Aston Villa v Brentford: Pre-Match Thread

[Matt Collins]

He's an interesting option

Though remember juande ramos was feted at Sevilla

Then it turned out that the real star was moggi, the recruitment guy

[SoccerHQ]

https://www.theguardian.com/football/football-league-blog/2018/aug/08/football-league-blog-brentford-happy-own-way-promotion

Interesting article on Brentford. Always liked Dean Smith and more so now. A couple of quotes

'A hybrid of careful planning, forensic scouting and sage spending is fundamental to their recruitment, headed by the technical director, Robert Rowan, in tandem with the co-directors Rasmus Ankersen, also the chairman of FC Midtjylland, the Danish club owned by Benham, and Phil Giles, a maths graduate with a PhD in statistics. Brentford buy not only by numbers but personality; they do their homework, extensive due diligence and referencing'........Imagine if we'd had this kind of planning with the money we've spent over the last few years.

'Brentford are fluid, teeming with pace and power, typified by the zest of Romaine Sawyers or Rico Henry, the England Under-20 international'....Pretty much the Anti Bruce.

Also they don't have a captain!

I'd like to think we can beat them and we have the players, just not the manager so 1-1 draw I think. 

Everything I read about Smith makes me like him more. I can honestly say I'd be more excited by him becoming Villa manager than I have been by anyone else in my lifetime.

This is the Brentford way.  They had this approach under Warburton too.  Fantastic way to set up a club but this is not down to Smith as they had this prior to him going there.

What’s Smith role then? Just to stand on the touch line and look pretty?

Of course he is a huge part of their success.  There maybe a system behind him that identifies the right type of players but he still needs to coach, motivate and organise them into a unit.

Are Guardiola or Klopp not a part of their team success as they just get given millions to sign the best players?

He is a good coach but the way they set up, their scouting etc is all done the way Villa wanted to do it with this 'Villa Engine' bollocks.  Yes, Smith is a good bloke, but this is about a team effort, not just down to him.  Looking pretty on the side of the pitch?  Brentford selected Smith because he bought in to their philosophy.  He was a good choice but like the hand fits the glove, I am not sure Smith will be as successful elsewhere without the same philosophy.

Well they had a Danish coach for first 10 games of the season he came in and he won once in 10 games so it isn't just down to the stats man.

Whenever I've seen Brentford they play in the exact same manner Walsall under Smith did. Once Woods or whoever else in midfield releases the ball their number 10 Romaine Sawyers picks up the ball. All their forward play goes through him. He was with Smith at Walsall.

When he's on form he's a very difficult player to mark out of a game.

[Matt Collins]

I agree he must be having an impact. I do think it's an interesting option

But it will be a very different context for him

Perhaps an audition tonight

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Smith would be Graham Turner MkII. There is no way he'd be able to reconcile the extreme pressure of managing a club of this scale, when his experiences are two clubs the size of Brentford and Walsall. He's doing good things there, let him carry on.

There's no voodoo behind a side like Brentford. You've got to make them move the ball quicker than they'd like and in places deeper than they'd want. We pressed the Dingles off the park, a side much better than these.

McGinn helps with that, but my main concern is what we do once in possession. Green doesn't really deserve to start as he's been poor, but on balance he offers more than Elmo.

Equally Albert has been poor and his delivery tepid at best.

Given we're a side that puts a lot of crosses in, realistically we're looking for percentage gains for McGinn's dead balls.

Important we unshackle Grealish and play him 10 yards higher up. Connor, Thor to do his leg work and McGinn to link midfield to attack.

Green and Albert to start by default either side of Kodjia, but I wouldn't be adverse to RHM linking with Kodjia instead of Green.

[Jim Bradley]

If Brentford are so good how come we finished above them last year?

[sickbeggar]

Got a feeling we'll nick this one 1-0.

[jwarry]

If we are organised and up for it, we will win.  One whiff of complacency or negativity and they will be all over us.  Over to you Mr Bruce...

[Breezeblock]

I'm hooping for a win but with this keeper I doubt he'll keep a clean sheet. 2-1

[dicedlam]

The first real test in terms of a team who I think will make the playoffs this season. Big game for Bruce. Lose this one and there will undoubtedly be calls for him to go. 2-2.

[robleflaneur]

Smith would be Graham Turner MkII. There is no way he'd be able to reconcile the extreme pressure of managing a club of this scale, when his experiences are two clubs the size of Brentford and Walsall. He's doing good things there, let him carry on.

There's no voodoo behind a side like Brentford. You've got to make them move the ball quicker than they'd like and in places deeper than they'd want. We pressed the Dingles off the park, a side much better than these.

McGinn helps with that, but my main concern is what we do once in possession. Green doesn't really deserve to start as he's been poor, but on balance he offers more than Elmo.

Equally Albert has been poor and his delivery tepid at best.

Given we're a side that puts a lot of crosses in, realistically we're looking for percentage gains for McGinn's dead balls.

Important we unshackle Grealish and play him 10 yards higher up. Connor, Thor to do his leg work and McGinn to link midfield to attack.

Green and Albert to start by default either side of Kodjia, but I wouldn't be adverse to RHM linking with Kodjia instead of Green.

Under the Graham Turner rule,a manager of a lower club will fail at a significantly bigger club,Clough and Shankly would not have been allowed to join Derby and Liverpool from Hartlepool and Huddersfield respectively.
Their expectations on joining,get out of second tier football.Shankly was already in that league with Huddersfield.
Shall we bar all foreign coaches from consideration,as the 2 previous ones,Venglos and Garde were failures ?

[GarTomas]

Smith would be Graham Turner MkII. There is no way he'd be able to reconcile the extreme pressure of managing a club of this scale, when his experiences are two clubs the size of Brentford and Walsall. He's doing good things there, let him carry on.

There's no voodoo behind a side like Brentford. You've got to make them move the ball quicker than they'd like and in places deeper than they'd want. We pressed the Dingles off the park, a side much better than these.

McGinn helps with that, but my main concern is what we do once in possession. Green doesn't really deserve to start as he's been poor, but on balance he offers more than Elmo.

Equally Albert has been poor and his delivery tepid at best.

Given we're a side that puts a lot of crosses in, realistically we're looking for percentage gains for McGinn's dead balls.

Important we unshackle Grealish and play him 10 yards higher up. Connor, Thor to do his leg work and McGinn to link midfield to attack.

Green and Albert to start by default either side of Kodjia, but I wouldn't be adverse to RHM linking with Kodjia instead of Green.

Under the Graham Turner rule,a manager of a lower club will fail at a significantly bigger club,Clough and Shankly would not have been allowed to join Derby and Liverpool from Hartlepool and Huddersfield respectively.
Their expectations on joining,get out of second tier football.Shankly was already in that league with Huddersfield.
Shall we bar all foreign coaches from consideration,as the 2 previous ones,Venglos and Garde were failures ?

I’d add that I expect the Villa Engine or equivalent to be implemented by the new owners in terms of a robust scouting system and youth academy (identifying targets across Europe and behind to bring into various levels of the academy and first team) along with certain elements of a playing style to be implemented across the club.

None of which I expect Bruce to buy into or deliver. Smith would be an interesting appointment but probably not right now in fairness. A more pragmatic approach is required though I’m still not convinced Bruce is the best pragmatic choice!

[Drummond]

I'd go with this:

Nyland

Elmo Chester Tuanzebe Hutton

Bjarnason

Green McGinn Hourihane

Grealish

Kodjia

--------------------------------------------
Unfortunately I think it more likely to be:

Nyland

Tuanzebe Chester Jedinak Hutton

Elmo Whelan McGinn Hourihane

Grealish

Kodjia

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The problem with talking about Clough, Shankley or even Fergie when it's mentioned how his Yanited side "struggled" at first, is that you're talking about the very best managers to grace the English game.

So unless Smith is a genius, I think he's far more likely to be swallowed by the enormity of the club then emerge as some genius.

I respect what Dean Smith has done, but I don't think he'd be capable of replicating it here and I have no interest in granting him the opportunity to fail.

[aj2k77]

If Brentford are so good how come we finished above them last year?

Because we had Johnstone, Terry, Snodgrass and Grabban. Who we've replaced with an accident waiting to happen, an aged midfielder out of position, Elmo semi out of position and no one.

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We've replaced him with a goalkeeper whose made one mistake...