Dean Smith

[DCJonah]

Wow. The first words the man has spoken since we survived and you can't wait to criticise. 

Is this ever going to change?

[villalad21]

Not necessarily criticizing. Just a bit confused after watching that interview. 

[cheltenham_villa]

29 minutes ago, villalad21 said:

Interesting that he said he is barely ever having a go at players.

Don't know how i feel about that. 

Ex Man Utd players said they feared Ferguson and would give everything on the pitch to please him and to not get on his wrong side.

Also i got a bit confused about another thing he said. He said our point tally were nowhere near what they aimed for before the season. Nowhere near. Statistically you need 36 points on average to survive in the league. Later he said the target was to survive.

Doesn't add up to me. If we finished on a point tally that is only 2-3 point off you being practically safe but then saying we had a point tally nowhere near what we expected.. I'm just, i don't get it

I like Dean's approach, I dont think you need to inspire fear, you need to have the players on your side. Many managers are different though, I dont think the liverpool players fear Klopp but they certainly respect his authority.

It's a very fine balance, the more I hear of dean though, the more I like him. 

I also think stability from a management team is often overlooked, with 6 games to go it's clear that they considered removing dean (something many wanted), the decision to keep him was vindicated and we head into next season a much more cohesive unit that has achieved something special together.

[Rolta]

34 minutes ago, villalad21 said:

Interesting that he said he is barely ever having a go at players.

Don't know how i feel about that. 

Ex Man Utd players said they feared Ferguson and would give everything on the pitch to please him and to not get on his wrong side.

Also i got a bit confused about another thing he said. He said our point tally were nowhere near what they aimed for before the season. Nowhere near. Statistically you need 36 points on average to survive in the league. Later he said the target was to survive.

Doesn't add up to me. If we finished on a point tally that is only 2-3 point off you being practically safe but then saying we had a point tally nowhere near what we expected.. I'm just, i don't get it

I'm not sure where you got the idea that good leadership requires shouting at people and swinging your dick around. A look at history might reveal the likes of Ferguson to be an outlier—sure it worked and it can obviously work too, but it's not the only way and certainly not the most commonly successful way.

Dean comes across as an intelligent and pensive guy. Making strong, informed decisions might not give the instant impression that shouting at someone can, and sure having someone like Ferguson shout at you is going to make you really think, but good thinking and treating people with respect has been a decent long-term route to success forever.

Having said that, football is surely an ego-driven world. I'm sure the truth isn't as simplistic either way round.

[AvfcRigo82]

46 minutes ago, villalad21 said:

Ex Man Utd players said they feared Ferguson and would give everything on the pitch to please him and to not get on his wrong side.

True, but a different era though and it wasn't just Fergy. You had Souness, Clough etc. Old skool managers.

I get what you mean but you wouldn't get away with it much nowadays with the way football has gone hence why managers and coaches have been taking this approach in the modem day game for many years now.

 

[Sulberto21]

Players feared Fergie, but there were some players he put his arm around. Others he had a business like approach. Ronaldo was one of those who he treated like a son. Ronaldo has said this himself. I can't see Keane being scared of Fergie. The one thing Fergie had was he defended his players to the hilt. Another was his adaptability. 

It's a great headline but Fergie really was flexible in his approach.

Fear doesn't seem to be Dean Smith's style. He might occasionally give them a rocket but I think his is a more say something and let the players think and stew about things.

Edited August 22, 2020 by Sulberto21

[DevonIsAPlaceOnEarth]

Ferguson seldom criticised his own players publicly. I’m sure there was some shouting at them after the Leicester game.

[CarryOnVilla]

Watching this interview and the overwhelming feeling I’m getting from it is Dean is a really nice guy. 

There’s wasn’t an awful lot of new information in it, but the nuggets were rather insightful. I liked how he was talking about using lockdown to adjust his system and having the players involved with the planing. Using this approach to get the players to analyse them selfs as players and their role in the team. 

The Ferguson hair dryer treatment is rather old fashioned (not obsolete), especially with the current generations of footballers. millennials and gen z don’t particularly thrive from a public dressing down in front of their peers. These kids most definitely thrive from support and constructive criticism and self analysis. 

Dean is no way a flashy headline manager, but he’s definitely doing a good job from a ‘man management’ POV

[MotoMkali]

2 hours ago, villalad21 said:

Interesting that he said he is barely ever having a go at players.

Don't know how i feel about that. 

Ex Man Utd players said they feared Ferguson and would give everything on the pitch to please him and to not get on his wrong side.

Also i got a bit confused about another thing he said. He said our point tally were nowhere near what they aimed for before the season. Nowhere near. Statistically you need 36 points on average to survive in the league. Later he said the target was to survive.

Doesn't add up to me. If we finished on a point tally that is only 2-3 point off you being practically safe but then saying we had a point tally nowhere near what we expected.. I'm just, i don't get it

He said he doesn't yell very often. He makes informed criticism with the emotion taken out of it. He only yells when he has to and in my opinion it makes it more effective because it is a shock to the system. Smith probably wanted us to finish between 38-42 points which is a decent amount away from where we finished. About a 1/6 of our points total which is quite a lot. 

[MotoMkali]

43 minutes ago, CarryOnVilla said:

Watching this interview and the overwhelming feeling I’m getting from it is Dean is a really nice guy. 

There’s wasn’t an awful lot of new information in it, but the nuggets were rather insightful. I liked how he was talking about using lockdown to adjust his system and having the players involved with the planing. Using this approach to get the players to analyse them selfs as players and their role in the team. 

The Ferguson hair dryer treatment is rather old fashioned (not obsolete), especially with the current generations of footballers. millennials and gen z don’t particularly thrive from a public dressing down in front of their peers. These kids most definitely thrive from support and constructive criticism and self analysis. 

Dean is no way a flashy headline manager, but he’s definitely doing a good job from a ‘man management’ POV

You can give people a dressing down but you do it in private and without emotion. You don't embarrass them you bring an armful of facts with you and you tell them what they have done isn't good enough and that they need to sort it out. 

[imavillan]

The biggest thing i got out of it was how well we used the lockdown to our effect.

There is no doubt about it without the lockdown we would have been toast. He alluded to this when he mentioned the Leicester game.

I am not entirely convinced he is the man to take us to the next level and i will be delighted to be proven wrong but you have to give the man a huge amount credit for what he did with the coaching staff and players to keep us in the PL.

 

[Mazrim]

Good interview. Michelle is kind of family to me, a fantastic journalist and a massive Villa fan.

[Stratvillan]

1 hour ago, Sulberto21 said:

Players feared Fergie, but there were some players he put his arm around. Others he had a business like approach. Ronaldo was one of those who he treated like a son. Ronaldo has said this himself. I can't see Keane being scared of Fergie. The one thing Fergie had was he defended his players to the hilt. Another was his adaptability. 

It's a great headline but Fergie really was flexible in his approach.

Theres a story when man itd had a civic reception after one of the early championships, and players were instructed to attend at x oclock in club suit etc. Everyone was there except cantona, about 90 mins late he strolls in wearing tailored shirts loose shirt and sandals (hes French so probably carried it off) Bruce as captain, was encouraged by the rest of the team to approach fergie about why cantona was allowed to ignore rules.

Fergie's response, "when you're as good as him, you can wear what you want".

I hate man itd and Fergie, but to suggest him or any successful manager ruled or rules through fear is false. You cant. 

I'm happy that Smith wants to work with players instead of bawl at them, when he does tell some home truths, at least they might actually listen. 

[mjmooney]

9 minutes ago, Mazrim said:

Good interview. Michelle is kind of family to me, a fantastic journalist and a massive Villa fan.

Is it shallow of me that my main reaction to that interview was... "She's nice" ? 

[AvfcRigo82]

17 minutes ago, imavillan said:

The biggest thing i got out of it was how well we used the lockdown to our effect.

There is no doubt about it without the lockdown we would have been toast. He alluded to this when he mentioned the Leicester game.

I am not entirely convinced he is the man to take us to the next level and i will be delighted to be proven wrong but you have to give the man a huge amount credit for what he did with the coaching staff and players to keep us in the PL.

 

Very much this for me too.

He deserves credit where credit is due and carries us into the new season with 3 new members of staff behind him too.

No one can argue that he hasn't deserved it.

I am already looking forward to next season and we haven't even signed a player yet.

 

[Mazrim]

1 hour ago, mjmooney said:

Is it shallow of me that my main reaction to that interview was... "She's nice" ? 

Well, she is nice.

[GENTLEMAN]

2 hours ago, villalad21 said:

Interesting that he said he is barely ever having a go at players.

Don't know how i feel about that. 

Ex Man Utd players said they feared Ferguson and would give everything on the pitch to please him and to not get on his wrong side.

Also i got a bit confused about another thing he said. He said our point tally were nowhere near what they aimed for before the season. Nowhere near. Statistically you need 36 points on average to survive in the league. Later he said the target was to survive.

Doesn't add up to me. If we finished on a point tally that is only 2-3 point off you being practically safe but then saying we had a point tally nowhere near what we expected.. I'm just, i don't get it

*Interesting to note that Klopp states a similar post match ritual. He says little because it is too emotional at that time and waits until the Monday to debrief performance more analytically.

As been said by previous posters, leadership takes many forms. It also requires a combinations of skills and is multi-factorial. What matters is realistic success and inspiring your team to that. To take one sample (Ferguson) out of a population (football managers) and then one factor (having a go at players) from that sample and attributing that to success is super disingenuous. There is debate to be had with the extent to which emotion/FoF allows individuals to eek out extra performance. I think 'emotion' can be harnessed and utilised as a strong driver, it can overpower more logical reasoning. Although clearly there is a balance.

We're not privy to his internal management style but for me, if I had to describe Dean Smith in one word, it would be honest. I think he does tell the players what he thinks but he is at pains to ensure that opinion is based on logic rather than emotion. There is nothing to suggest that Smith's man management is nothing but effective. I would suggest it is one of his strong traits. Squad harmony appears high. The players seem content and were clearly fighting for him and the team post-lockdown. Ultimately though, all I try to judge on is the visible performance indicators; team performance, player progression, player integration, tactical decisions, line-ups, substitutions and ultimately results.

Regards his 'conflicting goals'. I respectably disagree. I think the club set out to achieve a higher point tally. However, the minimum expectation was survival. I do no see those two things as mutually exclusive. Besides I am a great believer in treating both failure and success with the same caution. 

I think we can all agree though that we're all glad that Jack Woodward is nowhere near these interviews with his piss take style. Now if we could only get Peter Drury on AVTV commentary.

[striker]

1 hour ago, Mazrim said:

Good interview. Michelle is kind of family to me, a fantastic journalist and a massive Villa fan.

Have admired her for some time on Sky doing match reports. Very attractive lady.

[TRO]

1 hour ago, GENTLEMAN said:

*Interesting to note that Klopp states a similar post match ritual. He says little because it is too emotional at that time and waits until the Monday to debrief performance more analytically.

As been said by previous posters, leadership takes many forms. It also requires a combinations of skills and is multi-factorial. What matters is realistic success and inspiring your team to that. To take one sample (Ferguson) out of a population (football managers) and then one factor (having a go at players) from that sample and attributing that to success is super disingenuous. There is debate to be had with the extent to which emotion/FoF allows individuals to eek out extra performance. I think 'emotion' can be harnessed and utilised as a strong driver, it can overpower more logical reasoning. Although clearly there is a balance.

We're not privy to his internal management style but for me, if I had to describe Dean Smith in one word, it would be honest. I think he does tell the players what he thinks but he is at pains to ensure that opinion is based on logic rather than emotion. There is nothing to suggest that Smith's man management is nothing but effective. I would suggest it is one of his strong traits. Squad harmony appears high. The players seem content and were clearly fighting for him and the team post-lockdown. Ultimately though, all I try to judge on is the visible performance indicators; team performance, player progression, player integration, tactical decisions, line-ups, substitutions and ultimately results.

Regards his 'conflicting goals'. I respectably disagree. I think the club set out to achieve a higher point tally. However, the minimum expectation was survival. I do no see those two things as mutually exclusive. Besides I am a great believer in treating both failure and success with the same caution. 

I think we can all agree though that we're all glad that Jack Woodward is nowhere near these interviews with his piss take style. Now if we could only get Peter Drury on AVTV commentary.

Its all about winning and finding that magic formula.....many varying styles and approaches can achieve that.....Dean obviously found something in lockdown and it served him well.....long may it continue.

[Rolta]

2 hours ago, Mazrim said:

Good interview. Michelle is kind of family to me, a fantastic journalist and a massive Villa fan.

I thought it was really good. She went deep and broad—I loved the dog stuff. I felt I got a really good impression of Dean.