Dean Smith

[Stevo985]

3 minutes ago, Zatman said:

I think it was 40 points when the Premier League had 22 teams and managers and media still ran with it. 3 teams have gone down on 40 points or more but none since 2003 when West Ham had that incredible team to be relegated

Yeah I think it's changed from the number of points to just about keep you up, to the number of points that will basically guarantee you're safe (bar freak seasons)

 

[Raymond]

I am ecstatic we survived, but it is important to realize how easily it could have gone the other way. There are hundreds of different spots in the season which could have resulted in us losing a few points and being relegated just like there are hundreds which could have resulted in us gaining a few more points and being safe before the final day. Saying relegated=out, safe=in is just not a good way to make an important decision. Instead, the powers that be should decide if they think Smith over or underachieved based on our squad. I tend to think he underachieved based on how little he does to help us in-game and how long it took to fix basic defensive issues which plagued us from the start, but I also recognize the challenges he faced and the relative lack of quality and depth in the squad. What I think does not matter, though, because reports suggest he has the support of the owners, so I will support him and hope four or five starting-caliber players come in during the window. 

[OxfordVillan]

Always worth remembering the position he started from. October 2018, Aston Villa were sat 12th in the championship table with 25% of the season played. 22months on and we look forward to a 2nd season in top flight football having won the playoff trophy at Wembley and been to a league cup final at Wembley. And we possess one of the most sought after Premier League players with a price tag ranging anything from £60-100m. 
I’d say Dean Smith has done very decently, very decently indeed! Here’s to two more years of similar progress. 

[gwi1890]

9 minutes ago, Teale's 'tache said:

I think the most impressive thing about Smith this season for me is that he was big enough to change things, every manager is stubborn, Smith was wedded to his formation and philosophy but it wasn't working, it took a lot for him to accept that and go back to the drawing board, and he didn't just do it once, a few times he's had to change things around and did. I think he'll be more willing to do so in the future as well.

He will have learnt a whole lot this season, I think we've been naive and at times maybe didn't respect the opposition enough, you can see from our defensive stats post lock down that lessons have been learned. I think the team that finished the season would of picked up a whole lot more points than we did earlier on in the season, and I think the Arsenal result will do us a world of good going in to next season, it just gives those players the belief that they can beat that kind of team, it gives Smith that belief that he belongs in that company.

I don't think the questions about him being good enough will go away any time soon, people will always want more, but he's a top bloke and he's done wonders for this club.

But at the same time he didn’t chop and change to much you never implement things if you chop an change constantly, To quote Tim Sherwood “I will chop and change till I get i right” from there on it got worse and worse every week new formations different line ups, the recruitment this year has been similar to the recruitment the season we went down but we had a professional manager who accepted the tools he was given and worked with what he had .

[hippo]

3 minutes ago, Raymond said:

I am ecstatic we survived, but it is important to realize how easily it could have gone the other way. There are hundreds of different spots in the season which could have resulted in us losing a few points and being relegated just like there are hundreds which could have resulted in us gaining a few more points and being safe before the final day. Saying relegated=out, safe=in is just not a good way to make an important decision. Instead, the powers that be should decide if they think Smith over or underachieved based on our squad. I tend to think he underachieved based on how little he does to help us in-game and how long it took to fix basic defensive issues which plagued us from the start, but I also recognize the challenges he faced and the relative lack of quality and depth in the squad. What I think does not matter, though, because reports suggest he has the support of the owners, so I will support him and hope four or five starting-caliber players come in during the window. 

Its fine margins - my cut off was that had we gone down without a fight or pretty easily relegated then he should have gone. Once we got to last game and it was a lottery , any deflection ropey decision, could have sent us down , I think it unfair to dismiss on that.

I still have my doubts TBH - but obviously he can't be sacked now - that would be far to harsh on the guy and I am believe in what goes around comes around . He did what was asked - albeit we looked way off course at times.

 

[Teale's 'tache]

2 minutes ago, gwi1890 said:

But at the same time he didn’t chop and change to much you never implement things if you chop an change constantly, To quote Tim Sherwood “I will chop and change till I get i right” from there on it got worse and worse every week new formations different line ups, the recruitment this year has been similar to the recruitment the season we went down but we had a professional manager who accepted the tools he was given and worked with what he had .

Absolutely, a balance has to be found, and you could level at him that he changed the midfield too much at times, he was searching for a balance there which we never really found until after the lock down when Luiz came back a different player.

[NIVillan]

Just as the players , our manager was on a big learning curve this year.  There were promising signs early on and then some low points but since restart we can see an improvement and signs that Dean Smith is also learning his trade.

I think he will come good but it might be a bit more slowly than some people want or desire.

When he joined we were what 15th in the Championship, against the odds he got us up.  This season we looked dead and buried.   I think with 4 games to go it was 93% chance we were going to be relegated.

In my old mind this is up there with GT MK1 achievements.  In a way it is better as just like GT , DS kept Villa up by one point.  GT had the luxury of the top goal scorer playing for Villa in Rambo with Platt and Cowans behind him.

 

[sharkyvilla]

3 hours ago, nick76 said:

Might even be the fans who were more vocal about Smith Out are quiet at the moment because I’m also seeing names commenting that don’t comment as frequent

It's sad because if we had lost this thread would probably have at least 50 extra pages than it has.  I notice the guy who said Dean should **** off out of our club after the Everton hasn't said anything, hopefully he has buggered off from the forum altogether.

[romavillan]

19 minutes ago, hippo said:

Its fine margins - my cut off was that had we gone down without a fight or pretty easily relegated then he should have gone. Once we got to last game and it was a lottery , any deflection ropey decision, could have sent us down , I think it unfair to dismiss on that.

I still have my doubts TBH - but obviously he can't be sacked now - that would be far to harsh on the guy and I am believe in what goes around comes around . He did what was asked - albeit we looked way off course at times.

 

He's matched GT the first time round so far. Hopefully he can go on to improve on GT's first spell and get us some silverware in the not too distant. I'm sure people were moaning about Taylor that first season back up in division one where we only just stayed up. People will moan all the time, but it's also true that Smith got dog's abuse on here for a while, both in the bad spell last season and before the Palace game with some added after the Everton draw too. He should have stayed the boss even if we kicked off next season in the Championship but as it stands he should be getting a lot of plaudits for how he turned things around (again).

[sparrow1988]

7 minutes ago, romavillan said:

He's matched GT the first time round so far. Hopefully he can go on to improve on GT's first spell and get us some silverware in the not too distant. I'm sure people were moaning about Taylor that first season back up in division one where we only just stayed up. People will moan all the time, but it's also true that Smith got dog's abuse on here for a while, both in the bad spell last season and before the Palace game with some added after the Everton draw too. He should have stayed the boss even if we kicked off next season in the Championship but as it stands he should be getting a lot of plaudits for how he turned things around (again).

It's a lot easier to abuse people these days because all you have to do is type it. GT would probably have been getting from all angles on here if that season had occured during the social media age.

[The Fun Factory]

53 minutes ago, Zatman said:

I think it was 40 points when the Premier League had 22 teams and managers and media still ran with it. 3 teams have gone down on 40 points or more but none since 2003 when West Ham had that incredible team to be relegated

I think the average in recent years is 35.6 or 36 if you want to round up a bit so 35 is lower than average. However if you have teams like Liverpool who win 32 out of 38 games  (crazy) then that will affect the points for everyone else.  The lowest in the prem era is Albion I think on 34 points. West Ham went down  once on 42 which was very unlucky.  So 36 usually keeps you up, 37-38 will definently will unless the top teams get worse again which I seriously doubt given the money gap.

Edited July 27, 2020 by The Fun Factory

[Brumstopdogs]

Well played to Smith for getting the results we needed to keep us in the division and tightening up the defence

He deserves to be given a good crack (insert KW gif) to establish us in the premier league next season with hopefully a much stronger squad.

UTV!

 

[DCJonah]

So reports coming out suggest smith was staying even if we went down and now looks like suso could be sacked. 

So confused, this goes against everything @Eastieand @jimkept telling me. 

 

[kurtsimonw]

I'd have kept both him and Suso on as survival was the aim.

Nobody knows whether it was poor recruitment or poor coaching that was the problem (the latter, IMO), but I suppose now we will see. A start like the first 6/7 games of next season and then other changes need to be made. A short leash now that a big excuse has gone.

[DCJonah]

1 minute ago, kurtsimonw said:

I'd have kept both him and Suso on as survival was the aim.

Nobody knows whether it was poor recruitment or poor coaching that was the problem (the latter, IMO), but I suppose now we will see. A start like the first 6/7 games of next season and then other changes need to be made. A short leash now that a big excuse has gone.

A short lease from who? Clearly not the club. I'm sure smith doesn't give a shit that a handful of villa talk posters have set their agenda against him months ago. 

[kurtsimonw]

1 minute ago, DCJonah said:

A short lease from who? Clearly not the club. I'm sure smith doesn't give a shit that a handful of villa talk posters have set their agenda against him months ago. 

As above.

[Zatman]

For some reason and I dont know why but Smith seems to be generally disliked by opposition fans 

[MCU]

Does anyone have the list of signings Smith made at Brentford?

[Jas10]

Love him n he loves the Villa.

Best manager we’ve had since the MON era n he will continue to improve. Not your old fashioned dull, dour, boring type. We’ve been through a heap of dross n poor ownership but I think we’ve finally come out of it since the new owners n Deano arrived (just look at his achievements so far, he’s done a hell of a lot better than anyone before him since our crap period) - we just need to look forward to the future and be positive.

He’s been let down by a poor quality side & injuries to key players but we have a chance to fix that now. Desperately need goalscorers, as previously stated he has done so well to keep us up with pretty much non existent or ineffective strikers.

I feel fortunate that we have a young, progressive manager (that actually favours attacking football) who cares deeply for the club along with a captain that loves the club also.

It was never going to be easy n the task was fairly huge to begin with (look how long we’d been struggling for without getting anywhere) but Dean has done so well and deserves to continue. 
 

One of the things that I enjoy and appreciate the most is, and I don’t think this is an exaggeration, the transformation and team unity & spirit and relationship to & connection with the fans.

We are in drastically better condition than we have been in for years and Dean deserves a lot of credit for that.

As fans, we can be impatient & desperate for success n often miss the bigger picture n fail to realise the work & effort it takes to build a successful team & club. As long as there is (continued) progression, we should be appreciate and positive about the future.

Now for some tasty signings!!!

UTV

 

 

 

[nick76]

1 hour ago, Zatman said:

For some reason and I dont know why but Smith seems to be generally disliked by opposition fans 

and some Villa fans it seems....