Dean Smith

[DCJonah]

8 minutes ago, AvfcRigo82 said:

I wouldn't agree with that to be fair.

The players and the board have both stated that this season, qualifying for Europe is the target.

I don't think that the board dislike Dean Smith in the targets they have set. I think they are being realistic.

As for the fans, I cannot comment on their mindset, however, I do hope Smith succeeds and delivers Europe this season, wether by league finishing position or by a cup win.

I think that's the aim, but I don't believe Smith loses his job if we don't achieve it. Every team that finished above us last season will want Europe. I'd also imagine Wolves want to be back in there. 

I think our board will be pretty realistic with their expectations.

[est1874]

1 minute ago, Delphinho123 said:

Absolutely. I actually hope that the aim isn’t to finish in Europe this season if Smiths job rests on it. 

Our aim should be to match last seasons finish and to not go backwards. We’ve lost our best player and not properly replaced him or addressed the glaring deficiencies in other areas of the team. 

Of course, that may change if we bring bodies in but i think it would be daft that Smith should be expected to compete for Europe with our current squad. 

In fairness, it's the club who have set that expectation, not the fans. All the noises coming from CEO et al are that the club wants to be competing for Europe this season. 

If Smith fails to achieve this and is sacked it won't be because of supporter pressure.

[VillaFaninLondon]

I think Europe will be the aim this season, which is top 7 with that funny European Conference League introduced (which btw I'd happily see Villa in).

 

If we were to finish say 8th, 9th or 10th and just miss out that would still be enough to keep Smith in a job and I would be ok with that.

 

The slight worry with missing out on Europe is key players want to leave like Emi Martinez, but as long as none of them have release clauses I'm sure we'll keep them.

 

But there'll be no surviving if we go backwards. Midtable will be the minimum expectation this season.

[DCJonah]

7 minutes ago, VillaFaninLondon said:

I don't expect top 6/7 but equally I don't expect us to be in a relegation scrap this season. We should at the minimum not be going backwards.

 

It's pretty much fact that Smith has an awful record without Grealish, 18% win without compared to 46% with. Half of the games without were in the Champ too.

 

He has to start putting that record right starting with Newcastle today otherwise of course people will question if he is good enough.

Absolutely. I'd expect the same. I think top half is a realistic aim and I'd be dissapointed if we finished lower than 11th. 

I completely disagree with your last paragraph. The idea that after 2 games serious questions need to be asked is daft IMO. We're no where near full strength and new signings need a chance to settle. I fully expect a slow start to the season. And also it seems to only work one way. Last season when we won 4 from 4 did you proclaim him to be a top Premier league manager? Yet when he loses games it becomes fair game to be negative about him. 

[Keyblade]

3 minutes ago, Delphinho123 said:

Absolutely. I actually hope that the aim isn’t to finish in Europe this season if Smiths job rests on it. 

Our aim should be to match last seasons finish and to not go backwards. We’ve lost our best player and not properly replaced him or addressed the glaring deficiencies in other areas of the team. 

Of course, that may change if we bring bodies in but i think it would be daft that Smith should be expected to compete for Europe with our current squad. 

I'm giving them time this season to gel, and expect a strong finish to the season. 8th-12th would be absolutely fine. No pressure since Mic Lub isn't here anymore. Next season, with new signings and a settled team is when we should hopefully make our European charge.

[DCJonah]

2 minutes ago, Keyblade said:

I'm giving them time this season to gel, and expect a strong finish to the season. 8th-12th would be absolutely fine. No pressure since Mic Lub isn't here anymore. Next season, with new signings and a settled team is when we should hopefully make our European charge.

Yep. I fully expect the 2nd half of the season to be our strongest this year. 

[DCJonah]

10 minutes ago, est1874 said:

In fairness, it's the club who have set that expectation, not the fans. All the noises coming from CEO et al are that the club wants to be competing for Europe this season. 

If Smith fails to achieve this and is sacked it won't be because of supporter pressure.

There's no chance Smith loses his job if he finishes say 10th and doesn't qualify for Europe. 

[VillaFaninLondon]

Just now, DCJonah said:

Absolutely. I'd expect the same. I think top half is a realistic aim and I'd be dissapointed if we finished lower than 11th. 

I completely disagree with your last paragraph. The idea that after 2 games serious questions need to be asked is daft IMO. We're no where near full strength and new signings need a chance to settle. I fully expect a slow start to the season. And also it seems to only work one way. Last season when we won 4 from 4 did you proclaim him to be a top Premier league manager? Yet when he loses games it becomes fair game to be negative about him. 

I understand that but look at our fixtures after Brentford. Chelsea (a), Everton (h), Manure (a), Spuds (a), Wolves (h), Arse (a), Spam (h). 

 

You seem a calmer person than me but I look at those fixtures after what is a relatively easy start and think we could be deep in it after 10 games. 

 

Of course football doesn't always work like that but you use excuses for having a slow start this season. Every team is in the same boat.

 

Spuds for example have had the ongoing Kane saga to deal with plus appointed their 3rd or 4th choice manager in Nuno yet still beat the champions last week. 

 

Everton were another team that had a bit of a shambolic summer with Ancelotti walking out on them yet looked fine against Southampton.

 

I just feel we need a positive result soon to allay fears that Smith isn't up to it without JG. 

[string28]

6 minutes ago, VillaFaninLondon said:

I understand that but look at our fixtures after Brentford. Chelsea (a), Everton (h), Manure (a), Spuds (a), Wolves (h), Arse (a), Spam (h). 

 

You seem a calmer person than me but I look at those fixtures after what is a relatively easy start and think we could be deep in it after 10 games. 

 

Of course football doesn't always work like that but you use excuses for having a slow start this season. Every team is in the same boat.

 

Spuds for example have had the ongoing Kane saga to deal with plus appointed their 3rd or 4th choice manager in Nuno yet still beat the champions last week. 

 

Everton were another team that had a bit of a shambolic summer with Ancelotti walking out on them yet looked fine against Southampton.

 

I just feel we need a positive result soon to allay fears that Smith isn't up to it without JG. 

That does look a very hard run in and i hope we get the win today may stop so much of the negative view points. 

The slow start thing i dont buy into if we are not upto game speed this week then i will be questioning why were not!

Lets just give dean the chance to put it right the next few weeks.

[VillaFaninLondon]

1 minute ago, DCJonah said:

I get that. But we said the same towards the end of last year and ended up beating spurs and Chelsea. 

It's what a midtable team does. We'll lose games we should win and win games we expect to lose. There's always going to be bumps. 

I'm calm because even if we have a slow start, there's too much talent in this squad to not be around midtable or in the top half. 

When Buendia and Bailey are 100% fit and settled. When Ings and Watkins are together. We'll be fine. 

 

We should be fine I agree, but teams with a lot of good players before have been sucked into having awful seasons.

 

Funnily enough we won those games against Chelsea and Spuds when you know who started his first games for 3 months.

 

I'm glad Smith has come out and said we're over Grealish. But now he has to actually prove we are with results on the pitch.

[DCJonah]

1 minute ago, string28 said:

That does look a very hard run in and i hope we get the win today may stop so much of the negative view points. 

The slow start thing i dont buy into if we are not upto game speed this week then i will be questioning why were not!

Lets just give dean the chance to put it right the next few weeks.

Watkins and Traore injured. 

Bailey not fit to start. Buendia trying to get up to 100%

I mean there's clear reasons. These are important first team players. 

[DCJonah]

Just now, VillaFaninLondon said:

We should be fine I agree, but teams with a lot of good players before have been sucked into having awful seasons.

 

Funnily enough we won those games against Chelsea and Spuds when you know who started his first games for 3 months.

 

I'm glad Smith has come out and said we're over Grealish. But now he has to actually prove we are with results on the pitch.

If we have an awful season then Smith goes and we'll attract a top manager. 

We're not going down so for me it's not a massive worry. If it takes 2 years, 5 or a decade to get into that top 4 or 5 clubs then so be it. It's a journey. 

[VillaFaninLondon]

3 minutes ago, string28 said:

That does look a very hard run in and i hope we get the win today may stop so much of the negative view points. 

The slow start thing i dont buy into if we are not upto game speed this week then i will be questioning why were not!

Lets just give dean the chance to put it right the next few weeks.

I am hoping he can.

 

I think if we win today we will beat Brentford too and go into the international break with some momentum. 

[Sulberto21]

I actually believe after the summer we've had and especially with ol'shin splints leaving NSWE will give Dean Smith the time he needs to build and grow.

They're probably at the point where reality has hit and they've realised it's a loaded game in favour of the top 6. So they probably are prepared for the academy to bear fruit whilst getting established in the top 8-10 for a few seasons before they start demanding higher finishes culminating in a title challenge.

Hopefully we can win the F A Cup though as that is the one the club has been without for way too long.

Deano needs to go back to his trusted 4 3 3 though as that gives us the best opportunity in games currently.

[TRO]

7 hours ago, QldVilla said:

He has proved himself. He’s taken us from a mid table Championship team to a mid table PL team in 2.5 years. If a certain player hadn’t of been injured we probably would have finished as high as 6th or 7th.

Smith is now a very good PL manager and would be first on a manager list at any other mid/lower PL team if available. The question now is around attracting better players to improve the squad, being tactically sound and being more competitive against the teams above us and only time will tell whether he has this ability.

Last season against better squads, he got 3 points from Liverpool, 6 Arsenal, 3 Leicester, 4 Chelsea etc.

The question is would he get the same results as manager with the Chelsea, Man Utd, Man City and Liverpool squads? Maybe, maybe not. I’d back him against Solskjaer, but has a way to go against Pep, Klopp and Tuetal, who are far more experienced at the elite level.

Your argument is based around whether he could be a Top 4 or win the PL manager and it’s currently an unrealistic expectation. Time will be the determining factor and what ceiling Smith may or may not have as a manager.

Dean has a whole new set of challenges now, playing without our star player and talisman and readjusting the team to kick on.......going back to what he has achieved constantly is partially misleading.

Dean has proved he can manage at championship level with his eyes closed, He has also made a good fist of managing us in the Premier league at lower table level, now come the bigger challenge of mixing it in the table with the bigger boys.

We have had a very disruptive pre season, no getting away from it and it will surely have an affect on our early exchanges, we just have to battle through.

Where, I think Dean has a bit of a blind spot is in midfield, where in my view too many of our midfielders are too samey in their skill set, which results in jobs go missing.....There seems to be a notion in some quarters and I think Dean may be one of them, That all midfielders are the same....I dispute that notion.....We are currently playing a midfielder who is not blessed with the traditional skill set of a No6 and expecting him to shine....John McGinn is not a No6 in his make up, neither is Douglas Luiz....yet we still persist with it.

In my view there are a number of distinctions of midfielder some play a distinctive defensive role, others blur the lines, being more mobile and passing,they are commonly referred to as : deeplying midfielders-playmakers-Box to Box- or holding midfielders.

I see teams like Leicester, West Ham, Brighton, Leeds, not to mention the traditional big boys all have well equipped CDM's in their squad.....when you embark on the higher echelons of the league, there is less room for error and more emphasis on getting the balance right.

I am not convinced Dean see's this defensive midfielder role as many of us do....There is a groundswell of opinion now in favour of a player with defensive nous playing in front of the back four.

We are well stocked with midfielders, so I kinda can see a reluctance to spend more money, but I fear the specialist midfielder we require will be overlooked....I naturally hope we can operate with out one, but I fear we will be found out as the season progresses.

I have no fear in Deans ability to sail a steady ship, He has done a great job so far, and includes many many tasks.....but to mix it with the Klopps, Rodgers,Guardiola, Tuchel's.....he has a few lessons to learn on team balance in my humble opinion.

 

[string28]

2 minutes ago, DCJonah said:

Watkins and Traore injured. 

Bailey not fit to start. Buendia trying to get up to 100%

I mean there's clear reasons. These are important first team players. 

You are saying because watkins is injured traore who didnt start the first game and baily who will come on for about 30 mins if needed is the reason for a slow start? We have back up players for them places or are you saying our squad is weak?

 Dean made it clear we now have a stronger squad better bench?

If your saying that the teams fitness is not right then i would agree and if its not upto speed this week then i would be wondering whats going on in training.

[DCJonah]

2 minutes ago, string28 said:

You are saying because watkins is injured traore who didnt start the first game and baily who will come on for about 30 mins if needed is the reason for a slow start? We have back up players for them places or are you saying our squad is weak?

 Dean made it clear we now have a stronger squad better bench?

If your saying that the teams fitness is not right then i would agree and if its not upto speed this week then i would be wondering whats going on in training.

I think our strength in depth is better but I think most teams struggle when 3 or 4 key players are either unavailable or not fit. 

To just ignore that seems daft to me. 

[Keyblade]

19 minutes ago, VillaFaninLondon said:

I know but we were very poor in that game against Watford. There was an element of luck to a couple of their goals but they deserved to win.

 

If we'd dominated and lost to a dodgy decision or bad luck, fine, but we didn't.

 

It's also the fact that it's Watford, who other than Sarr have very little quality. The fact that Cleverley and Deeney still play for them says it all.

Right, but I don't think you can make sweeping predictions about the season off the back of it. Things fluctuate wildly in the first few games, especially with the home crowds back. Arsenal lost to Brentford, Leeds lost 5-1 etc. No cause for concern yet.

[TRO]

3 minutes ago, Keyblade said:

Right, but I don't think you can make sweeping predictions about the season off the back of it. Things fluctuate wildly in the first few games, especially with the home crowds back. Arsenal lost to Brentford, Leeds lost 5-1 etc. No cause for concern yet.

not arguing with your view of early season blues....but I think the point is, if we keep making the same defensive errors moving forward, we will be in for a disappointing time.

The first half was a catalogue of faults, including positional naivety and lack lustre intensity.....Dean seems to think he can rectify that, if so.....fine.

[string28]

1 minute ago, DCJonah said:

I think our strength in depth is better but I think most teams struggle when 3 or 4 key players are either unavailable or not fit. 

To just ignore that seems daft to me. 

3 or 4 yeah i would agree but only watkins was missing from the first game. baily was not upto speed which i would agree but the rest of the team should be ready.

Whats daft is some people seem to be mixing up the fitness of players with the squad! if two players get injured we shouldnt be struggling we have a stronger squad now so its nonsense.

Lets just see what dean does this week i hope he can win with the players we have now.