mjmooney Posted October 19, 2020 VT Supporter Share Posted October 19, 2020 11 hours ago, villalad21 said: Football has changed. Much more intensive games now. It's also how Leicester won the league under Ranieri. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villalad21 Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 19 minutes ago, mjmooney said: It's also how Leicester won the league under Ranieri. Wait a minute. What are you implying here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted October 19, 2020 VT Supporter Share Posted October 19, 2020 Phenomenal start to the season. We have bigger ambitions this season, but we're still a club that has to worry about relegation. To be a third of the way to staying up after 4 games is unreal. It's given us an incredible base to build on. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post markavfc40 Posted October 19, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted October 19, 2020 If you think that the last time we played Leicester prior to yesterday was 7 months ago when we lost 4-0 and looked totally shot, nailed on for relegation, a shambles defensively and clueless going forward and compare to yesterday where we looked an assured premier league team, with belief in ourselves, solid defensively and threatening going forward then the turnaround has been remarkable. It isn't all down to Smith obviously but he has clearly led the way by firstly looking at himself and changing the way we play from a naïve team way too open to one now built on the foundation of being solid defensively with little change in personnel as in terms of outfield players only Cash has come into the defence. I can't praise him enough and whilst he was helped by the enforced break due to covid you still have to use that time wisely and he did that and some. I don't really know what we can achieve this season and am loath to get carried away. If we now match what we did in our last 34 games of last season we would finish on 45 points which based on last seasons table would be enough for 13th place and I'd have probably taken that at the start of the season. It seems we are capable of a fair bit more though and it could be quite a ride. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post dont_do_it_doug. Posted October 19, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted October 19, 2020 12 hours ago, tom_avfc said: This man took us from the bottom half of the championship to the premier league in less than a season. He then kept us in the premier league having overseen the largest squad rebuild the club has seen. We now sit in second place in the league having won four in a row at the start of the season for the first time in 90 years. I’m sorry but those of you calling for his head at any point in this reign don’t deserve this man or the football that we are witnessing now. I dislike this attitude. Telling a fellow supporter that if they had doubts about the mangers ability to push us forward, at any point, they have relinquished all right to enjoy his and our upturn in fortunes is a really shitty way to react to the current situation. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkyvilla Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 2 hours ago, mykeyb said: I am not sure how that even works, if was a Blues fan should have been sacked for doing the same job and achieving the same results. After we lost so badly to Leicester I couldn't see us surviving and would have been happy to see Dean go. The board luckily resisted that urge and backed him with absolutely brilliant signings. I am glad that I didn't get my way. I don't think getting relegated last season would have been a sackable offence considering the circumstances but I'm not so bothered about that as I can see the argument the other way. It was more some of the abuse he was getting, telling him to **** off out of 'our' club etc that I hated, the same with that guy who supposedly had the scoop on Jack leaving, he also got abuse saying he didn't give a shit and his head already had gone elsewhere all over social media and here. When it came to the crunch the two Villa boys did it. All you then get is 'oops, glad you're proving me wrong Dean', it's why I'm pretty glad the games are still behind closed doors. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave-R Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 Extended highlights here if anyone wants a gander. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotoMkali Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 Our last 8 games we have got the most points in the league during that period. And remember we have played one fewer games. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaFaninLondon Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 I'll never hide from the fact I didn't think Dean was good enough last season. It was always going to be tough first season back with so many new players added, sure, but tactically we were naïve and were fortunate to survive. And I feel anyone questioning him when we looked so poor for so long last season shouldn't be shot down at this point - that's what caring for this club is all about. He's doing a great job now and long may it continue. It's still early days in the season and it will be interesting to see how he does if we have a slump in form, or first 11 players are injured or suspended. But ultimately he takes a lot of credit for the turnaround in form that this great club has shown and he deserves full respect for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomav84 Posted October 19, 2020 VT Supporter Share Posted October 19, 2020 13 hours ago, tom_avfc said: This man took us from the bottom half of the championship to the premier league in less than a season. He then kept us in the premier league having overseen the largest squad rebuild the club has seen. We now sit in second place in the league having won four in a row at the start of the season for the first time in 90 years. I’m sorry but those of you calling for his head at any point in this reign don’t deserve this man or the football that we are witnessing now. bit harsh...in fact very harsh. after the bournemouth/southamption/leicester games before covid hit, we were a mess and deano was showing no signs of turning it around. i can't be bothered to look back through my posts around that time, but it wouldn't surprise me to have posted 'smith out' around that time. and it takes a heck of a lot for me to call for a manager's head. i was bruce in until cabbage gate for example. i'm convinced if there was no virus we would have been relegated and there aren't many that would argue with that. reputable journos said that a chelsea defeat would've seen smith sacked. that being said, the work deano did during the lock down was exceptional, and fully justifies the faith that was shown in him by the board. he has the full backing of the fanbase now, and there's no question he's the man to take us forward. he is a great advert for giving a manager time rather than hitting the panic button. but to say we don't deserve it because we didn't show blind faith despite everything on the pitch telling us otherwise? nah, soz...gonna enjoy it thanks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMelvillan Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 Im gonna have to wait a while before watching Dean's post match interviews after a win. He is so sensible and pragmatic he really knows how keep ones feet on the ground. whereas I like bouncing round the room singing "championees" and working out what route the open top bus should take. genuinely though it shows how the managers influence and demeanour is so important and it is his job to focus the players and keep them humble. I believe Dean when he says things and trust that his reaction to situations is the correct one. Would be a wonderful guy to work for. We've got a good 'un there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom_avfc Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 1 hour ago, dont_do_it_doug. said: I dislike this attitude. Telling a fellow supporter that if they had doubts about the mangers ability to push us forward, at any point, they have relinquished all right to enjoy his and our upturn in fortunes is a really shitty way to react to the current situation. I take your point and would note that I wasn’t criticising people who had their doubts - I’ll admit I had my doubts. The people calling for his head at the first sign of us looking like getting relegated (doubtless the same people who will be doing the same when we inevitably hit a poor run this season) are more the subject of my post. He had credit in the bank from getting us promoted out of nowhere and for me even going down shouldn’t have seen him gone. The rush of “Smith out” posts pre lockdown was to me far too soon and highlighted the issues around the modern day clamour for instant success. But you never know, I suppose a name like Allardyce that was being given as an alternative could have us doing much better now I suppose. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted October 19, 2020 VT Supporter Share Posted October 19, 2020 If we beat Leeds on Friday he's surely nailed on for October Manager of the Month? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted October 19, 2020 VT Supporter Share Posted October 19, 2020 5 minutes ago, sidcow said: If we beat Leeds on Friday he's surely nailed on for October Manager of the Month? Kiss of death, that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted October 19, 2020 VT Supporter Share Posted October 19, 2020 Just now, mjmooney said: Kiss of death, that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GENTLEMAN Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 3 hours ago, sharkyvilla said: I don't think getting relegated last season would have been a sackable offence considering the circumstances but I'm not so bothered about that as I can see the argument the other way. It was more some of the abuse he was getting, telling him to **** off out of 'our' club etc that I hated, the same with that guy who supposedly had the scoop on Jack leaving, he also got abuse saying he didn't give a shit and his head already had gone elsewhere all over social media and here. When it came to the crunch the two Villa boys did it. All you then get is 'oops, glad you're proving me wrong Dean', it's why I'm pretty glad the games are still behind closed doors. This. It’s the abusive nature of it. Sure criticise performance and question progress but it is the personal insults and lambasting. Then it’s usually the 360 degree turn and Dean Smith best English manager ever. Like a lack of emotional control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenjiOgiwara Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, tom_avfc said: I take your point and would note that I wasn’t criticising people who had their doubts - I’ll admit I had my doubts. The people calling for his head at the first sign of us looking like getting relegated (doubtless the same people who will be doing the same when we inevitably hit a poor run this season) are more the subject of my post. He had credit in the bank from getting us promoted out of nowhere and for me even going down shouldn’t have seen him gone. The rush of “Smith out” posts pre lockdown was to me far too soon and highlighted the issues around the modern day clamour for instant success. But you never know, I suppose a name like Allardyce that was being given as an alternative could have us doing much better now I suppose. I actually agree with what you said to a degree. I've always been a fan of continuity of managers, cause while some people say the continuity comes from success and delivering, I personally think it's more often the other way around. I made several posts about why we needed to stick by Smith during both periods in the last two seasons, when we had a poor run of form. Not because I have a hard on for a Villa man in charge, but because if you hire a manager and believe in his ideas and ability, you need to give that person enough time to get his stamp on it. The people who wanted Smith out in that period didn't want to give him that time. They wanted immidiate satisfaction which is so typical for football fans, especially in the era of social media and messageboards. I'm guilty of that too at times, but I rarely if ever do it with the manager. Simply because I don't believe in the rotating management door where it's one honeymoon period and never any traction of developing the club where you want to go. We all know we had a massive project on our hands when Deano took charge. It was a total change of football, playing style, philosophy, backroom ++. We knew it would take time, but at the first and second sight of trouble and poor form a lot of people forgot all that and went quickly back to absolutely stupid mindset we've witnessed for so many years. So no I don't think it's problematic what you said. The people that wanted him out at that time (both first and second season), made his job ever harder than it was. And the fan's expectations could easily, with worse ownership, had ment we lost Deano already before the recording breaking winning run in the championship that led to our promotion. So no I don't think it's very wrong to say these people don't deserve it. Obviously every single Villa fan deserves so happyness after years of absolute shite, but it's well worth remembering this stuff right now, cause we could easily hit a rough patch this season. And while we're all cheerful now, my main goal this season is still to retain our place in this league. Then I'd be happy with 12th-15th place as a sign of improvement. I'm not saying we shouldn't gun for the title, cause it's important we believe we can beat anyone (and we certaintly have shown it so far), but the reality is what it is. Lets stay some what grounded and give Deano time during both good and bad patches. Edited October 19, 2020 by KenjiOgiwara 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa89 Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 5 hours ago, Stevo985 said: Phenomenal start to the season. We have bigger ambitions this season, but we're still a club that has to worry about relegation. To be a third of the way to staying up after 4 games is unreal. To be honest I think it's effectively impossible for us to be relegated this season. It would take some mega covid/injury wipe out for us not to get another 25 points. Plus it looks like we will have the money to add at least one more player in January. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danishlad Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 5 minutes ago, villa89 said: To be honest I think it's effectively impossible for us to be relegated this season. It would take some mega covid/injury wipe out for us not to get another 25 points. Plus it looks like we will have the money to add at least one more player in January. Cascarino 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vive_La_Villa Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 1 hour ago, sidcow said: If we beat Leeds on Friday he's surely nailed on for October Manager of the Month? A point and we go top. Then he must get it. Otherwise will probably be Ancelloti Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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