Popular Post Delphinho123 Posted February 9, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted February 9, 2019 A week in the life of a villatalker. Monday - ‘Taylor and Hutton are atrocious, worst fullbacks in the division’ Tuesday - ‘Kodjia is awful, hasn’t been the same since his injury’ Wednesday - ‘Our midfield is abysmal. Whelan and Jedinak should never play for us again, they’re finished’ Thursday - ‘Hourihane is dreadful’ Friday - ‘Our wingers are awful, Adomah and El Ghazi are so inconsistent’ Saturday - ‘Why are we losing, we have the best squad in the division, Smith out’ 12 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaChris Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 12 minutes ago, av1 said: The selection of Kodjia and Jedinak confused me today if I'm honest. Sheffield United play quick attacking football and play with 2 wingbacks that play high up the pitch, so starting with Jedinak who can barely move and winger that isn't going to track back is a strange choice. I think Jedinak started due to Sheffield having some big units at the back so DS was probably looking at set pieces. We saw from the early corners the issues they caused. Obviously wrong move due to Jedi being even worse passing the ball than usual but could understand Smith's logic although after that Jedinak isn't starting another game this season. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinker Posted February 9, 2019 VT Supporter Share Posted February 9, 2019 His view of the game is more of a worry , he doesn't seem to think we are playing badly . Add that to the fact he hasn't changed the dynamics of the team and its a worry. We need more hungry players on the pitch, Green, Davies , Lansbury . And maybe switch the midfield around . MC Ginn could sit deeper and Hourihane closer to strikers, he has a habit of scoring goals . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 Something like 2 wins in 12 ... a lot of managers would be close to the sack for that return few weeks back we were bossing the baggies and looked one of the best teams in the league ... it seems to have taken an injury to Grealish to turn us into one of the worst teams in the league Smith has to take a lot of blame for this , his selections his (lack of ) tactics are worrying , he’s got the rest of the season to see if he can get some fight out of players that seem to have zero of it ... a respectable finish to the season and then he gets a crack with the summer window ... a roll over and have our tummy’s tickled end of season and I’d be picking up the phone and calling David Wagner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuartc445 Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 (edited) 15 hours ago, gaffer85 said: I don't see your point if your going to compare the 2 managers I think you have to compare the 2 first seasons as manager of the club and personally i think that Smith is slightly doing better than Bruce was at this stage of their aston villa tenure I can't understand how Bruce was given so much time yet people are starting to question Smith already He literally had one window and that's not even the good one Let's get behind what he is doing and hopefully he brings back to where we belong Bruce got time because he came into a team that was in free fall and pretty much stabilised us immediately which brought him time. Whereas Smith came in and had a couple of good results but almost immediately after those restaurants the performances have gone bad and we now hardly win games. Whilst I remain fair and will give Smith the same time as Bruce because I am not a hypocite, but Smith is making it difficult. Today was a great come back but all we did was save face and for 82 mins it was as bad a performance as the Wigan match and Sheffield United were well worth being 3:0 up. It also has to be said where was that fight for 82 minutes. Edited February 9, 2019 by Stuartc445 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoony Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 (edited) I’m very worried. Going 3-0 down at home is not ok. We were very, very lucky to get anything from that. We ship goals at a rate I don’t think I have ever seen before, it’s quite incredible. This really needs to be sorted out. We can’t keep ending up in high scoring draws. Edited February 9, 2019 by Spoony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post KentVillan Posted February 9, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted February 9, 2019 1 hour ago, LakotaDakota said: he has been here for 121 days, pretty much 1/3 of a full calendar year. As a completely meaningless comparison Solskjaer has been at united 51 days.... We employed Steve Bruce for 721 days, Smith has been in charge for 16.8% of that time already. If, As many wanted we had sacked Bruce after the play-off final that would have been 521 days and Smith would be 23.2% of the way into that already. The clock is ticking... Jurgen Klopp arrived at Liverpool on 8th October 2015. Dean Smith arrived at Villa on 10th October 2018. Let's compare their performance after 19 league games (the total number Smith has managed us in so far): Dean Smith after 19 league games: W7 D8 L4 Pts 29 Jurgen Klopp after 19 league games: W8 D5 L6 Pts 29 Klopp's Liverpool finished in 8th, behind West Ham and Southampton. That's what happens when a manager is trying to change a team's system and rebuild a squad. And his predecessor was a much more successful manager than Steve Bruce! You can't start judging any manager until he has had at least one pre-season to communicate his philosophy to the players, and a summer transfer window to tailor the squad to his system. I see a lot of similar accusations levelled at Smith that were aimed at Klopp: "Klopp can't coach a defence" - now has the best defence in the Premier League "Why is Klopp playing a striker on the wing?" - because he wanted to embed the system, and a front 3 is his main system... nobody complaining now Lack of quality and tenacity in the middle of the park - sorted over several transfer windows at great expense Poor goalkeeper - took Klopp two attempts to get this right. Wasn't fixed overnight. I'm not saying for a moment that Dean Smith is at Klopp's level, but in Championship terms, possibly he is, i.e. he could well be a Championship-winning manager. He talks a lot of sense in interviews, comes across as intelligent and popular with the players, and most of his decisions make sense. We don't know what's happening on the training ground, but the players seem to like him, even if we're a bit slow out of the blocks. The poor starts are surely down to instability in the lineup - but most of the instability in the lineup has been forced on him by injuries, transfers, and the need to fix glaring weaknesses. Just give him a chance, please. 12 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briny_ear Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, MaVilla said: I would just love to know what is going on behind the scenes, i cant beleive that DS isnt trying to get them playing proper football, i can only assume: 1) DS has realised they literally arent capable of it (without Grealish in the side), and is trying to play a way that suits them - not sure that it thought as they look consistently terrible since Grealish got injured - if they are this bad playing the way they are, why arent they just "trying" to play proper football?? 2) DS is trying to get them to play proper football but they arent listening, arent capable, dont care as they know they are leaving in the summer, or a mix of all of this? 3) Something else? The more i see Villa the more i think a good proportion of our players are just terrible, and we have the usually Villa problem of thinking our players are better than they are, i really dont know, i would really like to know whats going on, i mean......i do wonder if its a mix of point 1 & 2, and there is also something im missing in numerous other points? The last 13 minutes of play make me think 3). Seemed like after Mings’s goal they collectively thought “**** how Smith is telling us to play, let’s go for this & win it”. Tbe only problem with this theory is that for 82 minutes it was impossible to discern any style of play that Smith was trying to impose. Edited February 9, 2019 by briny_ear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoony Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 4 minutes ago, briny_ear said: The last 13 minutes of play make me think 3). Seemed like after Mings’s goal they collectively thought “**** how Smith is telling us to play, let’s go for this & win it”. Tbe only problem with this theory is that for 82 minutes it was impossible to discern any style of play that Smith was trying to impose. I think there are certain players (main culprit: Hourihane) who disrupt any passing play so much that it kills basically any plan we had and we get immediately countered. There’s an element of laziness to our play which it is Smith’s job to resolve, but ultimately I think these players are just dire. I said elsewhere on the forum that this is the first time I’ve been to VP for a very long time and actually in person for me Hourihane was a very very real problem. He is somehow at the heart of everything we do when we have possession and he either plays a dreadful low cross straight to a defender with his left, totally overhits a long ball out of play or he plays a short ball so inaccurately that it’s immediately challenged and won by the opposition. We then lose possession and get countered with lazy players out of position. I think Hourihane is a bigger problem than people give him credit for... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyblade Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 2 hours ago, LakotaDakota said: he has been here for 121 days, pretty much 1/3 of a full calendar year. As a completely meaningless comparison Solskjaer has been at united 51 days.... We employed Steve Bruce for 721 days, Smith has been in charge for 16.8% of that time already. If, As many wanted we had sacked Bruce after the play-off final that would have been 521 days and Smith would be 23.2% of the way into that already. The clock is ticking... He's not even a quarter of the way to that time, 23.2% in fact by your calculation. You seem to be arguing against yourself. If nothing has changed by that time I'll want him out just like I did Bruce who I gave almost a full 2 seasons before I completely turned on him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 Maybe not a Smith defence but have we ever came back from 3 down in a game Great character and shows players playing for him 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave-R Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 (edited) 6 hours ago, Delphinho123 said: A week in the life of a villatalker. Monday - ‘Taylor and Hutton are atrocious, worst fullbacks in the division’ Tuesday - ‘Kodjia is awful, hasn’t been the same since his injury’ Wednesday - ‘Our midfield is abysmal. Whelan and Jedinak should never play for us again, they’re finished’ Thursday - ‘Hourihane is dreadful’ Friday - ‘Our wingers are awful, Adomah and El Ghazi are so inconsistent’ Saturday - ‘Why are we losing, we have the best squad in the division, Smith out’ Those players mentioned out, let Smith build his team after them the club must move on. What else does anyone else have to take about apart from the squad, where it can go from here. It seem like people on here have a go at people for talking club related stuff, think it's clever to be little others all because they don't agree with what they post or how there words are written. Everyone deserves a say about whatever the topic of talk is and I enjoy reading what most have to say when it is club related. All that crap to the side, I think Smith is on the rite track, I think the summer will be make or break for us. I think it's going to need the summer for new signings and until next season till we see who comes and who goes will really see us shine as a squad. I think we're done on promotion, the squads above us are to good at the moment. We have not the legs to get into play offs nor win the battles that will follow. We need to start making plans for next summer now not chasing an impossible promotion dream this season. We will only leave ourselves a bad taste if we fail promotion all because it looks like were so desperate and everyone will look at Smith and use him as a scaoegoat for blame. I think and I'm sure that we will be a very different side with a new sharp edge in if we bring in some more players and get rid of those who need to go. In fact I can't wait for this season to be done with, even if it's only to sort out those contracts for ins and outs as the club will be more settled then. Edited February 9, 2019 by Dave-R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Delphinho123 Posted February 9, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted February 9, 2019 5 hours ago, KentVillan said: Jurgen Klopp arrived at Liverpool on 8th October 2015. Dean Smith arrived at Villa on 10th October 2018. Let's compare their performance after 19 league games (the total number Smith has managed us in so far): Dean Smith after 19 league games: W7 D8 L4 Pts 29 Jurgen Klopp after 19 league games: W8 D5 L6 Pts 29 Klopp's Liverpool finished in 8th, behind West Ham and Southampton. That's what happens when a manager is trying to change a team's system and rebuild a squad. And his predecessor was a much more successful manager than Steve Bruce! You can't start judging any manager until he has had at least one pre-season to communicate his philosophy to the players, and a summer transfer window to tailor the squad to his system. I see a lot of similar accusations levelled at Smith that were aimed at Klopp: "Klopp can't coach a defence" - now has the best defence in the Premier League "Why is Klopp playing a striker on the wing?" - because he wanted to embed the system, and a front 3 is his main system... nobody complaining now Lack of quality and tenacity in the middle of the park - sorted over several transfer windows at great expense Poor goalkeeper - took Klopp two attempts to get this right. Wasn't fixed overnight. I'm not saying for a moment that Dean Smith is at Klopp's level, but in Championship terms, possibly he is, i.e. he could well be a Championship-winning manager. He talks a lot of sense in interviews, comes across as intelligent and popular with the players, and most of his decisions make sense. We don't know what's happening on the training ground, but the players seem to like him, even if we're a bit slow out of the blocks. The poor starts are surely down to instability in the lineup - but most of the instability in the lineup has been forced on him by injuries, transfers, and the need to fix glaring weaknesses. Just give him a chance, please. Top post. Unfortunately, there are a few clowns on here who think we have the best squad in the league and should be challenging for the title In reality of course, we have a hugely imbalanced squad with a handful of players who shouldn’t still be playing football at this level. Smith needs time to change this and im willing to give him it. He comes across extremely well in his interviews and I for one think he will be a success here. UTV. 6 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praisedmambo Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 5 hours ago, Stuartc445 said: Bruce got time because he came into a team that was in free fall and pretty much stabilised us immediately which brought him time. Whereas Smith came in and had a couple of good results but almost immediately after those restaurants the performances have gone bad and we now hardly win games. Whilst I remain fair and will give Smith the same time as Bruce because I am not a hypocite, but Smith is making it difficult. Today was a great come back but all we did was save face and for 82 mins it was as bad a performance as the Wigan match and Sheffield United were well worth being 3:0 up. It also has to be said where was that fight for 82 minutes. Doesn't that bit in bold also apply to Smith this season? Don't forget Bruce also had terrible runs in both seasons (if I'm remembering correctly). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave-R Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 5 minutes ago, Delphinho123 said: Top post. Unfortunately, there are a few clowns on here who think we have the best squad in the league and should be challenging for the title In reality of course, we have a hugely imbalanced squad with a handful of players who shouldn’t still be playing football at this level. Smith needs time to change this and im willing to give him it. He comes across extremely well in his interviews and I for one think he will be a success here. UTV. Its not just that they think about us having the best squad or should be challenging for the title. They also think that were privaliged, that the teams in this league are muck and that those teams can't out play a relegated premiere club. Smith does need time, when a player lime Mings joins us, tells me that something rite is going on, I would 've abit worried if the limes of Hogan, whelens, jedinak, Hutton, bree, Taylor, Elmo, kodjia were joining us. It seems our recent signings who have played, have played well. Something rite is going on and while ever it is and we are not losing every game, draws against the likes of Sheffield utd who have been said as the darkhorses for promotion time after time are welcomed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave-R Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 (edited) 21 hours ago, praisedmambo said: Doesn't that bit in bold also apply to Smith this season? Don't forget Bruce also had terrible runs in both seasons (if I'm remembering correctly). It does I think but then again were seeing the same inconsistency from a squad now who under two entirely different peopll. That manager and now coach have directed that said squad completely different and that squad has continuously messed up. They are players that week in week out obviously show us they cant get it right even when the hard work is done for them by those who stick out big time. Don't know why people are trying to derail Smith when reality is those players who are performing badly need to be gone. Wait and see anyway the owners won't be giving new contracts to those who have been failing, been constantly messing up, it's near enough time to say goodbye to many. Edited February 10, 2019 by Dave-R 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holteend1982 Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 6 hours ago, KentVillan said: Jurgen Klopp arrived at Liverpool on 8th October 2015. Dean Smith arrived at Villa on 10th October 2018. Let's compare their performance after 19 league games (the total number Smith has managed us in so far): Dean Smith after 19 league games: W7 D8 L4 Pts 29 Jurgen Klopp after 19 league games: W8 D5 L6 Pts 29 Klopp's Liverpool finished in 8th, behind West Ham and Southampton. That's what happens when a manager is trying to change a team's system and rebuild a squad. And his predecessor was a much more successful manager than Steve Bruce! You can't start judging any manager until he has had at least one pre-season to communicate his philosophy to the players, and a summer transfer window to tailor the squad to his system. I see a lot of similar accusations levelled at Smith that were aimed at Klopp: "Klopp can't coach a defence" - now has the best defence in the Premier League "Why is Klopp playing a striker on the wing?" - because he wanted to embed the system, and a front 3 is his main system... nobody complaining now Lack of quality and tenacity in the middle of the park - sorted over several transfer windows at great expense Poor goalkeeper - took Klopp two attempts to get this right. Wasn't fixed overnight. It's a nice comparison but it's completely different to our situation. Klopp turned up to Liverpool after coming from a dortmund team which he won trophies with, beating a bayern Munich side to the bundesliga and got to a champions league final. He was already a proven world class manager he was always going to be given time. Klopp also took Liverpool to a league Cup final and europa league final that year so it wasn't as bad as just finishing 8th sounds. Smith is completely unproven, all we know is his teams score a lot but also concede a lot which is now what's happening with us. Its okay saying he needs time but he still needs to prove he's worth giving time too. I'll save my proper judgement come the end of the season but at the minute im not impressed with what I've seen. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobzy Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 (edited) If I'm being critical of Smith and the team at the moment - and I think a couple have mentioned it on here, plus either Davies or Andrews last night - it's that the intensity and pressing energy seems to have disappeared from our play. The teams we've struggled against notably (Sheff Utd, Leeds, Norwich) have all had really busy central midfielders who press the ball and harass their opponents. When we were doing this early days under Smith, the football looked much better and we seemed to be a team heading in the right direction. For whatever reason, this has completely changed. I actually think we'll get back to that when Grealish is back. He and McGinn both like to be busy - it seems that only Whelan of the others is in the same mould, but he's unfortunately past it (to an extent). As much as our defence is leaking goals, I honestly believe that our biggest hindrance right now is our midfield. We get overrun way too easily. Edited February 9, 2019 by bobzy 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hippo Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 6 hours ago, KentVillan said: Jurgen Klopp arrived at Liverpool on 8th October 2015. Dean Smith arrived at Villa on 10th October 2018. Let's compare their performance after 19 league games (the total number Smith has managed us in so far): Dean Smith after 19 league games: W7 D8 L4 Pts 29 Jurgen Klopp after 19 league games: W8 D5 L6 Pts 29 Klopp's Liverpool finished in 8th, behind West Ham and Southampton. That's what happens when a manager is trying to change a team's system and rebuild a squad. And his predecessor was a much more successful manager than Steve Bruce! You can't start judging any manager until he has had at least one pre-season to communicate his philosophy to the players, and a summer transfer window to tailor the squad to his system. I see a lot of similar accusations levelled at Smith that were aimed at Klopp: "Klopp can't coach a defence" - now has the best defence in the Premier League "Why is Klopp playing a striker on the wing?" - because he wanted to embed the system, and a front 3 is his main system... nobody complaining now Lack of quality and tenacity in the middle of the park - sorted over several transfer windows at great expense Poor goalkeeper - took Klopp two attempts to get this right. Wasn't fixed overnight. I'm not saying for a moment that Dean Smith is at Klopp's level, but in Championship terms, possibly he is, i.e. he could well be a Championship-winning manager. He talks a lot of sense in interviews, comes across as intelligent and popular with the players, and most of his decisions make sense. We don't know what's happening on the training ground, but the players seem to like him, even if we're a bit slow out of the blocks. The poor starts are surely down to instability in the lineup - but most of the instability in the lineup has been forced on him by injuries, transfers, and the need to fix glaring weaknesses. Just give him a chance, please. I agree Smith isnt on Klopps level. I dont even think he is on Ian Holloways level. Klopp had previous before joining liverpool....Smith previous ........??? oh yeah he got Brentford 9ths.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eastie Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 (edited) 10 hours ago, Mantis said: I'm not happy with how we played for most of the game, or indeed how we've been playing for the past couple of months, but I still think he should be given time. I agree , I think we need to give him another window and at least 12 games into the new season and see if things improve , his failure to replace Taylor and Hutton last month disappoints me , yes I know we have a right back coming in next Summer but I’d rather stuck with Bree than Hutton . there are several players in last nights team who probably know they won’t be here next season and I question their attitude and motivation - green should start on Wednesday Edited February 9, 2019 by Eastie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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