Dean Smith

[BleedClaretAndBlue]

Our players all know we have a very good squad. Dean Smith has clearly given them license to attack with instructions and tactics and its paying dividends already which in turn enables the team to buy into his ideas and actually believe in themselves. They looked lost and devoid and clearly didnt buy into Steve Bruces ideas. The results were evidence of that. The old cliche Winning breeds confidence, that's exactly whats happening at the moment. The players must be loving what theyre producing right now (attacking wise) with 3 then 4 then 5 in a game back to back not to mention the countless other opportunities that are being missed.

Wouldnt surprise me one bit if we go and turn over Middlesbrough. Smith has us rightly believing we're one of the best sides in the league and we are showing really positive signs of improvement. 

[terrytini]

5 hours ago, Davkaus said:

To be fair, Bruce probably has **** all else to do now apart from troll VT.

I'm stunned anyone can have witnessed the dross we played under Bruce, watched him squander resources, embed us deeply in the shit with his transfer business, and still defend him, and start having a dig at the new guy who has us playing football within weeks of taking over. While still being dragged down by the inadequacies of the previous manager's squad.

 

Very very well put.

[terrytini]

5 hours ago, TRO said:

That game was interesting for me in the sense that almost the same players who struggled against Forest, struggled against Blues. it wasn't really a one off in some ways.

Blues second Goal? with no one closing down.....and lets be fair Blues could have been 2-0 up, just like Forest. Forest were more clinical than Blues that was the main difference.

both games were defensively poor from our point of view.....we need January quick.

The problem is everyone and his grandmother, knows we can't defend and we will become more of a target.

Not borne out by the stats.

[KentVillan]

By the way, a few people saying the first Forest goal was offside - I paused it a few times, and I think Grabban was just on.

Also a few people saying Lolley's goal was bad defending / goalkeeping. Not sure that's fair re: defending, as he was so far out, you usually don't mind letting a player shoot from there. Re goalkeeping, I'd need to see another angle, but if it was an easy save that just reinforces the point that DS has inherited a terrible keeper.

Other comments about us needing a defensive midfielder - yes, that would definitely help, but a good defensive midfielder who can also play good passing football is a rarity at this level.

I think much more urgent is to sort out the back 4. Hutton doesn't seem to be able to play back-to-back weekend / mid-week games. Taylor is fine in possession, but he can't defend. Chester is usually solid defensively, but he gets caught out in possession, and he panics when the ball is turned over in midfield. Axel is amazing in possession, and has all the attributes to be a great defender, but he needs to grow tactically, and he also panics when we lose the ball in midfield.

I suspect DS's biggest weakness is that he wants to control games from 1st to 90th minute, and he probably doesn't spend enough time on the 'worst-case scenario'. I had hoped that JT might bring some of Mourinho's training ground routines on set pieces and defensive transitions, but maybe he doesn't have that much influence yet, or maybe the players just haven't grasped it properly.

Look at Axel's body position on the Carvalho goal (should be much more open) and look at Taylor's position on the first Grabban goal, and you'll see two very basic defensive mistakes that we should be able to iron out. In Axel's case, I don't think he'll be making those mistakes in 5 years' time, but Taylor should know better. New goalkeeper and left-back in January, please.

[Villarocker]

5 hours ago, TRO said:

That game was interesting for me in the sense that almost the same players who struggled against Forest, struggled against Blues. it wasn't really a one off in some ways.

Blues second Goal? with no one closing down.....and lets be fair Blues could have been 2-0 up, just like Forest. Forest were more clinical than Blues that was the main difference.

both games were defensively poor from our point of view.....we need January quick.

The problem is everyone and his grandmother, knows we can't defend and we will become more of a target.

Only if he can play right back!

[Vive_La_Villa]

7 minutes ago, KentVillan said:

Re goalkeeping, I'd need to see another angle,

There’s a replay that shows it’s pretty much right next to him. He’s body had started to shift to the other side so he couldn’t react. It was very poor keeping.

As for our defenders. I think we just need new players rather than being able to improve what we have. As you said Axel is learning the game so will get better, 

The other 3 are past improvement. 

Edited November 29, 2018 by Vive_La_Villa

[terrytini]

Derby, Baggies, Sheffield United, Swansea.

Are they regarded as teams that can’t defend ?

Conceeded same us last 7 games ( ie under Smith).

Leeds and Forest ? 

Regarded as teams that can’t defend ?

Conceeded just 2 less than us - with easier fixtures.

Under Smith we’ve conceeded 0-2-1-0-0-2-5

3 clean sheets, and in 2 of the other games we’ve conceeded 3 goals in total Away from Home at 2 of the Form sides ( Norwich And QPR).

Im far more worried that the myth that we are significantly poorer defensively than other sides in this League takes hold than I am at the reality.

 

Edited November 29, 2018 by terrytini

[Vive_La_Villa]

24 minutes ago, bannedfromHandV said:

What I really liked about last night was how we played the same way throughout, no panicking after conceding, even at 2 down (though it didn't last for long).

We've been so reactionary for so long, long before and during Bruce's reign. 

I loved the fact it always felt like we would score. I just hated the fact it always felt like we would concede!

[Vive_La_Villa]

5 minutes ago, terrytini said:

Derby, Baggies, Sheffield United, Swansea.

Are they regarded as teams that can’t defend ?

Conceeded same us last 7 games ( ie under Smith).

Leeds and Forest ? 

Regarded as teams that can’t defend ?

Conceeded just 2 less than us - with easier fixtures.

Under Smith we’ve conceeded 0-2-1-0-0-2-5

3 clean sheets, and in 2 of the other games we’ve conceeded 3 goals in total Away from Home at 2 of the Form sides ( Norwich And QPR).

Im far more worried that the myth that we are significantly poorer defensively that other sides in this League takes hold of far, far, more concern, than the reality.

 

But we have the joint worst defensive record in the league? Unless we are only going to judge our season from started 7 games ago. 

Edited November 29, 2018 by Vive_La_Villa

[Thug]

6 minutes ago, Vive_La_Villa said:

But we have the joint worst defensive record in the league? Unless we are only going to judge our season from started 7 games ago. 

Well.. this IS the Dean Smith thread.. no?

[Vive_La_Villa]

1 minute ago, Thug said:

Well.. this IS the Dean Smith thread.. no?

My post was in response to this. 

15 minutes ago, terrytini said:

Im far more worried that the myth that we are significantly poorer defensively than other sides in this League takes hold than I am at the reality.

We are poorer defensively than other sides in the league. The stats prove this. 

[terrytini]

8 minutes ago, Vive_La_Villa said:

But we have the joint worst defensive record in the league? Unless we are only going to judge our season from started 7 games ago. 

You are joking ?

Of course it only makes sense to judge it from 7 games ago !

Theres a reason teams sack their Manager - and it definitely is NOT because they expect things to stay the same !

I don’t judge our expected Points total on where we were under Bruce, nor how many we I’ll score, nor how many we will win, nor how many we concede.

[Vive_La_Villa]

3 minutes ago, terrytini said:

You are joking ?

Of course it only makes sense to judge it from 7 games ago !

Theres a reason teams sack their Manager - and it definitely is NOT because they expect things to stay the same !

I don’t judge our expected Points total on where we were under Bruce, nor how many we I’ll score, nor how many we will win, nor how many we concede.

I suppose. Things don’t normally change that quickly though.

 I think we had a shit defence and Keeper with Bruce and we now have the same with Smith.

He needs transfer window/windows to address this in my opinion. Although a decent keeper could in turn help the defence. 

Edited November 29, 2018 by Vive_La_Villa

[terrytini]

Just now, Vive_La_Villa said:

My post was in response to this. 

We are poorer defensively than other sides in the league. The stats prove this. 

The stats, like all stats, prove many things.

But my point is that UNDER SMITH we are similar to most our rivals with the figures I quoted.

Of course you can make an entirely different point relating to our defence stats since  the season started, but that’s a different point, not a negation of my point.

[terrytini]

2 minutes ago, Vive_La_Villa said:

I suppose. Things don’t normally change that quickly though.

 I think we had a shit defence and Keeper with Bruce and we now have the same with Smith.

He needs transfer window/windows to address this in my opinion. Although a decent keeper could in turn help the defence. 

But things have changed. As I said, under Smith we’ve conceeded the same as Baggies, Derby, Sheffield United, Swansea, and only 2 more than Forest and Leeds.

So it’s perfectly true and reasonable to say, on the evidence so far, that under Smith our defence is no worse than some key rivals, and only marginally worse than other key rivals.

Im not mad, I see our shocking keeper, I see Chester struggling, I see Taylor’s limitations.......but ALL Championship Clubs have similar issues, it’s the Championship !

2 sides conceed very little, and look how they play ........

I think it’s such a typical Villa response that we “ need to buy” - as if that's always the solution. Whoever we buy will STILL be a limited player.....else why would they be in the Championship January Sale ?

Our ‘defence’ won’t ultimately depend upon buying the best players, it will - and has under Smith already - depend upon the whole team defending their areas well, upon our tactics, and upon how we in turn can threaten the opposition.

Other than our keeper, we have pretty typical Championship defenders ( and Axel, who may well be more than that). And, under Smith, we have a pretty typical Championship defensive record.

Its a red herring.

,

[terrytini]

And that’s without mentioning the absolute dogs dinner Bruce made of pre season defensively, the dogs dinner he made of defensive selections in the season, the failure to build any cohesive unit, the chopping of the keeper etc.

Add that to his method of inviting pressure, yes, you are dead right I’m not going to judge our defence on his time here this season !

[terrytini]

We will see.

I am happy to say as clearly as possible that without any additions to the squad - ie, up until end of December - our defensive stats will stand comparison with anybody’s. We won’t conceed the fewest goals, but we will be pretty typical.

But our goal DIFFERENCE will be superior to most.

 

[Vive_La_Villa]

9 minutes ago, terrytini said:

The stats, like all stats, prove many things.

But my point is that UNDER SMITH we are similar to most our rivals with the figures I quoted.

Of course you can make an entirely different point relating to our defence stats since  the season started, but that’s a different point, not a negation of my point.

Ok fair enough. It’s just our defence hasn’t actually improved since Smith took over. It’s stayed the same. Obviously we are scoring a lot more though. 

[TRO]

42 minutes ago, terrytini said:

Derby, Baggies, Sheffield United, Swansea.

Are they regarded as teams that can’t defend ?

Conceeded same us last 7 games ( ie under Smith).

Leeds and Forest ? 

Regarded as teams that can’t defend ?

Conceeded just 2 less than us - with easier fixtures.

Under Smith we’ve conceeded 0-2-1-0-0-2-5

3 clean sheets, and in 2 of the other games we’ve conceeded 3 goals in total Away from Home at 2 of the Form sides ( Norwich And QPR).

Im far more worried that the myth that we are significantly poorer defensively than other sides in this League takes hold than I am at the reality.

 

we will see?

you can quote stats Terry, but the game and its spectacle reveals all.

Dean Smith himself declared his frustration at their 5th goal.

We could easily have gone 2 down against Blues in the early exchanges and then we go 2 down in 7 minutes against Forest, its not a one off.

watching the game, there is a clear problem, when teams attack us.

These things can't be just dismissed or swept under the carpet....they are legitimate issues.

we have conceded 30 goals so far this season....with Middlesbrough's 10.....that suggests an issue to me.

Edited November 29, 2018 by TRO

[Junxs]

I really don't get some people, they find anything to complain about.

Positive things to take from last night far outweigh the negatives, yet a few are concentrating on the negatives and quite frankly making themselves look silly.

We dominated the game possession wise and our chances created were far far superior.

Lets remember they scored with every shot - its something that rarely happens in football. Everyone in the UK is talking about this being a freak result, but watching the game, I'd say there was nothing freaky about our 5 goals - we thoroughly deserved them based on chances created and the way we generally played. Forest on the other hand, scored with every attempt - that is freaky - on a normal day that would have been 1 goal or at a push 2. A fair result last night would have been 6-2.

With this in mind, certain people are using it as a question mark over Dean Smith, whos been nothing short of fantastic since he arrived. Its quite frankly disrespecting your own manager.