Popular Post ciggiesnbeer Posted March 23, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted March 23, 2021 I have complete faith in him. Season 1 promotion to the biggest and hardest league in the world. Season 2 keeps us in the hardest league in the world Season 3 improves our position and solidifies us in the league. I assume Season 4 will have us pushing for top half or even European slots. I cant wait. According to him and the owners they didnt expect to be promoted when we did, he is already ahead of schedule. Pretty silly to want to sack him because he hasnt brought us european football in our second season. 18 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post DCJonah Posted March 23, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted March 23, 2021 Just now, ciggiesnbeer said: I have complete faith in him. Season 1 promotion to the biggest and hardest league in the world. Season 2 keeps us in the hardest league in the world Season 3 improves our position and solidifies us in the league. I assume Season 4 will have us pushing for top half or even European slots. I cant wait. According to him and the owners they didnt expect to be promoted when we did, he is already ahead of schedule. Pretty silly to want to sack him because he hasnt brought us european football in our second season. Cup final in that 2nd season as well. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delphinho123 Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 18 minutes ago, ciggiesnbeer said: I have complete faith in him. Season 1 promotion to the biggest and hardest league in the world. Season 2 keeps us in the hardest league in the world Season 3 improves our position and solidifies us in the league. I assume Season 4 will have us pushing for top half or even European slots. I cant wait. According to him and the owners they didnt expect to be promoted when we did, he is already ahead of schedule. Pretty silly to want to sack him because he hasnt brought us european football in our second season. Agreed with all of your points but playing devils advocate, you have to balance it by looking at the money he’s had at his disposal as well. We’ve spent significant sums of money and whilst we will probably finish between 10th-14th this year, there will come a time when the board question where the improvement is having spent 200m odd on players. I’m backing Smith, I want him to do well, but he has had a couple of years to figure out how to score goals without Grealish in the side and he hasn’t managed it yet. Personally, I’d give him this summer to focus on bringing in real attacking quality and see where we’re at 10-15 games into next season. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AvfcRigo82 Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 3 hours ago, DCJonah said: You're a villa fan. You know why we had to spend a fortune last summer. You sound like those fans saying villa are doing a Fulham. Why pretend you don't understand the circumstances just to have a moan. It's this kind of shit, that starts to look like an agenda. Sorry, Won't do it again! How dare I voice an opinion on Villa matters. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick76 Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 10 minutes ago, Delphinho123 said: Agreed with all of your points but playing devils advocate, you have to balance it by looking at the money he’s had at his disposal as well. We’ve spent significant sums of money and whilst we will probably finish between 10th-14th this year, there will come a time when the board question where the improvement is having spent 200m odd on players. I’m backing Smith, I want him to do well, but he has had a couple of years to figure out how to score goals without Grealish in the side and he hasn’t managed it yet. Personally, I’d give him this summer to focus on bringing in real attacking quality and see where we’re at 10-15 games into next season. Good job you’re not in charge at Villa then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AvfcRigo82 Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 12 minutes ago, Delphinho123 said: Agreed with all of your points but playing devils advocate, you have to balance it by looking at the money he’s had at his disposal as well. We’ve spent significant sums of money and whilst we will probably finish between 10th-14th this year, there will come a time when the board question where the improvement is having spent 200m odd on players. I’m backing Smith, I want him to do well, but he has had a couple of years to figure out how to score goals without Grealish in the side and he hasn’t managed it yet. Personally, I’d give him this summer to focus on bringing in real attacking quality and see where we’re at 10-15 games into next season. Careful with that opinion there mate... Tin hat at the ready! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delphinho123 Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 3 minutes ago, AvfcRigo82 said: Careful with that opinion there mate... Tin hat at the ready! Haha, I’ve clearly stated I’m a Smith fan in my post, I’m merely suggesting that there will come a time where the board look at the amount they’ve invested, measure it up against what they’re seeing on the pitch/league table and it might not be good enough. It could be that they’re happy with a 13th place finish this year, if so, great. BUT, in my honest opinion, I think they’ll be a little disappointed with that, especially as our form is so dreadful without Grealish. Who knows. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 23 minutes ago, Delphinho123 said: Haha, I’ve clearly stated I’m a Smith fan in my post, I’m merely suggesting that there will come a time where the board look at the amount they’ve invested, measure it up against what they’re seeing on the pitch/league table and it might not be good enough. It could be that they’re happy with a 13th place finish this year, if so, great. BUT, in my honest opinion, I think they’ll be a little disappointed with that, especially as our form is so dreadful without Grealish. Who knows. I dont think they will be happy with 13th but I think this was always going to be a season for stability and next season will be to fight for a European spot 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCJonah Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 40 minutes ago, Delphinho123 said: Haha, I’ve clearly stated I’m a Smith fan in my post, I’m merely suggesting that there will come a time where the board look at the amount they’ve invested, measure it up against what they’re seeing on the pitch/league table and it might not be good enough. It could be that they’re happy with a 13th place finish this year, if so, great. BUT, in my honest opinion, I think they’ll be a little disappointed with that, especially as our form is so dreadful without Grealish. Who knows. People said the owners wouldn't have been happy with 17th last year but doesn't look like Smith is under pressure. I think the owners see the long term project and Purslow is experienced enough to know we're not going to be a European team because of a couple of summer transfer windows. Especially when it was clear why we needed to spend so much that first summer. When the progression stops, then I'd imagine Smith will be replaced. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCJonah Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 57 minutes ago, AvfcRigo82 said: Sorry, Won't do it again! How dare I voice an opinion on Villa matters. You can voice whatever you want, and then people are free to respond to it. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacketspuds Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 2 hours ago, DCJonah said: When the progression stops, then I'd imagine Smith will be replaced. This. Only I hope it's not until we're at the point where we can do what Everton have done and appoint a top manager like Ancelotti, as opposed to someone like Dyche. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thabucks Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 I do question Smith and can be very petulant towards him... He has his faults and his lack of plan B is worrying and he’s had enough time to figure out a tactic other than give it to Jack. it’s not like at primary school or secondary playground, where one kid is just miles miles better and you just give him the ball all the time... That said he has achieved above and beyond what I thought when he first joined. The Winning streak. He pushed & helped raised Jack’s game to the next level. He adapted last season after lockdown and kept us up. Smith has played a huge role in saving and rebuilding our and his club... You Can never take that away from him and is a Villa Icon in the making (perhaps) Plenty of credit left in the tank until I start calling for Smiths head and be be replaced with xabi alonso... Just cause he’s exotic, was world class and my all time fav silky passing midfielder... He is Spanish , and he dresses suave and looks tactical. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick76 Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 (edited) 9 minutes ago, thabucks said: xabi alonso... Just cause he’s exotic, was world class and my all time fav silky passing midfielder... He is Spanish , and he dresses suave and looks tactical. Edited March 24, 2021 by nick76 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCJonah Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 7 hours ago, jacketspuds said: This. Only I hope it's not until we're at the point where we can do what Everton have done and appoint a top manager like Ancelotti, as opposed to someone like Dyche. With our owners and ambition I have no doubt we will attract a top manager after Smith. Its another part of the reason I'm just enjoying our journey. I love Smith but this isn't Lerner with Lambert or Xia with Bruce, if he doesn't deliver then we will bring in someone who will. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lerner's Driver Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 (edited) This quote has no doubt already been covered on here, but it struck me as pertinent... "I always said, the first year in the Premier League is a tough year. The second year, you can have a real strong starting XI. But in the third year you are looking to grow your squad depth, and improve on that starting XI." ... to my eyes, it establishes a clear timeframe for accountability, as laid out by the man himself. It's apparent to everyone, Smith included, that we must buy more and better quality players this summer to continue progressing. Assuming we are successful in doing that, there will almost certainly be an immediate expectation to deliver - we can debate all we like how fair that is given the circumstances, but it's just how most top teams operate. To me, that adds up to next year being make or break for the manager. There certainly won't be as much leeway for another massive drop off like we are currently experiencing. No pressure then. Edited March 24, 2021 by Lerner's Driver 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparrow1988 Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 7 hours ago, thabucks said: Plenty of credit left in the tank until I start calling for Smiths head and be be replaced with xabi alonso... Just cause he’s exotic, was world class and my all time fav silky passing midfielder... He is Spanish , and he dresses suave and looks tactical. I don't think we should ever appoint him as manager. People wouldn't be able to assess his performance objectively as he is just so damn handsome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackbauer24 Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 (edited) 27 minutes ago, Lerner's Driver said: This quote has no doubt already been covered on here, but it struck me as pertinent... "I always said, the first year in the Premier League is a tough year. The second year, you can have a real strong starting XI. But in the third year you are looking to grow your squad depth, and improve on that starting XI." ... to my eyes, it establishes a clear timeframe for accountability, as laid out by the man himself. It's apparent to everyone, Smith included, that we must buy more and better quality players this summer to continue progressing. Assuming we are successful in doing that, there will almost certainly be an immediate expectation to deliver - we can debate all we like how fair that is given the circumstances, but it's just how most top teams operate. To me, that adds up to next year being make or break for the manager. There certainly won't be as much leeway for another massive drop off like we are currently experiencing. No pressure then. I'd seriously question if we have strong first XI... We have Grealish, without him we're clearly not 'strong'. Are we one of the worst teams in the division without him? I'd say we have a strong keeper and defence... after that it gets shaky! A strong starting VII...! Edited March 24, 2021 by jackbauer24 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vive_La_Villa Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 11 hours ago, Delphinho123 said: Agreed with all of your points but playing devils advocate, you have to balance it by looking at the money he’s had at his disposal as well. We’ve spent significant sums of money and whilst we will probably finish between 10th-14th this year, there will come a time when the board question where the improvement is having spent 200m odd on players. I’m backing Smith, I want him to do well, but he has had a couple of years to figure out how to score goals without Grealish in the side and he hasn’t managed it yet. Personally, I’d give him this summer to focus on bringing in real attacking quality and see where we’re at 10-15 games into next season. This is probably fair. If we spend big in the summer the owners will expect improvement on this season. We’ve seen how tough this league is, you could finish a season well, spend in the summer to push on then for some reason it just doesn’t come together the following year. Next thing you know the manager that has built the squad over a couple of years is out the door. Everton and West Ham are 2 good recent examples of this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 55 minutes ago, jackbauer24 said: I'd seriously question if we have strong first XI... We have Grealish, without him we're clearly not 'strong'. Are we one of the worst teams in the division without him? I'd say we have a strong keeper and defence... after that it gets shaky! A strong starting VII...! We have a brilliant defence, a soon to be England striker and a capable but out of form midfield. We are just badly short on creativity without Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAMAICAN-VILLAN Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 1 hour ago, jackbauer24 said: I'd seriously question if we have strong first XI... We have Grealish, without him we're clearly not 'strong'. Are we one of the worst teams in the division without him? I'd say we have a strong keeper and defence... after that it gets shaky! A strong starting VII...! I think on paper we have a strong spine, but too many have lost form/ underperformed at the same time. Even in our best performances, 1 or 2 would have an off game, which was carried by the overall team performance. Problem now is, too many of them are having poor games at the same time. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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