A'Villan

I'm hoping to see Tuanzebe play CB alongside Chester and actually fulfill at least some of the potential that a Manchester United prospect should. I'm hoping the organisational qualities implemented by Smith that pressure, force turnovers and errors when our opponents are trying to play their game will help eradicate the inevitability of our defense being penetrated which we saw under Bruce. I personally think we are good for full backs as we are, for this season. GK is the only position in which I am not confident that Terry and Smith will be able to coach to a standard that will be required for a 50%+ win rate from here on out.

Geia sou, re, Tikanis?

We can. A 50% win rate is not something I look at and think we looked like achieving under Bruce. I look at the players we have and think 25% of the season done and we are 3 wins off automatic promotion, we can make it. I'm glad Bruce is gone. I don't want to get carried away before we see just what DS can do for this team, but I can't help but feel like we may just hit form like Fulham did.

Reports suggest DS likes to commit men forward and from what I've seen of Lansbury he can pass and move and doesn't mind a ping at goal from range. Lansbury would have to step it up a notch or three and show what he brings to the table if he's to displace Grealish, McGinn or Hourihane.

Hopefully the tactics of each fixture allow Jack to be better supported by his teammates, bringing others into the game more and making us less reliant on his ability to do something exceptional like dribble around a number of defenders before firing a shot off or playing a killer pass. The ball moves faster than the man so we want to see effective positional awareness and passing sequences bring the ball in to attack. Add that dynamic to the talent we have in midfield and attack and we will be dangerous! Jack will probably start to score goals and assist with regularity should we instill a system where players are positioned to create chances for their teammates and not reliant on individual bravado or even dumb luck.

Agreed. What's to stop them from bouncing ideas off each other in order to ascertain the optimal approach. I think something that could be an asset for Terry is the number of managerial heavyweights he has played under. Each will have taught him something valuable about how to approach the game and I'm sure will be a resource for DS if he ever needs to look to his assistant for inspiration.

I just read a tactical analysis of the Leeds vs Brentford 1-1 draw. I don't want to regurgitate too much detail but it was encouraging to read that Brentford were setup to counter attack and they did it with some success. Showing that you can concede possession to teams as long as there is a strategy and countermeasures in place. By HT Brentford's counter attacks had achieved 8 shots, 7 on target. The pressing and positional work Brentford put in ensured that Leeds were restricted to 75% pass completion. Unfortunately for Brentford, they only managed 1 goal for all their attempts on target, and late on in the game, Leeds managed to equalise. Here is another article on the subject of Brentford's tactics which I haven't read in full yet: https://statsbomb.com/2017/09/inferior-tactical-strategies-the-bizarro-world-of-brentford/

I've read a few posts now where you talk about being real and pragmatic and that your judgements about past, current or future events are accurate. Firstly, good for you. More power to you in your endeavor to discern things for what they are. Reality is nourishment and ignorance venomous. Secondly, I'm going to have a little dig at your version of reality. I'll start by nitpicking then get on to what's more relevant to the thread. The very usefulness of hope is when it is not aligned to reality or what is expected. When the odds are stacked against you. "For anyone on the downside of advantage, it's possible." Without hope there would be no aspiration. To take a concept and have it materialise involves belief and hope before it has come to be. That is a very real and functional process. I don't know exactly what 'this is precisely what I said would happen' means. Maybe that you predicted Smith's appointment? Or foresaw fans expecting unobtainable appointments? It's not really important for me to know what it means. What I want to point out is that you mention expectation and the 'reality' of who was to be appointed. We have hired a former managing director of Chelsea and Liverpool, both Champions League calibre. A La Liga, Europa League and UEFA Cup winning director of football, also of that calibre. A Champions League and Premier League winning player turned assistant manager. Only Dean Smith is lacking experience working with a club that has experienced European or domestic top tier success of those four people, who now occupy senior management roles at our club. Correct me if I'm wrong but I am thinking that it was far from unrealistic to hope for or anticipate the appointment of any of the names that were being thrown around on VT. In the end I think an astute and appropriate appointment was made. You kind of suggest that Smith is the best we could hope for not because of some skill he possesses but because others wouldn't have come given our situation. Therefore downplaying the very real possibility that Smith was more favourable a choice than others who perhaps are of a higher stature. I guess if people are underwhelmed for whatever reason, that is their prerogative. I would like to think that this appointment has been made with the view to take us beyond promotion and reestablished in the top tier. I think Wes Edens presents as very down to earth and will endeavor to understand what is required for us to achieve.

I think some are just fearful without realising there is no basis for this mentality as there are no indicators to suggest what will happen just yet. Conjuring up efforts to draw parallels between the two is an exercise in pessimism and ignores a myriad of difference between them and their circumstances, while focusing on the worst commonalities the two share, for the sake of confirming whatever doubts they have given birth to. Based on absolutely nothing but the possibility that things don't go well.

You can achieve your Level 5 UEFA Pro License or any of the accreditation levels that are available as a player but the PFA website says it is difficult. Terry would have to be Level 4 UEFA A License already to be our assistant manager. The completion time for this is 2 years. It's apparently recommended that on the completion of a new level you go away and find some practical hands-on experience in what you've just qualified to do. I don't think that coaching experience counts for credit as you can only work in what you're qualified to do and it is expected that you go and obtain some experience between levels. Apparently ex-pros get preferential treatment in admittance to the courses so maybe the rules are more guidelines and can be bent depending on who you are. I'm no sure. From the accounts that I just read including the official site doing the coursework is mandatory and gaining experience between levels is advised. Terry still potentially has 3 years of coursework to go before gaining his Pro License. Lampard was definitely playing while getting his badges. Hope that helps. There was talk on here that the board did not want Terry to play for us this season. I obviously can't vouch for that. As far as I can see the decision was his own and he is moving on to a new phase of his career. He would undoubtedly have his legacy as a player somewhere in the back of his skull as well. Turned down the opportunity to play Champions League and a shot at Russian top flight silverware for a last hurrah so maybe he decided back then his next role would be as coach.

Hmm.. I won't be committing myself to an arranged marriage anytime soon, so I know what you mean. That said both Smith and Terry are professionals with a goal in common. Think about it, what would have to take place in order for them to resent working with the other? I don't think either are going to sabotage the opportunity for success because someone senior to them decided they are to work together.

I want to be concise in responding to this. It is true about team hierarchy and structures, as well as use of data analytics at Brentford. Artificial Intelligence is not the driving force behind their model. People are. Smith was one of those people. Numbers are just a means to make an informed choice. There isn't a player recruited by Brentford who isn't scouted the traditional way as well being assessed numerically. I would suggest that the structure of shared responsibility could also be seen as a positive because in order to function effectively cohesion is essential and Smith will have some skill in developing this and working with it. Football is a team game after all and it requires people that can work together to do just that. The model at Brentford is that the head coach takes care of day-to-day strategy like training and match preparation, the directors of football take care of medium-term strategy like transfers and succession planning and the board deals with long-term strategy and objectives. They all have to liaison with one another to ensure things are congruent. So although Smith may not have had as much autonomy over decisions as managers at other clubs, he is still required to have a fundamental understanding of how the club and its competitors operate. We have a Ferrari and not just its steering wheel, although a few modifications may need to be made, and gears yet to be utilised. As said previously, it could also be that we plan to adopt a similar structure of hierarchy to that which Smith has just come from.

Do you think Dean Smith shares your worries about the opportunity to work with a footballing icon who has won it all? My guess is he is excited for the new opportunity and all that comes with it. I suppose we will know in time if the partnership gels.

An interview from July in regards to Aston Villa:

Speaking from a position of ignorance, I would suggest the plan is to do as I suggested with my garden analogy. In this video Wes Edens talks about ambition and change of personnel in order to reach objectives that you have for your club. He discusses having high standards in the video. We have appointed a winner of the UEFA Cup, La Liga and Europa League, Pitarch. Former Managing Director of both Liverpool and Chelsea, Purslow. Winner of the Premier League, Champions League, you name it, John Terry. All to be senior managerial figures at our club. Then we welcome Dean Smith into the fold who has the right approach, knowledge of our current division and a love of the club. From everything I have read and heard about Edens, he is serious in his ambition to take his clubs to the very top. Video goes for 1 minute.

Another winner of the highest order on board with experience at a large club. Ticking all the right boxes in my book.

Good to have him for another stint. The defense will benefit from his experience and know-how. The entire squad will benefit from his presence and leadership.

Absolutely and well said @peterms Concerns over his suitability to the Villa role and ability to operate outside of Brentford's framework is guesswork at best. Did Cortese's influence at Southampton undermine the work that Pochettino put in? No. They complemented each other. Pochettino went on to enjoy success at Spurs. Welcome to the club Dean! I hope it's a rewarding move for you.

Dean Smith may be well supported and advised at Brentford and perhaps without that he will be confronted with an environment and circumstance that he cannot manage here at Villa. Personally I think it just as likely that he brings his strengths and qualities that he has developed throughout his time with Brentford and instills them into a Villa side. He doesn't have to be the architect of the Brentford way, liken him to a builder if you like, as long as the architects plans can be read and comprehensively understood for all its practicalities, then building can go ahead smoothly. Does the builder lose his ability to construct and actualise the project he is given just because he completes his work on one job and moves on to the next? DS talks about understanding your opponent and being adaptable to the tests of each fixture. That to me shows understanding that our last manager did not possess. In order to successfully plan for and then accomplish a desired result there must be knowledge appropriate to the task at hand. There is no way Brentford achieve anything without someone who understands their philosophy and who is also competent when it comes to the methodologies of his competition in place. No doubt each job has its own requirements and the Villa build is probably like a Victorian Mansion and the Brentford project akin to a one bedroom box apartment as far as complexity and difficulty goes. We can only pass judgement on his perceived abilities and make our predictions. From the little I know of him I would back him to get us into the top 6 from where we sit.

I take your point. I don't think you win by selling players like Grealish though. You develop them so that in time leadership quality and athletic skill set are ready for the rigors ahead. I understand sometimes selling is inevitable, but it's nothing to aspire toward. The function is producing good football and the players to go with it. Business is secondary in my mind. Selling Hogan as a success story is understandable, it's money they otherwise wouldn't have for a player who was purchased for a fraction of the cost. You're right. Data analytics certainly has it's place and merits. The old adage that you must count your makes and takes in order to progress is timeless.

Interesting read. I've been saying for years that our approach should be tailored relevant to the challenges we face instead of throwing cash around like it alone can remedy our trials. Ingenuity, analysis and problem solving as a means to solutions and progress instead of reverting to type and simply accepting the well worn path as the way. Here's a cringeworthy snippet from the article:

That's more confusing than insightful. Are you playing games fella?

Agreed, it is baffling. Especially when from the outside looking in what I have seen is the retention of Grealish, those either already appointed or linked to a position have seemingly impressive credentials, and they weren't afraid to make a decision to cut ties when it became evident the likelihood of success under Bruce was unfavourable.

It's interesting how perspectives can differ according to viewpoint. To speak with Henry is just to hold discussions, that could be anything from an enquiry to negotiation. It's not surprising that Bruce was afforded some time while that process took place. Without knowing what you are referring to when you say there's some background problems, I imagine there would be a myriad of challenges and problems that need to be overcome and solved. That won't be easy and there's no guarantee of success. Navigating our way out starts with addressing what's needed and by no means is that going to be free from disruption.

If one thing is certain in all this it is that I hope anyone placing bets is dealing with money they can afford to lose. Sky Sports posted only two hours ago that Faria was still in the running. Perhaps Henry Winter is the more informed journalist this time but I wouldn't be surprised if what eventuates is contradictory to media narratives.