Dean Smith

[villianusa]

The start of Villa's lack of performance starts in the WBA game and it's not just the loss of Grealish, even though that is a big part. 

1. The team starts to click in the Bolton game after a number of games playing 4411 with the core of the squad playing in most of the previous games. We go on to beat Derby and Boro, with the exciting 5-5 draw with Forest. In the Albion game, we switch to a 433 and lost Grealish in the process. In the next couple of games he switches to a 4141, and consistently since then, we have played 433 for most of our games. This system does not suit the players we have.

2. Grealish was injured on the 7th of December, and Smith had 6 weeks to replace him either from within the club or getting someone in to replace him. He failed to do so.

3. Playing Hourihane in the advanced role does not work. He is much more effective come from a deeper position and it has destroyed his confidence. He is now the new scapegoat.

4. The only player within the club that was somewhat similar to Grealish is O'Hare and he sent him out on loan. He should have kept him with the squad and allowed him to grow in the number 10 role.

5. Conceding as many goals as we were made Smith work on the defensive side of things. We are playing deeper and are less creative in possession of the ball as it seems people are afraid to get forward in support. To watch us now, you would think we were still playing under Bruce. We are playing more longer passes and Tammy is isolated as many players are on the field.

6. Early on in his 20 games, he would make substitutes to help us win games, I believe after the Forest game, a lot of his substitutions are making sure we don't lose. 

7. Smith has stuck too long with a system that isn't working and he seems to stubborn to change. He was a breath of fresh air when he came to the club, now he seems to blame others for us not winning games.

I still think he can build something at the club, but he has blown a massive chance to get into the playoffs and we need to hold him accountable.

I would like to see him go back to what was working and playing the team below against Stoke.

[briny_ear]

2 hours ago, Keyblade said:

Failures to do what exactly?

He's been in charge 20 games. What was the 20 game remit that he's failed to achieve?

It was more the admission that his players aren’t playing how he wants them to. What bigger failure could there be for a manager or coach or whatever role he calls it?

[Keyblade]

It seems the fans and the club are not in the same page. The fans are still in "get promoted as fast as possible at any cost" mode, whereas the club have moved past that (indicated by sacking the get promoted fast by any means guy), and are implementing a long term approach.

Here are Smith's full quotes. The part in bold is the pertinent part I want to highlight, but the rest is very important as well. This is much bigger than just Dean Smith or the manager. This is coming from the top. We are trying to build something that lasts, that isn't tied to a particular manager. We won't ever be left with a squad of 30 year old cloggers because they happened to favor a particular manager.

Dean Smith might not end up being the man to take us forward when it's all said and done, but 20 games and 1 January window is not even close to the time to make that call. And when it does come time to make that call, we won't have to uproot the entire club and start from scratch...there will be continuity. The fact that people can't see beyond this May and talks of the likes of Allardyce are disconcerting to say the least. We must be the least patient fans in the league.

Quote

“Anyone who watched Brentford play on Tuesday will know how I want my teams to play.”

“It’s always frustrating at any club if they’re not playing how you want them to.

“We’ve had spells when we’ve played really good football and times when we’ve had to sit back and defend.

“That depends on momentum swings at times in games and personnel.

“I think some of our better spells were with Jack Grealish in the team and Tuanzebe and Chester in the team.

“Squads evolve and change with injuries or with form.

“I think if people see how Brentford play they see how I want my team to play. We’ve seen spells of that but we need to get back to it.

“That team has been three years in the making.

“It’s very hard to all of a sudden turn something into a different way.

“Villa played in a certain way under Steve (Bruce) last season and it was successful.

“We all have different views otherwise it wouldn’t be a good game to watch if everyone plays the same every week.

“Football is about opinions and I’ve got mine on how it should be played. It will take time to do that.

“I was very fortunate that when I came here I had the qualities of Jack Grealish, who could slip into different systems straight away and did very well at it.

“Axel Tuanzebe used to play in that system before and was very good at it, too.

“We’ve had to tweak it a little bit because of loss of form and injuries and other factors, but the Brentford ‘way’ has been a model since I went there.

“I continued what was going on there.

“I look back on the team from Wednesday night and I signed every one of those players.

“They’re very good footballers.

Are there enough clubs with an ‘identity’?
“No, and I’ve spoken about this before.

“At some clubs there’s a change of manager and then it becomes a whole new philosophy.

“It might be the end of 21 players at a club and then the whole style of play starts again.

“Where as if you have a club philosophy, whether the manager changes or not, you employ a new manager who adheres to that.

 

Edited February 20, 2019 by Keyblade

[AvfcRigo82]

3 hours ago, Keyblade said:

You seem to be ignoring or forgetting his first 10 games when he had a fit squad to choose from. We played completely different football to anything we have seen since MON left.

It's not like we have NEVER performed under Smith. He's literally laying out in detail why it's worked for him in the early part of his tenure and why it isn't working like he wants it now. But instead of taking his word for it, he's wrong because OGS. Hmm, ok.

I am not forgetting anything but as rightly pointed out, when DS honeymoon period ended he should have adapted accordingly to what was available to him and adapt to the players ways of playing until he had a fit squad to revert back to playing his DS way like he did when he first arrived.

If you cannot adjust your formations and tactics to sort accordingly then it strikes me as a one directional and limited coach/manager.

[KMitch]

1 hour ago, AvfcRigo82 said:

I am not forgetting anything but as rightly pointed out, when DS honeymoon period ended he should have adapted accordingly to what was available to him and adapt to the players ways of playing until he had a fit squad to revert back to playing his DS way like he did when he first arrived.

If you cannot adjust your formations and tactics to sort accordingly then it strikes me as a one directional and limited coach/manager.

If he would have reverted back to Bruceball, he would have lost even more fans than he has from sticking to his guns.

[Dave-R]

12 hours ago, hippo said:

Eh ? are you saying we should start calling smith , Jovanic ?

why in the hope the players may listen to him ?.....its worth a try I suppose !

 

Could call him Smithanic..

[Jay.P.A]

10 hours ago, hippo said:

there are other factors....but the significant one is how many games he wins.

football is a simple game mate....you win, loose or draw...loose and draw to many and fans get jumpy. Win lots and youre a hero. pretty much how much its been in 45 years of watching villa.

The odd geezer tries to blag it by laying foundations, building an ethos, and getting an identity...but they usually dissapear in nothingness after a short while.

You can't win matches without building a foundation - you're contradicting yourself mate. 

Name all the best managers you can and list all their accomplishments - and then study their first seasons. Tell me you can't see their first seasons (apart from some exceptions) were generally average to poor. 

Takes time to build and actually put a stamp on teams. 

[Stevo985]

12 hours ago, romavillan said:

Apart from the best football I've seen us play in 20 years for a couple of months you mean?

Yes, I do mean.

That was fantastic for the handful of games it lasted. But we've played far more games at the standard we've seen since the new year than we have at that sort of standard.

I said at the time that you could put that football down to a bounce and it would be after christmas that Smith would really be tested. So far he is comfortably failing that test.

 

Surely you must see that the original point was that if we went on a 10 game winning streak it would give people reassurances that Smith can get us back to that kind of football? Whereas if we carry on like this people will be less assured that it can happen. If we were another year down the line and we were still shit would you still be saying "yeah but we played really good football for 2 months so Smith can do it again"?

 

Tim Sherwood had us playing great football for a few games. It can happen when a new manager takes over from a manager who has lost his way. But there's no way Sherwood would have got us back to anywhere near that standard of football because he was absolutely **** terrible (I'm not for one second saying the circumstances are the same, just using it as an example)

And whilst I remain optimistic that we have a bright future under Smith, if we don't improve between here and the end of the season, I personally will be worried that the great football we saw for a handful of games was the exception rather than the rule.

Edited February 20, 2019 by Stevo985

[hippo]

5 minutes ago, Jay.P.A said:

You can't win matches without building a foundation - you're contradicting yourself mate. 

Name all the best managers you can and list all their accomplishments - and then study their first seasons. Tell me you can't see their first seasons (apart from some exceptions) were generally average to poor. 

Takes time to build and actually put a stamp on teams. 

Ultimately it comes down to winning matches - if he doesn't win enough he gets the push ....laying foundations won't cut it... 

[Dave-R]

2 minutes ago, Stevo985 said:

Yes, I do mean.

That was fantastic for the handful of games it lasted. We've played far more games at the standard we've seen since the new year than we have at that sort of standard.

I said at the time that you could put that football down to a bounce and it would be after christmas that Smith would really be tested. So far he is failing that test miserably.

 

Surely you must see that the original point was that if we went on a 10 game winning streak it would give people reassurances that Smith can get us back to that kind of football? Whereas if we carry on like this people will be less assured that it can happen.

 

Tim Sherwood had us playing great football for a few games. It can happen when a new manager takes over from a manager who has lost his way. But there's no way Sherwood would have got us back to anywhere near that standard of football.

And whilst I remain optimistic that we have a bright future under Smith, if we don't improve between here and the end of the season, I personally will be worried that the great football we saw for a handful of games was the exception rather than the rule.

No way was it the exception or it wouldn't of happened at all in the first place. It's all about have the right individuals in the right positions to carry that off. Whether we've been rocked by injurys, players not up to the task, players to slow, not fit or inaccurate on the pass or just not having decent wingman, so on, seems to me like there's always some reason as to why that style isn't happening right now.

[Jay.P.A]

3 minutes ago, hippo said:

Ultimately it comes down to winning matches - if he doesn't win enough he gets the push ....laying foundations won't cut it... 

To you - as a fan.

Not the powers at the club. if they're serious about the future then they're not going to pull the trigger over a couple of bad results in a massive transitional period. We're probably not going to make the play-off and we're safe from relegation, so who knows what the owner's requirements are remits are. 

Again, we tried to 'buy'  the league and failed even though we 'won matches'. Building a sustainable model is much more important for us as a club rather then a few wins in a season where we're not going to do anything.

[Stevo985]

4 minutes ago, Dave-R said:

No way was it the exception or it wouldn't of happened at all in the first place. It's all about have the right individuals in the right positions to carry that off. Whether we've been rocked by injurys, players not up to the task, players to slow, not fit or inaccurate on the pass or just not having decent wingman, so on, seems to me like there's always some reason as to why that style isn't happening right now.

Sorry but it doesn't work like that.

[hippo]

5 minutes ago, Jay.P.A said:

To you - as a fan.

Not the powers at the club. if they're serious about the future then they're not going to pull the trigger over a couple of bad results in a massive transitional period. We're probably not going to make the play-off and we're safe from relegation, so who knows what the owner's requirements are remits are. 

Again, we tried to 'buy'  the league and failed even though we 'won matches'. Building a sustainable model is much more important for us as a club rather then a few wins in a season where we're not going to do anything.

Wait and see - keeps loosing games he will get the push - no question - I am sure even he knows that.

[Herman22]

Looking at the re-build that is going to need to happen this year I would give DS all of next season to get things right. He has inherited an ageing squad who, IMO, cannot play the type of football he wants. I think the signing of the RB from France is a sign of things to come. 

Between contracts expiring and sales we could see 12-15 players leave in the summer. We should look to build the squad around a core of players we have. For me, that should be Kalanic, Chester, McGinn. If you can add Mings to that, happy days. I'd love for Jack to stay but I don't see that happening. DS will need his transfer fee to fund the rebuild with no more parachute payments coming. 

[Demitri_C]

35 minutes ago, Dave-R said:

No way was it the exception or it wouldn't of happened at all in the first place. It's all about have the right individuals in the right positions to carry that off. Whether we've been rocked by injurys, players not up to the task, players to slow, not fit or inaccurate on the pass or just not having decent wingman, so on, seems to me like there's always some reason as to why that style isn't happening right now.

Hmm Bruce pulled out some of those though. 4-1 wolves anyone? That's better than any of the results Smith has had so far. 

[Jay.P.A]

3 minutes ago, Demitri_C said:

Hmm Bruce pulled out some of those though. 4-1 wolves anyone? That's better than any of the results Smith has had so far. 

The performance against Derby and Boro were better IMO. They were 'complete performances'. 

They were all fantastic results, but the plaudits we recieved from the pundits also showed how good the performances were under Smith. 

We tend to go to shit after good performances though  Went to shit after the Wolves game under Bruce, and under Smith although we actually done better from that tough fixture list during Xmas our results turned in Jan. 

[tomav84]

16 hours ago, screwdriver said:

If we don't qualify for the play offs. and I mean qualify not necessarily win. then we should bin this clown the day after the season is over.

A squad with the talent we have on paper should easily do it. 3rd best squad after stoke and baggies. should be 10 points clear at the top really as it's the worst championship for years.

 

Personally I would have sacked him saturday night. there was an opportunity to send shockwaves through the whole footballing world by appointing Jose Mourinho or Arsene Wenger.

You would have sell outs every game and the players, even half arsed guys like Hourihane would run through brick walls for blokes of that calibre.

 

The situation is now gates will gradually fall to 25k, people won't come to watch a team who can't be arsed managed by a bloke who looks like he is going to end up like gerrard houllier.

many season ticket holders in my block didn't bother coming on saturday. Whats the point everyone knew what would happen? see my post in the west brom pre match thread I called it exactly right. I went in the end,  but the only enjoyment I got was seeing the fat guy win the half time kick it into the big circle game. (see the pre match thread.) just call me nostradamus

 

this cheered me right up...thanks!

[JAMAICAN-VILLAN]

12 hours ago, TRO said:

I am tired of listening to these manager philosophies....what's Darren Moores philosophy?.....what's Chris Wilders Philosophy?....What's  Lee Johnsons Philosophies.

They just build balanced teams......players who can defend and players who can attack.

They all work their nuts off and don't get physically out played.

Its so damn obvious its untrue.......we are a million miles away from anything that resembles balanced.

 

 

Isn;t this the key?

2 of those have been "building" for at least 2 seasons and one of those has half a Premier League squad.

Has Smith had the chance to "build" anything?

[flashingqwerty]

26 minutes ago, Demitri_C said:

Hmm Bruce pulled out some of those though. 4-1 wolves anyone? That's better than any of the results Smith has had so far. 

The thing for me is that DS put a string of 5 or 6 games together where we looked like a good team.

I cant recall that many games in SBs tenure where i felt we played well. - wolves, ... Erm... Im struggling for more...

[Demitri_C]

27 minutes ago, Jay.P.A said:

The performance against Derby and Boro were better IMO. They were 'complete performances'. 

They were all fantastic results, but the plaudits we recieved from the pundits also showed how good the performances were under Smith. 

We tend to go to shit after good performances though  Went to shit after the Wolves game under Bruce, and under Smith although we actually done better from that tough fixture list during Xmas our results turned in Jan. 

Maybe away performance perhaps but the wolves result was better than any result since we got relegated. 

But since those wins he has flopped miserably. Bruce knew how to bounce back Smith ha a failed at doing that so far which is worrying to me with or without a bad squad.