Dean Smith - Confirmed

[SoccerHQ]

Just read very worrying comment from a Brentford Fan.  Some of it scarily familiar to what we are seeing now.

Dean Smith only had a 40.74% win rate with us, Mark Warburton 51.28% and Uwe Rossler 43.08%, So we actually took a step backwards with employing him, granted he got us playing a very high pressing fast game that was a joy to watch but on the other hand our defending was terrible and we leaked a lot of silly goals, I have watched Villa a few times this season and can see a mirror image of how we played.

His main fault with us was his substitution policy, he either left it too late, changed the wrong players and without changing tactics, he left us for you on the back of a no win in 5 games, we continued this vein with our new Head Coach with only 2 wins in ten, However, he has now changed our defensive formation and steadied the ship and and we are unbeaten in 6 and only conceded 3 goals, and comprehensively beat Stoke on Saturday with a fantastic display.

His record at Walsall was the same, good attacking football but leaking goals, so a pattern seems to be forming with you as well, it seems he is unable to cure this inherent problem, did your board not take this into consideration and not gone for someone experienced with a Big club history and culture like Villa have.

The last line "big club history and culture like villa have" is what makes the rest of the statement a bit pointless though. We aren't bloody Brentford or Walsall. We are Aston Villa where the possibilities for success are infinitely more achievable if they get it right. Deanos upgraded from a Ford Fiesta to a Bentley. Let's just give him time to see how he handles it.

He does have a point as pretty much every season at Walsall the team would be playing o.k and in the top half of the league and then almost out of nowhere a winless 10 match run would pop up and kill the season.

I get the different sized clubs but the general trend seems to be the same with it now happening here.

What I don't get is after two dodgy performances v Stoke and Leeds you usually need a grinded out 1-0 win to snap out of that and we got it at Swansea so really disappointed how we've performed since at Preston and Wigan. I didn't see 1 point out of 6 at those two venues at all (QPR are playing well in fairness).

Those two games have knocked a fair bit of faith for this season as up to recently I still fully expected top 6.

[Steve67]

It's the hope that kills.  So very frustrating. 

[old man villa fan]

It is hypocritical, we're football fans so we're pretty much all hypocrites at times. Same as we're biased and at times irrational on things to do with Villa and other clubs. We're the same as fans of every club in every league in every country.

Yes, that's true to some extent but paul_e explained the differences between the managers and why this means giving one more time than the other. That is not being a hypocrite and the post saying he was, was out if order, in my opinion.

[Risso]

This site is notoriously impatient, I would say that the wider match going fan base moves more cautiously.

A few points on that:

- Absolutely nobody on here has called for Smith to be sacked.
- The away fans at Wigan on Saturday booed at the end of the game with a viciousness that took me aback.
- Impatient maybe, but on the whole usually proved right.

[Drummond]

This site is notoriously impatient, I would say that the wider match going fan base moves more cautiously.

A few points on that:

- Absolutely nobody on here has called for Smith to be sacked.
- The away fans at Wigan on Saturday booed at the end of the game with a viciousness that took me aback.
- Impatient maybe, but on the whole usually proved right.

1 - Not yet but you can see people questioning whether he's up to it, saying he's shit, and questioning the appointment as if it was the wrong one.
2 - I'm pretty sure that was at the players rather than the manager, but who knows? It was utterly shit after all.
3 - The internet is an impatient place. Being proved right, I wonder if we did a poll about Smith what the view would be. I'm not starting one because it's pointless.

[Risso]

I think that the vast majority of people recognise that he's a good manager, and needs time to bring his own players in and right the wrongs of the Bruce years. That doesn't make him exempt from criticism when he makes stupid mistakes though.

[Des Little]

I think anyone who saw the Wigan game would be rightfully alarmed, and the booing at the end was  justified, regardless of who the manager is or how long he's been in charge.  It was a diabolical performance that warranted criticism. This Saturday is a big game for Smith now because of it.

[passport1]

I would imagine a good tonking by Hull would not result in the typical match going Villa fan ' caveating' their opinion about Deano.

[Clark W Griswold]

He needs to build his own team and he needs time to make them look like a team. I think there comes a point when you can see that a manager has lost it and there's no coming back. Mine with Bruce was a combination of the baffling transfer window in August and the opening results up to and including Sheff Utd away. You could see at that point that he and his team were never going to achieve the ultimate goal. I think Smith needs to put his own stamp in it and keep improving and gaining momentum. Bruce went backwards in a big way July - October and there was no coming back. If Smith finds himself in a similar position in a couple of years it might be time to try someone else again at that point.

[ChicagoLion]

Smith will know more about the players he has now.
Many are contracted until the summer and when you can expect the first big clear out.
There have been some worrying decisions over the last few weeks and he should and has been rightly criticized.
Until he is able to start to build his team then we are just going to have to be patient.

[jwarry]

Smith will know more about the players he has now.
Many are contracted until the summer and when you can expect the first big clear out.
There have been some worrying decisions over the last few weeks and he should and has been rightly criticized.
Until he is able to start to build his team then we are just going to have to be patient.

But will the new owners be that patient?!?  Edens is especially known not hanging about

[chrisw1]

Unless the wheels really come off I'd be amazed if he doesn't get the summer and a good chunk of next season before the owners start thinking about a change.

I like what he seems to be trying to do and really hope he turns it around.  But make no mistake he was brought in to get us promoted and ultimately that's what he will be judged on.

[Chris Smith]

Smith will know more about the players he has now.
Many are contracted until the summer and when you can expect the first big clear out.
There have been some worrying decisions over the last few weeks and he should and has been rightly criticized.
Until he is able to start to build his team then we are just going to have to be patient.

But will the new owners be that patient?!?  Edens is especially known not hanging about

Christian Purslow when asked is promotion this season critical:

“It’s not critical at all. The club was at its lowest ebb the day after the play-off final. A winding up order was served - the club was unable to meet a payment of under £5m to the tax authorities.

“Nassef and Wes sent in tens of millions of pounds directly into the club, clearing the liabilities and effectively creating a clean slate on which to build a recovery for the club.

“We’re not expecting or requiring to get promoted quickly. We’re trying to do things the right way in terms of the people we bring in to run the club and the way we play

[SamTheMouse]

Give Smith a couple of transfer windows before judging him.

He has a preferred style of play which involves playing it out from the back and retaining possession, but the only defender capable of playing a pass is injured and it's made a big difference.

Once he's had a decent chance to put together a squad of his own choosing, we can start to decide whether he's the right man. Not before.

[The Edge]

I think that the vast majority of people recognise that he's a good manager, and needs time to bring his own players in and right the wrongs of the Bruce years. That doesn't make him exempt from criticism when he makes stupid mistakes though.

About right that is.