ViewFromT2

20 hours ago, vreitti said:

What world do you live in I wonder? All I see are people questioning him, on here, on twitter, on facebook... everywhere. TBH don't think I've ever seen a manager/coach being questioned this heavily, so soon into his tenure before. It's both ridiculous and embarrassing, considering what he's had to work with...

Kinda proved my point chap 

1 minute ago, Zatman said:

Tuanzebe, Jack, McGinn, Tammy even Hutton, Nyland and Whelan have played at a better level than they did under Bruce

Can't say he's improved Tuanzebe...he's just played him in his correct position. As a young player his performances will naturally improve as he plays more games. 

Hasn't improved Jack. His game no different to before. 

Tammy - not sure i agree as he has been performing all season, but I'm happy to accept that one

McGinn has been our best player all season, since day one! Is he better now than under Bruce? not sure

He improved Nyland? So then he bought a new £7m keeper?...ok!

Hutton and Whelan?.....come on, lets be sensible. I've got no problem with Hutton or Whelan, they are what they are....but I'm not having Dean Smith has improved them. That's crazy!

1 hour ago, HeyAnty said:

See i think this is a ridiculous comparison.  Smith's team is in div 2, which we are probably the biggest team in it.  These managers were playing against the top teams every week.

Its the same with this rubbish about Abraham scoring 20 goals and being compared against our greats.  If Villa were in the Vauxhall conference and i was up front, i might manage 20 goals.

Problem with us Villa fans is that we are starting to get comfortable with div 2 achievements and trying to compare them with past achievements when we were a top side .  

This all day, every day and twice on Sundays!

Way too many fans (particularly on Twitter) are far too happy to just accept the dross being served up.....ooh he needs time, ooh they're not his players, ooh we're missing Jack.......all of the factors have an effect to some degree, but nothing excuses what is happening, we are going backwards, not improving. Something is just not right.....the chemistry isn't right. We don't even look like we're on the right path in my opinion. Can accept results (given the above excuses) if you can see improvement and a style emerging. I genuinely see no difference in our 'style' since the start of the season. Our home performance against Brentford was as good a footballing performance as anything we've seen since. 

I would challenge anyone to name a player that has improved since Dean Smith took over? What exactly does Richard O'Kelly do? What exactly does John Terry do? The longer we have between games (ie. more training sessions) the worse we tend to look.

Do we have to wait for every player in the squad to have been bought by Smith and all of them to be 100% fit for the whole season until we can expect him to get results? 

Not calling for his head but the blind faith shown is staggering....you simply cannot dare to question him.

Sorry to rant. Thoroughly and utterly pissed off with Villa!

27 minutes ago, praisedmambo said:

Thanks for taking what I said in good spirits. It is a credit even if we don't agree.

Our squad is awful bar Grealish, Abraham, Tuanzebe, Chester of last season and...I'm struggling. Some of the others are passable but they definitely don't represent the best squad in the league. We've been playing three right backs for a few games, had one of the worst keepers I've ever seen until he did his achillies—we have to replace Grealish with BB or Whelan. I think there are plenty of better squads than ours in the league—squads with players on the up, not on the way down. We are saddled with dead wood on big wages—we can't shift these players if we wanted to, which makes that first bit in bold mind-blowing from my perspective!

Of the two disastrous games, we have been missing in part or all three of Grealish, Abraham and Tuanzebe. Our bad form has come exactly when Tuanzebe and Grealish got injured. We were great with them and we're not without them. We over-rely on these players, which is not a sign of a good squad—and to further that, again, once Tuanzebe was injured we went with right backs everywhere. Our strongest team is good, but lose a few and the cracks quickly begin to show.

I think the reason why I get so defensive is that this kind of context never seems to come near the thinking of those who seemed to have, yep, entrenched opinions against the manager from the off. I also get defensive, because we'll get nowhere if we keep changing manager. Of course we need to find the right one before we stick to them but who could we get that has managed a bigger club than Villa who is going to come down to the Championship. To me this is an answer that doesn't need answering for about another ten months, maybe more.

Good points, well made!  I can accept any fans opinion, whether they share mine or not. We're all fans at the end of the day and ultimately we all want the same thing. As long as it doesn't get personal, I always enjoy a good debate 

It's hard to argue with the facts regarding Tuanzebe and Grealish. It was the same last season under Bruce, we were never really competitive until Grealish returned November time.

I still say though, that we have the strongest squad in the division, whether they be on the way down, or the way up....in the right here and now, they are better than most at this level. If you imagine a players career as a ladder, the 'rungs' they are on right here, right now are at least as high as most of the rest of the players in this championship. Some of our players used to be on higher rungs I agree.

You rightly point to the 3 'star' men...they would be our premier league players, the ones that we could carry into next season were we to go up. But McGinn would be close to being the best performing midfielder in the league this year, even when Grealish was playing. Of the rest, for me these are absolutely proven at this level: Chester, Hourihane, Kodija, Hogan, Adomah, Elmohamady, Hutton, Elphick, Jedinak, Lansbury, Taylor....by proven I mean they've done it in this division, for us or another side. We then have younger players that look very capable at this level: Bree, Green, Davis etc

To me that is simply not a 'shit' squad. Our squad is better than West Brom's in my view. In fairness to Darren Moore, he tried to force a style on that squad that did not suit them. He was big enough to accept he got it wrong, tweeked the style to suit his personnel, and got results. Blues have a shit squad. A couple of really decent players, but overall, they've a shit squad.

In my defence, I would also like to say that I have not held an 'entrenched' position over the manager since the off. I was underwhelmed by the appointment but I have been behind him all the way. He's had 15/16 games or so but I am worried that the initial spark that he seemed to bring has gone so quickly. I had a similar underwhelming feeling when the job was given to John Gregory....but he would be amongst my favourite villa managers now. I really hope Dean Smith does the same.

31 minutes ago, praisedmambo said:

I was trying not to say that I thought it came across as the same old 'ignore any logic/context bs' and seemed a bit entrenched in lazy weirdly aggressive thinking. 

'Enough of this he doesn't have his own players (paraphrased) '....comes across as someone who is ignoring the fact we have a shit squad and who is willing to judge the manager now. He's barely been here a few months...80% of it has been great but all of a sudden we lose a few and he's hopeless. This short memory thing is a classic feature of football fan moaning. In general the whole thing comes across as something entrenched...prejudiced. Facts don't matter or will be spun to satisfy the entrenched views. 

Something like that. 

 

Thanks for that, I'd like to think my opinions are more than a 'classic feature of football fan moaning', but I value your response.

Going back to the players issue, I really do not recall any fan, on any platform, bemoaning the squad when Bruce was in charge. I remember many, many, many fans (including yours truly), drooling over what another manager could achieve with such a squad in the championship. To call it a 'shit squad' is bazaar in my view, were they all made available for transfer today, none of them would struggle to find another side at this level or above. Name me a better squad of players currently playing in the championship? OK, I accept that there is no depth to our defensive line, but when fully fit, we have a back four consisting of seasoned internationals, and for the championship they should be doing far better. 

42 minutes ago, thejoker said:

Dean Smith has never been a ‘quick fix’ manager. Look at his record. It took him 4 years at Walsall before they looked like promotion contenders in League One. At Brentford, it took him 2 years (whilst selling all his best players) to start seriously challenging for playoffs.

If our owners got Dean Smith as a quick fix, then they have made a big mistake. 

I still firmly believe he will get it right but it might take 2 years to change the culture at the club. 

I still think we need to change 80% of our squad. 

One thing Dean Smith must sort out short term though, is how to play without Grealish. 

Can't see any manager getting 2 years at Villa in all honesty. That may be the biggest issue, the fact we are not prepared to wait. However, when you take a step back....we shouldn't be as far away to promotion as we are now after 4 years in the championship really, should we?

1 hour ago, praisedmambo said:

For balance, I disagree with mostly all of it. Seems a bit entrenched.

Value the opposing opinion, but would really welcome some comments and counter arguments to explain your difference of opinion?

Not sure what entrenched means in the context of this post either? 

56 minutes ago, MarkLillis said:

Onto to my point.

What I would really like to get away from us afternatch interviews where our manager (whoever he is at the time) highlights that he knows about a particular issue,say workrate for instance as spoken about recently by Dean Smith.

He then states we will work on it in training etc.

So I have hope that we know what is wrong....and it will get better.

Next match the highlighted issue is actually worse!!!

This has been going on for ages,under a variety of managers or is it just me?

 

In fairness, Smith has highlighted defensive issues several times (not that he needs to), he has then said how hard they've worked all week in training on said, defensive issues.

We get to Saturday and, well....it actually looks worse! 

21 minutes ago, TRO said:

Just on one point.

When i watch our team play, i do wonder if they ever do any work on positional play or working off the ball.....i don't see organised lines...just a gaggle of geese all doing their own thing.

I wonder ,right through to the academy whether they work on this aspect of the game.

it leaves me in doubt at times.

I agree totally. What's more worrying is that on more than one occasion now, but in particular last week, he has explicitly stated they have worked hard on shape and defensive situations in training....Saturday was a result of a week's defensive work. That is simply horrifying!

You could argue that the longer he has them between games, the worse we look!

My twopenneth....

Bottom line, you'll have to go a very, very long way to find a Villa fan that doesn't want Smith to succeed. He's one of us....we would love nothing more, but equally, if we are all honest, we all felt slightly 'underwhelmed' by the appointment deep down. Take out the villa connection, and Smith has been so-so manager. Done ok at small clubs without ever over achieving. His Brentford side were ok, but the way some of our fans go on about them, you have to wonder! They never had a top 6 finish (which they had achieved previously under Mark Warburton) or an eye catching cup run...4th round FA cup and never past 1st round of League Cup under him.

It would seem that Saturday showed us that Smith could be out of his depth at Villa, and that was always the underlying fear. I don't think he is the manager to take us back to where we want to be, I really don't. We all have our own opinions, but instinct tells me he will ultimately be a glorified failure. Do we get rid now? Would be insane I guess, but ultimately, in the same way we knew we would get nowhere with Bruce, nothing has changed! 

Not having the... 'they're not his players' nonsense, even by his own admission, they are the best squad he has ever worked with. And by that logic, if a new manager cannot be expected to improve a team, what's the flamin' point getting rid of the previous manager? we may as well have kept Bruce if it's unfair to expect Dean Smith to improve players that he never bought....what a load of rubbish!

Just look up the road and see the job Gary Monk has done with someone else's squad, never mind the constraints applied since he got there. Defensively we are an utter shambles, still. Considering the reputation Richard O'Kelly came with, you have to ask what exactly he does day to day? If we don't have the players suitable to play in Smith's preferred style, then change the f####in style to suit the players that we do have for god's sake! If they are the 'top coaches' we were told they are....coach the bloody players. As for JT....no idea what he brings to the table, other than reputation. Zero impact on that squad from a defensive view. 

I have written this season off now, we have absolutely no chance of making the play offs this season. I guess Smith will get till October next season to see how we look after he has a full summer and a chance to overhaul the squad. I have a feeling we will be back to square one at that time! 

Sad times!

15 minutes ago, Made In Aston said:

You've got to love Nursey... He writes an article saying that Faria has been appointed and then later in the article states that Purslow is interviewing other candidates this week. What a tool! 

Has anyone ever seen Nursey and Gregg Evans in the same room?

1 minute ago, praisedmambo said:

Thank you I think you may be the only one who agrees! Not my first choice obviously, but I just don't think he'd be that bad. He'd be the more right type of safe-ish bet.

Well if we're going down the tried and trusted route, there is nobody with a better promotion record than Steve Bruce, he is bound to get us up....lets go for him?

1 minute ago, AvfcRigo82 said:

Absolutely.

Before everyone attacks me - Rafa and friends are available for £6m compo... - Same compo as Rodgers.

Have a word Christian.

You've heard of FFP yeah?

39 minutes ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

On reflection though, fact is the board have a shortlist.

Barring speculation none of us know who is actually on the list.

Henry was obvious favourite, and they have claimed they wanted to make a statement.

I'm going to try to remain confident they can still pull something tasty off.

Although "Mendes" is viewed as an "evil" in football by many, let's be real, he is the top dog in the game.

FFP, Deal structuring and brown paper bag handling might be complicating certain things too.

I think the main challenge is that we probably want it tied up asap and some of these managers might be dithering about before making a decision.

Can't really blame the board for wanting to hurry as they don't want the whole season sacrificed either.

The break is a perfect time for them to get settled.

Have they? Where?

1 minute ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

So we are running out of candidates and seems we missed the boat on Henry partially due to holding out too long.

At this rate we might be best off having a temporary manager till the end of the season instead of hiring one just for the sake of it.

OR

Henry played the situation perfectly to open the door to AS Monaco, which is his dream first job?

Fonseca was the first link....wouldn't rule that out yet.

Rodgers and Smith being in jobs means compensation. There are alternatives out there that are freely available, I would think they would be preference.

Sanchez-Flores not mentioned at all. Available. Won championship with Watford. Presumably has links to Pitarch (if he is working with us).

1 minute ago, Demitri_C said:

The sun reckon faria isnt interested in the role.

Wasn't it The Sun that said he text the players before the Millwall game? 

2 minutes ago, MachoFantastico said:

Don't know a damn thing about Faria, but if he's learnt a thing or two with Jose it will be interesting to see. 

Personally can't wait to see his reaction when Kodija starts walking round the pitch like he's some top drawer player.....I actually think Faria might drop kick the lazy 'see you next Tuesday' into next week!

2 minutes ago, hippo said:

Anyone still think its an outsider we are all missing ? 

Surprised Sanchez-Flores hasn't been spoken about. Never really moved from 25/1 ish in the betting. Would of been my choice to begin with.

Marcello Gallardo and Abel Ferreira have appeared in the betting now

2 minutes ago, PieFacE said:

Terry is now the favourite to become manager.

He isn't even qualified to manage Chelsea's U23s yet.....never mind a championship side. 

Read an article earlier, (dated 30 September) that he has a verbal agreement in place to take over Chelsea u23's once he gets the required coaching badge. If he comes to villa, it will be to assist Rui Faria in my opinion

2 minutes ago, AntrimBlack said:

Faria? A bit OTT.

I didn't think it even warranted a response to be fair.

Terry assisting Henry never made any sense in my head....surely Terry sees himself on equal footing with Henry? ie. both looking to make the move into management. Why would Terry play 2nd fiddle to Henry? makes no sense at all. If they were ex-team mates or great pals away from the game then you could possibly find some logic....but they weren't.

Of the 'no experience' candidates, Rui Faria would be my choice.....he could be a superb appointment given what people say about his coaching etc.

Of the experienced managers then I hope we are considering Rodgers, obviously Dean Smith deserves a shout but if we're going down the European route, Sanchez Flores would be my pick from those that are currently freely available.

The fact we have no coaches means whoever is coming in needs to assemble a whole backroom....this could be taking the time.

Wouldn't be averse to Thierry Henry personally. By all accounts he is a proper student of the game. I think he is articulate enough to get his message across to players and he will command respect for his achievements in the game. Not sure JT as assistant makes sense though. Not sure they ever really got on did they?

My personal choice would be Rui Faria with John Terry as assistant.  I know nothing is proven until they prove it, but Mourinho speaks so highly of him and is adamant Faria has everything needed to manage on of the worlds top clubs. You could argue that Morinho has suffered without his trusted right hand man this season.

He is recognised as one of the best coaches of tactical periodization is the game....a coaching methodology utilised by most if not all of the top coaches in the world. I've no doubt he would transform us.  He was pictured at Stamford Bridge the other week watching the Chelsea v Liverpool game with Michael Essien. Essien has just completed his Uefa B licence.....maybe he could join the setup as first team coach maybe?

All pie in the sky I know but......

1 minute ago, PieFacE said:

Maybe not as close as we thought?

 

Maybe it isn't him