Dean Smith

[Follyfoot]

One of our own

Created a united club and dressing room

Plays, or always tries to play attacking football

Two Wembley trips 

Made biscuit shins worth 100m 

Promoted at first attempt after several short months in the job

Made Glenn Whelan look like a footballer 

Kept us up

Had us playing some of the best football for decades last season 

Yeah, jury still out for me  

Edited October 14, 2021 by Follyfoot

[nick76]

42 minutes ago, VillaFaninLondon said:

Why are Potter, Gerrard, Rodgers all considered better than him then?

Who?  People talk about Potter’s nice football but not astute, and his team have finished 15th then 16th in the league…not great winning 9 league games per season.   I don’t even know why Gerrard is mentioned, that’s laughable.  Rodgers is a fantastic manager and one of the best.  To Smith’s defence he took over a team struggling in the bottom half the Championship while Rodgers took over a team that had only won the PL two years prior to his appointment.  Smith has out smarted most of the top managers over the last year getting some great results and tried different things.  

I think having a differing opinion to his decisions doesn’t mean he’s wrong or your wrong but he’s in charge and he’s been very astute and tactically very good against some top managers and against some not top managers.

Edited October 14, 2021 by nick76

[villalad21]

6 minutes ago, nick76 said:

Who?  People talk about Potter’s nice football but not astute, and his team have finished 15th then 16th in the league…not great winning 9 league games per season.   I don’t even know why Gerrard is mentioned, that’s laughable.  Rodgers is a fantastic manager and one of the best.  To Smith’s defence he took over a team struggling in the bottom half the Championship while Rodgers took over a team that had only won the PL two years prior to his appointment.  Smith has out smarted most of the top managers over the last year getting some great results and tried different things.  

I think having a differing opinion to his decisions doesn’t mean he’s wrong or your wrong but he’s in charge and he’s been very astute and tactically very good against some top managers and against some not top managers.

Potter was born in Solihull growing up a massive Villa fan.

I think Villa fans should be more respectful towards him. One of our own.

Would be a great option if Smith were to leave.

[nick76]

7 minutes ago, villalad21 said:

Potter was born in Solihull growing up a massive Villa fan.

I think Villa fans should be more respectful towards him. One of our own.

Would be a great option if Smith were to leave.

I think some Villa fans should be more respectful towards Smith but despite what he constantly does, in the current manager role, he doesn’t get it from that section of Villa fans.  Critical analysis is fine but some are being critical for the sake of being critical and not showing Smith any respect at all for what he’s done with us as others above point out.

Why is Potter getting more respect than Smith whose also one of our own?

Edited October 14, 2021 by nick76

[villalad21]

9 minutes ago, nick76 said:

I think some Villa fans should be more respectful towards Smith but despite what he constantly does, in the current manager role, he doesn’t get it from that section of Villa fans.  Critical analysis is fine but some are being critical for the sake of being critical and not showing Smith any respect at all for what he’s done with us as others above point out.

Why is Potter getting more respect than Smith whose also one of our own?

He isn't though. 

He is for me but I don't speak on behalf of all villa fans. 

For me Brighton plays better football, have a clear identity and style of play.

I honestly believe Potter is the real deal so yeah I would take Potter over Smith but that's just one man's opinion. 

Edited October 14, 2021 by villalad21

[Woody1000]

1 minute ago, villalad21 said:

I don't speak on behalf of all villa fans.

FINALLY!! Something we can agree on.

[nick76]

Just now, villalad21 said:

He isn't though. 

He is for me but to don't speak on behalf of all villa fans. 

For me Brighton plays better football so yeah I would take Potter over Smith but that's just one man's opinion. 

Whereas I’d take Smith because he plays good football mostly and gets the results.  As I said, for all Brighton’s ‘better football’ they have won 9 PL games each of the last two seasons thus a 23.6% win rate, which isn’t great at all so that better football isn’t turning into results.  They’ve started better this season but it’s very early days but Smith has shown he can get results in tough situations, outsmart other elite managers and against the top teams.

[Vive_La_Villa]

1 hour ago, VillaFaninLondon said:

Why are Potter, Gerrard, Rodgers all considered better than him then? It’s not a conspiracy against Villa I can tell you that.

Smith has done a decent job as I said but still has weaknesses - the good thing is he’s young enough to fix them and not stuck in his ways and I do think there is an element of underrating him outside of Villa, but then I don’t get hyperbole like “he is one of the most tactically astute British coaches in football today”. 

There is an element of our support that will never back him, I get that (I don’t put myself in that category by the way), but there are the ones who defend him at every turn and believe he can do no wrong. The worst thing is the latter don’t like it when you criticise and can’t accept an opposing point of view so then determine to call everyone out that makes a constructive criticism of the manager. Which is wrong in my view.

This and your original post is fair. I think some come to the defence of Smith quickly because you get tarred with the same brush as the people in bold. I think your criticism is fair and you’re entitled to your opinion although I don’t agree with it. 

[BleedClaretAndBlue]

This has just popped up on youtube. Its from just before the start of season.

Edited October 14, 2021 by BleedClaretAndBlue

[VillaFaninLondon]

3 hours ago, nick76 said:

Who?  People talk about Potter’s nice football but not astute, and his team have finished 15th then 16th in the league…not great winning 9 league games per season.   I don’t even know why Gerrard is mentioned, that’s laughable.  Rodgers is a fantastic manager and one of the best.  To Smith’s defence he took over a team struggling in the bottom half the Championship while Rodgers took over a team that had only won the PL two years prior to his appointment.  Smith has out smarted most of the top managers over the last year getting some great results and tried different things.  

I think having a differing opinion to his decisions doesn’t mean he’s wrong or your wrong but he’s in charge and he’s been very astute and tactically very good against some top managers and against some not top managers.

But we were massively underachieving when he walked through the door as our manager, you know that. The team he took over was unbalanced (defence was all over the place) but he had some of the best players in the league going forward and Grealish of course. Leicester were a decent side when Rodgers took over but nowhere near top 6 or top 4.

 

I think Smith has done well to keep progressing us every season and he deserves credit for that. He has tactically outwitted some top managers but also been outwitted himself. Tactically I think he can improve: eg against Tottenham we played the same team and set-up as against Man U because we got a great result there, but it was a completely different game that required a different approach. I also think he is slow to make changes and doesn’t use his squad (which is now very strong) enough.

[Peter Griffin]

4 hours ago, Follyfoot said:

Made Glenn Whelan look like a footballer 

 

Not a difficult task. He was the ultimate professional and a very tidy player at every club he has been at

[villalad21]

20 minutes ago, VillaFaninLondon said:

Potter has been relentlessly linked to Spurs and is renowned for playing superb football, Brighton are an incredibly well coached team. Gerrard has done incredible at rangers and linked to Newcastle job. We all know Rodgers has done a great job at Leicester. 

I've seen a lot of fans from the top 6 clubs banging on the Potter drum so this Villa fans idea of English managers not getting noticed just because they don't have a fancy name is just wrong.

Brighton always play well. Whether they win or they lose. They always stick to their way which is a sign of a brilliantly coached team. Outside fans will start notice that. It's not the fact that they do it in a one off games. It's the great football every week.

Compare that to us at times. Barely being able to string 2 passes together. Reverting to playing long balls like against Spurs. Looking like a team consisting of complete strangers.

Consistency isn't just about results. It's about how the team looks every week. The patterns of play. The fluid passing etc. Brighton have that. We don't.

Going into every game I have no idea what formation or starting eleven it's gonna be. I have no idea how we will play because we are so all over the place and inconsistent.

Edited October 14, 2021 by villalad21

[fruitvilla]

7 hours ago, nick76 said:

whereas I can see the culture Smith is building throughout the club

While I tend to agree here.  Villa from the outside looks like a fun place to be. I can't help but think it is a lot more than Dean. Dean is not the process. He is an integral cog in the machine.

Villa are trying to play attractive football and at times succeed. When was the last time we have seen this?

People have their weaknesses, I am sure Dean has his. Does he and those around him have the nous to fix them. I would bet yes.

In an earlier video he said something like he is trying to be the manager he would like to have. This of course is insightful but requires some flexibility, different players and staff may well need different mentoring styles. Smith always seems like the adult in the room to me.

Anyway ... this is just a long winded way of agreeing with you.

[Peter Griffin]

4 hours ago, nick76 said:

but some are being critical for the sake of being critical and not showing Smith any respect at all for what he’s done with us as others above point out.

 

I haven't seen any of those on VT

[VillaFaninLondon]

22 minutes ago, villalad21 said:

I've seen a lot of fans from the top 6 clubs banging on the Potter drum so this Villa fans idea of English managers not getting noticed just because they don't have a fancy name is just wrong.

Brighton always play well. Whether they win or they lose. They always stick to their way which is a sign of a brilliantly coached team. Outside fans will start notice that. It's not the fact that they do it in a one off games. It's the great football every week.

Compare that to us at times. Barely being able to string 2 passes together. Reverting to playing long balls like against Spurs. Looking like a team consisting of complete strangers.

Consistency isn't just about results. It's about how the team looks every week. The patterns of play. The fluid passing etc. Brighton have that. We don't.

Going into every game I have no idea what formation or starting eleven it's gonna be. I have no idea how we will play because we are so all over the place and inconsistent.

I agree. You could say he has outfoxed some great managers (Klopp last season for example), but he has failed to nail down a coherent style of play here. And to be honest it is a bit chaotic because you have no idea not only how we will perform week in week out, but what our style will be. We can press like mad, but it’s no use if we then just give it away so cheaply. And you’re right, we are playing a lot of long balls currently and I hate it.

 

I love Brighton’s style, they are a technical attacking side, press well, build from the back, and adaptable tactically. Their system ensures they’re never reliable on one individual and they are a very difficult team to play against. I’d love it if we played like them.

[Vive_La_Villa]

I honestly believe if we played like Brighton fans would find something to complain about. Most likely how we can’t take our chances. That would be Smiths fault too.
 

Unless they have watched every minute of when Brighton play I do feel it’s a case of the grass is always greener. 

Edited October 14, 2021 by Vive_La_Villa

[Keyblade]

How could anyone say that Steven Gerrard is a better manager than Dean Smith with a straight face? He won a 2 horse race in a League One quality league. That's all it takes, really? Talk about flavour of the month.

[Vive_La_Villa]

Another thing about Potter. I think he’s a good coach and I like how Brighton play. But had we played the same way yet spent the whole season in a relegation battle Smith would get crucified on here. That’s something I can’t quite get my hand around. 

[Peter Griffin]

2 minutes ago, Vive_La_Villa said:

I honestly believe if we played like Brighton fans would find something to complain about. Most likely how we can’t take our chances. That would be Smiths fault too.
 

Unless they have watched every minute of when Brighton play I do feel it’s a case of the grass is always greener. 

Smith has done a great job and although there will always be some fans that moan about the manager, these people tend to just want attention as they probably don't get any in their life away from the internet. For real fans, I think the biggest complain genuine fans have with Smith is the lack of consistency. Sometimes we are brilliant and sometimes we are rubbish. It would be nice to go into a game having the confidence that Villa will turn up and that is regardless of whether we win or lose. Smith got a lot of praise for the 3-0 loss to Chelsea, that is the type of play I would like to see every single week. I find it frustrating that we are so inconsistent. I like Smith and I really hope he can sort this out because he is a great fit for Villa and it would be great if he could be our manager for the longterm 

[Vive_La_Villa]

Just now, Peter Griffin said:

Smith has done a great job and although there will always be some fans that moan about the manager, these people tend to just want attention as they probably don't get any in their life away from the internet. For real fans, I think the biggest complain genuine fans have with Smith is the lack of consistency. Sometimes we are brilliant and sometimes we are rubbish. It would be nice to go into a game having the confidence that Villa will turn up and that is regardless of whether we win or lose. Smith got a lot of praise for the 3-0 loss to Chelsea, that is the type of play I would like to see every single week. I find it frustrating that we are so inconsistent. I like Smith and I really hope he can sort this out because he is a great fit for Villa and it would be great if he could be our manager for the longterm 

I agree with this but I only think we have been poor for one half this season. I honestly don’t think we were as bad as people make out against Spurs.