Dean Smith

[bannedfromHandV]

2 hours ago, villalad21 said:

What is our best lineup if everyone's fit? I would go for something like this i think.

 

Why are they playing in Arsenal shirts?

[TrentVilla]

 

Is it Wednesday yet?

Never mind them lot down the road, I just want the next game.

[Vive_La_Villa]

6 hours ago, TrentVilla said:

 

There is, to me at least, a distinction that can be made between managing expectations and setting standards, goals and objectives, the two things are and have always been quite different.

When John Terry said last summer we had a squad for challenging for the title that to me was him attempting to set standards, the sort of standards to which he has always held himself and others. It was a call to action, it was about saying what the expectations were from the collective group of players. Then Bruce almost instantly undermined that and set a different set of standards. I said at the time and I maintain to this day that was damaging.

If you are going for the title/automatic then every game matters, at times last season we didn't play like that, we played like we were happy to reach the play offs and Bruce set that tone. Granted he might have said different in the dressing room but I really doubt it.

Yes managers often talk down expectations to remove pressure from their players but you know in private they are saying something different, the two examples above certainly would. I just don't think Bruce was doing that and I think it showed in our performances.

Smith on the other hand is setting standards and not particularly worrying about expectations at this stage, his messages to the media are in my view more about communication to the players and crucially opposition teams than they are the fans. I think the tone of his communication and the underlying message to opposition managers and players is intentional and calculated, its almost Fergie like.

He is telling people, we are going to come at you not worry about you, you try and stop us. That will impact on teams approach to playing us, positive and negative, particularly if we are effective in winning games. Just as it was effective for Wolves last season where teams thought they couldn't attack/beat them. So much of football is in the mind.

Smith isn't at this stage concerning himself with expectancy, he doesn't see it as a burden that might change if we are in the mix at the business end of the season, right now he is laying down his standards and I think the players are responding.

Bruce was intent on covering his arse before a ball was kicked last season, Smith seemingly is a very very different character. Long may it continue.

 

 

Going off topic but for some reason Hull v Reading from 2015 was on Sky. That was one of hell of a Hull team yet it only made playoffs.  Bruce has a great promotion record but we can’t overlook he normally had one of the best or expensively assembles squads in the league at his disposal.

In contrast to this I always saw Smith as massively overachieving at Walsall and at Brentford considering they are both relatively small teams and also have a positive net spend each year.

I wanted to see what he could achieve with even better players to work with. 

Early days but so far so good.

Edited November 26, 2018 by Vive_La_Villa

[romavillan]

46 minutes ago, TrentVilla said:

 

Is it Wednesday yet?

Never mind them lot down the road, I just want the next game.

Heartbroken.

I was convinced it was tomorrow.

[ciggiesnbeer]

Cant fault him so far.  He was nice about it but you can tell he was a bit disappointed the way our game plan went out the window against Blues. John terry didnt seem very happy at times either.  I reckon we will be a lot more disciplined for the midweek game.

[sheepyvillian]

I feel utterly confident with Dean Smith as our manager. Taking into account the financial backing, I really believe he will take us to some giddy heights. As for the football he's serving up, it's an absolute joy to see us playing so confidently and always looking to be on the front foot.

[Rodders]

4 hours ago, bannedfromHandV said:

Why are they playing in Arsenal shirts?

Never mind that we seem to be insisting on lining up using the full length of the pitch. I'll be honest, I think that's cheating.

[sidcow]

What I don't understand is how, if the system at Brentford was down to their massive over achieving, and nothing to do with him,  how come he's turned us from drawn 3 lost 3 won 1 before he came to lost 2 and won 4 since (whilst at the same time playing much better teams than during our poor run) 

AND Brentford with their amazing system have plunged down the table with lost 5 won 1 since he's gone.?

Answer is because Smith is an excellent manager who is using tactics and knowledge to make our excellent offensive players play superbly and our poor defenders play adequately. 

No system here folks, just talent. 

 

Edited November 27, 2018 by sidcow

[MaVilla]

27 minutes ago, sheepyvillian said:

I feel utterly confident with Dean Smith as our manager. Taking into account the financial backing, I really believe he will take us to some giddy heights. As for the football he's serving up, it's an absolute joy to see us playing so confidently and always looking to be on the front foot.

I really hope we learn our lessons and dont implode on DS if/when we have a bad run, i mean look at Fulham, nice footballing team last year and a bad run in the PL and they sack their manager.

I agree totally that DS is the right man to develop the team/club/style, i just hope we dont forget that in 6/12/18/24 months, and knee jerk like so many clubs (inc us), have done in the past, we need to learn some of our own lessons, and i do think DS being recruited is us realizing some historic mistakes and finally starting to fix them.

Edited November 26, 2018 by MaVilla

[sheepyvillian]

20 hours ago, TRO said:

who wants to play like Ipswich ….them tractor boys.

I remember Arnold Murhren, what a great player he was,  and the other Dutch lad they had at the time wasn't too bad either . Murhren has to be one of the best passer of a ball I've seen, that team he played in at United should of won the league . Big Ron always had an eye for a good footballer.

[MaVilla]

7 minutes ago, sidcow said:

What I don't understand is how, if the system at Brentford was down to their massive over achieving, and nothing to do with him,  how come he's turned us from drawn 3 lost 3 won 1 before he came to lost 2 and won 4 since (whilst at the same time playing much better teams than during our poor run) 

AND Brentford with their amazing system have plunged down the table with lost 5 won 1 since he's gone.?

Answer is because Smith is an excellent manager who is using tactics and knowledge to make our excellent offinsive players play superbly and our poor defenders play adequately. 

No system here folks, just talent. 

 

Weren't Brentford also on a 4 or 5 winless streak for DS's last 5 games in charge or somethin???

Edited November 26, 2018 by MaVilla

[sidcow]

4 minutes ago, MaVilla said:

Weren't Brentford also on a 4 or 5 winless streak for DS's last 5 games in charge or somethin???

Yes but that didn't suit my narrative I am sure they would have picked up again if he'd have stayed, their form earlier in the season suggested they were a lot better than their last 10 results. 

[sheepyvillian]

8 minutes ago, MaVilla said:

I really hope we learn our lessons and dont implode on DS if/when we have a bad run, i mean look at Fulham, nice footballing team last year and a bad run in the PL and they sack their manager.

I agree totally that DS is the right man to develop the team/club/style, i just hope we dont forget that in 6/12/18/24 months, and knee jerk like so many clubs (inc us), have done in the past, we need to learn some of our own lessons, and i do think DS being recruited is us realizing some historic mistakes and finally starting to fix them.

Fulham tried to change things too quickly. You can't buy virtually a whole team and expect them to gell from the off. Dean Smith doesn't strike me as a man who panics. 

Edited November 26, 2018 by sheepyvillian

[Guest av1]

I do hope we can back this guy in the transfer market, it's so disappointing to think of all the money with have given to rubbish managers to spunk up the wall and when we finally make the correct managerial appointment FFP has us by the bollocks (especially if we don't go ip this season). 

If only we had appointed this bloke sooner. 

 

[MaVilla]

3 minutes ago, sheepyvillian said:

Fulham tried to change things too quickly. You can't buy virtually a whole team and expect them to gell from the off. Dean Smith doesn't strike me as a man who panics. 

So would you blame Fulham (whoever sanctions and buys players) or the manaher for their issues then?

Pity a progressive manager paid the price for a club wide mistake.....or at least what looked like a wider club mistake.

[MaVilla]

5 minutes ago, sidcow said:

Yes but that didn't suit my narrative I am sure they would have picked up again if he'd have stayed, their form earlier in the season suggested they were a lot better than their last 10 results. 

Lol gotta love the narrative

[Villarocker]

Tell you what I am loving about Dean Smith's current Villa - it doesn't have any of his signings in it yet he's got them scoring freely, fearing nobody and winning games to take us up the table.

Imagine how good we'll be when he adds strength to areas he thinks needs improving and the players are fully used to his style of football - I can't wait! 

[mjmooney]

56 minutes ago, sheepyvillian said:

I remember Arnold Murhren, what a great player he was,  and the other Dutch lad they had at the time wasn't too bad either . 

Frans Thijssen. 

[DaveAV1]

43 minutes ago, MaVilla said:

So would you blame Fulham (whoever sanctions and buys players) or the manaher for their issues then?

Pity a progressive manager paid the price for a club wide mistake.....or at least what looked like a wider club mistake.

I think one of the things that gives me confidence, on top of the so far very encouraging performance of Dean Smith, is the way in which the club as a whole have moved forward since the new owners arrived. We appear to have a cohesive approach now and there is a genuine feeling that’s we are pulling together as a club and all singing from the same hymn sheet. Seeing Christian Purslow in the tunnel after the game on Sunday and the way in which he interacted with Smith and the players gave a real sense of togetherness. 

It will take time to get the club really set up how I think the board want it, both business wise and in footballing terms. However we are already on a completely different trajectory than we have been for years. Viva la revolucion, viva The Villa!!

[Brumstopdogs]

Would be nice if Smith can achieve this