Dean Smith

[sne]

8 minutes ago, villalad21 said:

A big part of a modern manager's job is man managment and getting the best out of his players.

I can't really name that many players Smith have improved since he arrived.

Don't disagree with that, but there really isn't that many in our squad that are in the developing phase of their career. and of those who are we've been unfortunate with injuries.

Bree, Grealish, Tuanzebe, McGinn, El Ghazi, Abraham and a few others. Those coming back from loan have hardly worked with him yet.

Now I'm disappointed that the likes of O'Hare and Clark and possibly some other kids have not been given a fair whack at it, but it is what it is.

Edited February 13, 2019 by sne

[Villarocker]

2 hours ago, villabromsgrove said:

How different would things be if we had a RB and LB who were able (or willing?) to defend properly?

We've scored enough goals to have won many of the games that we've ended up drawing, but our full backs have repeatedly cost us.

If we had suitable replacements then Smith would deserve some of the stick he's getting, but who can he currently play in these positions to get the job done? 

The summer transfer window activity has to rectify this situation.

 

We are Grealish, a left back, a right back and a defensive midfielder away from a great team right now. 

If Grealish goes in the summer, and Abraham isn't available next season, we need to ensure we invest the money from the Grealish sale in buying a left back, Mings if he's still performing well, a defensive midfielder and a striker and, of course, Grealish's replacement. I think we could get Lolley in to replace Jack - maybe 8-10m would sort that? Might be asking a bit to get a new DM, LB a Striker  and, Mings with £15-£20m.

Edited February 13, 2019 by villarocker

[A'Villan]

24 minutes ago, briny_ear said:

May be missing something here but haven’t we broadly got the same personnel in these positions as last season? Apart from Bree who Smith sent out on loan and Tuanzebe who is injured but everyone said shouldn’t be playing FB?

We didn’t do too shabby last season so I’m wondering if the problem lies elsewhere?

We use more wall passing and overlapping under Smith. Which means that if we concede possession we've got no cover in wide positions other than men on the back foot who have to chase down opposition attacks from a disadvantage. Essentially this allows for a lot of space for the opposition to play with, add to that our central defensive positions become compromised because they are spread too thin. This is why we have been vulnerable when the opposition breaks for a counter attack.

So you are on the right track in your assessment as far as I can see. The problem is not just that our personnel are inadequate or incompetent.

Another growing pain we are suffering from is that we have tried to play the ball on the floor under Smith, more than the direct and often lofted passing game we saw under Bruce. This means that the luxury of long ball clearances that bypass midfield and nullify the immediate threat from our opponents attack, allowing our defensive lines to remain coordinated and organised, has gone out the window. Now we have to be more incisive and precise with our passes because we are relying on how well we take care of the ball for our build up play to be effective, but also so that we don't turnover possession in areas that will leave us in jeopardy.

[A'Villan]

FWIW. Those saying that Elmo checked out when Bruce did should have a look at his goal and assist tally for the minutes he's played. Last I checked it was a notable contribution.

[LakotaDakota]

30 minutes ago, Talldarkandransome said:

Right then, after a quick read I'm getting that some people want Smith out already. What's the point of doing that? If we continue replacing managers willy nilly then we won't get anywhere.

Seems to work out ok for some teams. Watford are on their 12th manager in 10 years, Are currently sat 8th in the premier league with the same amount of wins as us this season from 5 games less

[vreitti]

2 minutes ago, A'Villan said:

FWIW. Those saying that Elmo checked out when Bruce did should have a look at his goal and assist tally for the minutes he's played. Last I checked it was a notable contribution.

This might be true, but Elmo is simply a total liability as a full back, even more so than Hutton. 

[villalad21]

52 minutes ago, vreitti said:

This might be true, but Elmo is simply a total liability as a full back, even more so than Hutton. 

Elmo played well last season.

You don't become shit over night. Either he's not being coached properly or he doesn't want to be here.

Edited February 13, 2019 by villalad21

[vreitti]

2 minutes ago, villalad21 said:

Elmo played well last season.

You don't become shit over night. Either he's not being coached properly or he doesn't want to be here.

Yeah I agree, DS is surely having a bad influence on him.

Edited February 13, 2019 by vreitti

[Zatman]

Elmo has always been shit, last season he was shit too with Snodgrass covering made him look a bit better. Anybody with pace roasted him

[Dave-R]

15 hours ago, Zatman said:

Do you sit in the kids section? What sort of idiots get into a fight over a football game

We have a hobbits supporters section for our defenders, Mings excused on that..

We're you about in the 80s and 90s before Maggie Thatcher declared war on hooligan's. Just because you see a few fighting at the grounds, doesnt mean they aren't fighting elsewhere (underground) is still there

[Dave-R]

6 hours ago, Delphinho123 said:

I think the sensible fans are supporting him.

Most of the booing and the animosity is aimed at the players, the fans understand how poor some of them are.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see someone like Hourihane booed off if he were subbed during a game.

 

Well Nyland was used as a scapegoat i think, where the blame lies else where in other players. It wouldn't surprise me if we see Hourihane, Hutton, Taylor, ghazi, Whelan kodjia being blamed, that's an awful lot of players for a starting team.

[hippo]

2 hours ago, Talldarkandransome said:

Right then, after a quick read I'm getting that some people want Smith out already. What's the point of doing that? If we continue replacing managers willy nilly then we won't get anywhere. 

If you can't see some improvement then you must be blinkered or just like moaning a lot. Yes we are drawing too many but we're not losing many. Once Grealish and Tuanzebe are back I think that will solve some issues. We are still in touch with the play offs and a few wins should get us in there. 

Lots of points being dropped above us so the chances are there, we have a striker who scores goals and McGinn who would run 500 miles and 500 more. 

And if you fight over football then you need a slap. We all want what's best for Villa, but falling out over it is beyond dumb. 

I don't think any great number want smith out right now. I have 2 concerns

1.He has never had a good defence anywhere he has managed - leaking goals has meant his teams are anchored in mid table.- Scoring goals has never been an issues for Smiths teams.

2.Do we gamble on him next season with his own players doing something he has yet to do in his management career ? - If (as highly probable) he gets the benefit of the doubt - and start next season we run the risk of having to replace him mid season when the pool of managers to pick from will be very small.

What I can't fathom is the reasoning that if we stick with Smith through thick and thin then ultimately he will come good - plenty of warning signs for me - if I were a betting man I would bet on us being in the market for a new manager in October/November.

But I will admit to being fickle - if Smiths get us in the promotion placing early next season - then great everyone is happy (even me !) 

 

 

[villalad21]

4 minutes ago, hippo said:

But I will admit to being fickle - if Smiths get us in the promotion placing early next season - then great everyone is happy (even me !) 

Will take alot to get promoted if you concede 50+ goals every season. We will see what happens next season.

[Villarocker]

I really do want Smith to do well and hope he does. But, I can't help but feel that we will tail off towards the end of this season and finish lower than expected. I reckon that might cause panic at boardroom level if it happened and they'd go into next season with a new manager. 

IF the above does happen, I reckon they'll go for Brendon Rodgers because there's no way he's staying at Celtic next season with Gerrard's Rangers hot on his heels. 

[Stuartc445]

16 hours ago, Zatman said:

Do you sit in the kids section? What sort of idiots get into a fight over a football game

I agree,  it was grown men as well so they haven't got the stupidity of youth as an excuse.  But there has been anger brewing game by game which isn't the picture to poster I was replying to was trying to paint.

[Stuartc445]

6 hours ago, Delphinho123 said:

I think the sensible fans are supporting him.

Most of the booing and the animosity is aimed at the players, the fans understand how poor some of them are.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see someone like Hourihane booed off if he were subbed during a game.

 

I'm supporting Smith but I don't believe he is beyond question unlike some (I know you'll say he isn't as well but then describe why he is beyond question).  I hope he can improve things but at the minute it's blind hope as there is nothing to suggest he will.  It's the fact things aren't working but he's not changing a thing that is the big concern for me and then it's the tendency to talk about the ref (like he did vs Wigan) even i who likes to blame the ref for a lot of things could see the ref had no bearing on the Wigan result and he has mentioned it twice once after the game and again on Friday and tbh it's making him look a bit daft.

[villalad21]

26 minutes ago, villarocker said:

IF the above does happen, I reckon they'll go for Brendon Rodgers because there's no way he's staying at Celtic next season with Gerrard's Rangers hot on his heels. 

I'd like Brendan Rodgers if Smith doesn't work out.

Not sure Rodgers would take a job in the championship though.

[MaVilla]

Already talking about our next manager, do we never learn.

To be brutally frank we deserve everything we have gotten with our short sightedness, and we still seem to have learnt nothing.

I love Villa, but sometimes we are our own biggest problem.

[praisedmambo]

1 hour ago, villalad21 said:

Will take alot to get promoted if you concede 50+ goals every season. We will see what happens next season.

For the sake of the internet please just give it a rest and let someone else have a conversation. It's great to have an opinion, but why repeat it every hour for hundreds of hours. Everyone got it the first time. There's no having a debate either because you have all the answers.

Edited February 13, 2019 by praisedmambo

[A'Villan]

Both Bruce and Smith were appointed in October. Bruce didn't get us promoted in his first season. He got us to 13th, with a week longer than Smith will have had.

The first day of February in Bruce's first season saw us lose 3-0 to Brentford, the start of a 5 game losing streak.. Before that Bruce had made a promising start to his tenure.

It is interesting to see there are a few parallels. Both men start in October, both will play Brentford in February, both made promising starts only to lose form.

There's a few interesting differences too. Aside from approach to the game. Bruce took over as things only looked to get worse, momentum seemed to be taking us firmly on a downward trajectory, even with a Champions League winning manager and some expensive and notable players for the division, we looked set to be outdone by our rivals rather than climb upwards. Smith, on the other hand, has come in at a time of renewed expectation, due to the success of Bruce in bringing us back to winning ways and putting us in contention for promotion.

Bruce's second season saw an 84 point haul, enough for automatic promotion at times in years gone by. He very narrowly missed out on promotion.

In my opinion, Smith will have us finishing higher than 13th, which is what Bruce achieved in the same amount of time. I don't want to come across as too optimistic, as Smith is yet to prove himself as someone who can do it enough times over a season to get promoted, but I think given time we will see bigger and better from Smith than we did from Bruce.

The mood seems to be one of disappointment reading through some more recent posts. I'm no one to tell people how to feel but for me there's actually more reason to be upbeat.