Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: dave.woodhall on November 08, 2021, 09:32:13 PM
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This time it's Stacy Murphy's turn to say a few words.
https://heroesandvillains.info/2021/11/08/replacing-one-of-us/
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That expresses how I feel, thanks, Stacy.
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Yeah, me too. Well written piece, as always.
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Well written and on the money - thank you
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Spot on.
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Well done Stacey.
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Done.
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Did he have any ‘vocal detractors’?
At the games there was pretty much zero dissent in my experience.
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What an absolutely fantastic article. The first paragraph especially.
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Did he have any ‘vocal detractors’?
At the games there was pretty much zero dissent in my experience.
Possibly only on social media.
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I have the same dread about Gerrard, he will always be looked upon as just waiting for the Liverpool job and never fully buy into Aston Villa, he will never be one of us.
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The sentence “ Dean Smith’s departure will no doubt please a few very vocal detractors who became very predictable and dull in their criticism but Dean’s departure is sad for the club and the majority of us as fans” sums it up for me
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Great article. A day after the news about the sacking I still feel very sad.
The only other time I felt this sad about a Manager leaving was when Ron Saunders left.
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Good managers overcome the loss of their best players. So pinning this on Jack Grealish is unfair. Completely accept that it wasn’t easy for that to happen but he put all his eggs in that basket. Dean Smith wasn’t a good enough manager to get past that which is why he’s no longer manager.
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Great article. A day after the news about the sacking I still feel very sad.
The only other time I felt this sad about a Manager leaving was when Ron Saunders left.
I was also sad about the departures of BFR, BL and JG. Thy were passionate about Villa and gave it their best shot.
Really sad about Dean, because I thought he had laid the groundwork.
All the best Deano, you are a diamond.
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The sentence “ Dean Smith’s departure will no doubt please a few very vocal detractors who became very predictable and dull in their criticism but Dean’s departure is sad for the club and the majority of us as fans” sums it up for me
For me, also. All we've known for about thirty years is to sack the manager when things get tough. I was hoping we'd take a longer-sighted view towards building the club, and to expect yearly progress is so unrealistic. There was always going to be some struggle at some point. We've just wet our pants at the first indication of it.
I appreciate the article, glad to have read it.
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Good managers overcome the loss of their best players. So pinning this on Jack Grealish is unfair. Completely accept that it wasn’t easy for that to happen but he put all his eggs in that basket. Dean Smith wasn’t a good enough manager to get past that which is why he’s no longer manager.
It wasn’t just a best player,he was the player. Also he did not come clean about his intentions which created the summer of unrest and did not allow Smith and the Club much time to prepare for a season without him.
Yes Smith should have handled it better, but if Grealish was still here then Smith would still be manager.
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Good managers overcome the loss of their best players. So pinning this on Jack Grealish is unfair. Completely accept that it wasn’t easy for that to happen but he put all his eggs in that basket. Dean Smith wasn’t a good enough manager to get past that which is why he’s no longer manager.
It wasn’t just a best player,he was the player. Also he did not come clean about his intentions which created the summer of unrest and did not allow Smith and the Club much time to prepare for a season without him.
Yes Smith should have handled it better, but if Grealish was still here then Smith would still be manager.
I thought part of the club’s reason for sacking/parting company with Smith was his record over the calendar year -which was in the main without Joe. This wasn’t a new trend
as Joe never played a full season for Smith. I’m inclined to agree with Toronto on this-Smith should have found more of a way and that’s not Joe’s fault. At the same time, didn’t the release clause in his contract (clue enough that the club needed to be ready to prepare for life without him) have a deadline which City activated close to its expiry? If so, that’s on the club for having it inserted so late in the summer relative to pre-season starting. I do think that the club and players have got away from more criticism that Smith has born the brunt of.
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Good managers overcome the loss of their best players. So pinning this on Jack Grealish is unfair. Completely accept that it wasn’t easy for that to happen but he put all his eggs in that basket. Dean Smith wasn’t a good enough manager to get past that which is why he’s no longer manager.
It wasn’t just a best player,he was the player. Also he did not come clean about his intentions which created the summer of unrest and did not allow Smith and the Club much time to prepare for a season without him.
Yes Smith should have handled it better, but if Grealish was still here then Smith would still be manager.
I thought part of the club’s reason for sacking/parting company with Smith was his record over the calendar year -which was in the main without Joe. This wasn’t a new trend
as Joe never played a full season for Smith. I’m inclined to agree with Toronto on this-Smith should have found more of a way and that’s not Joe’s fault. At the same time, didn’t the release clause in his contract (clue enough that the club needed to be ready to prepare for life without him) have a deadline which City activated close to its expiry? If so, that’s on the club for having it inserted so late in the summer relative to pre-season starting. I do think that the club and players have got away from more criticism that Smith has born the brunt of.
Don’t get me wrong and I have posted about the amateurish way the Grealish saga was handled. But the release clause was always there ,not inserted subsequently. It was during the summer that Grealish refused to sign a new contract and originally said he would sign after the Euros and then fucked off on holiday saying he would sing on return whilst his agent was negotiating with Citeh.
I think Smith was taken in and demeaned by the whole affair and his dependence on Grealish is there for all to see.
Smith has been sacked because of the last 5 games and the 18 losses this year , most of those without Grealish in the team.
Of course the blood letting allows mistakes by others to be washed away.
Without the release clause he would still be a Villa player.
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With ratboy’s injury record we needed another effective way to play. That was evident in the second division with our results without him, let alone in the PL. That’s what has let Dean down.
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Good managers overcome the loss of their best players. So pinning this on Jack Grealish is unfair. Completely accept that it wasn’t easy for that to happen but he put all his eggs in that basket. Dean Smith wasn’t a good enough manager to get past that which is why he’s no longer manager.
It wasn’t just a best player,he was the player. Also he did not come clean about his intentions which created the summer of unrest and did not allow Smith and the Club much time to prepare for a season without him.
Yes Smith should have handled it better, but if Grealish was still here then Smith would still be manager.
I thought part of the club’s reason for sacking/parting company with Smith was his record over the calendar year -which was in the main without Joe. This wasn’t a new trend
as Joe never played a full season for Smith. I’m inclined to agree with Toronto on this-Smith should have found more of a way and that’s not Joe’s fault. At the same time, didn’t the release clause in his contract (clue enough that the club needed to be ready to prepare for life without him) have a deadline which City activated close to its expiry? If so, that’s on the club for having it inserted so late in the summer relative to pre-season starting. I do think that the club and players have got away from more criticism that Smith has born the brunt of.
Don’t get me wrong and I have posted about the amateurish way the Grealish saga was handled. But the release clause was always there ,not inserted subsequently. It was during the summer that Grealish refused to sign a new contract and originally said he would sign after the Euros and then fucked off on holiday saying he would sing on return whilst his agent was negotiating with Citeh.
I think Smith was taken in and demeaned by the whole affair and his dependence on Grealish is there for all to see.
Smith has been sacked because of the last 5 games and the 18 losses this year , most of those without Grealish in the team.
Of course the blood letting allows mistakes by others to be washed away.
Without the release clause he would still be a Villa player.
I think a number of playing and non-playing staff have been happy to let Smith take the flack. There will now be no hiding place for them. For Purslow and Lange that’s going to come into sharp contrast straight away with whoever comes through the door next.
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A well written piece spoiled for me by two cheap shots. The first at vocal detractors when the bare truth is that the vast, overwhelming majority of Villa fans have been very respectful towards Dean when you recall what O'Leary, Bruce and Lambert got when they went. The other cheap shot is one that has gone seamlessly into Villa folklore that Remi Garde was a baby microwaver. He had half a season, no money, not a single transfer, a dressing room full of snakes, top quality French players the snakes set out to ostracise and vilify (see Secret Santa) yet he left without a bad word about the club or his treatment by it other than his famous epitaph that he came to Villa Park in a taxi but it should have been an ambulance. There are far, far more deserving targets for blame than Remi Garde.
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Certainly agree Brian in regard to Remi Garde. He was never given a chance and also had to contend with a very poisonous dressing room. I felt sorry for him.
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Encapsulates my feelings on the topic.
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Good managers overcome the loss of their best players. So pinning this on Jack Grealish is unfair. Completely accept that it wasn’t easy for that to happen but he put all his eggs in that basket. Dean Smith wasn’t a good enough manager to get past that which is why he’s no longer manager.
It wasn’t just a best player,he was the player. Also he did not come clean about his intentions which created the summer of unrest and did not allow Smith and the Club much time to prepare for a season without him.
Yes Smith should have handled it better, but if Grealish was still here then Smith would still be manager.
I thought part of the club’s reason for sacking/parting company with Smith was his record over the calendar year -which was in the main without Joe. This wasn’t a new trend
as Joe never played a full season for Smith. I’m inclined to agree with Toronto on this-Smith should have found more of a way and that’s not Joe’s fault. At the same time, didn’t the release clause in his contract (clue enough that the club needed to be ready to prepare for life without him) have a deadline which City activated close to its expiry? If so, that’s on the club for having it inserted so late in the summer relative to pre-season starting. I do think that the club and players have got away from more criticism that Smith has born the brunt of.
Don’t get me wrong and I have posted about the amateurish way the Grealish saga was handled. But the release clause was always there ,not inserted subsequently. It was during the summer that Grealish refused to sign a new contract and originally said he would sign after the Euros and then fucked off on holiday saying he would sing on return whilst his agent was negotiating with Citeh.
I think Smith was taken in and demeaned by the whole affair and his dependence on Grealish is there for all to see.
Smith has been sacked because of the last 5 games and the 18 losses this year , most of those without Grealish in the team.
Of course the blood letting allows mistakes by others to be washed away.
Without the release clause he would still be a Villa player.
I think a number of playing and non-playing staff have been happy to let Smith take the flack. There will now be no hiding place for them. For Purslow and Lange that’s going to come into sharp contrast straight away with whoever comes through the door next.
I think you are right and now the spotlight will be on Purslow and Lang. Get the replacement wrong and its on their heads.
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Good articly Stacy
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A well written piece spoiled for me by two cheap shots. The first at vocal detractors when the bare truth is that the vast, overwhelming majority of Villa fans have been very respectful towards Dean when you recall what O'Leary, Bruce and Lambert got when they went. The other cheap shot is one that has gone seamlessly into Villa folklore that Remi Garde was a baby microwaver. He had half a season, no money, not a single transfer, a dressing room full of snakes, top quality French players the snakes set out to ostracise and vilify (see Secret Santa) yet he left without a bad word about the club or his treatment by it other than his famous epitaph that he came to Villa Park in a taxi but it should have been an ambulance. There are far, far more deserving targets for blame than Remi Garde.
This.
I am still reeling at the sacking of Deano...one of us, and with so much professionalism, respect and dignity. All the best Dean.
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Great article. A day after the news about the sacking I still feel very sad.
The only other time I felt this sad about a Manager leaving was when Ron Saunders left.
God yeah, that one was the end of the world - I was 14.
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Good managers overcome the loss of their best players. So pinning this on Jack Grealish is unfair. Completely accept that it wasn’t easy for that to happen but he put all his eggs in that basket. Dean Smith wasn’t a good enough manager to get past that which is why he’s no longer manager.
They do, but not overnight and I believe with time, following a transitional season finishing about 14th, we would have kicked on under Dean Smith. Going from A to B is never, NEVER a straight line of continual progress, discounting the very strange Leicester miracle of 2016 (so almost never then, ha ha, but you get the point).
But now we’ll never know.
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Good managers overcome the loss of their best players. So pinning this on Jack Grealish is unfair. Completely accept that it wasn’t easy for that to happen but he put all his eggs in that basket. Dean Smith wasn’t a good enough manager to get past that which is why he’s no longer manager.
They do, but not overnight and I believe with time, following a transitional season finishing about 14th, we would have kicked on under Dean Smith. Going from A to B is never, NEVER a straight line of continual progress, discounting the very strange Leicester miracle of 2016 (so almost never then, ha ha, but you get the point).
But now we’ll never know.
I think he'd have taken us down, or at least made it very uncomfortable. The squad was in total disarray and the results and performances were getting worse. He'd only been averaging a shade over a point a game this year anyway, but going under that as he has this season is what I think forced the board's hand. I take your point about progress not being a straight line, but this season has seen our form absolutely nosedive.
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That last 10 minutes against Wolves was hugely damaging.
You do not lose when winning 2 nil at home with 10 minutes to go with the Holte in full voice.
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That last 10 minutes against Wolves was hugely damaging.
You do not lose when winning 2 nil at home with 10 minutes to go with the Holte in full voice.
It was fatal. Indeed, he may have just survived the 5 losses if they hadn't begun with such a soul destroying collapse as that.
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Great article. A day after the news about the sacking I still feel very sad.
The only other time I felt this sad about a Manager leaving was when Ron Saunders left.
God yeah, that one was the end of the world - I was 14.
SGT, Brian Little and Dean Smith for me.
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Brian Little was the biggest disappointment at a manager leaving for me. There just didn't seem to be any big reason for the slump, other than trying to accommodate Collymore as well as Savo and Yorke. I think there were rumours about turmoil in his private life at the time though?
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Brian Little was the biggest disappointment at a manager leaving for me. There just didn't seem to be any big reason for the slump, other than trying to accommodate Collymore as well as Savo and Yorke. I think there were rumours about turmoil in his private life at the time though?
That, and having Collymore, Curcic, Bosnich and Milosevic together didn't help.
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Garde was a terrible appointment. An unmitigated disaster.
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I remember rumours that Little was separating around that time. All through 1997-98 we looked out of sorts until Gregory arrived. We just hadn't been the Aston Villa of the previous two seasons. We were conceding goals and we didn't look as energetic. The only highlights with Little were the Uefa Cup games and the demolition of Spurs.
I actually thought Milosevic played well that season and looked to gain a little pace- he created some lovely goals, for Yorke away at West Ham and for Draper against Spurs and did well in the Uefa cup games. Yorke wasn't quite himself. I think the signing of Collymore disrupted Yorke's game.