Dean Smith

[ciggiesnbeer]

I am just enjoying the ride up in quality of play. Seriously. Yeah I hate losing to QPR but we lost being the team who did almost all the attacking and we were entertaining too. 

I wasnt a Dean Smith fan before he joined us, but he is making me one.  The results will come as long as we stick to the plan and steadily build into our new and better style of play. Lets keep at it.

 

[KenjiOgiwara]

4 hours ago, nick76 said:

How bizarre current reality is in the world......already the question of how much time DS has, he's been here give or take two weeks!!!

Which is largely one of the reasons we are stuck with shite hoofball managers season after season.  Implementing a new style, that isn't as limited and far more entertaining, takes time. But too many fans refuse to see the long term. 

[Lerner's Driver]

5 hours ago, nick76 said:

How bizarre current reality is in the world......already the question of how much time DS has, he's been here give or take two weeks!!!

It is bizarre in the sense that any meaningful change takes time to implement and still strange, but not hard to understand, when you remember football is a results driven business where most owners are gambling on accessing or retaining access to the Premier League gravy train. With money as the goal, all decision making is predicated on a cold, hard analysis of the return on investment.

Moreover, most owners think they can 'fast track' 'access' through a hyper short term investment policy - just see Tony Xia as an example and he's not alone. New owners often allude to building infrastructures and restoring former glories and to these ends, Smith was hired to entertain, but he also HAS to get results, just like every other manager.

Therefore, his task is actually much harder than that of your average 'dinosaur', who only has to win because he doesn't promise to do anything else.

With huge sums at stake, owners will allow the manager time to develop the team's playing style (for as long as he is achieving it whilst also winning), but that time will rapidly run out if he isn't.

Against that background, the upcoming tough fixtures are a real worry. If we are in the bottom three at Christmas, he will definitely be under pressure because pretty losers are still losers. That's not just unfair on Smith, it's the reality of our modern world.

[Villarocker]

49 minutes ago, KenjiOgiwara said:

Which is largely one of the reasons we are stuck with shite hoofball managers season after season.  Implementing a new style, that isn't as limited and far more entertaining, takes time. But too many fans refuse to see the long term. 

Exactly!

Except for being threatened with relegation all season, I'll happily write promotion off this season if it means that we build something for the future and continually see a more attractive style of football and, eventually, a constantly winning team. 

[mikeyp102]

7 hours ago, Made In Aston said:

Yes. The board are not morons. They hired him knowing full well it would take time to get the team playing well. They aren't the kind of people to be sacking a manager every couple of months. 

We have no idea what type of people the owners are. They may be like the Watford owner for all we know (who despite his tendency to get rid of managers seems to be doing a good job)

[Ginko]

27 minutes ago, mikeyp102 said:

We have no idea what type of people the owners are. They may be like the Watford owner for all we know (who despite his tendency to get rid of managers seems to be doing a good job)

Perhaps, but since all the talk from Purslow has been about changing the philosophy and infrastructure of the club and changing the way we play to be attacking and entertaining football, you’d think they’d realise this doesn’t happen overnight.

I imagine they also take into account that we can’t afford to keep chopping and changing managers and paying out huge sums to get the old one out and the new one in.

I think Smith is the perfect candidate for the board right now and they will give him time. I also think the fact he’s relatively young, comes off the back of a very impressive stint at Brentford and that he has the Villa connection will give him a bit of extra leeway, not just with the owners but with the fans too.

Yes, football is a results business, but surely anyone with a lick of sense can see that our frantic attempts at short term gain by changing the manager so frequently just isn’t working. The infrastructure needs to change and I think we finally have owners that realise that and (hopefully) have the sense to understand this will take more than a few weeks to implement.

Edited October 29, 2018 by Ginko

[Zatman]

Needs a pre-season before we can judge him

[AvfcRigo82]

I was a bit sceptical of his appointment but I am willing to give him the first 8-10 games before I actually judge him.

It was never going to be an overnight fix and we may not even see promotion this season but I am willing to give the guy some time first as he has inherited a bit of a mess.

I think the next 3 games will give us a good indication as to how this season could actually go for us.

[Vive_La_Villa]

38 minutes ago, Zatman said:

Needs a pre-season before we can judge him

To be fair at least he would use the pre season to coach the players. God knows how Bruce used to use the pre season. 

[Vive_La_Villa]

20 minutes ago, AvfcRigo82 said:

I was a bit sceptical of his appointment but I am willing to give him the first 8-10 games before I actually judge him.

It was never going to be an overnight fix and we may not even see promotion this season but I am willing to give the guy some time first as he has inherited a bit of a mess.

I think the next 3 games will give us a good indication as to how this season could actually go for us.

I think we will struggle until we get a new keeper. He really is the worst keeper I’ve ever seen at Villa and that’s no exaggeration.

[Darth Villa]

It's quite clear that Dean Smith will need time, it's frustrating for all of us (including our manager and his team) as the league is wide open this year BUT... With the infrastructure sorted and squad deficiencies addressed we will ultimately get to a better, sustainable position.

I suspect Bruce knew his day's were numbered and hence he screwed the club by leaving an unbalanced squad for his successor (hence Elphick and DeLaet loans, and overpaying for an unfit Bolasie) - similar to a MoN departure in intent I.e. Maximum harm in a fit of spite.

Smith can't address the gaps until January but what I saw at QPR was individual mistakes but a far better team performance so  it's going to be a rollercoaster season but that's the price of long-term sustainability and hopefully success.

The game against the small heathens will be a real test given their improvements and our continued slump but let's keep any result in perspective. We are now going places, they are still awaiting an FFP points deduction 

[praisedmambo]

21 minutes ago, Darth Villa said:

It's quite clear that Dean Smith will need time, it's frustrating for all of us (including our manager and his team) as the league is wide open this year BUT... With the infrastructure sorted and squad deficiencies addressed we will ultimately get to a better, sustainable position.

I suspect Bruce knew his day's were numbered and hence he screwed the club by leaving an unbalanced squad for his successor (hence Elphick and DeLaet loans, and overpaying for an unfit Bolasie) - similar to a MoN departure in intent I.e. Maximum harm in a fit of spite.

Smith can't address the gaps until January but what I saw at QPR was individual mistakes but a far better team performance so  it's going to be a rollercoaster season but that's the price of long-term sustainability and hopefully success.

The game against the small heathens will be a real test given their improvements and our continued slump but let's keep any result in perspective. We are now going places, they are still awaiting an FFP points deduction 

I think you've been hanging out in the dark side a bit too long. There were plenty of other shit things going on around both of them—Lerner cost cutting and Xia being a fraud and having no money—that led to their exits, as different as those were, without them also managing to screw squads over in spite.

[KHV]

15 hours ago, romavillan said:

Tough run, Bolton H, Derby A, Birmingham H, Forest H, Middlesboro A, Baggies A, Stoke H, Leeds H, Swansea A, Preston A.

Who knows though, play as well as we did for most of the QPR game and we won't be a million miles off. 15 points from that lot would be good enough I reckon and we'd be 3 points behind where Fulham were.

There is at least 6 games in that run I don't expect any wins from

[Dr_Pangloss]

We have some moronic fans, just look at your average Villa Facebook page. Smith is bringing a real project to the table and it will take a lot of time to get the existing playing staff up to speed in terms of fitness and style of play as well as time for Smith to bring his own players in who can do what he wants. Smith is also joining at a time where we have a run of really hard fixtures, whereas Bruce had comparatively easy fixtures which he failed to get anywhere near enough points from.

Smith will take us in the right direction given time, but to expect promotion this season is ridiculous.

Edited October 29, 2018 by Dr_Pangloss

[TRO]

On 27/10/2018 at 18:48, OutByEaster? said:

I thought we did a decent job of opening up QPR last night, on another night we'd have had three goals - some of the finishing wasn't the best, but we made chances.

It's not just about football being "good" it's about having a pattern or a system that the players can fall back on, that becomes the on-pitch normal. In the playoff final for example, we weren't able to find the moments of individual brilliance that our system demanded to win the game, where Fulham's systematic approach stood up to the pressure of the big occasion better, the players were drilled - they could think less, the big game was less "different" to nay other. In the modern game, physicality has evened out, everyone is quick, everyone is fit and it's hard to have that as your advantage. Coaching has evolved to the point where a single brilliant individual will have to really be something to win games on their own.

Me either. I hate losing. Last night I saw signs that we can change it. I get that you didn't see those signs, but sometimes there's a lot of positives you can take from a defeat (and sometimes you can take a lot of negatives from a flukey win but it feels better) I saw positives in last night's performance.

I think everyone does - I think some are seeing signs that we're underway at least. I think maybe this is where the wires cross - you've been here a while and what's always been true of you is that you see a game or a part of the club and you have an opinion on it, and that opinion is always genuine and honest - it's why people were surprised that you said you didn't see any positive difference in style or performance under the new manager. Never mind improvement, just difference. I think people saw your posts as deliberately refusing to see in order to find a way to criticise the new manager. I'm pretty sure that's not the case, as if you'd wanted to criticise the new manager, I know you would!

And here's the thing; FWIW, I think he'll be able to implement his philosophies, and have us playing incisive, controlled, positive football but that results won't follow until the defence is fixed, it will drag all the good work down. What's more, I think there's a huge value in implementing those philosophies, even whilst results are poor. It's a subtle but important difference.

 

I appreciate that post....and it makes me feel better already.

you are right....I might be a few things to some people, but I would never be shallow enough to attempt to discredit Dean Smith to try and prove my point over Steve Bruce.

Steve Bruce has gone and I am not really interested in commenting on him, except to say the defence is in a mess, some mitigation is fair that he would have kept Johnstone if he could, The left back chose Fulham at the last minute, but we could have dogded a bullet time will tell.

I am right behind Dean, but my comments were not meant as criticism, just as observation.....I accept that other folk seen things that give them encouragement, I am not saying they are wrong, they are just saying I am for not noticing......We all have our own interpretations of a game and some of us vary in what we major on.....its nothing more or nothing less than that.

ps.....I was talking with a guy who was talking to Kevin Phillips and he said " Richard O'Kelly coming is a master stroke"....Kevin had high praise for him.

Edited October 29, 2018 by TRO

[TRO]

On 27/10/2018 at 18:56, OutByEaster? said:

I'm not sure that's true. I don't think it was results that ultimately lost Bruce his job - of course if we'd won every game in the season he'd still be the boss, a manager that wins every game can do what he likes,, but I think Bruce lost his job for two reasons - mainly because he was unable to secure a full squad in the summer; when that French defender went home to think about it and that left back drove down to London, Bruce was halfway finished, but also because there were no signs of development, we were a team with no identity, no underlying shape, a different back four every week, no structure, two and a half years and back to day one. I think both of those factors played a much larger part on his fate than results. 

I'm sure they both hate losing, but I don't think it was just losses that cost Bruce his job, anymore than I think last nights loss means that Smith hasn't begun his.

 

 

 

I take all your points and I agree with them.....but, it all comes back to that simplistic statement.

[TRO]

On 27/10/2018 at 19:33, Dave J said:

TRO - you surprise me, I have always considered you to have a deep knowledge of the game and therefore  I am a little surprised at your views thus far - I'm no tactical guru, just a layman in reality - but I can sense a change,  not something that is easy to quantify tbh, but something that is there nonetheless. DS needs time to sort out this mess - which I believe is worse than what Bruce inherited, will he get the time is another question altogether.

Dave, I am not sure its worse than what Bruce inherited but hey its a moot point.

Thank you for your vote in confidence of what you once thought of me.

I too am no tactical guru and have never pretended to be....I just have an opinion like everyone else, sometimes it does not fit with the general consensus, just remember if the the rest of the world said one thing and you thought something different, you are entitled to those thoughts.

I look for things when I am watching a game, things in my opinion have a bearing on the result, that ultimately is what I look for wins....If you look for other things, that's your prerogative, I would guess you too, think they have a bearing on the result otherwise it is hard to wonder what the point is.....but they may not be the same as me.

I still believe in time I will catch up, because I have faith in Dean Smith, but he may take time in getting around to the things I am looking for.

[Spoony]

3 hours ago, AvfcRigo82 said:

I was a bit sceptical of his appointment but I am willing to give him the first 8-10 games before I actually judge him.

It was never going to be an overnight fix and we may not even see promotion this season but I am willing to give the guy some time first as he has inherited a bit of a mess.

I think the next 3 games will give us a good indication as to how this season could actually go for us.

That just isn’t enough time. It’s because of the fans’ need of instant gratification that we end up hiring and firing managers all the time and the kind of managers that get results in the short term are not the managers we want  over the long term when the football gets dull, the players seemingly give up and the fans get frustrated (see Steve Bruce and Tim Sherwood).

You can see he has a plan and that the plan involves playing the kind of football we want to see. It’s going to take time and a few transfer windows. For once we need to give the manager an extended stay of execution because where exactly do we turn from here? I’m so tired of managers being fired all the time. It isn’t the solution to anything. 

[Vive_La_Villa]

I dont think any manager can be truly judged until he is given a chance to bring his own players in.  Bruce got 4 transfer windows. Yes there were mitigating circumstances with funds etc but every manager has to work with what they are given and can only be judged by that. 

After that there’s no excuses.  

[villabromsgrove]

I'm sat here with a smile on my face. I'm not thinking about the last three matches, the next match, the next three matches or even the run up until January or the end of the season ..... I'm thinking about the unfolding 'Dean Smith era'.

I'm positive that NSWE and CP have made an inspired appointment, and at some point in the next couple of seasons the football world will once again be talking about Villa .... this time for all the right reasons!

We can afford to be patient, because this time we've got it right.