The manager situation

[MWARLEY2]

22 minutes ago, hippo said:

I believe that is setting the bar to high.

We had almost nothing when promoted. We've spent £300m but then had to sell a once in a generation player.

Around mid table would be ok with me. Sadly even that is looking a tad optimistic.

Dean set the bar when he said we were 18 months away from being in a position to maybe keep Jack. The owners and ceo want improvement every season. Not an unfair expectation .

We can say that Jack leaving has really set us back but it happens with other teams. Palace have had to start from scratch bringing in something like 13 players. They have an identity with young skillful players that are exciting yet tactically aware. 

 

We bought in Buendia who Dean really really wanted , Bailey who Dean really really wanted  Tuanzebe who Dean obviously rates highly. Young was bought in as a utility player and to be an influence in the dressing room. Ings has been brought in . Yet he cannot make these expensive pretty much proven players into a team.  Its damning that he cannot do this and its not like we can see an identity in the making . Its turgid football with really bad stats backing it up. I just cannot see what he is trying to do at the moment. He has been given the ingredients for a good team and is churning out the equivalent of lamb stew. 

[VillaJay]

We need Dean to turn it around, he may prove to have brought us as far as he can at the end of the season, but I don't believe there is anyone of the level required who would want to come here right now that would give us an instant improvement in style of play and be a long term solution.

I really rate Potter as a coach, but again he's a manager that requires patience and would need a season or two to get the team playing his way.

Dean deserves another few games at a minimum and ideally we would re-evaluate at the end of the season.

[avfc1982am]

13 minutes ago, MWARLEY2 said:

Dean set the bar when he said we were 18 months away from being in a position to maybe keep Jack. The owners and ceo want improvement every season. Not an unfair expectation .

We can say that Jack leaving has really set us back but it happens with other teams. Palace have had to start from scratch bringing in something like 13 players. They have an identity with young skillful players that are exciting yet tactically aware. 

 

We bought in Buendia who Dean really really wanted , Bailey who Dean really really wanted  Tuanzebe who Dean obviously rates highly. Young was bought in as a utility player and to be an influence in the dressing room. Ings has been brought in . Yet he cannot make these expensive pretty much proven players into a team.  Its damning that he cannot do this and its not like we can see an identity in the making . Its turgid football with really bad stats backing it up. I just cannot see what he is trying to do at the moment. He has been given the ingredients for a good team and is churning out the equivalent of lamb stew. 

Obviously you've never had a proper lamb stew!!!

[VillaChris]

Simply think he's taken us as far as he can.

Would prefer a change in next week rather than Feb/March as I feel there's still plenty of potential with this squad so would rather not just waste a season dithering.

[VillaChris]

1 hour ago, hippo said:

Lack of viable options keeps him there for me !

 

I keep seeing this. However let's say we lose at Southampton and then don't beat Brighton, we're then likely bottom 3 ahead of games v Man. City, Liverpool and Leicester.

There is genuinely no manager around we could realistically appoint who could do better than that? And I'm not demanding someone who could come in and get us top 6 straight away as that's obviously unrealistic for now.

Way some are talking it's like we're actually 10th or 11th which makes the lack of viable options comment more relevant.

[Lichfield Dean]

I was hovering over keep for the foreseeable future, but in the end went for sack if we lose the next two. I don't want him gone, I want him to succeed, but we'd be talking six straight losses. I can't see how any manager can justify six Ls in a row, especially one that's been here for several seasons and has had tens of millions spent on attacking players. I'm sure NSWE wouldn't accept it.

As it goes, I don't think we'll be in that position. We can't lose six in a row surely...

[thabucks]

Football holds no place for sentimentality nowadays due to the finances involved. You cannot afford to waste time and money backing the wrong manager especially with the Toon x Saudi alliance and West Ham’s proposed takeover by a Czech billionaire. More and more clubs are vying for the same places, managers and players and each season pressure builds. 

Im not stamping my feet and demanding Smith is relieved of his duties. However, I do not see Smith as capable of taking us any further. Would love Smith and posters who stoically support Smith to call me out as I don’t want to be right. It is my opinion the man that is to come in, if he is not a clear step up in either calibre or potential then change for change sake is dodgy ground and I can see why some are wary of change. 
 

Something about Xabi Alonso for me makes sense, but then Thierry Henry was exciting at the time and he bombed at Monaco. So … 

[leemond2008]

Problem with saying "give him the next two or three games" is that you might as well give him the next 6 games, Southampton, Brighton and Palace, unless you are 100% confident that he will turn it around in them 3 games then get rid now, to get rid of him after them games means that a new manager would be getting a proper baptism of fire with the following 3 games being Man City, Leicester and Liverpool.

lose the next 3 (or lets just throw in a draw or two) and that is 7 on the bounce that we haven't won, then with the following 3 it is most likely that we could be 10 games without a win,  then it will be extremely difficult to come back from.

If the owners have a manager in mind then get him in ASAP, this feels very much like a stay of execution for Smith right now.

[meregreen]

Simply no room for sentimentality in this game I’m afraid. Results dictate any managers fate. Unless ours pick up, I think he’s gone. Given how poor our performances have been over a fairly long period, a few good ones interspersed amongst so many turgid ones.I think our owners are pretty close to calling time on Dean.

Edited November 2, 2021 by meregreen

[villalad21]

Depends what the alternatives are. 

If the alternatives are the likes of lampard and Eddie howe I'm Smith in. 

[Villaphan04]

A lot would depend on our target. Potter has been mentioned countless times, but why would he move jobs in the middle of the year? Believe that hasn't been done at the PL level since Pardew left Newcastle.

 

Unsure on Fonseca either.

 

For the moment, I'm still sticking with Smith i would say

[KentVillan]

Two good points: we probably won’t get Potter to jump ship mid season, and most of the players still back the manager, so there won’t be much of a honeymoon period for whoever comes in.

[AJ]

I love the guy, he has already done so much for the club during his time with us. 

Having said that, we really need to get out of this rut, and Southampton is the test to see if Smithy can do that. 

I am enjoying the stability he brings us, and I don't want to see us becoming a Watford. If he can't  turn this rut into a blip though, the powers above will probably have no choice. Even with a new manager, there is no guarantee of how their tenure will turn out. It will be a gamble.

The four losses, they were tough games, but the team could and should perform better than that, and his decision making, especially for the Wolves game, should have been better. 

It all just comes down to how much patience is left in the tank.

 

[Icarium]

While there can be no doubt that Smith was the right appointment when he first joined (look at where he has gotten us before this season). We have had essentially the same concerns about the squad for years now, weak in the middle, always getting exposed on the flanks, mentally brittle. 

He has turned it around before but something is different about this patch, he and the team just look lost and uninterested. Soon his post match comments will include the words 'we go against

If the board are looking at mew managers get one in during the break, give the new guy some time with the squad to work out what he wants in the Jan window. 

If we wait until after then it too late amd we may as well ride out the season with Smith.

New manager wise, I would like to see someone who can pull together under performing teams (e.g. ranieri at foxes). Rather than a 'top' manager used to working with unlimited budgets

[Villaphan04]

5 minutes ago, KentVillan said:

Two good points: we probably won’t get Potter to jump ship mid season, and most of the players still back the manager, so there won’t be much of a honeymoon period for whoever comes in.

Honestly just looked that up maybe 15 minutes ago... intriguing that it's that very rare to see the switch

[AvfcRigo82]

1 hour ago, The Fun Factory said:

Deserves a chance. I can't deny its a dodgy spell but he has got through these before ( mid table in the championship  before the 10 in  a row, 4-0 to Leicester pre lockdown) and I think he will do so again.

He had Jack Greadish coming back from injury which is why we went on the winning streak and the time after the Covid lockdown saved him.

He hasn't got that now and due to that I feel there is little chance he will turn this round this time.

 

[Chine]

People calling out for Potter ?? , yes doing well ATM but he is at a club that has nowhere near the expectation and pressure level that is a standard requirement in the top job at Aston Villa , DS has played a huge part in a fantastic turnaround of our rapidly sinking ship , yes we are on a poor run , yes the on the pitch bickering has sprung up but I am 100% sure that DS will straighten this out one way or another a bit of patience from his supposed loyal fanbase might help matters along , UTV ffs

[thabucks]

Be pondering the scarcity of realistic targets at this stage of the season … Lucien Farve ticks all the boxes. Shout if enough it may happen Xabi Alonso intrigues me … Leftfield Ralf Rangnick … But the stark reality is the options are riddled with names like Howe, Lampard, Terry, Fonseca …

Waiting to see how the next 6 games play out, and being a tad patient, looking at clubs battling to stay in the Champions League, and to battle for the top spots of their respective leagues etc so when the Merry go round starts up, we will have a wider choice … Jesse Marsh? Or insert eliminated team manager name here … 

Edited November 2, 2021 by thabucks

[VillaChris]

46 minutes ago, leemond2008 said:

Problem with saying "give him the next two or three games" is that you might as well give him the next 6 games, Southampton, Brighton and Palace, unless you are 100% confident that he will turn it around in them 3 games then get rid now, to get rid of him after them games means that a new manager would be getting a proper baptism of fire with the following 3 games being Man City, Leicester and Liverpool.

lose the next 3 (or lets just throw in a draw or two) and that is 7 on the bounce that we haven't won, then with the following 3 it is most likely that we could be 10 games without a win,  then it will be extremely difficult to come back from.

If the owners have a manager in mind then get him in ASAP, this feels very much like a stay of execution for Smith right now.

Really think it hinges on Friday. Lose that and he's done.

[blandy]

Ted Lasso. I saw a documentary on him, I mean it’s obvious… right?