Dean Smith

[villalad21]

The not being able to perform without Grealish will continue to hang over him until he proves otherwise. 

4 points from Watford, Newcastle, and Brentford is really poor, and we have struggled to create chances. We have looked exactly like the Villa from last season when Grealish was injured. 

If that is the case we will be averaging about a point a game which will drag us into a relegation scrap this season. 

Chelsea, Everton, Spurs and Man Utd awaits us after the international break. Tough times ahead. 

[VillaAlex]

https://dataviz.theanalyst.com/season-reviews/2021/

This was interesting, given the changes in personnel and injuries it would have been somewhat expected we'd initially struggle to create.

But given we've played three sides we'd expect to finish bottom half it's still somewhat disappointing. 

Only Crystal Palace have had less shots. We have the least XG from open play and have been reliant on set pieces. I think we have all seen that though.

I can only hope that this is because we have played opposition who are playing deep and not giving us space. Our attacking approach is the fastest in the league but it seems it's breaking down with the final pass or in the final third.

Our defensive statistics are ok so far but our pressures from the front are quite terrible. Again with Palace worst in the league with zero pressures leading to a shot or goal. It's clear we really miss Oli here and again highlighting that maybe we've been poor in the final third.

Hopefully when Oli and Bailey come back in we'll see an improvement all round. As if you don't create goals don't always come from scraps and it'll be a long season.

Given our backroom staff are keen on statistics I'm sure they are well aware of this.

[KentVillan]

4 hours ago, Spoony said:

The VillaTalk section of VillaTalk is no longer fun nor interesting. Just overran by bickering and hyperbole.

School holidays nearly over!

<GIF>

[dont_do_it_doug.]

9 hours ago, Delphinho123 said:

You might not think that when we’re 35 games into the season and underachieving. All of a sudden being 3-0 down to a team that is likely to finish either 19th/20th might be deemed unacceptable.

Just because it’s early into the season, doesn’t mean it’s acceptable to put in performances like that. Hell, even our manager said it was unacceptable.

You’re right, I might not think that 35 games into the season. Regardless, I’ll still be taking the context into account.

Such as here, in the Dean Smith thread, we’re not talking about A performance, we’re talking about THE performance of the manager so far. Maybe people can engage their brains and consider this context the next time they post their bollocks. I don’t think it’s much to ask.

[CVByrne]

Well we've players such as Traore, Watkins, Bailey who have double figure goals/assists each from open play. We had Buendia not fully fit so his output wasn't at level we expect from here on in. That's left us with AEG, Young to fill in. AEG has very low contributions from open play and Young is more a defender than a forward these days. 

It's good we have managed 5 goals from the three games given the loss of so much attacking talent.

Any 4 from the following. Watkins, Ings, Buendia, Traore, Bailey = potent open play attacking threat. We've had 1 and a half of them on pitch (given Buendia fitness) so far really.

[dont_do_it_doug.]

9 hours ago, briny_ear said:

Good point. Smith has been fairly critical of our performances in all three league matches so far. Even Newcastle he said was “OK, by no means brilliant.” The other two performances, he has been much harsher in his judgement.

Ludicrous man, doesn’t he realise  that in the circumstances we have done brilliantly and he has no reason to be constantly criticising himself and the team. It gets so wearing.

There’s a huge chasm of mental space between “our performance is unacceptable” and “we have done brilliantly” within which one can rationalise what has happened so far and formulate a more rounded opinion. 

Edited August 30, 2021 by dont_do_it_doug.

[KentVillan]

Returning to topic… we’ve been below par, everyone can see that. The difference of opinion is where the blame lies, and whether it’s something long-term or just a temporary problem as the squad settles.

I don’t see loads of cause for concern right now. Brentford aren’t classic relegation fodder like Norwich - they’re unbeaten and have come up looking physically and mentally ready for the PL.

I think we’ll improve on last season. The better squad depth will help us perform more consistently throughout the season.

[Vive_La_Villa]

How are people ignoring the players missing when discussing how Smith has done so far? 

I get Watford was unacceptable. He said as much himself and deserves the criticism for it. But we beat Newcastle and got a good point v Brentford with half the squad missing.   
 

It’s a very long season. So much yet to happen.  It does sometimes feel like there’s one or two hoping Smith fails so they can say I told you so. 

[Xela]

10 hours ago, Delphinho123 said:

That’s VT I’m afraid. 

If you show any sort of negativity or constructively criticise players, performances, a handful of posters will make you out to be some sort of ungrateful b****** who shouldn’t demand shiny things. 

In reality of course, it’s perfectly fine to offer opinions on topics whilst fully understanding how far we’ve progressed under our excellent ownership. 

Constructive criticism is fine, of course it is. We all love a good mass debate (KW.jpg)

Posters calling young players "dogshit" when they played ok, isn't constructive, thats what prompts defensive replies. There seems to be a swathe of people  posting exaggerated negative reactionary comments. They'll start on one player until he plays ok, then they'll move on to someone else*

I'm not a happy clappy everything is wonderful fan, but more of a realist, and grateful of the huge strides we have made. Still a long way to go, of course, but it'll take time and the odd bump in the road ahead  

 

*This is a general comment and not aimed at any one individual poster. 

[DCJonah]

4 minutes ago, KentVillan said:

Returning to topic… we’ve been below par, everyone can see that. The difference of opinion is where the blame lies, and whether it’s something long-term or just a temporary problem as the squad settles.

I don’t see loads of cause for concern right now. Brentford aren’t classic relegation fodder like Norwich - they’re unbeaten and have come up looking physically and mentally ready for the PL.

I think we’ll improve on last season. The better squad depth will help us perform more consistently throughout the season.

Agreed and from my perspective I don't think there's any reason to blame anyone right now for the start of our season. 

I think the club have done well in the transfer market in a summer where we've lost our best player. 

I think the manager has dealt with squad issues and overall we've played fairly well and 4 pts isn't a disaster  

And I think the players have done what's asked of them so far. 

We're miles away from seeing what plan A is this season. I'm looking forward to giving it some time and seeing what the rewards will be. 

[QldVilla]

1 hour ago, villalad21 said:

The not being able to perform without Grealish will continue to hang over him until he proves otherwise. 

4 points from Watford, Newcastle, and Brentford is really poor, and we have struggled to create chances. We have looked exactly like the Villa from last season when Grealish was injured. 

If that is the case we will be averaging about a point a game which will drag us into a relegation scrap this season. 

Chelsea, Everton, Spurs and Man Utd awaits us after the international break. Tough times ahead. 

4 points from 3 games averages out as 50 points for the season, that would be the lower end of an acceptable season.

We have had an interrupted pre-season and several injuries to key players, it’s too early to make any assumptions.

[villalad21]

13 minutes ago, Vive_La_Villa said:

How are people ignoring the players missing when discussing how Smith has done so far? 

I get Watford was unacceptable. He said as much himself and deserves the criticism for it. But we beat Newcastle and got a good point v Brentford with half the squad missing.   
 

It’s a very long season. So much yet to happen.  It does sometimes feel like there’s one or two hoping Smith fails so they can say I told you so. 

And what do we do if these injuries are long term? 

Bottom line is Smith needs to find a way to win football games regardless what the situation is with the squad. 

It's either that or being dragged into a relegation battle. 

Edited August 30, 2021 by villalad21

[villalad21]

5 minutes ago, QldVilla said:

4 points from 3 games averages out as 50 points for the season, that would be the lower end of an acceptable season.

We have had an interrupted pre-season and several injuries to key players, it’s too early to make any assumptions.

We've played the weakest teams to be fair 

[StewieGriffin]

Cant argue with the job he's done up to this point.

If we were told "this guy will get you up THIS season, keep you up after a bumpy ride, and then get you a solid mid-table finish" on the day we appointed him then I think only the kids who play Fifa/Football Manager will have been a bit underwhelmed.

There's teams in this league who have years on us - Burnley, Palace, Newcastle, Southampton, Brighton. Id say we've caught or overtaken all of those teams inside 2 seasons. That's not all because of the owners chucking money at the team.

Is he the guy to get us into the Champions League? Doubtful. But we arent looking at that yet. Is he the guy to get us into the top half/Europa League contention? Last season tells me it's more likely than not given a fair wind - he/we haven't had that so far this year. If nothing else, what Dean's first 3 seasons SHOULD allow him is a bit of slack with regards to the pre-season we've had. He hasn't had a bad/underwhelming season yet - there have been patches, but not a consistent season. Let's see how this all plays out over the next few weeks and months.

[QldVilla]

27 minutes ago, villalad21 said:

We've played the weakest teams to be fair 

Doesn’t mean anything, it’s early season, most teams haven’t played their best football and won’t for a few more games. Our only way is up.

[DCJonah]

35 minutes ago, villalad21 said:

We've played the weakest teams to be fair 

We've also played our weakest teams in those games. 

Watkins, Bailey, Traore, Sanson, Mings, mcginn, will be capable of making a big impact on us.

[The Inspiration]

34 minutes ago, villalad21 said:

We've played the weakest teams to be fair 

Well time will on that one, think Brentford and Watford will surprise many but to your point regardless of ability the promoted teams are notoriously difficult opponents to play against in the first few games of the season. The added euphoria of being back in the big time puts them and their fans on a crest of a wave really and knocks their performance up a few levels

[villalad21]

8 minutes ago, The Inspiration said:

Well time will on that one, think Brentford and Watford will surprise many but to your point regardless of ability the promoted teams are notoriously difficult opponents to play against in the first few games of the season. The added euphoria of being back in the big time puts them and their fans on a crest of a wave really and knocks their performance up a few levels

I think Brentford will be lucky to finish 17th but that's for another thread. 

[The Inspiration]

6 minutes ago, villalad21 said:

I think Brentford will be lucky to finish 17th but that's for another thread. 

Just below us by your reckoning then?

[PussEKatt]

On 29/08/2021 at 11:35, Xela said:

I'd say exactly the opposite 

In that case why were we flat in the first half V Watford and didnt come to life till way after 60 min V Brentford.Look at he top teams ( Liverpool,ManUre etc etc ) they play like they really want to win right from the start.