Dean Smith

[QldVilla]

10 minutes ago, KentVillan said:

This is Smith’s best quality IMO. He’s trying to build the club as an organisation where every base is covered, not as a cult of personality which will need completely rebuilding when he leaves.

If you look at Alex Ferguson’s later career, a lot of his success was driven by figures like McLaren (seriously) and Queiroz. He changed his tactical philosophy by refreshing the coaching setup.

I see something similar happening with Smith, who has clearly become more receptive to counter attacking football and 4-4-2 since getting Shakespeare involved.

He has also talked about bringing in a European coach to give the coaching setup a more international feel - showing awareness for some shortcomings on that front. I just always get the impression that where there are weaknesses, he sees them. He might not have an immediate solution up his sleeve, but generally things always seem to move in the right direction.

How many other managers have achieved an improvement along same lines as 33rd -> 17th -> 11th in consecutive seasons?

Well said. The very good coaches are always learning, know their limitations and don’t let their ego get in the way.

[Sulberto21]

@KentVillan - as much as I despised him that's what I respected about Fergie (someone punch me in the face and wash my mouth out with soap) he constantly evolved his methods , tactics and coaching methods and staff. 

Deano has in his time with Villa evolved I would have been happy to see him go when we were flirting with relegation but after project restart I'm convinced that he's the one to bring trophies to Villa.

"Yeah no". - I'd trademark that if I was working for Villa.

Edited September 1, 2021 by Sulberto21

[tomav84]

much love for deano, see no reason why he won't be given a contract extension before xmas

[sheepyvillian]

1 hour ago, KentVillan said:

This is Smith’s best quality IMO. He’s trying to build the club as an organisation where every base is covered, not as a cult of personality which will need completely rebuilding when he leaves.

If you look at Alex Ferguson’s later career, a lot of his success was driven by figures like McLaren (seriously) and Queiroz. He changed his tactical philosophy by refreshing the coaching setup.

I see something similar happening with Smith, who has clearly become more receptive to counter attacking football and 4-4-2 since getting Shakespeare involved.

He has also talked about bringing in a European coach to give the coaching setup a more international feel - showing awareness for some shortcomings on that front. I just always get the impression that where there are weaknesses, he sees them. He might not have an immediate solution up his sleeve, but generally things always seem to move in the right direction.

How many other managers have achieved an improvement along same lines as 33rd -> 17th -> 11th in consecutive seasons?

It was interesting to hear what Thomas Frank had to say about Dean. He was full of praise and talked about his quality in creating a culture at a club. A culture that is healthy and harmonious,  and which gives players a certain pride and respect to their privileged lifestyles. He really is trying to create something special here. You can sense it . Look at the result with the under 21s last night. We are installing a blueprint for success, but these things take time and require patience and faith to all who are on board with the process.

It took Shankly years to create the legacy of the Anfield boot room, and I'm sure he had his doubters along the way. It was the same with Ferguson at United. Only after a couple of years of trial and error did he manage to find a formula that brought constant success and left a legacy that will be long remembered. 

I honestly believe that we will look at the Grealish transfer in the future and say, ' what a blessing in disguise that was ".

[villa4europe]

smith's spending in context is not that much - i looked last week and i'm sure arsenal have 7 maybe 8 players in their squad who cost more than Buendia and that's before you then factor in their higher wages, everton will have 3 or 4 so will spurs, even west ham had a couple that they then got rid of

[doaflip]

I'm quite looking forward to seeing what other youth he gives chances to this season. I'm not sure if every fan feels the same way about their clubs academies but it does feel like we have some of the best youngsters in the country coming through. 

I'm more excited about seeing what Smith and the team can do with them rather than desperately trying to spend in the market, especially when there are players like Sanson who have only just got through the door.

 

 

[Dante_Lockhart]

Deano about to recreate Utds academy glory years under SAF.

David Beckham - JPB

Gary Neville - KKH

Paul Scholes - Cam Archer

Nicky Butt - Carney Chuk

[villalad21]

What did he achieve at Brentford? 9th place finishes in the Championship? What is so remarkable about that? Thomas Frank has got them promoted.

I have nothing personal against the guy. Just think he is a very ordinary manager. That doesn't necessarily mean I want him out. I don't want to get rid of managers for the sake of it. If a better manager became available I wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger but if not I have no issues sticking with Smith.

But that doesn't mean I won't criticize the guy when he is performing poorly. And 4 points against Watford, Newcastle and Brentford is an awful return, and doesn't set us up well or puts us in a good position right before a difficult set of fixtures coming up.

[Anything11]

16 minutes ago, villalad21 said:

To your first point. No he didn't spend very much in his first few years. The spending later on was a result of great success on the pitch. Created that money by himself pretty much. 

Point 2. What did he achieve at Brentford? 9th place finishes in the Championship? What is so remarkable about that? Thomas Frank has got them promoted.

Point 3. I have nothing personal against the guy. Just think he is a very ordinary manager. That doesn't necessarily mean I want him out. I don't want to get rid of managers for the sake of it. If a better manager became available I wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger but if not I have no issues sticking with Smith.

But that doesn't mean I won't criticize the guy when he is performing poorly. And 4 points against Watford, Newcastle and Brentford is an awful return, and doesn't set us up well or puts us in a good position right before a difficult set of fixtures coming up.

So he just fell arse backwards into a promotion and continual improvement in league position?

No one is suggesting he is the messiah however he definitely deserves some credit. Outside of a few teams at the top of the table there is a lot of inconsistency in both playing and managing. If Dean got it right all the time we would be top of the league or he would be managing a team  other than Villa that was. It remains to be seen if he can push the top half of the premier league and anyone claiming that he can or he can't at this current juncture is being silly.

[MrBlack]

Still looking forward to seeing how Dean will fit Watkins and Ings into the same side, whilst also including Bailey and Buendia.

If he gets it right we will make top half easily. If he gets it wrong, could be a horror show. Big challenge, but lots of reward to be had.

Getting it right could have to mean rotating the strikers too, which we'd benefit from seeing how jaded Watkins got at points last season when he'd had no breaks.

[KentVillan]

2 minutes ago, MrBlack said:

Still looking forward to seeing how Dean will fit Watkins and Ings into the same side, whilst also including Bailey and Buendia.

If he gets it right we will make top half easily. If he gets it wrong, could be a horror show. Big challenge, but lots of reward to be had.

Getting it right could have to mean rotating the strikers too, which we'd benefit from seeing how jaded Watkins got at points last season when he'd had no breaks.

I think Buendia has the defensive work rate to play as an old fashioned wide mid in a 4-4-2. Not sure about Bailey, but he certainly looks like he has an engine, so maybe same deal. That seems the obvious setup to me, and if the midfield stays fairly compact defensively with Watkins helping out, wouldn’t be too loose.

It’s a squad game, though, and as we’ve seen already, Smith won’t often have a full strength squad available. That should make decisions easier for him.

[Sulberto21]

Fergie whilst a brilliant manager also had the luxury of being able to compete with Real Madrid z Barcelona and Bayern Munich in terms of spending. Roy Keane's wage increase is one the first examples of the game becoming loaded (along with the Bosman ruling) towards players and agents.

Fergie broke the British transfer record at least once and offered record wages at the time. 

Deano has done a cracking job. 

[thunderball]

10 hours ago, sheepyvillian said:

It was interesting to hear what Thomas Frank had to say about Dean. He was full of praise and talked about his quality in creating a culture at a club. A culture that is healthy and harmonious,  and which gives players a certain pride and respect to their privileged lifestyles. He really is trying to create something special here. You can sense it . Look at the result with the under 21s last night. We are installing a blueprint for success, but these things take time and require patience and faith to all who are on board with the process.

It took Shankly years to create the legacy of the Anfield boot room, and I'm sure he had his doubters along the way. It was the same with Ferguson at United. Only after a couple of years of trial and error did he manage to find a formula that brought constant success and left a legacy that will be long remembered. 

I honestly believe that we will look at the Grealish transfer in the future and say, ' what a blessing in disguise that was ".

Firmly in the Smith camp. Had a wobble in during the winter of 2020 when I though he was just not addressing the demands of the PL, but he put that right and his shortcomings are generally around the shortcomings in quality and depth of squad - we could only play one way, and the 1st 11 picked itself. He does demonstrate an intelligence and eagerness for his own personal development, I think he is a classic Manager rather than coach, I think he delegates well and is a progressive thinker. He isnt one to go stale - I can even see he has addressed a few things thhis season - subs being made earlier and perhaps more adventurous (helped by a broader squad).

I also think Grealish leaving will perversely help the club too - we will become stronger and have more facets of attack, and players will emerge from themselves rather than live in his shadow. I think Grealish has made a bad move for himself also, yes he will get silverware but he looks to be playing in much narrower area of the field at the moment and he looks strangely shy in his challenge. Maybe he will grow into it, we all know his ability, but he could possibly be stifled by Pep, he was certainly indulged by Smith which he won't get at any other club.

[KentVillan]

Comparing £ spend in 2021 with £ spend in 1987 is a bit silly tbh, given football transfer fee inflation. The world record transfer in 1987 was Ruud Gullit - £6m! One of the greatest players of all time.

Alex Ferguson immediately bought Brian McClair and Steve Bruce for over £1m each, which was big money back then, and certainly wasn't cash he had "generated himself". Many of his transfers (Keane, Cole, Yorke, Ferdinand) were massive money moves at the time.

A common stick to beat Smith with is our supposedly huge transfer spend, but spread it across the squad, and it's only really this summer that we've started buying obviously top half PL talent like Ings and Bailey. Maybe Martinez last summer.

Otherwise you can see from the profile of player we're bringing in - young, hungry, untested, often playing for Championship sides or relegation contenders - that Smith isn't in a position yet to throw big money at established talent. The idea that he's basically a chequebook manager is ludicrous.

I think what we can all agree on is that better coaches exist in world football, but my big question for the Smith Out people, is who can we realistically bring in who would be guaranteed to be better than Smith? It's all well and good saying he's worse than Klopp and Guardiola, but who else is out there who will stick around, be good for the club, not turn it into a media circus, AND deliver results?

Edited September 2, 2021 by KentVillan

[one_ian_taylor]

3 hours ago, KentVillan said:

Comparing £ spend in 2021 with £ spend in 1987 is a bit silly tbh, given football transfer fee inflation. The world record transfer in 1987 was Ruud Gullit - £6m! One of the greatest players of all time.

Alex Ferguson immediately bought Brian McClair and Steve Bruce for over £1m each, which was big money back then, and certainly wasn't cash he had "generated himself". Many of his transfers (Keane, Cole, Yorke, Ferdinand) were massive money moves at the time.

A common stick to beat Smith with is our supposedly huge transfer spend, but spread it across the squad, and it's only really this summer that we've started buying obviously top half PL talent like Ings and Bailey. Maybe Martinez last summer.

Otherwise you can see from the profile of player we're bringing in - young, hungry, untested, often playing for Championship sides or relegation contenders - that Smith isn't in a position yet to throw big money at established talent. The idea that he's basically a chequebook manager is ludicrous.

I think what we can all agree on is that better coaches exist in world football, but my big question for the Smith Out people, is who can we realistically bring in who would be guaranteed to be better than Smith? It's all well and good saying he's worse than Klopp and Guardiola, but who else is out there who will stick around, be good for the club, not turn it into a media circus, AND deliver results?

Great post. And let's  face it, the squad he inherited needed the investment. So much needed changing after years of poor investment. The squad that got us up could never have kept us up. The squad thst just about kept us up could almost certainly  not have given us a comfortable mid table finish.  It's  not his fault that we have needed the investment, but it is to his credit thst a lot of players have kicked on and no one has been a disaster. 

[TheStagMan]

5 hours ago, villalad21 said:

What did he achieve at Brentford? 9th place finishes in the Championship? What is so remarkable about that? Thomas Frank has got them promoted.

I have nothing personal against the guy. Just think he is a very ordinary manager. That doesn't necessarily mean I want him out. I don't want to get rid of managers for the sake of it. If a better manager became available I wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger but if not I have no issues sticking with Smith.

But that doesn't mean I won't criticize the guy when he is performing poorly. And 4 points against Watford, Newcastle and Brentford is an awful return, and doesn't set us up well or puts us in a good position right before a difficult set of fixtures coming up.

Just.... wow..... unbelievable.

Edited September 2, 2021 by TheStagMan

[Indigo]

Reminder. 

 

[Sulberto21]

2 minutes ago, Indigo said:

Reminder. 

 

I'd love it if we beat them... How dare they steal our thunder .

[KentVillan]

2 minutes ago, Indigo said:

Reminder. 

 

Despair at fans who can't see that isn't an ordinary achievement

[villalad21]

15 minutes ago, Indigo said:

Reminder. 

 

Let's get Crewe Alexandra's manager then