally up in the air as a club and I can’t see who would sign off anything anywhere. Any bets against that he’s still costing us £30k a week?

In other good news, Westwood’s gone to Burnley for a stonking £5 million.
That’s brilliant business and shows Bruce does know a player and was just putting him in the window, in my opinion.
Yes, I know. Good servant and decent professional and all that.
But he epitomised all that is wrong down the Villa I think, in that he’s a nothing player and would never have helped to take us anywhere.
He can go on to win the league with Burnley. I simply don’t care. But good luck to him. Trust me, I won’t be able to find an equal to blame.

Brentford was an utter disaster too, by all accounts.
When the Birmingham Mail only has one player with over a 5 out of 10, you know they were poor.
It sounds like Bruce got it all wrong, in going one up front.
Not for the first time either.
But I can gloss over this.

Okay, since christmas, it’s been poor; there’s no denying it.
But now, Bruce has brought decent players in, particularly in midfield where the word “lacking” didn’t begin to describe it.
And yes, Hourihane, Lansbury and Bjarnasson might have looked poor, particularly the latter, who apparently looked shattered after 30 minutes.
But if Bruce didn’t put them straight in, what would we all have been saying?

It’s common knowledge that Bruce wants us to play two up front and that’s what we’ll get.
For me, Hogan is the flavour of the month, but still better than Rhodes, who I’m delighted that we didn’t sign.
What were his wage demands, I wonder?

Anyway, Hogan and Kodja up top is a pleasant thought.
All we need to do is knit the midfield to the attack and we’re laughing.
It’s easy, isn’t it?

Except it really isn’t and some of us expect it to all happen overnight.
Calling for Bruce’s head already is just a total joke to me.
Yes, I accept he’s old-fashioned and is definitely showing signs that he doesn’t react quick enough.
But in his defence, I’d say he hasn’t had the options.
It’s a different game now though and Bruce does indeed have options.
He’s bought an alternative LB, a RB, 3 or more mids and a striker.
And it’s frankly been a blindingly good window, better than most of us expected.

For me, the real game begins now.
I have to hold my hands up and finally concede that we aren’t going to make the play-offs.
But as long as we’re seeing some kind of progression (looking tougher to beat away will help) Bruce gets next season, let alone sacking him in this one.