Zatman Posted May 22, 2022 Share Posted May 22, 2022 3 hours ago, Mark Albrighton said: Yes, so you’re saying Smith took over an underperforming side and got them performing to their expected level. And Gerrard has arguably done similar. What’s different is you shrug off what Smith did (or attribute it to Grealish) but admire what Gerrard’s done. this is really bizarre. he was always against Smith from the start and since Gerrard came in he is the best manager since Mourinho at Porto He could be another son of Bruce we dont know 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted May 22, 2022 Share Posted May 22, 2022 1 hour ago, Mantis said: We sacked Smith because his form in 2021 as a whole was relegation form. If our form since Gerrard took over had been around there then you may have a point, but it hasn't been near. Is Gerrard 2022 form any better? Or do we just have yearly form for certain managers 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted May 22, 2022 Share Posted May 22, 2022 51 minutes ago, Tomaszk said: I think we'll have to disagree on that one. However, I wasn't against the dismissal of Smith though, getting a definite upgrade and moving forward as a club seemed sensible. We didn't get that. This is the problem on here, I didnt want Smith to get sacked but I understood it but we were expecting an improvement which I would accept Apparently people that think Gerrard is out of his depth is a pro Smith person who doesnt understand progress...bizarre Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrchnry Posted May 22, 2022 Share Posted May 22, 2022 Smith hit his ceiling and we all know it. That's why he's in the championship now. Gerrard is a gamble but he's our gamble so we should get behind him until he's at least had a proper transfer window and a pre season. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mantis Posted May 23, 2022 Share Posted May 23, 2022 20 minutes ago, Zatman said: Is Gerrard 2022 form any better? Or do we just have yearly form for certain managers No not really, and if we go into the next season with a similar kind of form as we did in 2021 then I'll probably want him gone too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLVillan Posted May 23, 2022 Share Posted May 23, 2022 My take on what I've seen so far under Gerrard is that when we're good, we're very good. Conversely, when we're bad it's painful to watch. If he can get the squad balance right and bring in 2/3 more high-quality players then the very good should start to outweigh the bad. I like the fact that he is clear in saying he knows what he wants from the team and won't be happy until he's turned around the mentality. I'm sure this squad have driven him bonkers at times since he's come in. I hope he's up to the job. I think he is, but only time will tell... 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abdulaziz1 Posted May 23, 2022 Share Posted May 23, 2022 2 hours ago, KMitch said: Sorry, but that's BS... Under Smith, we tried to play possession, 433 football and would oftentimes take points off of the top teams but would underperform against those around us in the table. The first 11 games of the season were a bit different with a very shortened preseason, significant injuries/fitness issues with a lot of key members of the first team, and the late loss of Grealish set us up for a rough start. Unfortunately for him, the board decided to go another direction and Smith was let go, but I'm sick and tired of the narrative that Smith couldn't do anything without Grealish. I just want a vision/style of play solidified this summer... Win, Lose, or Draw you knew exactly who and what we were under Smith. Too many times the players themselves looked lost under Gerrard this season. Too many times we chopped/changed the formation and style of play, and when we somehow stumbled upon one which seemed to be working, he ripped it up and went another way again. I'm praying this summer the squad gets on the same page and we don't capitulate this fall. The facts says that, the first year, we played our best run just before Grealish got injured, then we only win twice in 13 or 15 games. Then we went to the 10 wins runs once Grealish was back. That was in the Championship. Our first season in the PL Grealish only missed 2 games against Liverpool and Wolves. So can’t blame him on those. But last season we saw again, 3 wins in 12. The moment Grealish left, I knew that Smith won’t stay long. The main part of Grealish effect wasn’t last season, but the Championship. How did we play in between the two runs was the main indication about his effectiveness in DS team. We couldn’t have gambled more. Atleast with Gerrard we’re recruiting better which is a better thing. I don’t think Gerrard is doing worse than Smith anyway. We still can’t say that Gerrard is the best upgrade but we’re improving as a team. Our main setback was Grealish leaving. This season hopefully we’ll not panic and get it right. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KMitch Posted May 23, 2022 Share Posted May 23, 2022 5 minutes ago, abdulaziz1 said: The facts says that, the first year, we played our best run just before Grealish got injured, then we only win twice in 13 or 15 games. Then we went to the 10 wins runs once Grealish was back. That was in the Championship. Our first season in the PL Grealish only missed 2 games against Liverpool and Wolves. So can’t blame him on those. But last season we saw again, 3 wins in 12. The moment Grealish left, I knew that Smith won’t stay long. The main part of Grealish effect wasn’t last season, but the Championship. How did we play in between the two runs was the main indication about his effectiveness in DS team. We couldn’t have gambled more. Atleast with Gerrard we’re recruiting better which is a better thing. I don’t think Gerrard is doing worse than Smith anyway. We still can’t say that Gerrard is the best upgrade but we’re improving as a team. Our main setback was Grealish leaving. This season hopefully we’ll not panic and get it right. The entire team was built around Grealish... Of course we would struggle without him, as would any team with a genuine world class player missing from their lineup. The point of bringing in Buendia & Bailey this summer was to give us actual quality options to not have to rely on Grealish alone when he hits his yearly injury and misses ~10 games. Gerrard actually had a fully fit Buendia, Bailey, AND Coutinho/Digne and struggled to get the team playing consistent enough, whereas Smith had to play 3 at the back and stick El Lazy & Young up top, because everyone else was injured. Anyway, Smith is gone & Gerrard is here. I don't see any improvement in play so far under Gerrard on the pitch, but there has been a significant upgrade on recruitment so far, so maybe when Gerrard eventually gets the sack, we can go after someone like Mourinho to get us into the Champions League with an actual talented squad. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted May 23, 2022 Share Posted May 23, 2022 7 minutes ago, maqroll said: Yeah, what I mean is we're in good shape even if Gerrard fails. At the very least he's a useful name to attract better players. Jury still out on his managerial acumen. I dont disagree. Somebody saidnin another thread maybe Gerrard would be a better Sporting Director than manager Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted May 23, 2022 Share Posted May 23, 2022 Just now, Zatman said: I dont disagree. Somebody saidnin another thread maybe Gerrard would be a better Sporting Director than manager We could just make him the mascot. Give him a big fuzzy suit and lion's head and fly him around Europe. 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyblade Posted May 23, 2022 Share Posted May 23, 2022 5 hours ago, TheStagMan said: Exactly, and this was my complaint about sacking Smith - if we were going to do that after he had the deck massively stacked against him at the start of the season (losing Grealish, them being forced to find a way to include Ings and Tuanzebe and effectively changing our shape competely) then I wanted us to bring in a proven top manager. Gerrard is not that. He has proven that this season. I genuinely believe that Smith would have gotten us at least the same or better league position given the same funding - but that is by the by now. Gerrard has a massive job to do this summer - he needs to work out who is worthy of staying at this great club and what reinforcements are needed. Then Gerrard needs to prove he is worthy of managing us next season. I hope he does, I really do because another season of shite like this is no good for anyone. He has a lot of work to do to prove he is good enough. Let's hope he does. And this isnt even a slight on Gerrard at all. It was very obvious his tenure would start that way. 3 years of experience in the SPL, even with all the talent in the world, it'd have been very unlikely for him to take the PL by storm. The issue lies with the board. Why take the gamble? Now with Newcastle about to shoot up the table with their new ownersit is potentially looking even more foolish. Time is of the essence. Smith needed to go, but we needed a clear upgrade to push us on. Really hope Gerrard can be that guy next season and I'm sure he'll be given every opportunity to be in the summer, but I am dreading the thought of wasting another season if it doesn't work out. Not quite sure we have another season left to waste. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delphinho123 Posted May 23, 2022 Share Posted May 23, 2022 The only thing I have against Gerrard is the formation. I don’t really like it but I must also give it time because I don’t think we can play any formation with the options we have in midfield and be successful. When we have two defensive midfielders in the team, properly protecting our defence, that will give players like Coutinho and Buendia the license and platform to attack more and we’ll stop getting sucker punched from teams like Watford and Burnley. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BleedClaretAndBlue Posted May 23, 2022 Share Posted May 23, 2022 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BleedClaretAndBlue Posted May 23, 2022 Share Posted May 23, 2022 You can tell he’s been here a while . This is what Villa does to you 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAMAICAN-VILLAN Posted May 23, 2022 Share Posted May 23, 2022 8 minutes ago, BleedClaretAndBlue said: You can tell he’s been here a while . This is what Villa does to you You reckon he'll be grey by November? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaVilla Posted May 23, 2022 Share Posted May 23, 2022 terrible. Signing more 45 year old ex liverpool mates again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCJonah Posted May 23, 2022 Share Posted May 23, 2022 Whatever flaws he has, there's absolutely no denying the ability he's going to have to attract top players to the project. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AV82 Posted May 23, 2022 Share Posted May 23, 2022 16 minutes ago, DCJonah said: Whatever flaws he has, there's absolutely no denying the ability he's going to have to attract top players to the project. ..and if he does attract those players (he already has to be fair) then regardless of how we start the new season we'll be in a better position than we are now so I suppose it's a win-win situation for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodders0223 Posted May 23, 2022 Share Posted May 23, 2022 1 minute ago, spiezels said: Absolutely zero chance we would have Coutinho or Kamara with deano in charge. Zero. Coutinho probably but that's a very specific transfer with a connection to Gerrard. I'm sure Kamara is not turning down other offers on the basis of Gerrard. That's ridiculous. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talldarkandransome Posted May 23, 2022 Share Posted May 23, 2022 2 hours ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said: You reckon he'll be grey by November? Grey, bald or sacked Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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