Chap, Smith was BRILLIANT for us.
The immediate impact he had on the team was nothing short of miraculous.
As with everything, things need to be freshened up once in a while. His time with us came to an end, and it was time to move on.
Changing him wasn’t the mistake. Changing him for a rookie manager with an Ego bigger than his managerial CV was the mistake.
Unai Emery isn’t just a step up, it’s a leap up, and everyone knows that. Could’ve predicted it to be the case as soon as it was announced.
But the amount of disrespect you’re giving to a manager who won 10 games in a row, and got us immediate promotion, and then kept us up against all odds, and then performed well, only to be sacked after a 5 game losing streak which included some of the best teams in the league… is just ridiculous.
We reached heights in term of sheer excitement under smith, that we have yet to do under Emery - which we will do in due course I’m sure.
But a little respect for the man who got us to the place where we could even dream of attracting someone like Emery wouldn’t go amiss.