Seems to me we haven't fully developed the mentality we need to succeed in this division. Switching off is still an issue, particularly when we don't have a big established side to get the lads blood boiling. For me this is at least partially a management issue.
Smith got his team selection slightly wrong in picking Hourihane, set pieces was always going to be difficult to exploit against a huge West ham team, and Conor was very average otherwise. I said it in the pre match thread we had to keep West ham out of our defensive third and not give away set pieces and they scored from a set piece in 2 minutes, and always looked dangerous from them.
For all our domination we only created 5 decent chances, one was our goal, one was the penalty and one was the disallowed goal. So take away the disallowed goal, and the one we did score and that leaves 3. The penalty should have been scored. However the Trezguet chance was awkward as the ball was slightly behind him which is always a tricky one to direct. I would say analysing the chances we should have got a draw. Looking at the dominance we should have battered them. For me with Conor and Trez in the other 2 of 3 creative positions that leaves you relying on Jack to create from open play.
Smith was too slow with his subs. It was clear Trez was having a stinker and Conor simply wasn't dynamic enough or creative enough. He could have changed things ⁸at least 10 minutes earlier than he did.
This isn't the first time his tactics have cost us. However his tactics were also behind fine wins against Liverpool, Leicester, and Arsenal.
Smith is not the problem I agree. But he is human and makes mistakes. I'm still not convinced he is the man to break us into the champions league. However he is building nicely and has fostered a progressive, nurturing, and hard working environment at the club, which will undoubtedly provide a strong foundation for Aston Villa in the next few years.
I want him to succeed and lead us to glory and he deserves the chance to. Done good he has so far. I'm not sold on his ability to do that though. Only time will tell.