Dean Smith

[MaVilla]

8 minutes ago, barry'sboots said:

Just interested - why would you start El Ghazi ahead of JPB??  On the basis of pre-season, I would have the kid way ahead of him.

JPB, every day and twice on a Sunday.

[villa4europe]

11 minutes ago, barry'sboots said:

Just interested - why would you start El Ghazi ahead of JPB??  On the basis of pre-season, I would have the kid way ahead of him.

As an outsider looking in it seems easy to say just put the kid in whereas in reality it does seem genuinely hard and all managers are reluctant to do it 

That leap from playing youth football, friendlies, even a sub appearance to starting must be something that we can't see because everything is saying this kid looks better than el ghazi at the moment 

Experience goes a long way on paper 

Not a clue who Newcastles full backs are and if bruce uses them for anything other than his usual 60 yard punt up the line for someone to chase after, that will also be a factor

[JAMAICAN-VILLAN]

I reckon it's going to be a frustrating start to the season, for a multitude of reasons.

Let's hope we can get it altogether, and have a very strong middle to end though.

If we destroy Newcastle tomorrow, and have everyone fit next week, forget everything I've said in the thread over the past week.

Although, losing to Watford, Newcastle and Brentford then destroying Chelsea, would be the most Villa thing to do.

Edited August 20, 2021 by JAMAICAN-VILLAN

[GingerCollins29]

A full strength 11 of:

Back 5

Luiz

Mcginn sanson

Buendia    watkins/ings    bailey

Is top 10 100%.

It"s the strength in depth that kills us

[villalad21]

Once he figure out Emi is not a 10 and playing Watkins and Ings in the same team isn't gonna work I think our season will pick up.

It took a long time for him to finally snub Barkley so we know he is very stubborn with these things but hopefully it won't take too long.

Only have to look at the Watford game to see how much better we looked when we got a 3rd midfielder on the pitch. It's so glaringly obvious how we should play.

 

 

[Farlz]

26 minutes ago, Delphinho123 said:

There will be a mini meltdown in here tomorrow if we lose, which is a real possibility. 

Some of it will be justified and some of it won’t. 

I fully expect us to struggle tomorrow because everything points to us doing so. 

Mini? 

If we lose this place will be an absolute shitshow. 

[VillanousOne]

16 minutes ago, M_Afro said:

Why do you think we will struggle with that side? It’s a fairly expensively assembled starting eleven. With home advantage, I think that should be good enough to beat a team that has been largely starved of investment. I genuinely have no idea and I could easily be wrong but I would think that this team probably cost a fair bit more than the toon 11. From the players available I quite like your selection and formation. It’s nicely balanced. Of course we would all be happier with Bailey in for AEG and Ollie in for Ings but Ings at least is a good alternative.

Just lack of experience/fitness/preseason, if we played Newcastle with the same side in a few months i would feel more confident

[villalad21]

2 minutes ago, Farlz said:

If we lose this place will be an absolute shitshow. 

And rightfully so?

You do realize who we play after this easy run right?

We could be looking at 2-3 points after 6 games if we don't do well these next 2 games.

Edited August 20, 2021 by villalad21

[Mantis]

3 minutes ago, villalad21 said:

Once he figure out Emi is not a 10 and playing Watkins and Ings in the same team isn't gonna work I think our season will pick up.

It took a long time for him to finally snub Barkley so we know he is very stubborn with these things but hopefully it won't take too long.

Only have to look at the Watford game to see how much better we looked when we got a 3rd midfielder on the pitch. It's so glaringly obvious how we should play.

 

 

He has been stubborn in the past but the fact that he hauled Targett off at half-time against Watford suggests that maybe he won't be as slow this year as we think.

[Delphinho123]

1 minute ago, villalad21 said:

And rightfully so?

You do realize who we play after this easy run right?

We could be looking at 2-3 points after 6 games if we don't do well these next 2 games.

This is painfully true. 

The reason why it shouldn’t be a meltdown is because it’s to be expected. We haven’t significantly strengthened in the Summer and we have a couple of annoying injuries. 

Right now, I’d argue Newcastle are as strong as us on paper. 

[VillanousOne]

25 minutes ago, barry'sboots said:

Just interested - why would you start El Ghazi ahead of JPB??  On the basis of pre-season, I would have the kid way ahead of him.

I agree but Bidace played mainly on the right in preseason and for some reason Anwar was still picked ahead of him in his weakest position.

be great if he did start

 

[M_Afro]

Just now, VillanousOne said:

Just lack of experience/fitness/preseason, if we played Newcastle with the same side in a few months i would feel more confident

Fair enough. If it makes you feel any better, my Toon mate is virtually suicidal and thinks they have no chance tomorrow. It certainly made me feel better.

[villalad21]

4 minutes ago, Delphinho123 said:

This is painfully true. 

The reason why it shouldn’t be a meltdown is because it’s to be expected. We haven’t significantly strengthened in the Summer and we have a couple of annoying injuries. 

Right now, I’d argue Newcastle are as strong as us on paper. 

Evenly matched elevens I'd say without Grealish.

Smith is a better manager than Bruce and playing under fans should give us the edge we need.

Our record against Brentford is terrible so if we don't get anything against Newcastle it could get real bad very soon.

Momentum and confidence is everything in football. We need to get some wins early on..

[villalad21]

7 minutes ago, Mantis said:

He has been stubborn in the past but the fact that he hauled Targett off at half-time against Watford suggests that maybe he won't be as slow this year as we think.

Targett really isn't a high profile player not if you compare him to Young, Ings and Barkley.

I think it's an easier decision to drop him.

But I hope you're right.

[Peter Griffin]

1 hour ago, Lerner's Driver said:

People lost their shit during that bad spell in his first year. We broke a club record and got promoted. 

People wanted him sacked our first year in the prem. We actually pulled off a bit of a miracle to stay up after project restart. 

People lost their shit at times last season. Best season in a decade. 

I've come to the conclusion that no matter what, the same people will have the same moans and lose their shit. 

They've learnt nothing these past few years and still some can't comprehend what a mid table prem team is all about.

If we win tomorrow, I hope the same people predicting doom and gloom will then tell us how Europe is on the cards.

I like Smith and as you highlight we have had some great times with him. However, there are a number of things that still concern me with Smith. I think Smith was exactly the right appointment at the right time but I can see his limitations and his lack of experience. I am worried he may not be able to take us to the next level. I hope he can but a number of things Smith does concern me. Maybe he will develop as a Head Coach and he will improve himself. Although Smith has done well, who is to say a different manager / coach would not have done better? 

[JAMAICAN-VILLAN]

26 minutes ago, Peter Griffin said:

I like Smith and as you highlight we have had some great times with him. However, there are a number of things that still concern me with Smith. I think Smith was exactly the right appointment at the right time but I can see his limitations and his lack of experience. I am worried he may not be able to take us to the next level. I hope he can but a number of things Smith does concern me. Maybe he will develop as a Head Coach and he will improve himself. Although Smith has done well, who is to say a different manager / coach would not have done better? 

" HERE WE GO! " Fabrizio Romano voice.

 

 

Edited August 20, 2021 by JAMAICAN-VILLAN

[DCJonah]

1 hour ago, Farlz said:

Mini? 

If we lose this place will be an absolute shitshow. 

Yeah I actually dread to think the reactions. It's a shame that it will be the ones who have been desperate to be right kicking the boot in as soon as they can.

[DCJonah]

48 minutes ago, Peter Griffin said:

I like Smith and as you highlight we have had some great times with him. However, there are a number of things that still concern me with Smith. I think Smith was exactly the right appointment at the right time but I can see his limitations and his lack of experience. I am worried he may not be able to take us to the next level. I hope he can but a number of things Smith does concern me. Maybe he will develop as a Head Coach and he will improve himself. Although Smith has done well, who is to say a different manager / coach would not have done better? 

It might have been better. It might have been worse. I'm just amazed that after an excellent 3 years this is even brought up. Why not just appreciate what he's done?

Crazy mindset on here at times.

[Mantis]

Performance is arguably just as important as the result tomorrow. If we play really well but lose due to sheer bad luck and/or bad refereeing (as can happen to all teams) I don't think it'll be too bad. But yeah if it's a repeat of Watford there will be a full blown meltdown.

[foreveryoung]

Don't feel good about this season at this present time. Something just don't feel right, I'm not sure if it's from a bit of negativity on here, or that I'm not feeling Smith will be able to do it without Grealish. Either way, pressures on for that European place.

An your wrong, losing against Newcastle will be a big blow, might prove Smith really is struggling. yes it'll only be our 2nd game but we need to start as we mean to go on.