Dean Smith

[MotoMkali]

6 hours ago, bose said:

Saying DS is deeply flawed is ridiculous and devalues any point you have.

The guy clearly has his weaknesses but saying he is "deeply flawed! is just hyperbole.

He is deeply flawed as are most of the managers outside of the top 20 in the world. He is really good at setting up the team to succeed but the fact he doesn't make in game adjustments really kills us. We were a decent team in first halves last season and we sucked complete ass in the 2nd half for that reason.

We have shored that weakness up in that we are relatively solid once we take the lead but if we concede first or go behind 9/10 times we won't go onto to level up or even take victory and that is a serious issue. You can't be in Europe if you can't come from behind because every team makes mistakes.

We have made the 2nd fewest leading to goals this season but I don't expect that trend to continue just because of the randomness of football. So we need to get better at what would be countering those mistakes. 

I'm not calling for him to be fired. I just think that Purslow and our owners will be ruthless I'd they think they can bring in a better manager and Smith isn't making enough progress with the level of investment that has been made. 

Edited May 3, 2021 by MotoMkali

[Mantis]

Surely we're all in agreement at least that he's the best manager we've had since at least Brian Little?

[GingerCollins29]

Just now, Mantis said:

Surely we're all in agreement at least that he's the best manager we've had since at least Brian Little?

Put some god damn respect on the name of Remi Garde Mantis!

[JAMAICAN-VILLAN]

58 minutes ago, GingerCollins29 said:

Put some god damn respect on the name of Remi Garde Mantis!

Ungrateful bastards...

Edited May 3, 2021 by JAMAICAN-VILLAN

[QldVilla]

2 hours ago, briny_ear said:

When he was floundering a bit last season, of course, many of his apologists were arguing we got promoted "a season too soon" (as if you can determine when you get promoted!). So I assume he wasn't a legend then because he had landed us in a perilous situation? 

Anyway, enough of this. I am aware that there are some who think that Smith is the Messiah and they won't be persuaded otherwise, certainly not by facts or experience. It's not worth taking up the cudgels. 

What will be will be in terms of how his teams progress and I'm pretty certain that, if he doesn't make us more consistent, more resilient, and more capable of achieving and maintaining a challenge to the top 6, then the legend will be looking for a new bag. Don't think the NSWE investment is about creating a team that blows hot and cold, finds it almost impossible to come back from going behind and is so dependant on one phenomenally good player. So we will see.

It’s ok to have an alternative view point, but you have to consider all the facts, rather than just those that suit your narrative.

[briny_ear]

3 hours ago, Mantis said:

Surely we're all in agreement at least that he's the best manager we've had since at least Brian Little?

How very dare you! 

Brian Little was many steps further up the ladder.

Dean Smith can only watch and weep.

Edited May 4, 2021 by briny_ear

[briny_ear]

1 hour ago, QldVilla said:

It’s ok to have an alternative view point, but you have to consider all the facts, rather than just those that suit your narrative.

Well, the key statement in my post was, “we will see”. That is actually quite an open narrative. 

So I am not interested in this bonkers war of words any more. We will see how Smith does and results in the real world will speak more powerfully than any rhetoric here.

Edited May 4, 2021 by briny_ear

[KenjiOgiwara]

3 hours ago, briny_ear said:

How very dare you! 

Brian Little was many steps further up the ladder.

Dean Smith can only watch and weep.

I didn't have contact with any other Villa fans during his reign, but I'd be utterly amazed if the same people complaining now, didn't have something to complain about then. Whether it was style of football, substitutions, lack of progress, poor signings or what not. 

[AvfcRigo82]

25 minutes ago, KenjiOgiwara said:

I didn't have contact with any other Villa fans during his reign, but I'd be utterly amazed if the same people complaining now, didn't have something to complain about then. Whether it was style of football, substitutions, lack of progress, poor signings or what not. 

I did. It was Doug Ellis and not splashing enough cash.

However, Dean Smith has not had that problem and has been backed to the hills.

[BG_Villa_Fan]

4 hours ago, briny_ear said:

Well, the key statement in my post was, “we will see”. That is actually quite an open narrative. 

So I am not interested in this bonkers war of words any more. We will see how Smith does and results in the real world will speak more powerfully than any rhetoric here.

Indeed they do.

[Mark Albrighton]

48 minutes ago, AvfcRigo82 said:

I did. It was Doug Ellis and not splashing enough cash.

However, Dean Smith has not had that problem and has been backed to the hills.

Hilt.

He’s been backed to the hilt, not the hills.

[AvfcRigo82]

Just now, Mark Albrighton said:

Hilt.

He’s been backed to the hilt, not the hills.

Thanks.

[tomav84]

9 hours ago, dont_do_it_doug. said:

For me this is all relatively simple.

We've seen how effective Smithball can be when given the right personnel in the final 3rd. Yes, this is exaggerated when Grealish is in the side. He's one of the best players in the world and as a result, Smith has (rightly IMO) built the side around that talent. However, we saw on Saturday that even having a player a level below that in any kind of form, just somebody to receive the ball in the final 3rd, put their foot on it and pick a pass or two to spread the play as Barkley did, can have such a positive effect on the system overall. 

He hasn't had that, at all, for months. None of them have stepped up. But as soon as one of them has, the rest have followed. Traore was able to spin more magic simply by virtue of having somebody on his inside who had to be watched, thereby creating space for him to break out the wand. The entire team moved the ball quicker in transition, knowing they could rely on their creative player(s) not to give it straight back to the opposition, putting them under pressure when at their most vulnerable.

The argument should be if we give him better players, and a fit Jack Grealish, then can he produce even more on a more consistent basis? If Barkley, as an example, had been putting in just the minimum expected performance like he did on Saturday for the last 2 months, would this even be a question? I suspect not.

i was really interesting to see and this hit the nail on the head. this team, rightly or wrongly, really does get affected by the performances of the key creative players. pundits always say how jack gives the rest of the team a lift and as you say, since he's been out no one has stepped up...until saturday. from minute 1 you could tell ross and traore were up for it and that brought performances out of other players too. there was extra energy to watkins' pressing which paid off, and the likes of luiz and mcginn put in noticably improved performances too.

now i do think questions need to be asked of certain players as to why they need 1 or 2 other players to play well in order for them to. if ross/traore aren't up for it, then mcginn/luiz why are you two not stepping up instead?

[Demitri_C]

13 hours ago, Vive_La_Villa said:

Some might consider him a legend for getting us promoted.  We could have been stuck in that league a very long time.

I think this is a fair point. Had we not got promoted grealish would have gone and i think we would still be in the championship. 

We wouldnt have got mings either.

Although he does have to be abit thankful to fistface for signing tammy. Without him we wouldnt have gone up with or without smith.

 

[Demitri_C]

8 hours ago, Mantis said:

Surely we're all in agreement at least that he's the best manager we've had since at least Brian Little?

I am afraid that as much as i dont like him, he hasnt got to Mon levels yet.

For me it would be little, MON and Gregory/smith

[peterw]

If you look at plain statistics in Smith's first season we got promoted. 

In his second season we stayed up and made a major Cup final

In his third season we've looked as good as I've seen us for many decades in many games, and finishing comfortable mid-table.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with fans having a moan and a groan during a game - we all do it, but as Graham taylor pointed out in his first spell as manager, that they (he) aren't blinded by emotion. That a manager probably wants to succeed even more than fans because this is their job. This is what pays for the kid's schooling, the mortgage, etc etc. managers are acutely aware what poor performances and results ultimately mean. if Dean Smith isn't making a change its for a footballing reason and not because fan A, B, or C thinks he's lost the plot, doesn't know what he's doing, or can't manage at a certain level, which in itself is one of the most ludicrous charges at anyone. Should we not have signed David Platt because he only had experienced lower level football? Dwight Yorke because of not knowing anything but easy Caribbean football?

Dean Smith has done a brilliant job for us. yes, things haven't gone brilliantly over the past 10 games but there are a multitude of reasons behind that - short pre season, Covid break, some players taking time to come back after contracting covid, the loss of one of the best performers in European football - or it could be that we've just had a bad dip in form. Either way, you don't jump at the first sign of stormy waters. I though if anything from the lerner/O'Neill times taught us is the need for stability and careful considered planning. 

We have that at the moment - great owners, an excellent managerial set-up from purslow down, plans for the club from grassroots up, and a vision for the first team and what we want and how we get it. Just two years ago this was the squad (with one or two rested) for our final home game v noriwch

 

12 Jed Steer   3 Neil Taylor   4 Axel Tuanzebe   21 Alan Hutton   30 Kortney Hause   6 Glenn Whelan   8 Henri Lansbury  ' 14 Conor Hourihane   37 Albert Adomah   19 André Green   26 Jonathan Kodjia   Substitutes 20 Birkir Bjarnason   17 Keinan Davis   28 Lovre Kalinić   24 Tommy Elphick   27 Ahmed Elmohamady   15 Mile Jedinak   22 Anwar El Ghazi                Does anyone not think that the work that has gone into transforming that squad into what we have now; and how we have been performing is not credit to the hard work of Dean Smith? Manager after manager used to bring in players and you would barely see them improving through coaching. Whoever, we bring in now improves. The coaching is paying dividends and we are seeing well coached players. That is down to dean Smith, his ethics and expectations on the training pitch.  i'd be no closer to talking about removing Smith as i would be expecting me top get a start against Man u this Sunday. Its not all been pretty but we've improved season after season. I expect better next season. I'd also expect Dean Smith to be talked as one of our greats when he leaves.

[QldVilla]

5 hours ago, briny_ear said:

Well, the key statement in my post was, “we will see”. That is actually quite an open narrative. 

So I am not interested in this bonkers war of words any more. We will see how Smith does and results in the real world will speak more powerfully than any rhetoric here.

Not sure about the war of words, because I certainly haven’t been part of them.

I wasn’t a fan of Smiths appointment, but when he’s in the job, you support the manager. I was also quite open on this forum as early as November 2019, saying that I thought we were in trouble with how we were playing.

The concerns with Smith are valid, but they aren’t all of his own making and he continues to learn from his mistakes and improve as a manager. Time will tell whether the project grows too fast for him or he continues to grow with it.

[Zatman]

1 hour ago, Demitri_C said:

I am afraid that as much as i dont like him, he hasnt got to Mon levels yet.

For me it would be little, MON and Gregory/smith

Mon got us to one cup final and  bottled 4th spot from an incredible position 

He didnt really achieve anything here noteworthy

[Tommo_b]

12 minutes ago, Zatman said:

Mon got us to one cup final and  bottled 4th spot from an incredible position 

He didnt really achieve anything here noteworthy

He swapped Milan Baros for John Carew... doesn’t get much better than that! 

[Risso]

3 hours ago, KenjiOgiwara said:

I didn't have contact with any other Villa fans during his reign, but I'd be utterly amazed if the same people complaining now, didn't have something to complain about then. Whether it was style of football, substitutions, lack of progress, poor signings or what not. 

You were moaning about Martin O'Neill when we were in the top 4!