Dean Smith

[TRO]

43 minutes ago, terrytini said:

Me too.

Id be genuinely sad if we don’t go up, not for the Premier League, but losing Axel, Tammy, Jack, there genuinely feels like such a great vibe.  Having said that, that vibe didn’t happen by accident, so I’m confident if we don’t go up we will retain it, and prosper next season.

 

I too will be disappointed.....But Terry , football can be cruel.....I do think we have our best chance NOW.

However, should we fail......I think we will go up automatically next season, but of course, that too is not guaranteed....We have to be strong in every department to do that and have back up.

I see certain types of players in the Norwich team, that I think would make us more rounded, (not talking about our best players).....I think we need that Next season.....Hernandez and their 2 full backs and we would fly up.

Edited May 18, 2019 by TRO

[foreveryoung]

21 minutes ago, TRO said:

I too will be disappointed.....But Terry , football can be cruel.....I do think we have our best chance NOW.

However, should we fail......I think we will go up automatically next season, but of course, that too is not guaranteed....We have to be strong in every department to do that and have back up.

I see certain types of players in the Norwich team, that I think would make us more rounded, (not talking about our best players).....I think we need that Next season.....Hernandez and their 2 full backs and we would fly up.

This is one of the biggest problems of not going up. We have to start again. I'm thinking Grealish, Mings, Tuazabe, McGinn just to start, will be gone. If we could keep them, another season in the Championship would be fantastic, probable auto Promotion. 

[DaveAV1]

28 minutes ago, Dave-R said:

Albion at certain points did look like they wanted it more

I don’t think that’s necessarily true. They were well organised to carry out their game plan, which was very simple, sit deep, defend in numbers and hope for a mistake. They got their wish, particularly in the first leg, which made their plan even more attractive to them. It’s always easier to look committed when defending than when trying to be creative and break teams down. Even at home and with the scores over both legs level they still didn’t attack us, except on the break. I thought once down to 10 men they might have a go for the last 10 mins to avoid playing another 30 mins a man down, but they defended even deeper  

I’m not knocking The Albion as the plan almost worked, but I think we were as committed as them but perhaps it didn’t always come across. We were certainly the only team committed to playing with any attacking intent. I also think if the ref had done his job properly, a lot of Albion’s  “commitment”, would have been rewarded with cards, which would have ended in them being reduced to 10 men earlier or us being fouled less and creating more from open play. 

[DaveAV1]

3 minutes ago, foreveryoung said:

This is one of the biggest problems of not going up. We have to start again. I'm thinking Grealish, Mings, Tuazabe, McGinn just to start, will be gone. If we could keep them, another season in the Championship would be fantastic, probable auto Promotion. 

Whilst I think you’re probably right about the first three, I think McGinn will stay even if we’re still in the Championship. The way he spoke immediately after the penalty shootout came across as if he’d been here for years and wants to be for years to come. I think the club has got inside him, just as it has for many players over the years. And why wouldn’t it? It’s the greatest club the world has ever seen. 

[terrytini]

We won’t lose either of the Mcginns if we go up. No need, and a long contract, they are staying.

[Vive_La_Villa]

2 hours ago, terrytini said:

We won’t lose either of the Mcginns if we go up. No need, and a long contract, they are staying.

I agree. I don’t know what the money situation is but I think we will sign Hause, El Ghazi and maybe Mings too. 

[Neilbacondavies]

Personally when we lost at home to West Brom in the league a few months back I really started to wonder what Dean smith was doing. Then we go in a 10 game winning streak, I think we will go up I think it’ll be to much for derby & it may effect players, the atmosphere don’t forget villa were here last time round so Wembley is no stranger to us plus we got unfinished business here, I live in South Wales and I went and watched villa against Cardiff new years day 2 seasons ago, we only had fans in the one corner of Cardiff city ground and they were twice as loud as Cardiff supporters, I had free tickets to go I took my son and the Cardiff fans could not believe how loud the villa supports were lol. Gave me goose bumps literally ! So imagine what 38000 fans will sound like when I think they only had around 3500 fans down Cardiff !

Edited May 18, 2019 by Neilbacondavies

[Mazrim]

Good points but perhaps 3 or 4 players who started last years final will start this one. The fact Jack did is crucial though I think. He will lead by example and there's experience of getting through finals in the backroom team with Terry. 

[KentVillan]

2 hours ago, terrytini said:

Yes, but I began by being happy to spend upwards of £60m for the loan players we have..( with of course wages on top) ...so much more than that we would be into the £100m plus bracket.....that’s pushing it for Year 1 !

Sure, and I'm not disagreeing with the basic sentiment that we should be financially prudent. My point was that it's possible to spend "big" in a sensible way. The £69m that Wolves supposedly spent was much more sensibly invested than the £67m that Brighton did.

I think the unfashionable positions - full back, keeper, defensive mid - are where we can afford to fork out a bit of cash on proven talent, because the premium is lower for those positions, and they will significantly improve our chances of nicking points and hanging on to leads.

Wolves apparently picked up Joao Moutinho for around £5m, and Rui Patricio for £16m. Those are the kinds of transfer I'm thinking - players with real class, who have perhaps dropped a level with age, but can solidify the team while you develop your youth (exactly what Whelan did for us this year, to be honest). If they're good pros and enjoying their football, you can still get several years out of them.

 

[Dave-R]

5 hours ago, Jareth said:

Early days but could be our own Ferguson

I think Smith could certainly go far in football, whether we turn into a man Utd of old and have our very own version of Fergie would be fantastic. I do think Smith is very much like Fergie, he has a very smart mind and he's certainly not afraid to whip his players if they need sorting out. It's also worth saying that Smith has that exciting tone in him, his interviews are fantastic to listen to and he's not at all boring in any sense.

While some of Smith's tactical decisions have been questioned by some, I think the play off final is going to show just how good a mind Smith truly has. What we do have to remember though is Smith makes the best decisions based on what he has available to him, at times what he has available with what he's had no choice to use has been nothing short of remarkable decision making at times. I do think next season be it in the premier or championship, we will see the best of Dean Smith.

Smith and co will take us back to the premier thia final or next season..

[DaveAV1]

6 hours ago, Jareth said:

Early days but could be our own Ferguson

As long as it’s Alex and not Darren. 

[AvfcRigo82]

1 hour ago, DaveAV1 said:

As long as it’s Alex and not Darren. 

Could be Duncan?

[A'Villan]

So possibly the most inexperienced man in dealing with a fixture of this significance will be Dean Smith on Monday.

Perhaps slightly unexpectedly, that's to our favour, and no hindrance to our chances of gaining promotion in my mind.

His position and status in world football has been humble up until now, despite earning his way into one of the better divisions in the world.

The modesty in which he has operated with has allowed him to focus on what's important, the fundamentals. Work ethic, detailed knowledge and philosophy.

Smith envisions an approach that is applicable to any footballing side. Age, gender and level are insignificant. Ego is the only obstacle in this way of playing.

We see Mourinho talk about football heritage and whether or not his players have the capacity to perform for United.

Smith doesn't know any better than the budget at Brentford and Walsall. Smith has to develop his players to the standards he expects. It's on him if it doesn't come to.

The unassuming nature of Smith's football life has allowed him to concentrate on what's essential to his role, to coach football, in the game we all love.

That's how it appears to me.

[A'Villan]

16 hours ago, Vive_La_Villa said:

Maybe we will be looking for value in Europe and Spain in particular.  So much talent around and they get paid peanuts compared to this country.

There's talent everywhere.

El Ghazi averaged double digits in goals over two seasons with Ajax. Look at them at the moment. Champions League semi's holding their own.

Last I checked Marko Marin was available for less than a million pounds!

[New_Hope]

I'm not worried at all regarding DS's supposed lack of experience for a big game.  I'd rather take the leadership experience of John Terry (skipper in these big games for Chelsea) than that of Lampard. JT will be such a huge factor in his support for DS at Wembley.  Who has Lampard got to call upon?

[A'Villan]

2 hours ago, New_Hope said:

I'm not worried at all regarding DS's supposed lack of experience for a big game.  I'd rather take the leadership experience of John Terry (skipper in these big games for Chelsea) than that of Lampard. JT will be such a huge factor in his support for DS at Wembley.  Who has Lampard got to call upon?

Lampard was captain for their 2012 Champions League victory, and is quite notably more accomplished in regards to playing honours and records than Terry.

But I see where you are coming from and agree. My post wasn't to undermine the ability of Dean Smith to perform on the biggest stage of his career, rather the opposite.

[NIVillan]

On 18/05/2019 at 15:32, Dave-R said:

I did say that I didn't like our finishing.

To say we didn't play well I think is largely denying the truth, that we did play good enough to win the semi's. We had many aspect of our game that we clearly needed to adjust and sort out yes, but there were many bits of both our legs where we couldn't be faulted.

I think some are using the blunders, the finishing rate of us too make it sound like we were rubbish, in what was a very desperate and ambitious game anyway Albion at certain points did look like they wanted it more. I still don't think we got out played, Albion capitalised on our mistakes, they offered nothing else and sat back for the entirety of the game. If we had not of made the mistakes we had, Albion would of looked utter rubbish given the possession and pass rate we had to them.

In times of ten man teams where one is sent off, it has been more than noted that ten man teams can often be the dominator in games like this, that wasn't the case and we shut them down completely for fourty mins of play.

I don't think we played shite,  I just think we needed to be more on point, we needed to shoot corners properly and shoot further out than trying to get inside there defence. When a team like Albs plays that defensively, it's highly unlikely they are going to be breached, so the shots must fly from outside the box.

I thought we looked a bit disjointed at times and played with fear.  One of the good apsects of the run is the playing without fear and prepared to try things.  Albions goal in the first leg came from their striker prepared to chase down lost causes, no one expected Whelan to make a howler but he was in the right place at the right time.

Against Albion I think we were a little scared to lose and played within ourselves.

But also throw in that it was a local Derby the games are often not pretty and the best time doesnt always win.

[TRO]

On 18/05/2019 at 15:49, Vive_La_Villa said:

Maybe we will be looking for value in Europe and Spain in particular.  So much talent around and they get paid peanuts compared to this country.

The interesting thing about Spain,Portugal etc....Generally speaking they have better ball control, but that needs to be harnessed to durability and resilience......just hope we can find a few.

However, my suspicion is team spirit is also a major consideration, so this needs to be handled with care.

[TRO]

23 hours ago, NIVillan said:

I thought we looked a bit disjointed at times and played with fear.  One of the good apsects of the run is the playing without fear and prepared to try things.  Albions goal in the first leg came from their striker prepared to chase down lost causes, no one expected Whelan to make a howler but he was in the right place at the right time.

Against Albion I think we were a little scared to lose and played within ourselves.

But also throw in that it was a local Derby the games are often not pretty and the best time doesnt always win.

while I can't take to the little ****......I was mightily impressed with their closing down, it does usually reap rewards.....just that they turned it in to " Freddie Kruger" football.

[Tomaszk]

He's just the coolest bugger going. Don't think you'll need to be hyped up for this match if you're a player. What you will need is clear instructions and calm head at the helm.

Edited May 23, 2019 by Tomaszk