Jump to content

Dean Smith


Demitri_C

Recommended Posts

Proper car crash that.

Grealish loss has killed us, but it's not good enough. The cowards like Hourihane/Taylor/El Ghazi whose main concern walking onto the pitch is not get hurt really doesn't help. Infuriating to watch them swan around, doing the total opposite to Jack. Constantly hiding away, forever avoiding responsibility. Trying a stupid flick that is a one in a million instead of holding on to the ball. We haven't built an attack for 15 minutes and you're scared of being the one who is seen to get dispossessed instead of having some balls and playing football.

Jesus Christ, imagine our midfield when McGinn misses those two games through suspension.

Every time Smith speaks I agree with everything he says. This week he spoke about showing the players City v Liverpool clips, and them all agreeing they need to work harder. I thought great. They did need to work harder, and now they've all agreed that'll happen. Where the hell was that? Are they not listening? Do they not want to? Is it fitness?

The Bruce spell almost broke me. I was certainly far less interested in going to matches. Not paying to watch that. We'll never have resources like that again in this league. He wasted them and left behind a farcically unbalanced squad. It's not easy for Smith piecing a defence together but he's just got to do better than that performance wise.

We can still make the playoffs. We can still go up. Only Leeds and Stoke have looked like they can live with us when we play well.

I would suggest though that Deano figures out a way to get his system working without Jack Grealish because if we don't go up I don't think he'll be here at the start of next season. The thought of losing him and McGinn makes me feel ill.

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Let's be honest we have one player in midfield, McGinn. Even with Jack in there we were carrying Hourihane. With Jack out, BB, Whelen and Hourihane show their true colors. They are just not good enough. Add two of the worst full backs ever to wear a Villa short and you can see why we were so bad yesterday.

The squad is too old, too slow and does not play at the pace needed for Smiths style. A major overhaul is required.

  • Like 2
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, KMitch said:

This is exactly why I'm sticking by Smith for another two seasons.  This squad is garbage, through and through.  We're kidding ourselves to think that this team is going to make the playoffs because just about all of them won't be here next season.  Deano is also going to make mistakes.  He isn't the finished article as a manager, which is why he is here at Villa Park instead of at a Premier League club chasing Champions League football.  Plus, he's one of us and he has shown glimpses of how he wants us to play so far, so we owe him that much.  In his post match pressers, he says exactly what I'm feeling about the game.  He took responsibility for that loss, and IMO, he needs to shoulder the blame for those awful substitutions.  It's time to learn from our mistakes and try to kick on, but I'm afraid our players need to do the same.  Someone besides McGinn needs to stand up and hold themselves accountable.  

I think this is part of the whole problem in any manager taking the job on, many of us said that it's a long term fix to change everything to do with the playing side at the club, but as soon as you start losing you get pelters.  You're completely correct, but the atmosphere will probably kill off Smith before he implements what he wants.  I hope I'm wrong.

  • Like 2
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, av1 said:

If I was a pub team manager facing a side containing Alan Hutton, Elmohamady and Neil Taylor I'd set my team up to exploit the flanks. 

And if was I a football genius with those prats in my side I doubt I'd be able to remedy it. 

They are not anywhere near good enough, when exactly have they shown this season that they are?

Rubbish. We battered 2 of the best teams in the division (Boro and Derby) and arguably should have beat WBA with those players. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Zatman said:

Smith got left with overpaid overhyped Bruce signings. Except Jack, Tammy and Tuanzebe nobody is good enough to step up next season in top flight

We won’t be in the top flight next year so I wouldn’t worry. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, OutByEaster? said:

I feel for him - our midfield can't cope either as a two or a three - but he can't add additional bodies, because none of the bodies we have are good enough. 

It's catch 22 if you try to play as many of your best players as you can, you end up with a dreadful hole in the middle of the park; if you try to fill that hole in the middle of the park, you end up with a team of players that isn't good enough.

 

It is pretty much the same midfield as last season that got to the play off final. You could also argue it has been improved with the addition of McGinn.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, sharkyvilla said:

I think this is part of the whole problem in any manager taking the job on, many of us said that it's a long term fix to change everything to do with the playing side at the club, but as soon as you start losing you get pelters.  You're completely correct, but the atmosphere will probably kill off Smith before he implements what he wants.  I hope I'm wrong.

I agree but when do you ever apply common sense and time in football. I have nothing against DS and like his style of play unfortunately as a team, we are  square pegs that he is trying to push into round holes. I did hope  he would get a Little more out of the players available to him. We have to give him time but I don’t feel he will get . It will be interesting how the owners react if the run continues. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, jim said:

It is pretty much the same midfield as last season that got to the play off final. You could also argue it has been improved with the addition of McGinn.

The big difference is Johnstone Terry and Jedinak- non have been replaced sufficiently IMO

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Smith clearly don't rate jedinak but I would rather see him than whelan.

Yesterday he looked out if his depth with his dreadful subs. Your chasing a goal and you bring a cb and dm on???

I mean seriously thats Sunday league management.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, DaveAV1 said:

I think the board recognise that the club needs a total reboot. They have made massive changes to personnel and philosophy off the pitch and decided that we need to completely change the way in which we operate. To implement theses changes at the sharp end they have chosen Dean Smith, offering him a massive job in both terms of the size and expectations of the club and the sheer amount of change that is required. In doing so they have taken a big risk, as are all important appointments. I don’t think that they rushed this appointment or didn’t carry out proper due diligence and neither do I think they did it without a proper plan.

I also believe that within this plan they realised all would not be plain sailing and that there would be lots of ups and downs. They are experienced businessmen, they will know that Rome wasn’t built in a day. They have surrounded themselves with proper football people, who along with Smith and the coaching staff, I’m sure will have recognised that this squad is made up of ageing, comfortable players who are largely at the end of their contracts/careers. As the type of team we are trying to create is a high pressing, high energy, attacking team, the squad we currently have is in the main, not fit for purpose. So I’m pretty sure there will be understanding and support from the owners, and results like this, whilst being painful won’t come as a shock. This attitude that the squad should be good enough to beat xxx is as illogical as it is arrogant. Many of the opposition players will see a fixture against us as one of the highlights of the season and will be super motivated, which our players quite obviously aren’t. They won’t just lay down and get beat because they are “only” Wigan or whoever.

We need players who are as motivated to pull on a Villa shirt as those are who face it. Until we fill our team with players who have this passionate attitude, regardless of how talented they are we will get nowhere. Today I have heard Smith being written off after 15 or 16 games and 12 days of transfer window,  a new goal keeper after 2 games and a centre back after 20 minutes. All this after 10 years of possibly the most neglect management this fabulous football club has ever suffered in all it's glorious history. Anyone who thinks this is going to be a quick fix is going to be very disappointed. 

Smith isn’t the finished article, he will make mistakes. However he will grow with the club, we will win and lose as a team and become stronger for it. Knee jerk reactions and thinking we can fix this with a cheque book are what has got us where we are now. Sure I’d love us to get promoted, then win the league and a cabinet full of trophies. That may happen, but only with time and patience, which we actually must embrace and not just pay lip service to. We have to both endure and enjoy the journey and then perhaps we may see the fruits of our collective effort.

Sorry for the ramble lads. UTV.

 

Superb post Sir. 100%agree. Great to see there is some common sense out there as opposed the ridiculous knee-jerks. 

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, Blasterpocket68 said:

The big difference is Johnstone Terry and Jedinak- non have been replaced sufficiently IMO

I’d add snoddy  to those too , all 4 have been replaced with hugely inferior players , which combined with 2 shocking full backs is a recipe for disaster . 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, Demitri_C said:

Smith clearly don't rate jedinak but I would rather see him than whelan.

Yesterday he looked out if his depth with his dreadful subs. Your chasing a goal and you bring a cb and dm on???

I mean seriously thats Sunday league management.

As a defensive midfielder Jedi when fit is far ahead of anything else we have in that position . 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, KMitch said:

  This squad is garbage, through and through.  We're kidding ourselves to think that this team is going to make the playoffs 

Whilst I agree with you, it was pretty much this squad that got to the playoff finals last year. 

They should be doing better. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This place is tough when things ain’t going well. Already a dark cloud is yet again above the club, and already new manager talk. 3-4-5k following the club away, and 34-41k at home games creates added pressure. Smith won’t have had pressure like this in football before. Hopefully he don’t crack, but hopefully the fans can lift some pressure off him. Worst thing we can do is start getting on his back. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

39 minutes ago, Demitri_C said:

Smith clearly don't rate jedinak but I would rather see him than whelan.

Yesterday he looked out if his depth with his dreadful subs. Your chasing a goal and you bring a cb and dm on???

I mean seriously thats Sunday league management.

The cb sub I get. As smith said they were pushing Chester on to his weak foot and he brought someone on to add balance who is naturally left footed, additionally to try break the first line of their press. I get the idea, it just didn’t work. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, richp999 said:

Whilst I agree with you, it was pretty much this squad that got to the playoff finals last year. 

They should be doing better. 

They should be doing better than 3-0 against Wigana and Swansea etc. However it’s.a squad minus Johnstone, Terry, Snodgrass, Grabban through leaving and Grealish, Jedinak through injury/not playing. 

Thats six players who played in the play off final and arguably are good enough to step up to the PL (arguably being a key word as Jedinak getting on now). A lot of what we are left with just isn’t. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Smith doesn't get off scott free, nor would he expect to. But you can't seriously pin this on him yet. This is not even the beginings of his team. If we dont make the play offs, so be it. I still want to see his squad and ideas take shape. Only when that is more or less complete, will I properly judge him.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...
Â