Dean Smith

[DaveAV1]

1 hour ago, TRO said:

Bang on for me Dave......but I see no signs from the club, that this will be addressed.

I think its just accepted as part and parcel of the way we play.

One maybe two players with a bit of bite could change things quite a lot. A busy and aggressive midfielder who could actually play a bit too could transform us. 

[villa4europe]

1 hour ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

I'll admit that, alot of my desperation to wanting us to finish above Leeds, is spurred on by their unbearable social media fans, and the absolute wankfest the Media had about them coming up. Pretty much every predicted table had them magically finishing mid table, and us barely surviving again, as if we were a non entity.

Might be childish, but all of that wound me up no end.

desperation is a bit strong for me because i still see it as 2 bald men fighting over a comb

i do agree though the media's coverage of Leeds has been ridiculous, the whole "bielsa showing the league how to play against liverpool" and being 6-0 down "you've got to love how leeds keep attacking" its utter nonsense, they're doing better than we did on our return no doubt but that doesn't allow for context, they're doing worse than wolves did 3 years ago

i also think that if we are spinning our marathon in to a sprint due to how long we think grealish will hang around for then surely they must be doing the same with bielsa, i dont see him being there for much longer than them discovering just how big a leap it is in to the top 7 let alone the top 4

which again brings me back to wolves, i dont see how theres so much disparity between the anger over finishing below leeds and the celebration of finishing above wolves...no one cares about finishing above wolves, its shrugged off, despite them being closer to us, richer than leeds and with a better squad than both of us, again its bald men and comb stuff and they've been poor but at the same time i think them hitting the brakes and struggling this year and therefore talks of upheaval is good news for us, us finishing above them should get more attention than us and leeds

[VillaChris]

2 hours ago, DCJonah said:

You also need to compare how both teams came up and the changes they needed to make in the summer. 

Shouldn't take anything away from what Leeds have done but the situations were very different. Not sure why that gets ignored. 

Half of this forum had them going down after the first game of the season although I suspect that was more in the wishful thinking category. Already you've got a couple saying they'll be doing a Sheffield United which I find a bit optimstic (unless Bielsa does walk out which would destablise things).

Their squad isn't actually that deep and they've had many injuries during the last 6 months so while we collapsed as soon as Heaton and McGinn got injured they've quietly got better as the season has gone on and very difficult to see us finishing above them now given they still have likes of Southmapton and West Brom left to play.

[cheltenham_villa]

9 minutes ago, villa4europe said:

desperation is a bit strong for me because i still see it as 2 bald men fighting over a comb

i do agree though the media's coverage of Leeds has been ridiculous, the whole "bielsa showing the league how to play against liverpool" and being 6-0 down "you've got to love how leeds keep attacking" its utter nonsense, they're doing better than we did on our return no doubt but that doesn't allow for context, they're doing worse than wolves did 3 years ago

i also think that if we are spinning our marathon in to a sprint due to how long we think grealish will hang around for then surely they must be doing the same with bielsa, i dont see him being there for much longer than them discovering just how big a leap it is in to the top 7 let alone the top 4

which again brings me back to wolves, i dont see how theres so much disparity between the anger over finishing below leeds and the celebration of finishing above wolves...no one cares about finishing above wolves, its shrugged off, despite them being closer to us, richer than leeds and with a better squad than both of us, again its bald men and comb stuff and they've been poor but at the same time i think them hitting the brakes and struggling this year and therefore talks of upheaval is good news for us, us finishing above them should get more attention than us and leeds

I think the fact that us, Leeds, arsenal, wolves and Everton are close together shows you that we have all displayed both good and bad form across the season. But are broadly competitive with each other. 

The only difference when assessing the season is the expectation for each club when the season started. 

Villa and Leeds low expectations so good season

Wolves and arsenal higher expectations so poor season.

Everton probably doing what was expected.

 

[villa4europe]

Just now, cheltenham_villa said:

I think the fact that us, Leeds, arsenal, wolves and Everton are close together shows you that we have all displayed both good and bad form across the season. But are broadly competitive with each other. 

The only difference when assessing the season is the expectation for each club when the season started. 

Villa and Leeds low expectations so good season

Wolves and arsenal higher expectations so poor season.

Everton probably doing what was expected.

out of likes but i agree

 would maybe say that given their start it would be interesting to see if everton fans are in a similar position to us mentally, they could easily end another season with absolutely nothing, somehow behind liverpool again and what i think will be the kicker for a lot of fans happiness at the end of the season will be west ham getting or not getting CL, if leicester and west ham finish top 4 then id guess everton fans will be pissed that its not them and the doom mongers will out

[useless]

I can see us winning every game between now and the end of the season, I think the combination of an improved performance yesterday, the late equalizer, the fact that it was Davis who scored it, Wesley's return, will have given us a big confidence boost that will see us go on a good run.

[cheltenham_villa]

6 minutes ago, villa4europe said:

out of likes but i agree

 would maybe say that given their start it would be interesting to see if everton fans are in a similar position to us mentally, they could easily end another season with absolutely nothing, somehow behind liverpool again and what i think will be the kicker for a lot of fans happiness at the end of the season will be west ham getting or not getting CL, if leicester and west ham finish top 4 then id guess everton fans will be pissed that its not them and the doom mongers will out

I'm not sure I'd want to bet who finishes where out of the 4 of us this season but I dont think it will make much difference.

[Mjvilla]

I thought we were much better last night. Created loads of chances. Had enough chances to win 3 or 4 games. The softest penalty this season and a slip and OG did for us. 

Still gave the ball away very cheaply at times, but it was much better. I think we followed on from slightly better against Fulham and Liverpool (forget man city, it wasn't good.)

We're getting there, in my opinion.

[DCJonah]

2 hours ago, TRO said:

You are simply agreeing with me there, but doing your level best to present it that you aren't.

I think, some fans would comment if West Ham's form dipped like our has, yes I do....I don't trawl, other fan sites, but I would expect Wolves fans to be less than happy, despite losing such an influential striker.

Our initial 4 games wasn't going to be maintained, sure, but the second quartile on my list of 14 points wasn't unrealistic, perhaps 18 was....but as you rightly say, its the performances too, not just the results.

The things you say about our weaknesses are bang on, but when i say them, I am biased....you seem to have this thing where only you can make critical references with self impunity, but when others say it, it gets up your nose.

I don't want Dean to be replaced, I want him to get it right......I am anxious for us to get things right, the very things what YOU have mentioned, when managers get replaced at Villa, its usually when things have been bad for so long, we are not like Chelsea, when soon as a chink is noticed, the Guillotine is being rolled out....They are ruthless, we are not.....but I don't want it to get to that, hence my comments.

 

 

 

I don't really know how many times I need to say it. I haven't jumped on posters who have valid criticisms, there are plenty.

I've only ever really been defensive with those that go completely over the top, or have done nothing but criticise every little thing. 

I also don't agree a lot with you in that post. Wolves can say they've gone backwards this season. I highly doubt any pundit will start talking about West Ham regressing if they don't get top 4, whatever happens it's been a huge progression for them. Like I said, judging season to season is a reasonable benchmark. Doing it within a season seems an odd thing to do. 

Midtable teams will have ups and downs, sometimes extreme, before levelling off as the season comes to an end. Regardless of dips there's just no way to argue against the progress we've made in all areas this season. 

[Rightdm00]

2 hours ago, MrBlack said:

I heard him say the covid outbreak hasn't had an impact.  I'm guessing they've tested everyone's vO2 max and found it's largely consistent with what it was pre covid, they're probably showing the same stamina data in training. But I think the point @Rightdm00was making (correct me if wrong) is that it isn't a direct outcome of covid, and mental fatigue might not obviously show in physical data metrics.

I put it down to the indirect fact that we've had games stacked up as a result, and had to play them more often than we would have otherwise. This has also been impacted by other teams having games delayed against us by their own outbreaks.  Throw in injuries/suspensions and our lack of squad depth, and that is almost certainly having an impact on our team fatigue levels, be it mental or otherwise.

A monumental effort from most of the players at the back end of last season, a very short pre season, a build up of fixtures, and it stands to reason that the majority of the players will be reaching the limits of what they can do at the top end of their performance bracket.

I do worry for our international players that will feature in the Euro's (and consequently world cups) as they will be getting virtually no real break over the course of 2 years.

McGinn is the most prime example, and Dean has to take some blame. Played every game for us, played virtually every minute for Scotland, it's no surprise his levels have dropped off lately. He needs a rest, and annoyingly its one position in the squad where we do have cover.

I think this, along with playing Barkely, are my two biggest gripes with Dean at at moment.

Exactly what I was driving at. Thanks!

[AvfcRigo82]

3 hours ago, The Fun Factory said:

Is that actually true though?

I have it as in the 12 games played v the current bottom 6 we have won 6, drawn 3 and lost 3. That is about half our wins for this season.

The only really crappy result was the away defeat versus Sheffield United.  We could have got something at home V Southampton and Brighton.

The equivalent of the last season for the bottom 7 (exclude us we were actually in the bottom 6) it was won 5, drawn 3 and lost 4.  So slight progression but we have picked up points elsewhere which we hardly did last season.

In my opinion, yes.

If we're praised for beating the champions 7-2 and holding our own against many of the top 6 teams then we should really be taking maximum points against the bottom six.

When I say bottom six I mean; Sheff Utd, West Brom, Fulham, Newcastle, Brighton and Burnley.

I think we should have seen maximum points against this lot.

[Zatman]

1 minute ago, AvfcRigo82 said:

In my opinion, yes.

If we're praised for beating the champions 7-2 and holding our own against many of the top 6 teams then we should really be taking maximum points against the bottom six.

When I say bottom six I mean; Sheff Utd, West Brom, Fulham, Newcastle, Brighton and Burnley.

I think we should have seen maximum points against this lot.

Burnley are not in the bottom 6, the only one we didnt beat was Brighton in the bottom 6

Edited April 26, 2021 by Zatman

[Indigo]

Is there a single team in the league with a 100% record against the bottom six?

[AvfcRigo82]

5 minutes ago, Zatman said:

Burnley are not in the bottom 6, the only one we didnt beat was Brighton in the bottom 6

They were when we played them.

Newcastle (who were in the bottom six at the time we played them).

We never beat Sheff Utd either.

[AvfcRigo82]

1 minute ago, Indigo said:

Is there a single team in the league with a 100% record against the bottom six?

Who knows, but I would rather focus on the results of Aston Villa to be honest.  

[Zatman]

4 minutes ago, AvfcRigo82 said:

They were when we played them.

Newcastle (who were in the bottom six at the time we played them).

We never beat Sheff Utd either.

We beat Sheffield United on the opening day

[AvfcRigo82]

1 minute ago, Zatman said:

We beat Sheffield United on the opening day

We didn't in our last game though.

My point I originally made is that we should be taking maximum points from these teams, not 50% of them.

[DCJonah]

Again, expectations getting out of control is not Dean's problem. 

West Brom put 5 past Chelsea. Sheffield United beat Man U. 

[The Fun Factory]

Just now, AvfcRigo82 said:

We didn't in our last game though.

My point I originally made is that we should be taking maximum points from these teams, not 50% of them.

Watford beat Liverpool last season who won the league by a distance. Its quite difficult to win every game you expect, and equally lose to every team we expect to as well.

I never thought we would beat Arsenal 3 times on a spin.

[Rolta]

3 minutes ago, AvfcRigo82 said:

We didn't in our last game though.

My point I originally made is that we should be taking maximum points from these teams, not 50% of them.

If your point is to show you have unrealistic expectations and seem to think we're entitled to wins just for turning up then point well made.