Dean Smith

[Villa_Vids]

I think any long term planning can only really apply to the academy/youth side of things at the moment.

Continuity for the sake of it is, if not worse, just as bad as chopping and changing managers regularly. In my mind, stability needs to be based on keeping a core group of 1st team players together too. A group that are also improving and developing game by game & season by season. The stability we have had at Villa has been sticking by failing/poor managers for far too long, and then those managers overhauling their squads each summer going away from their original philosophy. 

I am unconvinced by Dean Smith. As it stands, I do not think he is the right person for us next season. I would personally take a more traditional approach next season, bringing in somebody like Chris Hughton and build for immediate promotion. It is so so important to have a bullish DOF and minimal squad changes (losing and replacing our better players!) in the unlikely scenario Smith stays on. 

Edited July 10, 2020 by Villa_Vids

[Mjvilla]

1 hour ago, JPAngel said:

I agree with this. Although I think the board will act in the following way:

• We stay up - Smith keeps his job because he kept us in the division
• We go down - Smith keeps his job for getting us into the division and also to continue with the master plan*

*Which presumably included getting relegated

The master plan was to get promoted this season which was well documented, I guess with a much more settled squad as a base to build on. 

We were a year ahead of plan so do we punish Dean for being that year ahead of plan and having to build that whole squad? 

[Mjvilla]

45 minutes ago, Mantis said:

Still don't buy this argument that he's a good Championship manager. We looked absolutely awful last season when Grealish was out, and that was despite having both McGinn and Abraham in the team.

I went to Bristol city at home last season (my only game), all the talk before was Grealish was out and we were sure fire to lose without him. 

We absolute smashed them. Should have won by 6/7. Their keeper had the game of his life. It's been my favourite game to go to in very recent memory. I don't go very often. 

This myth that we looked awful without Grealish, is a myth. 

[villalad21]

We need a manager who is able to succeed in both leagues.

So what then if we get promoted again? We will still have a manager who is inept at this level. He isn't learning. Been repeating same mistakes all season.

Then again it all depends on what managers are the alternatives. I'm not excited about the prospect of Hughton. Dyche? Why would he go back down managing in the Championship?

[chrisvilla4]

10 minutes ago, Mjvilla said:

 

This myth that we looked awful without Grealish, is a myth. 

You're right, we look awful with him too!

[villalad21]

We go again 

[bannedfromHandV]

We have no leadership on the pitch, Grealish is not captain material and no-one else seems arsed enough to step up.

 

So much promise and optimism at the start of the season and we're ending up about as bad as we were when we last went down in many respects.

 

Shaping up to be a disaster of a season.

[momo]

I am sure that if Villa had survived this season, problem areas would have been addressed and the team would be stronger and better off next season. Villa has played amazing games throughout the season. You can blame individual errors, but I have never thought a season with so many wrong calls going against this team was even possible. It hasn't evened itself out. It's too late.

[chrisvilla4]

Feels like a slow, painful death

[sne]

23 minutes ago, Mjvilla said:

The master plan was to get promoted this season which was well documented, I guess with a much more settled squad as a base to build on. 

We were a year ahead of plan so do we punish Dean for being that year ahead of plan and having to build that whole squad? 

But that wasn't really an option since our finances was (is?) down the toilet. We needed to go up when we did.

[Blasterpocket68]

8 minutes ago, Mjvilla said:

The master plan was to get promoted this season which was well documented, I guess with a much more settled squad as a base to build on. 

We were a year ahead of plan so do we punish Dean for being that year ahead of plan and having to build that whole squad? 

We punish Dean for the following:

Recruitment  - YES he was involved and had a part to play !!!  

Lack of  any  basic game management 

Strategy  - None  play football with a completely new team and try and out play all the teams around us  dont defend as a team leave the full backs /totally exposed. if this dont work change formation change player adopt same strategy

Plan B - Pass the ball to Jack 

Dean Smith is accountable for the position of the team and the progression we have not made this season.  After The first 10 games it was clear he was clueless on a sensible approach to stay in this league. The team is new and the squad isn't the best, BUT we should have done a little better , the league down at the bottom is dreadful this year. IF we had played a little more conservative and maintained a shape and more rigid playing philosophy we would have been in a much better position we find ourselves today! 

I like Dean Smith as  a man but he is a manager of a failed project, people claim  he got us up a season to soon  ahead of plan rubbish !!! He was out scouting players all summer Marvelous  and several flights to watch the football magician  Trezuget.  He can not be totally   blameless for the recruitment. 

Football is all opinions of course but i struggle now to defend Smith . If we are a big club as we all continue to claim the owners now need to step up and put a big  manager in place to move us forward. Project Smith has failed! 

[Mjvilla]

5 minutes ago, sne said:

But that wasn't really an option since our finances was (is?) down the toilet. We needed to go up when we did.

The plan, according to everybody that matters at the club, was to go up this season. Fact

I think those people have a better idea of our finances than us on a message board 

[sne]

Just now, Mjvilla said:

The plan, according to everybody that matters at the club, was to go up this season. Fact

I think those people have a better idea of our finances than us on a message board 

Yes well, selling the stadium is always a good sign. Our owners are rich, no doubt about it.

The club however has been hemorrhaging money for years and this season would have meant no parachute money from the PL.

[Stevo985]

2 hours ago, lexicon said:

Here's a hacksaw and some concrete, Dean. Build a house. 

Yeah if I'm understanding you right it's this kind of thing that's really irritating me.

The insinuation that Smith is doing the absolute best he could do with the players he has (and also the insinuation that he had absolutely zero to do with transfers)

 

We have shit players. They're not as shit as they look right now. 

It's possible for our players to be shit AND Dean Smith to be doing shit too. And that's exactly what is happening.

[Mjvilla]

5 minutes ago, Blasterpocket68 said:

We punish Dean for the following:

Recruitment  - YES he was involved and had a part to play !!!  

Lack of  any  basic game management 

Strategy  - None  play football with a completely new team and try and out play all the teams around us  dont defend as a team leave the full backs /totally exposed. if this dont work change formation change player adopt same strategy

Plan B - Pass the ball to Jack 

Dean Smith is accountable for the position of the team and the progression we have not made this season.  After The first 10 games it was clear he was clueless on a sensible approach to stay in this league. The team is new and the squad isn't the best, BUT we should have done a little better , the league down at the bottom is dreadful this year. IF we had played a little more conservative and maintained a shape and more rigid playing philosophy we would have been in a much better position we find ourselves today! 

I like Dean Smith as  a man but he is a manager of a failed project, people claim  he got us up a season to soon  ahead of plan rubbish !!! He was out scouting players all summer Marvelous  and several flights to watch the football magician  Trezuget.  He can not be totally   blameless for the recruitment. 

Football is all opinions of course but i struggle now to defend Smith . If we are a big club as we all continue to claim the owners now need to step up and put a big  manager in place to move us forward. Project Smith has failed! 

Please tell me where I have said he is blameless for recruitment?

Just because you have emboldened your post, doesn't make it any more right or wrong. I have my opinion, you have yours.

We had the shorter summer out of everyone to build a whole squad, but it's ok because he managed to watch a few games??? Give me a break.

 

[AvfcTheObsession]

35 minutes ago, Mjvilla said:

I went to Bristol city at home last season (my only game), all the talk before was Grealish was out and we were sure fire to lose without him. 

We absolute smashed them. Should have won by 6/7. Their keeper had the game of his life. It's been my favourite game to go to in very recent memory. I don't go very often. 

This myth that we looked awful without Grealish, is a myth. 

That was very much the exception rather than the rule. We won only one other game without Grealish out of the 13 he missed in that run through injury.

[Mjvilla]

4 minutes ago, sne said:

Yes well, selling the stadium is always a good sign. Our owners are rich, no doubt about it.

The club however has been hemorrhaging money for years and this season would have meant no parachute money from the PL.

So, why when the club says we didn't expect to be in a relegation battle this season has everyone taken it as gospel. But when the club says we are a year ahead of plan and the plan was to get promoted this year, do you not believe them?

[Mjvilla]

1 minute ago, AvfcTheObsession said:

That was very much the exception rather than the rule. We won only one other game without Grealish out of the 13 he missed in that run through injury.

So, we win lots and it's Grealish. We lose lots and it's the manager. Sure

[Laughable Chimp]

3 minutes ago, Mjvilla said:

The plan, according to everybody that matters at the club, was to go up this season. Fact

I think those people have a better idea of our finances than us on a message board 

The plan, was to go up this season true but lets not act like that was by choice. That was because Bruce had **** it up for us so hard that promotion seemed unlikely last season. The only reason this season was targeted was because we felt that last season was lost. 

It does not however follow that we would've been better of had we been promoted this season than if we had been promoted last season. Our finances were still pretty screwed and we would've lost Grealish. We would've still tried to target promotion considering we are Aston Villa but I wouldn't be so sure we would be actually be better off had we gotten promoted this season than last. If we would even get promoted in the first place.

[Laughable Chimp]

6 minutes ago, Stevo985 said:

Yeah if I'm understanding you right it's this kind of thing that's really irritating me.

The insinuation that Smith is doing the absolute best he could do with the players he has (and also the insinuation that he had absolutely zero to do with transfers)

 

We have shit players. They're not as shit as they look right now. 

It's possible for our players to be shit AND Dean Smith to be doing shit too. And that's exactly what is happening.

Basically this.

I think to some extent its very difficult to differentiate the effect of the player himself and the manager from the performance we see on the pitch. So I don't see how people are so sure that the lack of quality we're seeing is a result of the players being shit and not the manager's inept coaching, motivation and tactics.