Dean Smith

[bannedfromHandV]

9 hours ago, Keyblade said:

Can we move past this myth that we played Brentford off the park this season? The oddity of playing a team off the park and scraping a stoppage time draw notwithstanding, Brentford had 90% of the gilt-edged chances in the game which were like 5 or 6 not even including the goals.

If there was ever a match that contrasted the tactical nous of the respective managers it was that one. We huffed and puffed and had the lion's share of possession, but Brentford were more than happy to accommodate that. While we were pumping crosses into the box (and creating half-chances), Brentford were cutting our defence open with their movement and their passing time and again especially in the second half.

It's one thing to have reservations on his tenure which I totally understand, but let's not disrespect a forward-thinking manager and his approach to the game by comparing him to our rigid, stuck-in-his-ways former incumbent, especially using a game where to the discerning eye, it was he who came out on top in football terms.

Disagree, you can lose a game and still be the better team, the fact we had to score a late goal is irrelevant. 

We dominated most of the game save for a 15-20 minute period in the second half. 

To say otherwise is revisionism. 

[rubberman]

33 minutes ago, Nigel said:

I think those who think we are going to push for promotion this year could well be disappointed.

Im fully prepared to accept that for the trade off of introducing a long term better style of football though.

 

Yes - he'll get time from me.  As long as we're top 2 by Christmas.  

[praisedmambo]

56 minutes ago, bannedfromHandV said:

Disagree, you can lose a game and still be the better team, the fact we had to score a late goal is irrelevant. 

We dominated most of the game save for a 15-20 minute period in the second half. 

To say otherwise is revisionism. 

It was our best performance this season under Bruce for certain. We were impressive tbh—but did we make many opportunities? Genuine question as I feel we were looking slick without really creating chances. Having read up on Brentford they seem very analytical and tactical about giving the opposition a certain type of chance that wasn't particularly dangerous in favour of blocking out the higher-scoring percentage shots. I can't remember Kodjia's goals, but they were two bits of individual brilliance.

EDIT: and that's not to say that us not making chances was down to Brentford—I'd say that was a feature of Villa for the last couple of years.

Edited October 12, 2018 by praisedmambo

[bannedfromHandV]

20 minutes ago, praisedmambo said:

It was our best performance this season under Bruce for certain. We were impressive tbh—but did we make many opportunities? Genuine question as I feel we were looking slick without really creating chances. Having read up on Brentford they seem very analytical and tactical about giving the opposition a certain type of chance that wasn't particularly dangerous in favour of blocking out the higher-scoring percentage shots. I can't remember Kodjia's goals, but they were two bits of individual brilliance.

EDIT: and that's not to say that us not making chances was down to Brentford—I'd say that was a feature of Villa for the last couple of years.

You don't remember the goals but you know they were individual brilliance? 

The late equaliser was a header from about 12 yards out, a good header it was, individual brilliance it was not. I'm struggling to remember the other goal to be fair.....

[mjmooney]

You know that thing when you make a purchase, and then you go and read only the five star reviews, just to reassure yourself that you made the right choice? There's a similar phenomenon with football managers. Right now, Villa fans are looking for evidence that Dean Smith is a really great coach - and, by and large, finding it. 

But put yourself in the shoes of the Brentford fans,  who've just lost him. The natural tendency is to emphasise his limitations, to ease the pain of loss. Sure, he was good, but he wasn't THAT good, and much of it was down to the other staff anyway, and remember that bad run we went on? etc. It's what I'd be doing. 

The reality will lie somewhere in between. He's neither the messiah, nor a very naughty boy, but he may turn out to be the best fit for Villa we could have hoped for. I don't mind the odd bit of one step back, two steps forward, it won't get fixed overnight. Best of luck to Brentford, let's hope we can create a similar structure at Villa, and combine it with (once the FFP rapids are sucessfully negotiated) our considerably greater financial resources. 

[Johnnyp]

1 hour ago, Nigel said:

The one thing that worries me is Dean Smiths 39% win record with Brentford, a team that he has cultivated and is far more balanced than our own.

I think those who think we are going to push for promotion this year could well be disappointed.

Im fully prepared to accept that for the trade off of introducing a long term better style of football though.

 

You have to factor in though losing maxime colin, lasse vibe, scott hogan, jota and harlee dean. You can't keep losing important players and continually churn out results. In the 2 + season's we've being in this league we haven't had to sell any big player to a rival championship club. I think players will really enjoy playing for Smith. Enjoy going into work everyday. I'd say that wasn't the case the last few months.

Edited October 12, 2018 by Johnnyp
Mistake

[Johnnyp]

Must stress though like i said yesterday, for this to work, Smith MUST have a fantastic support network around him that works as hard as he definetely will. We've let many a manager paddle their own canoe in the past. The guys above him must work their arses off.

[mjmooney]

2 minutes ago, Johnnyp said:

Must stress though like i said yesterday, for this to work, Smith MUST have a fantastic support network around him that works as hard as he definetely will. We've let many a manager paddle their own canoe in the past. The guys above him must work their arses off.

Yep. And the guys below him, too. 

[TRO]

My personal stance is shelve expectations and just them get on with improving the product.

I think their energy level, will be a big improvement

without the football on the pitch being right.....the league table is just a source of frustration.

as the gambler said.....count your money AFTER you have finished dealing.

I am heartened and encouraged by Deans attitude towards transfers.....It reminds me of the Ron Saunders era......His grounded approach will be invaluable.

I am just going to sit back and let the guy get on with it and refrain from jumping on him, too soon......all managers deserve time, he is no exception.

Edited October 12, 2018 by TRO

[srsmithusa]

1 hour ago, bannedfromHandV said:

Disagree, you can lose a game and still be the better team, the fact we had to score a late goal is irrelevant. 

We dominated most of the game save for a 15-20 minute period in the second half. 

To say otherwise is revisionism. 

For most of the game, we had much better possession.  Then DS made a few adjustments and we collapsed, they took over and took all the momentum.  The fact we scored a late goal was fortunate was a stroke of very good luck for us.

EVERY TIME SB faced DS (since Villa was involved in that equation) DS out thought us.  

[tomav84]

4 hours ago, Vive_La_Villa said:

Can’t wait to see his first lineup and formation. I also wonder how long it will take before somebody posts ‘if Bruce had done the same there would have been a meltdown on this site’.

Hopefully not the first game. 

probably will be the first game and they'll probably not be incorrect

[srsmithusa]

15 minutes ago, TRO said:

My personal stance is shelve expectations and just them get on with improving the product.

without the football on the pitch being right.....the league table is just a source of frustration.

as the gambler said.....count your money AFTER you have finished dealing.

I am heartened and encouraged by Deans attitude towards transfers.....It reminds me of the Ron Saunders era......His grounded approach will be invaluable.

I am just going to sit back and let the guy get on with it and refrain from jumping on him, too soon......all managers deserve time, he is no exception.

one thing good about Bruce being gone is that I get to agree with you more. 

 

[terrytini]

11 minutes ago, TRO said:

My personal stance is shelve expectations and just them get on with improving the product.

I think their energy level, will be a big improvement

without the football on the pitch being right.....the league table is just a source of frustration.

as the gambler said.....count your money AFTER you have finished dealing.

I am heartened and encouraged by Deans attitude towards transfers.....It reminds me of the Ron Saunders era......His grounded approach will be invaluable.

I am just going to sit back and let the guy get on with it and refrain from jumping on him, too soon......all managers deserve time, he is no exception.

All true, but equally all Managers have targets, set by their bosses, by themselves, and by the fans.

I see no reason to give him a free pass any more than anyone else....so, whilst I’m as much in the dark as anyone as to what he’s been told by the owners, I’ve formed my own view on what I think it is reasonable to expect....and I’d be amazed if most didn’t.

And I doubt very much the Owners have left things open......(although his Appointment suggests an acceptance it may not happen this year).

For me, two things.

From a performance side, a slow but steady improvement in how we play football, because currently it’s poor. But I’d expect a discernible change in approach sooner, if not immediately. By which I mean, we set out to Win, rather than to Not Lose.

From a Results side, I think it’s reasonable to expect a finish in the Play Off positions ( I mean , wasn’t one of the commonest complaints about Bruce that ‘anybody’ could achieve that with this squad ?..........not that ‘anybody’ could of course, but the point is still valid)"......such a finish requires 7 points every 4 games, (2 Wins and a Draw, and 1 Defeat). That’s perfectly reasonable as a target and an expectation, in my view.

[flashingqwerty]

On 11/10/2018 at 10:50, KHV said:

Pitrach hasn't been relevant in football for years. The last thing of any note he did was when he tried to kick de Gea out of Madrid in 2009 and made him train on his own. Hopefully Pitrach isn't going to be responsible for solving our GK crisis

Never said anything about gks, but the club stayement specificly states he will be responsible for implenting a style from academy up, so if you think he isnt relevant, then prepare to be disappointed.

 

Just to clarify i am not saying he is relevant - i honestly know nothing about him, but the post is about the role he is to play, and in that respect, the club has spoken.

Edited October 12, 2018 by flashingqwerty

[flashingqwerty]

2 hours ago, bannedfromHandV said:

Disagree, you can lose a game and still be the better team, the fact we had to score a late goal is irrelevant. 

We dominated most of the game save for a 15-20 minute period in the second half. 

To say otherwise is revisionism. 

Depends on your definition of dominance i guess: if you use posession, then yes villa dominated. If you use something more real, like territory that posession was in and chances created, then brentford did.

[tomav84]

7 minutes ago, terrytini said:

All true, but equally all Managers have targets, set by their bosses, by themselves, and by the fans.

I see no reason to give him a free pass any more than anyone else....so, whilst I’m as much in the dark as anyone as to what he’s been told by the owners, I’ve formed my own view on what I think it is reasonable to expect....and I’d be amazed if most didn’t.

And I doubt very much the Owners have left things open......(although his Appointment suggests an acceptance it may not happen this year).

For me, two things.

From a performance side, a slow but steady improvement in how we play football, because currently it’s poor. But I’d expect a discernible change in approach sooner, if not immediately. By which I mean, we set out to Win, rather than to Not Lose.

From a Results side, I think it’s reasonable to expect a finish in the Play Off positions ( I mean , wasn’t one of the commonest complaints about Bruce that ‘anybody’ could achieve that with this squad ?..........not that ‘anybody’ could of course, but the point is still valid)"......such a finish requires 7 points every 4 games, (2 Wins and a Draw, and 1 Defeat). That’s perfectly reasonable as a target and an expectation, in my view.

he doesn't deserve a free pass i agree, but i don't think he should be labelled a failure if he doesn't qualify for the playoffs. those saying anybody could achieve that with this squad are wrong in my view (obviously not "anybody", lets amend that to "any manager") - i dont see how with such a threadbare defense anyone could expect that. the point highlighted is the key...we want to look forward to games again. some on here are disagreeing, but that brentford game this season was an absolute joy to watch and if we played like that in the subsequent games i believe bruce would still have his job now

[praisedmambo]

1 hour ago, bannedfromHandV said:

You don't remember the goals but you know they were individual brilliance? 

The late equaliser was a header from about 12 yards out, a good header it was, individual brilliance it was not. I'm struggling to remember the other goal to be fair.....

Yep. Not sure what's so surprising about that.

I rewatched most of the highlights – we did have some half chances and most of them came from Brentford giving the ball away. Grealish seemed to have so much space in that game.

But Kodjia's goals – they were individual bits of brilliance. The first one especially. The second one was a class header I'm sure a lot of people would have messed up but still, it was a cross then header, nothing mind-blowing. The first though came from Kodjia making a fool of their right back and was all of his making.

[bannedfromHandV]

19 minutes ago, flashingqwerty said:

Depends on your definition of dominance i guess: if you use posession, then yes villa dominated. If you use something more real, like territory that posession was in and chances created, then brentford did.

I'm not working off stats, I'm working off what I witnessed with my own two eyes.

If we'd got nothing from that game it would have been a travesty.

[bannedfromHandV]

5 minutes ago, praisedmambo said:

Yep. Not sure what's so surprising about that.

I rewatched most of the highlights – we did have some half chances and most of them came from Brentford giving the ball away. Grealish seemed to have so much space in that game.

But Kodjia's goals – they were individual bits of brilliance. The first one especially. The second one was a class header I'm sure a lot of people would have messed up but still, it was a cross then header, nothing mind-blowing. The first though came from Kodjia making a fool of their right back and was all of his making.

I thought that was the one but didn't know if I was confusing it with what I think was a similar goal he scored against Preston?

 

[KHV]

16 hours ago, Farlz said:

Last time I was this pleased for a managerial appointment was probably Remi Garde, hope it goes better than that one

You were pleased with Remi Garde