Dean Smith

[Demitri_C]

3 minutes ago, nick76 said:

Ok, I apologise for saying you are trolling.  I understand you are angry because so am I.  I dont understand your suggestions especially around bringing the kids in. There are so many reasons why you dont bring the kids in now so I am confused by your suggestions but if that's your opinions on all those topics and it isnt trolling, then again I apologise, I just am coming from this in a different angle I guess and I will shut up against you on this topic for today.

Thanks nick. No worries. 

I am annoyed. I think we had a opportunity for Europe but these last few games have shown me we are neither good enough or ready for europe. 

However i cant accept how poor we have been without grealish. I mean our set pieces have gone to championship level.  We give up far too easily and our creative play is dreadful.

Smith for me is a worry because of we cabt win without grealish what happens if grealish gets injured in the summer and is missing start of season? Based on what we have seen lately we will be in a relegatiin battle

 

[Zatman]

9 minutes ago, Demitri_C said:

Did you see grealish play before he was given a opportunity? How about gabby before he scored on his debut?

I saw kelser play very well against mane so i think he deserves a chance 

Kesler didnt mark Mane as he played right wing in the FA Cup game and Jake Walker was up against Mane

[Keyblade]

40 minutes ago, nick76 said:

13th actually and we are 5 points above relegation and 2 points from 10th place, yet we are on an incredibly poor run but still way above relegation and closer to top ten 10 than relegation

(Also in reality we are 15 points above the relegation zone with 2 games in hand)

[barry'sboots]

6 hours ago, nick76 said:

I agree re you last line but my post is still valid

But do you disagree with my first line i.e. KD did more in the last 10 minutes than the other three - BT, El Ghastly and Trez - did in the whole of the game?

We haven't looked good since the turn of the year, but especially since our COVID break, even with Jack in the side.  Teams like West Ham have set up to keep Jack quiet with two right backs.  Leicester did it as well but Jack didn't play in that game.  Smith needs to counter that - he needs to shake it up and give the opposition something to think about.  Jack playing at "10", with three midfielders behind him, would give him a licence to roam and make it harder for teams to set up to counter him.  With Davis down the middle, Ollie could drift more as well without losing a focal point.  We become more unpredictable!  Both of them could pivot around him as could Sanson with his runs from deep.

Spurs looked really shakey defensively last night but we were still unable to exploit that because Ollie was battling on his own with zero support, El Ghastly was, very predictably, just looking to work it onto his right foot for a shot every time, Trez was Trez and BT was inconsistent.

We need to try something different to get out of this rut!  Or we need to play against the Villa ... oh, hold on ... 

[mikeyp102]

We’re doing at the moment, what many premier league side in the past do. We started the season well, got safe, then burnt out a bit, been worked out a bit and don’t have the depth to get going again. Likes of West Ham, Newcastle etc normally have seasons like this. It happens. What we have to do is take that next step up in the summer, so we have enough to kick on.

[DCJonah]

18 minutes ago, Demitri_C said:

Are you seriously asking me if trez and aeg is good enough to get in the city Chelsea and united squads

Yes. You seem convinced that we should be ahead of some of these teams. So you admit the players we have to rely on wouldn't get games for those above us. So why do you think we should be ahead of them?

Davis wouldn't get on the bench for any team above us and he's our only other option as a striker. 

[barry'sboots]

4 hours ago, romavillan said:

Hmmm, he shifted to a 4-4-2 diamond in the last game. 4-3-3 can be a million things. You think we won 10 on the bounce because and only because Jack came back? 

I disagree on the tactical flexibility. When he came in he got us trying to play proper attacking football, getting instant results with an unbalanced squad. After the 5-5 with Forest it was clear that perhaps balls out might not be the right thing to be doing, we went through a bad patch, he changed the way we played and we went on a great run. Last year we were going down till the break. Smith looked at it and worked hard with the players and when we came back we were transformed. That defensive transformation is the reason why we've been so solid this year at the back. Inside the 4-3-3 he's wedded to, that's already 3 or 4 different ways to play it tactically and he's evolved the tactics to solve our problems. 

I think he'll do this again and come up with the solutions to our problems again. I think he's far from limited, I think he is always learning and thinkign of ways to improve. Rodgers has had failure with far more talented squads than ours currently is, he's bounced back though and he's doing really well. I don't think he's a better coach than Smith though and hopefully Smith will get the time and backing his success thus far deserves and he gets a chance to prove it with more talent at his disposal.

For 10 minutes at the end of the game and with El Ghazi at 10, a player that is only interested in looking for an opportunity to shoot!  There is no point in Ollie making runs when El Ghazi has the ball - he is not interested in getting his head up as he just wants to shift the ball onto his right foot.

I agree that Smith/his coaching team have tightened up the back four - this is not a tactical switch but rather unleashing Konsa's abilities, purchasing the excellent Cash and getting Targett fit and ready for games.

I fail to see any tactical flexibility.

And if you think Smith is at the same level as Brendan Rodgers at the minute then you must be watching different games to me!!  That is not to say he won't get there but he won't if he can't start to come up with tactical plans to get out of a rut or to combat opposition strategies.

[romavillan]

22 minutes ago, barry'sboots said:

For 10 minutes at the end of the game and with El Ghazi at 10, a player that is only interested in looking for an opportunity to shoot!  There is no point in Ollie making runs when El Ghazi has the ball - he is not interested in getting his head up as he just wants to shift the ball onto his right foot.

I agree that Smith/his coaching team have tightened up the back four - this is not a tactical switch but rather unleashing Konsa's abilities, purchasing the excellent Cash and getting Targett fit and ready for games.

I fail to see any tactical flexibility.

And if you think Smith is at the same level as Brendan Rodgers at the minute then you must be watching different games to me!!  That is not to say he won't get there but he won't if he can't start to come up with tactical plans to get out of a rut or to combat opposition strategies.

so you see no tactical differences between the two games against Leeds then?

[TRO]

32 minutes ago, Demitri_C said:

Thanks nick. No worries. 

I am annoyed. I think we had a opportunity for Europe but these last few games have shown me we are neither good enough or ready for europe. 

However i cant accept how poor we have been without grealish. I mean our set pieces have gone to championship level.  We give up far too easily and our creative play is dreadful.

Smith for me is a worry because of we cabt win without grealish what happens if grealish gets injured in the summer and is missing start of season? Based on what we have seen lately we will be in a relegatiin battle

 

I think some of the issues we have as a team have been in evidence when we have won.....but when you win, they are masked over.

As a team, we give the ball away too much and too easily, for us to have lofty ambitions, our passing is sloppy and has deteriorated since the start of the season.

Sure we miss Jack, who wouldn't, but Jack just masks over the shortfalls of this team.....some soul searching needs to be done.

The season as a whole has been great, but that too is camouflaging our inadequecies of late, which have been poor in comparison to the first 13 games.

[nick76]

25 minutes ago, barry'sboots said:

But do you disagree with my first line i.e. KD did more in the last 10 minutes than the other three - BT, El Ghastly and Trez - did in the whole of the game?

To be fair I did more on my couch than those three, you’re coming in a low bar but that doesn’t make him the answer.  Those three have done far more for Villa this season and El Ghazi and Trez for previous seasons than KD.  I know KD doesn’t get much time these days but just because he was ok for 10 minutes some fans make a mountain out of a mole hill.

I mean ElGhazi was almost player of the month with 5 goals in January.  I think him and Trez aren’t good enough at this level but they have scored goals...El Ghazi quite a few, as I’ve said, in January and Trez has in the past scored vital goals for us.

KD at Championship, PL2 and Premier League level has incredibly poor goal scoring and assists stats, so it’s understandable somewhat when we need to create and score goals that Smith turns to El Ghazi and Trez rather than Davis, when Jack is out and Traore is playing so poorly.  It’s just a shame they are playing poorly as well.  KD being better than them for 10 minutes isn’t really an achievement to brag about but he did ok as I said.

 

[danceoftheshamen]

6 hours ago, VillaFaninLondon said:

 

To be honest, that could well be part of the issue. Our performances almost look like that of a bunch of people at work who didn't sleep properly and their concentration / focus is not quite right. Makes you wonder.

[barry'sboots]

3 minutes ago, romavillan said:

so you see no tactical differences between the two games against Leeds then?

As I said, his sole tactical flexibility this season has been to shift between a 4-2-3-1 and a 4-3-3.  From memory, in the Leeds home game Barkley played which would have meant he was further forward than SJM whereas in the Leeds game we had two 8's with Ramsey/Sanson alongside SJM.

If we can snatch an early goal, as we did against Leeds and Arsenal, then the strong back 5 with the solid 3 in CM means that we have a chance to hold on to a 1-0.  That seems to be our only hope at the minute.

[turvontour]

4 hours ago, Zatman said:

Have we lost 6-1 at home and a 4-0 away or 3-0 to a relegation battling team

I think losing to this Sheffield United team trumps all of that. They've lost 6 of their last 7. Not scored in 6 of their last 7. Sacked Their manager in that run. Their one positive result in last 7 was beating us. Grealish or not, that was a really poor result.

[barry'sboots]

3 minutes ago, nick76 said:

To be fair I did more on my couch than those three, you’re coming in a low bar but that doesn’t make him the answer.  Those three have done far more for Villa this season and El Ghazi and Trez for previous seasons than KD.  I know KD doesn’t get much time these days but just because he was ok for 10 minutes some fans make a mountain out of a mole hill.

I mean ElGhazi was almost player of the month with 5 goals in January.  I think him and Trez aren’t good enough at this level but they have scored goals...El Ghazi quite a few, as I’ve said, in January and Trez has in the past scored vital goals for us.

KD at Championship, PL2 and Premier League level has incredibly poor goal scoring and assists stats, so it’s understandable somewhat when we need to create and score goals that Smith turns to El Ghazi and Trez rather than Davis, when Jack is out and Traore is playing so poorly.  It’s just a shame they are playing poorly as well.  KD being better than them for 10 minutes isn’t really an achievement to brag about but he did ok as I said.

 

El Ghazi can hit a shot BUT that is all he wants to do.  Hourihane can do that BUT we have shipped him out and rightly so because he adds nothing else.  Trez hasn't scored, or looked like scoring, this season.  Neither have them have contributed anything in the last 5 or 6 games of note.

Do I think KD is the future?  Possibly not.  Do I think he could do any worse than Trez or El Ghazi at the minute? Definitely not.  And I do think he could unlock Ollie a bit and give him some much needed support.

This is not my first choice tactics BUT nothing else is working/we look dreadfully poor, even against other dreadfully poor sides, so we have got to try something different to get a spark.  I think Davis just might free up Ollie and getting Jack in at the tip of a diamond might give him some room to manoeuvre and get some space to work in.  It has to be better than what we have shown for the last 5 or 6 games in terms of attacking intent.

[Sulberto21]

4 minutes ago, turvontour said:

I think losing to this Sheffield United team trumps all of that. They've lost 6 of their last 7. Not scored in 6 of their last 7. Sacked Their manager in that run. Their one positive result in last 7 was beating us. Grealish or not, that was a really poor result.

Sheffield United beat manure at Old Trafford.

[nick76]

6 minutes ago, TRO said:

I think some of the issues we have as a team have been in evidence when we have won.....but when you win, they are masked over.

As a team, we give the ball away too much and too easily, for us to have lofty ambitions, our passing is sloppy and has deteriorated since the start of the season.

Sure we miss Jack, who wouldn't, but Jack just masks over the shortfalls of this team.....some soul searching needs to be done.

The season as a whole has been great, but that too is camouflaging our inadequecies of late, which have been poor in comparison to the first 13 games.

But Dean has been honest about this all season but some fans got carried away and now they are angry because we haven’t met what they expected while they got carried away.  

Dean constantly says we are the second season into the squad build, he has said he needs two or three more transfer windows to build a squad.  

We’ve been on this website for months talking about building out the squad and characteristics we need and holes we need to fill over the coming transfer windows and it shows when we are on the pitch.  

Then we play a game, the game re-enforces what we and Dean have been saying and then some fans blow up, exaggerate and talk silly stuff.

It’s just frustrating

[mykeyb]

3 hours ago, DCJonah said:

Sorry, missed it. 

For me with Jack out I think I'd be playing Ross regardless of his flaws. 

Out wide, I'm not sure it makes much difference, El Ghazi and Traore have moments but neither are really clear chance making players. 

I'd personally drop Mcginn but can't see that happening and I wouldn't mind Davis playing.

I agree with you about McGinn which hurts as I think he gives his all and loves the club but he is so out of form.

[Zatman]

8 minutes ago, Sulberto21 said:

Sheffield United beat manure at Old Trafford.

Chelsea, City and Liverpool struggled to beat them as well in the same timeframe

[TRO]

I am not giving Dean Smith a free ride, but I suspect we haven't got the quality in sufficient numbers, to go where we want to go.

Its one thing telling the players, its another thing getting them to do it.....There is a lack of attributes in this team, for us to be consistent and we are predictable to opposing teams.....we lack Intelligence, aggression, we give the ball away too easily, surrender the initiative too easily, I could go on..

Its mainly the front 6, where the real problem lies.....The 3 wingers, don't beat their man regularly enough, they don't instill fear in the opponent and are not great at crosses, in short they just drift through a game.....In centre midfield, there is no ball retention or domination of the ball and passing becomes panicky and rushed, resulting in giving it away.

We win games, through great moments, you can count on one hand where we dominate the game, through possession.

I think we need to do a Swot analysis on every member of the first team squad and I would suspect that too many have the same strengths and the same Weaknesses.....which means the team is missing vital ingredients.

I have said it before, we have too many players, too samey, to affect any change in tactics.

We can change formations and change personnel, but if the same ingredients enter the pitch, the game remains the same......Dean Smith needs some variation in his playing staff, in order to make significant changes to a game.....let me give an example....who is a prolific header of the ball, who has blistering pace to reek havoc, who can tackle with aplomb, as opposed to willing blocks, where the ball spins off to an opponent, who has the intelligence to win second balls, who intercepts in transition with any regularity.

We need some of these things to come in to the team in the summer...because at present, too many are falling short.

Edited March 23, 2021 by TRO

[turvontour]

3 minutes ago, Sulberto21 said:

Sheffield United beat manure at Old Trafford.

Yes I remember back in Jan. They won a few back then and it looked like they might be getting out of it.

We played them recently with them basically down. All my point was that I think losing to this 10 man Sheffield U team when they were already gone is a worse result in isolation than say losing to Man City heavily last season.

I think we've had a an absolutely phenomenal season in the most part, but we have clearly switched from a top 7 side to a 16th or 17th side in the last couple of months. Most of it admittedly being out of Dean's hands with the Grealish injury.