I still think he's fine. There are so many mitigating factors that he deserves a long while yet.
I think the club will keep Dean even if we are relegated I just hope it doesn’t turn out that way, there must be a limit to continuity. I have noticed recently he has referred to himself as coach, I just wonder if he is distancing himself from the responsability of new player signings.
With the exception of the Newcastle game, we've played the top 7 clubs on the bounce.On paper, we would not have expected to have won any of those games (which we didn't). It has only really been the last 3 where we've been a poor second best (Chelsea, Leicester & Sheffield).It is ridiculous to target Smith at this point, especially after the run of opponents we have just had. Let's see what the next 4 games bring. Beat Southampton and 1 other and we have daylight between us. Get a couple of draws from the other 2 and we should be up to around 14th.
Quote from: Brassneck on December 15, 2019, 08:29:18 AMWith the exception of the Newcastle game, we've played the top 7 clubs on the bounce.On paper, we would not have expected to have won any of those games (which we didn't). It has only really been the last 3 where we've been a poor second best (Chelsea, Leicester & Sheffield).It is ridiculous to target Smith at this point, especially after the run of opponents we have just had. Let's see what the next 4 games bring. Beat Southampton and 1 other and we have daylight between us. Get a couple of draws from the other 2 and we should be up to around 14th.You make it sound so straightforward. I hope that your optimism is rewarded. What worries me is that the performances have dipped. It can be easy in a league as demanding as this to get into a death spiral when it's hard to see where the next point is coming from let alone the next 3.So far this season we have pulled out results when it looked like this could be about to happen, think Norwich away and Newcastle at home. This is why Southampton next Saturday is so big. Losing doesn't bear thinking about.