Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: dave.woodhall on August 10, 2021, 03:39:17 PM
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Richard Keeling chips in with a new season preview.
https://www.heroesandvillains.info/forumv3/index.php?topic=62309.msg4020994#msg4020994
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This is a critical year for him. The owners have save the club from going out of business and lashes out hundreds of millions to get us to a mid table PL side in three years. That won’t be good enough Jack or no Jack. And Dean Smith’s record without Jack Grealish is frankly abysmal. There was no room for sentiment when one Brummie left the club. There will no room for sentiment if the other famous Villa loving Brummie, our manager comes up short. We all love that he’s our manager and one of us. And we all want him to succeed. But nobody will be happy if we are lying 15th in November. He’ll be out of a job come December.
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This is a critical year for him. The owners have save the club from going out of business and lashes out hundreds of millions to get us to a mid table PL side in three years. That won’t be good enough Jack or no Jack. And Dean Smith’s record without Jack Grealish is frankly abysmal. There was no room for sentiment when one Brummie left the club. There will no room for sentiment if the other famous Villa loving Brummie, our manager comes up short. We all love that he’s our manager and one of us. And we all want him to succeed. But nobody will be happy if we are lying 15th in November. He’ll be out of a job come December.
Agree with all that. Top 6, or a decent stab at it, is the minimum acceptable result this year.
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Or 12th and a cup.
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Or 12th and a cup.
Or top 6 and a cup.
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This is a critical year for him. The owners have save the club from going out of business and lashes out hundreds of millions to get us to a mid table PL side in three years. That won’t be good enough Jack or no Jack. And Dean Smith’s record without Jack Grealish is frankly abysmal. There was no room for sentiment when one Brummie left the club. There will no room for sentiment if the other famous Villa loving Brummie, our manager comes up short. We all love that he’s our manager and one of us. And we all want him to succeed. But nobody will be happy if we are lying 15th in November. He’ll be out of a job come December.
Agree with all that. Top 6, or a decent stab at it, is the minimum acceptable result this year.
I think Top 10 is acceptable. Top 8 should be achievable and Top 6 would be very well done, Top 4 would require a pretty monumental effort and obviously we should be aiming to win it.
Or stay up and win the Cup. But he'd be gone if that's how the season were panning out.
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I think Dean is a clown tactically a d I didn't think Terry offered much either other than being a decent influence on the squad BUT... I massively respect Shakespeare and this he fills the tactical gap left by Smith. I do like Dean's way of playing and his ethos is how I want us to play as others have said without Jack we have been abysmal but I think that boils down to plan a was give it to Jack and plan B was hope someone else steps up all Bruce ball. I think that now with the current squad it will be plan a to give it buendia and plan b will be work the wings. Already that's an improvement because the squad won't be instinctively looking for Jack at every available second.
I really hope Shakespeare is rubbing off on Dean and we will be more fluid tactically because i think we have a front 4 any team in the world would fear deep down. But none of this waiting to the 84th min when playing against 10 men to sub on a striker who has a similar strike rate to Paul Robinson lol.
Positive tactical changes when needed and more clinical from set plays. But I agree if we are near the bottom half in December and he will be gone
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A clown? A bit harsh, no? Tactical changes are required, yes, but it helps if you have some quality in reserve to achieve them.
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A lot harsh.
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We beat Liverpool, Arsenal twice, Tottenham, Everton, Leeds, Chelsea. Not one of those victories was lucky. He’s not a clown at all. Yes he struggled after Jack was out and that’s the challenge he now has. But to call Dean Smith a clown tactically is absolute nonsense
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A clown tactically...
Tactically nieve. Cant change a game on the fly.
Not a bad manager and I said that in the rest of my post. But how often do we beat 10 men? How often do we change a game when needed.
I think Jose is a clown in the media.
I think Neymar is a diving clown
Neither statement mean I think that are bad in any way shape or form
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He's done very well so far but the owners will want us to be at leat Champions League contenders at some point quite soon and if he doesn't deliver they'll make a change. Very hard to say whether he's capable of achieving that but lets hope so. I would have thought top 8 this season and a good run in one of the cups would be about right, as long as we don't have major injury problems. If we step it up again next summer with a few really big signings then we've got to be looking to at least challenge for the top 4 at that point.
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Didn't we beat the team that became the Champions League winners in our last competitive game?
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Dean gets called a clown while the likes of Lambert, Sherwood, Garde, KMac and Black are loose in the football firmament safe with their excused notes in their bulging pockets.
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not to mention Brucie who is still trousering wads of cash and is as suspect as any on your list Brian. lovely to hear from you BTW.
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A lot harsh.
Equating Paul Robinson and Keinan Davis due to similar goal records was pretty funny though.
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A clown tactically...
Tactically nieve. Cant change a game on the fly.
Not a bad manager and I said that in the rest of my post. But how often do we beat 10 men? How often do we change a game when needed.
I think Jose is a clown in the media.
I think Neymar is a diving clown
Neither statement mean I think that are bad in any way shape or form
If anything, it seems you like clowns!
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Well the article mentions MON and that's the benchmark for me. Dean started at a much lower ebb with no money, spent a lot when we got up, but comparatively the same as MON and kept us up, and hasn't bought loads of non-playing squadmen. Not to mention a final. MON got 4 seasons and we never even got the pleasure of binning him off so imo Dean deserves at least the same. We may stand still a bit this season but before we dump him in pursuit of the" big name" manager to take us to the "next level", just be careful what you wish for.
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Smith a clown? If he is what the fuck did that make Lambert? It is crunch time for Deano, the villa fan we should be grateful to and I hope he makes it.
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I very much doubt that it is crunch time for D.S.
If anything, the late departure of J.G. and the late arrival of players incoming, plus the lack of a real pre-season gives him some leeway.
Also, the owners like the cut of his jib.
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Isn’t it crunch time for pretty much every manager every season?
Smith is not a clown, our clown has left to join the circus.
my major criticism has been his in game management and the biggest excuse for this apparent weakness has now to great extent been removed.
The squad is a lot deeper providing the manager with more options off the bench to be pro active or reactive.
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Its a big season for him thats for sure. Finishing 10th or lower with no cup would be a failure esp as he has been backed and signed some quality players
I do have concerns with smith as without grealish he was pretty hopeless at getting results. Now we can see what we can really do
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Didn't we beat the team that became the Champions League winners in our last competitive game?
And lost to Crystal Palace 2 games before! Last season was good but as mentioned we really struggled at times, and were great at times. Getting into Europe is a massive ask.
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Don't go backwards this season and I think Dean will be fine. It'll mean he's successfully replaced the player who left - forget his name. Jeff? Joe? - for less than we sold him for.
Think we could take aim higher up the game. Averages points for 7th place in the last 3 seasons was 59.33. That usually means Europe, and is less than 6pts more than last year's tally. And that was with us looking horrendous for a third of the season.
Think because of the summer's events and his track record, Dean's pretty safe this season bar having an absolute 'mare. But equally don't think it's beyond either him or the players we've got to progress even further up the table.
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Well Mr Purslow put it out their immediately after Joe left that he has been replaced by the three signings. Had Greedish been fit for all of last season I guess we would have got somewhere between 10th and 6th so we should be in that ball park. New signings like a Ward Prowse pushes expectations higher. I can’t imagine the owners or the newer fan base with be happy with the lower end of that and if we are in the lower half at Xmas he may be vulnerable. A Cup trumps any league position for old school me, but I doubt Dean will last long enough to make a Wembley final if we are in the teens league wise early next year.
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I’d love to be proved wrong, but I’m a bit more pessimistic than most. I love our new signings, but we came 11th last year and lost a world class player. Our net spend is -£10m I think. We’ve also had a disrupted pre-season and don’t seem to have a settled formation.
We definitely can progress to 6th-8th if it all clicks, but I would think 10th-12th would be a par result for Dean this year. If we make a major CM signing I would push that up to 7-10th.
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At the end of last season Purslow made the comment about the fall off in form after Christmas, Dean needs a good start to the season otherwise he could be under real pressure to keep his job
I remember when Big Ron got the sack - Doug stated that the awful form after we won the League Cup and the start of the following season was the reason he had to go, hopefully Purslow will not be saying something similar in October about Dean.
I hope Dean does keep his job as this season if all goes well this could be a special season, FA Cup winners and 7th in the league is my guess.
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I hope Dean does keep his job as this season if all goes well this could be a special season, FA Cup winners and 7th in the league is my guess.
It'll be our 8th league title this time :)
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It is a massive year for Dean but I for one back him to come through it and take us comfortably into the top 10 - to call him a clown is massively massively harsh.
Changing the flow of a game when your bench options are generally like for like players is immensely difficult - the three we already have signed strengthen those options, the youngsters around the squad will be better & stronger….plus there will surely be one more incoming. Obviously losing one of the top 3/4 players in the country is a huge blow but it has to be seen as a challenge to adapt & improve not a funeral for our hopes to progress.
Tactically we have to be more fluid, 433 is not the be all end all but signing of Ings suggests we will be fluid. The recruitment of a set piece coach also suggests that this was highlighted as a weakness that needs addressing.
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It's an obvious thing to say, but an awful lot is going to depend on how he deals with Ratboy leaving. I don't think it's unkind to say that for the most part, the results under Dean without him have been pathetic. This was probably due to the massive fall off in quality before now. Hopefully the signings of Buendia, Ings and Bailey will have stopped that.
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I think he/we will be just fine!
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Two plastic Manure fans I met at a charity game on Sunday reckon that the Villa will surprise a few, they said that they like Dean Smith and it was great business getting rid of Joe for £100 million, signing Leon Bailey was a masterstroke as some of the "big clubs" were looking to sign him. They both also rated E.Buendia and also wondered why other clubs did not try to get D.Ings.
They both reckon on the Villa finishing either 6/7/8th...
personally I am hopeful for this season and if we can get off to a good start who knows how far we could go.
UTV
The Doc
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Until we sort our midfield we’ll struggle in games.
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I’d love to be proved wrong, but I’m a bit more pessimistic than most. I love our new signings, but we came 11th last year and lost a world class player. Our net spend is -£10m I think. We’ve also had a disrupted pre-season and don’t seem to have a settled formation.
Pretty much how I’m feeling, to be honest. Im usually totally wrong with my pre-season predictions though
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You can't beat a Brummie for being doom laden.
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'Clown', goodness me, there's no middle criticism these days is there?
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He seems to like clowsn though, so it may not be as bad as it first reads.
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I think we may start slowly as Bailey is not ready and Buendia & Watkins potenially injured. We may be starting largely with last years 'non Jack' team but without Luiz and Traore not really fit.
The big question will be if we do start slowly can we get out of it? Smith has always been a streaky manager and my worry for him would be starting with a poor streakof 5-10 games.
Hopefully we'll smash Watford and this will prove to be bollocks.
UTV
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A clown? A bit harsh, no? Tactical changes are required, yes, but it helps if you have some quality in reserve to achieve them.
With effective options appropriate to the level he was playing at, he managed to outwit and befuddle us often enough with his substitutions and changes when in the Championship. I don't think that at any point last season did we have players to come on that'd make us either different or better. Like for like, pretty much it.
And I'm not expecting much different this season. Our regular starting xi will be better on the whole, but there's been no end of opinion expressed on here that the likes of El Ghazi and Nakamba aren't good enough, yet they're likely to be first off the bench. Either that or chuck some kids on for a bit of a go.
There might be something, but there won't be much. Expect Ashley Young to do a lot of heavy lifting, as the kids say.
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Top 8 for me is a realistic target. Going to take a while to bed in a new style of play without Grealish. Maybe a bit of patience required early on. Have my doubts on how Watkins and Ings will get on together.
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If Smith is a clown, what are Lambert, McLeish, Garde, DiMatteo etc etc?
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I’d love to be proved wrong, but I’m a bit more pessimistic than most. I love our new signings, but we came 11th last year and lost a world class player. Our net spend is -£10m I think. We’ve also had a disrupted pre-season and don’t seem to have a settled formation.
Pretty much how I’m feeling, to be honest. Im usually totally wrong with my pre-season predictions though
As it stands right now, it seems pretty realistic to me. One or two real quality midfield additions before the end of the window would have me much more upbeat.
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It all comes down to the midfield for me, one classy defensive midfielder and we will be okay but trying to get by with the same midfield of last season will find us out.
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I think we may start slowly as Bailey is not ready and Buendia & Watkins potenially injured. We may be starting largely with last years 'non Jack' team but without Luiz and Traore not really fit.
The big question will be if we do start slowly can we get out of it? Smith has always been a streaky manager and my worry for him would be starting with a poor streakof 5-10 games.
Hopefully we'll smash Watford and this will prove to be bollocks.
UTV
I agree about the slow start, but I'm pinning my hopes on a lot of teams having a slow start due to Covid, fitness and the Euro's.
Its unfortunate that we are playing 2 promoted teams early on as they seem to have that momentum and excitement of being promoted before the bubble bursts.
I still have faith In Dean Smith and it will be interesting to see if his substitutions and Formations change more frequently and quickly when needed with a lot more options to hand. I'm not sure he trusted what we had on the Bench previously.
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It all comes down to the midfield for me, one classy defensive midfielder and we will be okay but trying to get by with the same midfield of last season will find us out.
Agreed.
Huge season for Dean. I fear for him if we don't strengthen a bit more.
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Instant promotion, total squad rebuild, cup final appearance, Premier League survival and then mid table safety last season. I would say that even Dean Smith's harshest critics would find it difficult to criticize all of those achievements in such a short space of time in such tough Leagues like the Championship and Premier League.
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Instant promotion, total squad rebuild, cup final appearance, Premier League survival and then mid table safety last season. I would say that even Dean Smith's harshest critics would find it difficult to criticize all of those achievements in such a short space of time in such tough Leagues like the Championship and Premier League.
Agreed
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Instant promotion, total squad rebuild, cup final appearance, Premier League survival and then mid table safety last season. I would say that even Dean Smith's harshest critics would find it difficult to criticize all of those achievements in such a short space of time in such tough Leagues like the Championship and Premier League.
Agreed
Totally agree, credit to DS
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I think Smith has adapted brilliantly each season he has been here. He's not had a straightforward season yet (is there such a thing?). I still think we're well ahead of schedule - maybe two years - and barring a total disaster, like the players mutinying, then I'd love to see Smith stay and keep building his team. If we finish lower than last season and don't win anything I just see that as a part of the ups and downs of sport. It's not reason to fire him. There's no denying the club is a different animal these days. We are aiming for the top, but we don't have to turn into Chelsea and bat eyes at other managers every time we have a poor patch. The club is progressing so incredibly well at such a rate, and I believe Smith is the lynchpin in that. It's a wonderful time to be a Villa fan.
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He's had full support from a rich and savvy ownership/chief exec that most managers would give their eye-teeth for. He needs to keep improving us or he'll be out. And like every Villa manager before him except Graham Taylor, he's unlikely to get a bigger job once he leaves.
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Smith has more than ticked every box so far - but he's without the lad that made most of it happen for him. This is the true test of what Smith has got - but he's earned this season at least.
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That we were nothing without the rodent is a myth on a par with counting the stones in the Great Pyramid to prove that the Earth is flat.
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I'm really looking forward to seeing how he uses the squad this year.
Expecting far more rotation than just putting out the same 11 five games out of six. And also making a first sub before 75th minute if we've been struggling to get out of our own penalty area from the hour mark.
That's what seperates him and the top managers imo so up to him to step up now and show he can do it aswell.
I saw a bit of hope end of last season actually. 2-1 up at Spurs and G****ish couldn't last 90 minutes so we had to take him off around 70th minute which is something DS would never ever have done in normal circumstances yet we put Luiz on who did very well and saw out the game comfortably.
Hopefully that has taught him we don't need our first choice 11 dead on its feet up to 96th minute to get some results v top half teams this season.
I can't see him being sacked even if we finish 10th, think anything top half is acceptable as it's an improvement on last season and we ultimately have lost a very good player. Below 11th though and think he's done as imagine we will sign a few more players in January so eventually owners will ask why we're pumping in 100m + most seasons just to finish bottom half.
We're not there yet though and I also expect a really good cup run (cue us drawing Man. United now in 3rd round of both cups) so that would be decent.
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Instant promotion, total squad rebuild, cup final appearance, Premier League survival and then mid-table safety last season. I would say that even Dean Smith's harshest critics would find it difficult to criticize all of those achievements in such a short space of time in such tough Leagues like the Championship and Premier League.
More importantly, there's not a fan alive who wouldn't have snapped your hand off for that the day he was appointed. The problem is, as fans, we rarely take a step back and look at things in the aggregate like the above - we sit there watching games, we see bad performances, we suffer when we lose - so I completely understand why some fans have had periods when they've doubted Dean's credentials - a couple of weeks of bad results and performances can feel like a lifetime.
I don't think his job is in any danger as long as we keep progressing, but this year is going to be tough for him. Moving up six places from 17th to 11th is one thing - going up another 5 places into the European spots is orders of magnitude more difficult. But he has 100% earned the right to try. If we are in and around 11th place come May next year, I think he'll be under a lot of pressure, but right now I genuinely think we'll be in the mix for the European spots right to the season's conclusion.
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I think the departure of HWSNBN will be good for Dean Smith. Ever since he arrived here he's been avoiding looking inside the mouths of gift horses. Now he can show what a good coach he is.
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Instant promotion, total squad rebuild, cup final appearance, Premier League survival and then mid table safety last season. I would say that even Dean Smith's harshest critics would find it difficult to criticize all of those achievements in such a short space of time in such tough Leagues like the Championship and Premier League.
....and yet he was probably a game or two max away from the sack before covid kicked in (deservedly so for me)....Also had the best player in the championship and arguably one of the best in the prem to build a team around...
Think this season is the real test of Deano as a coach. Rightly or wrongly, a lot of the recent progress could be landed at the feet of one player (who Deano managed very well it has to be said). But now he has to rip the script up and put his own mark on the team without him. The Bale example is often used to demonstrate where things go wrong but United didn't fall apart without Ronaldo, Liverpool improved without Coutinho, Chelsea moved on without Hazard, Leicester have seamlessly replaced Maguire...the show goes on and the top coaches make it so.
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Yes, this season is pivotal, make-or-break etc., But one piece of the jigsaw is missing - a top class CM. Go and get JWP. We have the funds to make it happen. It's not worth risking on many fronts, not least Dean's job.
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If COVID hadn't happened, wasn't Chelsea at home, after the Leicester debacle, his last game? That was certainly the feeling in the away end as the 4th Leicester goal went in. Who knows what might have happened, but COVID maybe saved his job. He certainly did enough after COVID to keep his job.
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Another thing to consider is whether DS has reached his ceiling yet as a manager. I personally don’t think he has. He’s growing in his position as much as some of the players are. He’s improved year on year and as others have pointed out, he’s achieved the goals we could expect since he’s been at the club. With increased options available and no Joe, perhaps we will see him improve further.
Also worth noting that DS will soon be one of the longest serving Villa managers in last 20 years if he finishes the next season. I’d like to see how continuity works for us as it’s not something we’re entirely use to.
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Dean has said this:Our first season in the Premier League was always going to be tough with the changes we had to make, our second one was progression, and our third one now is going to progress even more.
We know how tough it's going to be because we've got to overtake a number of established clubs in the top 10, and that's the challenge we've got, but it's one we're all looking forward to. We need to improve on last season, we felt we were one or two positions down on where we deserved to be. Now we've got to go and progress again and we've got some big clubs to progress now, we're ready to do that.
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Another thing to consider is whether DS has reached his ceiling yet as a manager. I personally don’t think he has. He’s growing in his position as much as some of the players are. He’s improved year on year and as others have pointed out, he’s achieved the goals we could expect since he’s been at the club. With increased options available and no Joe, perhaps we will see him improve further.
Also worth noting that DS will soon be one of the longest serving Villa managers in last 20 years if he finishes the next season. I’d like to see how continuity works for us as it’s not something we’re entirely use to.
Why is "he" called Joe? Have I missed something? Cheers!
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Another thing to consider is whether DS has reached his ceiling yet as a manager. I personally don’t think he has. He’s growing in his position as much as some of the players are. He’s improved year on year and as others have pointed out, he’s achieved the goals we could expect since he’s been at the club. With increased options available and no Joe, perhaps we will see him improve further.
Also worth noting that DS will soon be one of the longest serving Villa managers in last 20 years if he finishes the next season. I’d like to see how continuity works for us as it’s not something we’re entirely use to.
Why is "he" called Joe? Have I missed something? Cheers!
I'm not sure! I've seen some other posters use it for he who shall not be named. I quite liked it myself so have likewise adopted it.
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There was an image posted on Twitter and presumably elsewhere with the caption, "We'll never forget you Joe".
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There was an image posted on Twitter and presumably elsewhere with the caption, "We'll never forget you Joe".
Hahaha that is tremendous. I wonder if it was some sort of autocorrect fail. I'm going to keep using it. Thanks for the heads up.
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I forget, how long did it take Man City to make the top four? we are in a similiar situation. The problem with finishing mid table again is it makes us vulnerable, if any of our players have a standout season the Euro qualified will be tapping up again. As far as paying over the top that's what you have to do to get top players when you can't offer European football, we have been restrained by fair play rules but now the shackles are off, go for it I say.
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I forget, how long did it take Man City to make the top four? we are in a similiar situation. The problem with finishing mid table again is it makes us vulnerable, if any of our players have a standout season the Euro qualified will be tapping up again. As far as paying over the top that's what you have to do to get top players when you can't offer European football, we have been restrained by fair play rules but now the shackles are off, go for it I say.
Signing a former captain of ours certainly helped them!
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I forget, how long did it take Man City to make the top four? we are in a similiar situation. The problem with finishing mid table again is it makes us vulnerable, if any of our players have a standout season the Euro qualified will be tapping up again. As far as paying over the top that's what you have to do to get top players when you can't offer European football, we have been restrained by fair play rules but now the shackles are off, go for it I say.
Takeover was 1st September 2008, qualified May 2011.
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I forget, how long did it take Man City to make the top four? we are in a similiar situation. The problem with finishing mid table again is it makes us vulnerable, if any of our players have a standout season the Euro qualified will be tapping up again. As far as paying over the top that's what you have to do to get top players when you can't offer European football, we have been restrained by fair play rules but now the shackles are off, go for it I say.
Signing a former captain of ours certainly helped them!
Signing a series of them.
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I forget, how long did it take Man City to make the top four? we are in a similiar situation. The problem with finishing mid table again is it makes us vulnerable, if any of our players have a standout season the Euro qualified will be tapping up again. As far as paying over the top that's what you have to do to get top players when you can't offer European football, we have been restrained by fair play rules but now the shackles are off, go for it I say.
Takeover was 1st September 2008, qualified May 2011.
Not only did it take until their third season of oil money to finish in the top four (they finished 3rd), but people also forget that the team the Abu Dhabi group bought had just finished 9th in the premier league. They didn't buy a mid-table Championship side like NSWE.
Three years to go from 9th to 3rd.
Edit, I just checked, in those three years they spent £350m net on players to get from 9th to 3rd. And that's TWELVE years ago, so Christ knows how much that is in today's money...
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Instant promotion, total squad rebuild, cup final appearance, Premier League survival and then mid-table safety last season. I would say that even Dean Smith's harshest critics would find it difficult to criticize all of those achievements in such a short space of time in such tough Leagues like the Championship and Premier League.
More importantly, there's not a fan alive who wouldn't have snapped your hand off for that the day he was appointed. The problem is, as fans, we rarely take a step back and look at things in the aggregate like the above - we sit there watching games, we see bad performances, we suffer when we lose - so I completely understand why some fans have had periods when they've doubted Dean's credentials - a couple of weeks of bad results and performances can feel like a lifetime.
It wasn't a few weeks though was it, it was near on 4 months last season and a few of those were with Grealish in the team. That said, the first half of last season was brilliant, we played with a real purpose and were a joy to watch. Second half pretty much the complete opposite until the final few games. I'm still not certain who Dean Smith is other than a great bloke. He's certainly no clown, I just wonder how good he can be as a Head Coach. I guess we'll find out this season. We need to start beating the poorer teams, not the top 6 teams. A better record at Villa Park will also be welcome, hopefully with the fans back we can get back to something approaching Fortress status.
I think we're a defensive midfielder away from top 6, a DM and a 10 from having a real go at top 4. We've a great squad, we just have to hope Dean plays them in their best positions.
7th and FA Cup win ("Are you watching, Jack Grealish") is my prediction and expectation for Dean.
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I forget, how long did it take Man City to make the top four? we are in a similiar situation. The problem with finishing mid table again is it makes us vulnerable, if any of our players have a standout season the Euro qualified will be tapping up again. As far as paying over the top that's what you have to do to get top players when you can't offer European football, we have been restrained by fair play rules but now the shackles are off, go for it I say.
Takeover was 1st September 2008, qualified May 2011.
Not only did it take until their third season of oil money to finish in the top four (they finished 3rd), but people also forget that the team the Abu Dhabi group bought had just finished 9th in the premier league. They didn't buy a mid-table Championship side like NSWE.
Three years to go from 9th to 3rd.
Edit, I just checked, in those three years they spent £350m net on players to get from 9th to 3rd. And that's TWELVE years ago, so Christ knows how much that is in today's money...
There was also only a 'Sky Four' then rather than a 'Scab Six' plus Leicester now. It's more difficult.