Dean Smith

[WallisFrizz]

13 minutes ago, chips'ngravy said:

It felt harsh when Barkley was put straight back into the team in place of an in form El Ghazi and is proving to be one of the few mistakes Smith has made this season. Whether Barkley was ready or not he should've been made to fight his way back into the first eleven. That he wasn't has been to the detriment of the team, not only with his below par performances but also with the effect it's had on El Ghazi. 

El Ghazi is clearly a confidence player, as his woeful return against West Ham showed, and we perhaps could've ridden his purple patch a while longer with the added benefit of giving Jack an extended run in the middle had Barkley been pressuring him from the bench. We now have both players underperforming when if handled differently could have been making match-winning contributions. 

I have some sympathy with Smith as he sees Barkley as the player with the bigger skill-set, which I'd agree with, but it's hard to argue he's put it to effective use on a regular basis and his bias is an assault on the meritocracy he aspires to create within the squad.

The glimmer of hope being that when he started El Ghazi against West Ham, it was on the right, so could still return to the left with his confidence intact

[DCJonah]

17 minutes ago, Delphinho123 said:

You have no idea how Barkley gets singled out? 

Traore, Mcginn and Jack were just as bad. And none of those have had to come back from a bad hamstring injury this year. 

[Villarocker]

7 hours ago, Rightdm00 said:

Brighton are just an awful matchup for us. We aren't physical enough to bully them and they just crowded out out three creative players. I have never seen Jack have so little time on the ball all season. 

I think we will see a far better performance just based off of not having to play Brighton again. 

I'm actually convinced that Potter, being a Villa fan, gets the very best out of them when they play us because he wants to put himself in line to replace Deano when he leaves to become England manager in a few years time. 

[villalad21]

Not liked our style of play as of late. 

Soaking up pressure and hitting teams on the counter is a very negative set up. You are basically handing over the initiative to the opposition. 

We need to start dominating games more and become better on the ball. 

[DaveAV1]

32 minutes ago, DCJonah said:

Not a great game but an important point. Most teams will have bad spells at certain points. Look at Liverpool and spurs, expensive players, huge squad and still have runs where they struggle. Why should we expect difference. 

The most important thing in my opinion is that the defence has stayed solid throughout all of this. 

No idea how Barkley gets singled out when you look at how bad even Grealish played last night. I do think Dean will change things up for the next one. 

 

I largely agree with what you’re saying. Dean’s general ethos and indeed that of the entire club seems to be patient progress. We are certainly not a knee jerk reaction club and so it’s doubtful that we will see wholesale changes after picking up a point away against an inform team. The positives at the moment are our resilience an attribute that is rarely sexy but vital for any team to make genuine improvement. The old saying, strikers for show defenders for dough rings true. 

I’m not trying to say we weren’t very poor last night, certainly from midfield forwards and as Dean pointed out our passing was appalling. But in 12 months we have made massive improvements in respect to our ability to grind out results. Second worse defence in the league to third best, we’ve learnt to win the right to play. Up to recently we have played and played very well. For whatever reason that form has dropped off but we’re a different beast to the team that meant a drop in form meant a long run of defeats. 

We probably need a tweak or two involving some rotation to try and reset our attacking play. However as you say which team doesn’t have a bad spell? You mentioned Liverpool and Spurs but it mustn’t be forgotten that the now unbeatable Man City were very poor by their standards early in the season and a lot of people were just waiting for Man U to sack OGS a couple of months or so ago. 

We’re a work in progress, there are always some bumps in the road, but we are making a lot of progress. 

[Mjvilla]

Mini slump, out of form etc etc etc... 

7 points out of 12.

3 clean sheets in 4. 

We aren't playing the best, yet picking up points. 

Carry on this mini slump for the next 16 games and we end the season on 64 points. 

Some perspective is definitely needed. 

[Delphinho123]

1 hour ago, DCJonah said:

Traore, Mcginn and Jack were just as bad. And none of those have had to come back from a bad hamstring injury this year. 

Barkley was worse than those 3 and at least they ran around a bit. 

Barkley’s performance was an embarrassment. 

[DCJonah]

19 minutes ago, Mjvilla said:

Mini slump, out of form etc etc etc... 

7 points out of 12.

3 clean sheets in 4. 

We aren't playing the best, yet picking up points. 

Carry on this mini slump for the next 16 games and we end the season on 64 points. 

Some perspective is definitely needed. 

Yep, great point. The problem with such a massive improvement in a short time means that perspective gets lost. 

[Skruff]

Utv

Edited February 14, 2021 by Skruff
Wrong thread

[ozvillafan]

I don't think our performance against Brighton is anything to condemn Dean on. In fact, quite the opposite.

Don't get me wrong - that was hardly a great performance. And yet, it wasn't as terrible as people are making out. For all the possession and shots Brighton had, they never broke our defense and while Emi rightly gets the credit for that, the back 4 and the midfield defensive 2 worked very hard in defense to keep it to a clean sheet, throwing themselves at everything.

We are a very good side - Dean gets the credit for that - and yet we are not yet the final article. Even so, our poor performances are not the abject failure we saw in our relegation year and keep us picking up points.

Patience.

[Laughable Chimp]

The longer this season goes on, the more we start to play like how we did last season. Only reason we're still picking up points now is that we have better quality players. Emi has been saving our asses and Watkins is able to keep banging in the occasional goal. Which is particularly important considering all our striker options last season.

I want to praise Grealish too but I feel like he's been a lot more ineffective these last couple of games. People say that its because they're doubling up on Grealish but they've always been doing that. They've been doing that since last season.

I don't know whether Grealish's increased ineffectiveness is a result or a cause of our current play style but whatever it is, we're clearly not playing anywhere near how we did at the start of the season where we were dominating games.

A friend of mine who's pretty analytical about football was watching the game with me. And he noticed that we were leaving space in front of us for Brighton to play in. I feel like that's a complaint you frequently heard last season of us.

 

[sne]

4 minutes ago, DCJonah said:

Yep, great point. The problem with such a massive improvement in a short time means that perspective gets lost. 

Also means that after being poor for so long some will be content with finishing 12th despite there being a very real opportunity to finishing higher and even in the European places this season. And when the season ends I will also be content if we finish 12th or so. But I will also keep thinking that maybe we had an opportunity do have done more.

This will have been a good/great season when it's all wrapped up regardless, but that doesn't mean we can't expect the team to not get dominated against Brighton for 90 minutes. That's not unrealistic or a lack of perspective. Had we won our games in hand we'd been 4th or 5th.

[villalad21]

6 minutes ago, Laughable Chimp said:

A friend of mine who's pretty analytical about football was watching the game with me. And he noticed that we were leaving space in front of us for Brighton to play in. I feel like that's a complaint you frequently heard last season of us.

We are allowing the opposition to have the ball.

We're not pressing like we did at the start of the season. Ollie Watkins being the exception.

This seem like a conscious decision and tactic. Basically setting up to counter. Regardless it's a very negative mindset. And imo it's disheartening to see us playing this way. It's not the way i want us to play.

Edited February 14, 2021 by villalad21

[DCJonah]

3 minutes ago, sne said:

Also means that after being poor for so long some will be content with finishing 12th despite there being a very real opportunity to finishing higher and even in the European places this season. And when the season ends I will also be content if we finish 12th or so. But I will also keep thinking that maybe we had an opportunity do have done more.

This will have been a good/great season when it's all wrapped up regardless, but that doesn't mean we can't expect the team to not get dominated against Brighton for 90 minutes. That's not unrealistic or a lack of perspective. Had we won our games in hand we'd been 4th or 5th.

Why wouldn't anyone be content with finishing 12th? An improvement on last season and another solid place to build on. 

There was an opportunity but that requires a consistency that is going to be hard for squads like ours to put together. If teams like Everton and Spurs can't do it, why should we expect it? 

The Brighton game was awful but perspective about the whole season means you understand these performances can and probably will happen. 

I doubt there is a fanbase in the league who haven't seen 3 or 4 games that they'd class as unacceptable this season.

[Bazmonkey]

16 minutes ago, ozvillafan said:

I don't think our performance against Brighton is anything to condemn Dean on. In fact, quite the opposite.

Don't get me wrong - that was hardly a great performance. And yet, it wasn't as terrible as people are making out. For all the possession and shots Brighton had, they never broke our defense and while Emi rightly gets the credit for that, the back 4 and the midfield defensive 2 worked very hard in defense to keep it to a clean sheet, throwing themselves at everything.

We are a very good side - Dean gets the credit for that - and yet we are not yet the final article. Even so, our poor performances are not the abject failure we saw in our relegation year and keep us picking up points.

Patience.

Sorry...have to totally disagree 

The defence and midfield defensive two have been poor. Brighton broke our defense all game.

If it wasn't for Martinez that could have been 4 nil.

A defensive unit of a back four and two in midfield does not allow over 20 shots a game...which has been the norm lately.

Throwing in front of shots is commendable....but all game...every game.

We have defenders on the 6 yard line....midfielders in the box....its not good defending. Allowing wave after wave..its resilient at best.

Comes to something when the MOM is the keeper week in week out.

We have played burnley, Brighton...yes..bit of form...Southampton...arsenal...all round us...with the exception of West ham who are a good team...we have been and allowed them batter us.

Better teams will score when we allow 20 shots...its not sustainable 

[HongKongVillan]

14 minutes ago, villalad21 said:

We are allowing the opposition to have the ball.

We're not pressing like we did at the start of the season. Ollie Watkins being the exception.

This seem like a conscious decision and tactic. Basically setting up to counter. Regardless it's a very negative mindset. And imo it's disheartening to see us playing this way. It's not the way i want us to play.

I agree, if we can only copy the Bielsa and Leeds way of playing Gung Ho Football every single game and constant running like having 11 Robbie Savage on the pitch, we can have the likes of Gary Neville creaming over us instead of just sitting in 8th place. Would look so much better too if we were to go all out and get  4-5 defeat last night. I totally agree with you.

[Vive_La_Villa]

18 minutes ago, villalad21 said:

We are allowing the opposition to have the ball.

We're not pressing like we did at the start of the season. Ollie Watkins being the exception.

This seem like a conscious decision and tactic. Basically setting up to counter. Regardless it's a very negative mindset. And imo it's disheartening to see us playing this way. It's not the way i want us to play.

The irony!

Edited February 14, 2021 by Vive_La_Villa

[Mjvilla]

15 minutes ago, DCJonah said:

Why wouldn't anyone be content with finishing 12th? An improvement on last season and another solid place to build on. 

There was an opportunity but that requires a consistency that is going to be hard for squads like ours to put together. If teams like Everton and Spurs can't do it, why should we expect it? 

The Brighton game was awful but perspective about the whole season means you understand these performances can and probably will happen. 

I doubt there is a fanbase in the league who haven't seen 3 or 4 games that they'd class as unacceptable this season.

I think it's human nature to think 'what if' in these circumstances. If we do end up 12th, I'm sure I will reflect and think what if we done a bit more and finished 8th?

However, I wouldn't use it as a stick to beat Smith with, which is what we are seeing. I respect, enormously, the job he is doing. This is the key bit for me, Smith is quickly turning into a victim of his own successes because, the average football fan wants it right now. 

[Zatman]

9 minutes ago, Bazmonkey said:

Sorry...have to totally disagree 

The defence and midfield defensive two have been poor. Brighton broke our defense all game.

If it wasn't for Martinez that could have been 4 nil.

A defensive unit of a back four and two in midfield does not allow over 20 shots a game...which has been the norm lately.

Throwing in front of shots is commendable....but all game...every game.

We have defenders on the 6 yard line....midfielders in the box....its not good defending. Allowing wave after wave..its resilient at best.

Comes to something when the MOM is the keeper week in week out.

We have played burnley, Brighton...yes..bit of form...Southampton...arsenal...all round us...with the exception of West ham who are a good team...we have been and allowed them batter us.

Better teams will score when we allow 20 shots...its not sustainable 

I don't remember them having one clear chance in play from carving up our defence. Burn had a header from a set-piece and Maupay on the 6yard box was well marshalled by Konsa I think it was. Rest of chances were from outside the box

[lexicon]

2 hours ago, chips'ngravy said:

It felt harsh when Barkley was put straight back into the team in place of an in form El Ghazi and is proving to be one of the few mistakes Smith has made this season. Whether Barkley was ready or not he should've been made to fight his way back into the first eleven. That he wasn't has been to the detriment of the team, not only with his below par performances but also with the effect it's had on El Ghazi. 

El Ghazi is clearly a confidence player, as his woeful return against West Ham showed, and we perhaps could've ridden his purple patch a while longer with the added benefit of giving Jack an extended run in the middle had Barkley been pressuring him from the bench. We now have both players underperforming when if handled differently could have been making match-winning contributions. 

I have some sympathy with Smith as he sees Barkley as the player with the bigger skill-set, which I'd agree with, but it's hard to argue he's put it to effective use on a regular basis and his bias is an assault on the meritocracy he aspires to create within the squad.

I'm all for what you're saying in terms of a meritocracy etc. but Barkley is just so much better than El Ghazi, it seems worth the risk every time.