Dean Smith

[Kiwivillan]

1 minute ago, villalad21 said:

I think Barkley had something in his contract or the very least a mutual agreement with Smith in regards to playing time. And that was an integral part in how we got the deal done in the first place.

[MotoMkali]

2 hours ago, villa4europe said:

Not play where Jack grealish does 

Ross plays where Jack does but he somehow gets in the team. Jack is so much better in the middle. Because he influences both sides of the pitch. 

[handsworthvilla]

1 hour ago, villalad21 said:

I think Barkley had something in his contract or the very least a mutual agreement with Smith in regards to playing time. And that was an integral part in how we got the deal done in the first place.

Yes conspiracy theory, but considering he keeps getting picked after playing poorly and Anwar getting dropped when playing superbly do support this theory.

Barkley played well last game though. Long may it continue.

That's actually pretty likely. Not the contractual part as I'm not sure that is possible. But I'd imagine in negotiations they most certainly touched on playing time, his England ambitions etc. It was a real coup to get Barkley here so I'd imagine he was given certain guarantee's to get it over the line. 

[villa4europe]

9 minutes ago, MotoMkali said:

Ross plays where Jack does but he somehow gets in the team. Jack is so much better in the middle. Because he influences both sides of the pitch. 

The last 2 years have shown that Smith doesn't agree

We see him at his best on the left 

[hong0311]

3 hours ago, WhatAboutTheFinish said:

He found a formation and team that can win games? 

That's what I thought too. I was asking as I didn't really understand people slating him for not changing starting lineups.
On the other hand, other than the above reason, what made DS not trying to use subs? I think he did try and at least bring one or two fresh legs in the game last season.

[Zatman]

45 minutes ago, handsworthvilla said:

That's actually pretty likely. Not the contractual part as I'm not sure that is possible. But I'd imagine in negotiations they most certainly touched on playing time, his England ambitions etc. It was a real coup to get Barkley here so I'd imagine he was given certain guarantee's to get it over the line. 

Liverpool do it all the time, if you dont play Liverpool loan players then you have to pay them a financial penalty

[BG_Villa_Fan]

55 minutes ago, MotoMkali said:

Ross plays where Jack does but he somehow gets in the team. Jack is so much better in the middle. Because he influences both sides of the pitch. 

In theory. But in practice he's always played better on the left. It's easier to get the ball to him on the left, instead of in the middle, as well as easier to find space for his dribbling there. 

[nick76]

1 hour ago, MotoMkali said:

Ross plays where Jack does but he somehow gets in the team. Jack is so much better in the middle. Because he influences both sides of the pitch. 

I dont agree and doesnt look like Smith does.  I think Jack is better further up the pitch where he gets in and around the box more as opposed to when he does play centrally when he's too deep for me.  Really think he has stepped up a level (even more than before) in moving to that left forward position for a number of reasons.  I hope, unless necessary, that he doesnt go back to his old position.

[nick76]

15 minutes ago, BG_Villa_Fan said:

In theory. But in practice he's always played better on the left. It's easier to get the ball to him on the left, instead of in the middle, as well as easier to find space for his dribbling there. 

Completely agree, he looks more free, allowed to be more advanced, and really can get at those edges of the box that he loves.  Really feel that when he moved to that left forward position it really suited his style more than the middle which surprised me but now feels his best position.

[gwi1890]

27 minutes ago, Zatman said:

Liverpool do it all the time, if you dont play Liverpool loan players then you have to pay them a financial penalty

So Sheffield Utd had to pay Liverpool when they didn’t play Ben Woodburn when he was there on loan? And The same when he couldn’t get a game at Oxford, genuine questions as you clearly know alot about how Liverpool work

[BG_Villa_Fan]

Just now, nick76 said:

Completely agree, he looks more free, allowed to be more advanced, and really can get at those edges of the box that he loves.  Really feel that when he moved to that left forward position it really suited his style more than the middle which surprised me but now feels his best position.

It's also easier to commit more defenders centrally and leave less space than on the wing. Southampton consistently overcommitted men on their right side against Jack and we can expect this to happen even more in the future as teams try to find ways to defend him. He still found a way to create the goal because he's a genius but there will be games where we'll have to exploit such a tactic because it leaves the defending team in an unbalanced position. This is also why having someone like Traore on the other side would be important over someone like Trez, who works hard but isn't nearly as direct and can't really exploit space. 

[Zatman]

5 minutes ago, gwi1890 said:

So Sheffield Utd had to pay Liverpool when they didn’t play Ben Woodburn when he was there on loan? And The same when he couldn’t get a game at Oxford, genuine questions as you clearly know alot about how Liverpool work

Yeah i think it was one of the reasons we didnt pursue Woodburn at the time. It was apparently why Wilson played so much at Bournemouth last season when he was playing shit

[MotoMkali]

10 minutes ago, nick76 said:

I dont agree and doesnt look like Smith does.  I think Jack is better further up the pitch where he gets in and around the box more as opposed to when he does play centrally when he's too deep for me.  Really think he has stepped up a level (even more than before) in moving to that left forward position for a number of reasons.  I hope, unless necessary, that he doesnt go back to his old position.

Ross plays further upfield than Jack. 

[MrBlack]

Jack saw himself as a CM. He may have since come around to the idea that he's better on the left, but it definitely look like Smith sees him as better out wide too.

I think if we had 2 quality wingers, with Jack in the middle,  we'd be even more effective,  and Jack would  have the freedom to go down either side as well as direct through the middle. Needs 2 quality wingers though. 

[MotoMkali]

25 minutes ago, BG_Villa_Fan said:

In theory. But in practice he's always played better on the left. It's easier to get the ball to him on the left, instead of in the middle, as well as easier to find space for his dribbling there. 

He drifts which means it is easier to create an overload down the left which gives more space for a ball into watkins.

[MotoMkali]

Just now, MrBlack said:

Jack saw himself as a CM. He may have since come around to the idea that he's better on the left, but it definitely look like Smith sees him as better out wide too.

I think if we had 2 quality wingers, with Jack in the middle,  we'd be even more effective,  and Jack would  have the freedom to go down either side as well as direct through the middle. Needs 2 quality wingers though. 

Exactly. El Ghazi and traore scored 6 goals in 5 games Jack was CAM. And watkins should have scored 4. That is a lot of goals because of things that Jack was doing. 

[BG_Villa_Fan]

4 minutes ago, MotoMkali said:

He drifts which means it is easier to create an overload down the left which gives more space for a ball into watkins.

I agree, I think this is exactly what Dean Smith is doing, but it still means you'd need Jack and another player on the left, as Barkley does currently. Practically all the goals Watkins has scored have been due to something created on the wing, not centrally. 

Edited February 1, 2021 by BG_Villa_Fan

[nick76]

7 minutes ago, MotoMkali said:

Ross plays further upfield than Jack. 

Yes when we are defending, he plays almost in the number ten role and defending from the front stopping the central defenders while Jack is checking on the FB or WB's but when we are attacking you will see Jack further forward than Ross most of the time sitting on the wing.  Even for Ross' goal, Jack was further forward and Ross came onto the ball from a midfield run.

[bannedfromHandV]

1 hour ago, MotoMkali said:

Ross plays where Jack does but he somehow gets in the team. Jack is so much better in the middle. Because he influences both sides of the pitch. 

I don’t understand this, Grealish does his best work out wide, it also narrows down the amount of defenders on him and where they’re coming from, throw him in the middle and he loses the ball more because he gets closed down from all angles, with the touch line at his back he knows he only needs to concentrate on what’s in front of him.

Just being in the middle doesn’t automatically mean being more involved.

[MotoMkali]

1 minute ago, bannedfromHandV said:

I don’t understand this, Grealish does his best work out wide, it also narrows down the amount of defenders on him and where they’re coming from, throw him in the middle and he loses the ball more because he gets closed down from all angles, with the touch line at his back he knows he only needs to concentrate on what’s in front of him.

Just being in the middle doesn’t automatically mean being more involved.

When he is on the left we attack 60% of the time down the left. When he is in the middle we attack 40, 30, 30. It means we are getting cash and traore involved more. Means he can go out wide right easier. Or play those killer through balls for watkins. Like the one against crystal palace.