mallett Posted April 4, 2021 Share Posted April 4, 2021 In my opinion: Smith's doing a great job. Great summer signings. Players are generally well coached, improving and increasing in value - actually if you are the owners or CEO this is a key point Club has improved its playing performances enormously from last year and we are currently on course for a league table position most fans would have bitten your hand off for before a ball was kicked at the start of the season. Have we just been through a phase of playing very poorly? - yes Are there some mitigating circumstances? - possibly It seems to have come after the COVID outbreak which we know did affect a large number of our first team squad. Possibly it affected some of the players in what is by necessity a limited squad (remember the squad he inherited?). The amount of games we had to play in that time meant that there was very little chance of rectifying some of the issues which appeared. We have been missing our best player for a few games now. They clearly expected Wesley to be back before now when he was included in the squad submitted to the Premier league after each transfer window. Can some blame be left at Smith's door? - of course but we appointed a manager with no premier league experience. He like much of the team is learning. On the plus side: He has however, won promotion, got to a cup final, avoided relegation and established the team as a premier league team. Spent large sums to completely renew the playing personnel (which had to be done due to the previous ownership and early promotion) however for the most part players have got better since Smith took over which is the first time for many years which we can say that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demitri_C Posted April 4, 2021 Author Share Posted April 4, 2021 2 minutes ago, nick76 said: Doesn’t feel like it mate to be honest. I am nick believe me its just the dismissing of thw last few weeks and the poor 70 minutes. Yes we got the win which is welcome but we need to try carry that on. Although i accept our next two are liverpool and city so you cant really blame smith on the results as both are a lot better than us Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sulberto21 Posted April 4, 2021 Share Posted April 4, 2021 (edited) Dean Smith changed tactics which helped us win. He's learning on the job. He pushed us up by 20/25 yards which made a huge difference. He also bought on players that bought more energy than the ones that went off. Can't argue with that. We weren't outplayed before that but we weren't the better team either. However, in the last 20 we were definitively the better team. He made changes which changed the game. Fair play I say. We also have the youngest squad. They're going to be inconsistent. Edited April 4, 2021 by Sulberto21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Demitri_C Posted April 4, 2021 Author Popular Post Share Posted April 4, 2021 Get in there boys ! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted April 4, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted April 4, 2021 Smith was getting a fair bit of stick in the match thread but I'm not ready to lay it all at his feet now. I have concerns about a lot of our players and thing we've not recruited well on forward players. A lot of people said our players ate better than this and it's Smiths fault but what I saw a lot of today, and have seen a lot of in recent weeks is: Players failing to control the ball Lazy passes Misdirected passes. Lay offs consistently falling short. Terrible decision making Failing to play simple forward passes and instead turning away Hopefully punts forward Consistently running straight into defenders Being easily bullied off the ball. Poor crossing. Poor shooting. Yes there is a big argument that the coaching might be awry but a lot of it to me just looked like poor players. It's hard to believe they are instructed to do these things. I am not at all confident we've recruited well in midfield and forward positions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villalad21 Posted April 4, 2021 Share Posted April 4, 2021 (edited) 52 minutes ago, nick76 said: Dean Smith was a huge part on why we came back, can you at least admit that? Yes. Smith was excellent today. Having the ability to change games with subs and tactical changes is what seperates top class managers to average ones. We need to see more of this. Having the mentality to come back from losing positions is crucial for any successful football clubs. Edited April 4, 2021 by villalad21 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LondonLax Posted April 4, 2021 Share Posted April 4, 2021 Criticise the tactics or the substitutions as much as you like but there is no argument that Smith is an excellent man manager who improves his players and they love him for it. There is a real positive buzz in the dressing room and that is definitely worth a lot. Probably the key to players like Konsa and Grealish signing new deals instead of looking to progress elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Albrighton Posted April 4, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted April 4, 2021 I think it’s fine to critique what appears to have been a mostly poor performance that resulted in a win. But I’d expect the same consideration for a good performance that didn’t result in a victory, like one or two of the games from earlier in the season. I’ve had a quick look back in this thread at such a game (I chose the first West Ham, but there were other examples I’m sure) and, well you probably can guess how it reads.... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaJay Posted April 4, 2021 Share Posted April 4, 2021 26 minutes ago, Demitri_C said: Get in there boys ! Mcginn with the iron bru 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villalad21 Posted April 4, 2021 Share Posted April 4, 2021 After a fantastic comeback win is not the time to criticize. Moments like these don't come around too often and it's important to enjoy them. Last 15 were outstanding and something to build from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
useless Posted April 4, 2021 Share Posted April 4, 2021 Our next two games are Liverpool and Man City, so might as well just enjoy this win. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheltenham_villa Posted April 4, 2021 Share Posted April 4, 2021 5 hours ago, OutByEaster? said: I think that's true, but I think the game has moved on in the decade since O'Neill. The Premier league's riches now mean you've got to be amongst the best 15 clubs in the world in order to finish seventh here - getting into the top six is becoming incredibly difficult, it's not guaranteed for Spurs, Arsenal or even Liverpool. It's a helluva league. I don't mean that as a knock on O'Neill's achievement, but I think it's a whole lot more difficult now. i dont think i agree, the top 6 maybe dominated by big names but im not convinced the overall quality is really there. Arsenal have been a top 6 club in recent years but have they really been full of quality. I think the points total for 6th is largely unchanged, last year it took just 59 points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoony Posted April 4, 2021 Share Posted April 4, 2021 35 minutes ago, Demitri_C said: Get in there boys ! Please someone knock the full fat irn bru out of McGinn’s hand 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoony Posted April 4, 2021 Share Posted April 4, 2021 6 minutes ago, useless said: Our next two games are Liverpool and Man City, so might as well just enjoy this win. We will beat Liverpool (again) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danceoftheshamen Posted April 4, 2021 Share Posted April 4, 2021 Yes well done today for finding a way to impact a result which was rapidly going the other way! I think with Trez this is the main threat he poses... coming on late with bags of energy and a determination to prove himself... That must be daunting for the opposing defenders. It's when he starts games that he seems so much less effective. Keinan did well to pick their players pocket too and finally have an end product (assist) too! Well done Keinan! It was good to see Dean finally make a big change and call it right when losing the game too. All round a vital win for confidence heading into the next two mammoth fixtures. Imagine a 7th home defeat for Liverpool to back up our 7 goals earlier in the season! I can see the headlines now "Villa in 7th heaven"". Make it so Villa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCJonah Posted April 4, 2021 Share Posted April 4, 2021 (edited) 31 minutes ago, Mark Albrighton said: I think it’s fine to critique what appears to have been a mostly poor performance that resulted in a win. But I’d expect the same consideration for a good performance that didn’t result in a victory, like one or two of the games from earlier in the season. I’ve had a quick look back in this thread at such a game (I chose the first West Ham, but there were other examples I’m sure) and, well you probably can guess how it reads.... Knew I'd run out of likes too soon. I think the point you make speaks volumes. Edited April 4, 2021 by DCJonah 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Xela Posted April 4, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted April 4, 2021 Good substitutions today. We're 9th in the Premier League with a game in hand on most teams. Two years ago (or a little over) we were mid table in the Championship. I think we need to sit back and look how far we have come. There have been bumps in the road but its still amazing progress. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick76 Posted April 4, 2021 Share Posted April 4, 2021 5 points better and +21 goal difference with 9 games to go....that's one step closer to securing a top ten position....C'mon Villa boys 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick76 Posted April 4, 2021 Share Posted April 4, 2021 Dean saw the issues we did and made changes and thankfully we won. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Albert Posted April 4, 2021 Share Posted April 4, 2021 Massive get out of jail today, we look like last seasons team now. He can talk the talk, time to put your words into action dean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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