Steve Bruce knows the midfielder well from his time at Hull City.
“He was two players today. He was committed, he tackled, he was ferocious in what he did and he’s passed it well and got a goal.”
Steve Bruce could hardly hide his delight as Jake Livermore inspired Hull City to a 3-0 battering of Burnley in December 2015, as reported by the BBC.
The midfielder’s display had bordered on the inspirational and, as his manager proudly exclaimed, being handed the captain’s armband appeared to swell his pride, his confidence and his performance level.
Compare these comments to Bruce’s public dissection in the aftermath of Aston Villa’s timid loss to Cardiff City in January.
“We have to come to places like that and basically do the basics. Roll your sleeves up and make sure that you don’t get rolled over like we did in the first half,” he told the Birmingham Mail after a performance that has become all-too common in recent weeks.
“So they can either man up to it and say ‘we’ve got to do it his way’ or, alternatively, I’ll find a team eventually that will play my game.”
It appears that Bruce has decided on the latter. Jake Livermore is the latest in a lengthening list of midfielders linked with a January move to Villa Park, with the Daily Mail claiming they are mulling over a bid for the £15 million-rated Tiger.
And, as the above musings highlight, Villa need a midfielder of Livermore’s quality and, above all, character. The former England international’s Hull team might have been on the wrong end of a few tonkings in recent months but Livermore’s effort has never been in question.
And that, judging by recent performances, is something that appear to be lacking as Villa slip ever further away from the play-offs. Presence, too, particularly in a midfield where Mile Jedinak’s ageing limbs, Ashley Westwood’s lack of ambition and Jack Grealish’s tendency to drift out of proceedings at any given moment is preventing them from progressing.
Therefore, Bruce could do worse than to turn to a man who knows and trusts. A man who, as the coach himself says, will do things ‘his way’.
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