Dean Smith

[NoCoder]

38 minutes ago, LondonLax said:

There are a few key points here:

• The board have changed the structure of the club, an overseeing director of football will ensure a long term continuity and philosophy for the club rather than the previous approach of ripping everything up and stating from scratch each time a new manager is appointed (this structure may well have put off some of the other potential manger candidates). 
• Smith plays a great football with a proper 'system' that suits the modern game. We have been crying out for this for a long time on here. 
• He knows this league inside out. He will have full scouting reports on every one of our opponents and know the strengths and weaknesses of each (including our own squad). This will be key if he wants to hit the ground running. 
• He is bringing John Terry who brings instant respect from the playing squad and a detailed knowledge of the personalities of our players. This is also key to hit the ground running.  

He might not be a big name but there is a lot to like about this. 

You've summed it up perfectly. Agree 100% with all points

[Zatman]

Only thing thag worries me about this is was Terry forced on him

[YLN]

When I read the headline I was shocked and disappointed. But then to my great relief, I realised it wasn't Dean Saunders. What ever happens, at least it's not Dean Saunders.

[DaveAV1]

12 minutes ago, Johnnyp said:

Press conference when ?

Well it depends on who you believe. The Daily Mail have it at 5 to 4, The Mirror 10 to 12 and the Sun 5 to 1. The Guardian are saying it will be held at BMH, but The Telegraph at Villa Park. The Birmingham Mail are still reporting that it’s going to Thierry Henry that will be announced on The Holte car park a week on Tuesday. 

[Vincenzo]

Tickety Boo and Dandy!

[A'Villan]

6 minutes ago, Zatman said:

Only thing thag worries me about this is was Terry forced on him

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.

[One For The Road]

1 hour ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

Kin hell, if YOU of all people are happy we must really be in for a good spell.

Why wouldn't I be happy with this? You make it sound like I just say things to be negative rather than actually just being realistic. There hasn't been much to shout about in recent years and I'm glad we are finally getting it right.

I said we wouldn't be getting Fonseca, Wenger etc and I was told I had no ambition. I think it was you that said thank God I'm not advising the board? (Apologies if I'm wrong)

I also said thatt Henry wasn't the right man for the job to which I got even more stick.

I also said I thought it would be Smith.

It seems that if I had been advisibg the board, they would have agreed with me.

Anyway, onwards and upwards. Time to unite and get behind the team. These situations always split the fans and we all have our opinions. That's the nature of football. We all want the best for Aston Villa at the end of the day.

Now it's done, the board have picked their man and I couldn't be happier.

As I said a couple of weeks back, the season starts with Swansea at home. Let's get a bumper crowd and kick off with a win in the fixture that finally did for tactics Tim.

UTV

 

Edited October 10, 2018 by One For The Road

[YLN]

Maybe next time Mick

Edited October 10, 2018 by YLN

[7392craig]

Gotta be honest, if it’s true about how Brentford are set up, then I just don’t see what we’re excited about. I’m not claiming he’ll be a failure as I don’t know if it’s true whether they actually set up based on a whole team rather than just a manager, and a percentage based statistical set up. But if that is true then essentially haven’t we just got excited that we’ve bought a Ferrari when actually all we got was the steering wheel?

edit: I must say that if he is responsible for the way Brentford have played the last few years then I’m definitely excited, because they’ve achieved a lot on a small budget and certainly have looked like a footballing team.

Edited October 10, 2018 by 7392craig

[One For The Road]

1 minute ago, YLN said:

Maybe next time Mick

Imagine how Sol Campbell feels?

[Zatman]

6 minutes ago, A'Villan said:

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.

Well forced partnerships never work out

[Spoony]

5 minutes ago, YLN said:

Maybe next time Mick

Any excuse

[Reivax_Villa]

Some quotes from Brentford fans

 

Quote

"I have no real qualms about him leaving. I enjoyed him as our manager, he was a passionate coach and brought about a period of calm and evenness to our first team. We played some brilliant football under him at times, and attracted the begrudging respect of many of the larger teams in the division/country. He always spoke well and was a good ambassador for the club. I don't blame him for taking the job - very few people get the opportunity to manage the club they support, and to do it with a salary many multiples of what he was earning before is an easy decision. He had a great deal of trust and backing from the staff, both here and at Walsall, but I imagine it could well be a bumpy ride working for those in charge of Villa at present.

But he was a cog in a large organisation, and he and his career will have benefited massively from the Brentford machine. He made us look good, and we made him look great. Alongside some of the brilliant performances were some very poor runs, and a weak mentality that saw us drop loads of unnecessary points over the seasons. I hope we make a next appointment that keeps us steady off the pitch, and exciting on it. Whether that's Frank or someone else, the DoFs have been proving to us over the past couple of years that they've learned an awful lot and have clearly planned for this at some point."

 

Quote

"Not too worried about him going even though he did a good job, he had a great structure to work in. 

I’m more concerned about him trying to sign Mepham and/or Konsa given Villa’s defence but also Sawyers and Maupay with McEachran a possibility given his contract being up."

 

Quote

"I am genuinely sad about this. I have liked having DS in charge. I didn't always agree with him and think the success he has had with us has always been about the system as well as him; but he is a thoroughly decent, open-minded individual who tries to treat people and do things in the right way. I fear for him at Villa TBH but hope he does ok, so long as it is not at our expense!"

 

Quote

"I'm disappointed that he's going. But I can accept it & wish him all the best.

The football was incredible at times, even better than the best we'd previously witnessed at GP, under Mark Warburton. He came in when the club were at a cross roads and has been fantastic as a head coach.

I like Dean Smith & wish him all the best at his & his dad's club, back where he's from. He deserves it & we've helped him!

The king is dead, long live the king. Come on you bees. Cheers Dean/Richard."

 

Quote

"I think it's a question of time and personally I fear he might not get it at Villa. The days of an Alex Ferguson type guy who comes in and revolutionises the entire club seem to be gone and whilst I really like DS, he's an important part of an effective machine, not necessarily a master tactician who can make it all work by himself. If he's allowed to do his thing properly I think the squad you've got is so strong at this level you should be up there. The idea of John Terry being a dealbreaker seems very flawed to me (unless he's coming out of retirement to play cb!)"

 

[Spoony]

36 minutes ago, Zatman said:

Only thing thag worries me about this is was Terry forced on him

I get your thinking but equally the board think this is the right decision and most fans seem to agree. He knows the club, he knows the players and I'm sure he has a lot of knowledge to offer. My worry would be more on the side of him overstepping his authority. He is a big character and has always been no. 1 amongst players. Can he be a no. 2 amongst coaches?

[villianusa]

Welcome, and let's hope you can build a legacy as Ferguson did at United. 

[bannedfromHandV]

Don't know what to think, as ever the proof will be in the pudding. 

Win games get us promoted = legend

Anything else = 'total failure'

[Spoony]

1 minute ago, villianusa said:

Welcome, and let's hope you can build a legacy as Ferguson did at United. 

I wish this could be the case but I've gotten used to Villa managers having a very short life. I can't help but feel he will be a distant memory in 9 months like all the others (not because of him particularly but just because it always happens and I've just become numb to everything being terrible at Villa).

[villianusa]

4 minutes ago, Spoony said:

I wish this could be the case but I've gotten used to Villa managers having a very short life. I can't help but feel he will be a distant memory in 9 months like all the others (not because of him particularly but just because it always happens and I've just become numb to everything being terrible at Villa).

I understand what you're saying, I just hope he gets the time to build what we all want. We have a good squad, let's see what he can do with it.

[Farlz]

One thing I do hope happens under Smith is we see more of our youth come through.

[7392craig]

6 minutes ago, villianusa said:

I understand what you're saying, I just hope he gets the time to build what we all want. We have a good squad, let's see what he can do with it.

As I posted earlier, I’m not sure he’s capable of building anything great. I believe we’ve bought a piece of a well oiled machine. I still hold hope, and I believe the football will look better purely because it’s not Bruceball. But I certainly think we’ve got a dud.