jim

Must admit I was a little disappointed. I don’t know what it was but it just felt off. Will probably pick it up at a later date.

I'm taking that statement from Purslow with a pinch of salt. We have been lied to so often I don't believe anything anybody says anymore. It's just my opinion but looking at Smith he looks like a man under pressure and I wonder if the message from the hierarchy to him is that promotion is imperative. Smith said himself when he came in that promotion was the brief for this season.

Great post. Sums up where I am as well.

I think it initially came from someone questioning his his instagram posts showing him in Dubai, Ireland, hunting etc... midweek. Then some facebook ITK said he only works 2 days and matchdays.

Brentford also had not won in 5 games before Smith left. They now appear to have stabilised being unbeaten in the last 6 and shored up the defense. The worrying thing for me about Smith is he is a very 'streaky' manager. His record at his other clubs isn't great at all and he does not appear to have been able to sort out defensive issues and maintain any consistency. I'm baffled how he even got the job to be totally honest.

It is pretty much the same midfield as last season that got to the play off final. You could also argue it has been improved with the addition of McGinn.

We won’t be in the top flight next year so I wouldn’t worry.

Rubbish. We battered 2 of the best teams in the division (Boro and Derby) and arguably should have beat WBA with those players.

What has Smith done in his managerial career that suggests he will be a success here? Genuine question. His win % at his previous clubs is nothing to write home about and he hasn’t challenged for anything at either. Yes he plays attacking football but his teams also leak goals like a sieve. We saw an upturn in results after he let the players off the leash but now we are seeing his tactical frailties come to the fore. For the last 4/5 games our opponents have exploited our flanks and Smith has not remedied this. I don’t believe it is because the players aren’t good enough, we have seen this season and last that they are. For me he is a poor mans Kevin Keegan and it seems the only thing he has going for him is outplaying Steve Bruce on a few occasions and he used to clean the bogs at Villa Park. I had my doubts about him and sadly they are coming to fruition. When we finish mid table in May we should move on. Pointless keeping him for the sake of stability. We will go nowhere under this manager.

Awful. We are going backwards under Smith. I hope we don’t back him this window and start a fresh in the summer with someone who knows what they are doing.

Looks totally clueless on the touch line.

I never got the fanfare personally.

3-0 Another abysmal managerial appointment.

Rubbish. We have seen these players perform. The manager is at fault, plain and simple.

He will give lots of analysis and insight. Shame he is all talk.