collapse collapse

Please donate to help towards the costs of keeping this site going. Thank You.

Follow us on...

Author Topic: Dean Smith - Confirmed  (Read 1522222 times)

Offline CT

  • Member
  • Posts: 7436
  • Location: Cheltenhamshire lalala
    • http://astonvilla.blogfootball.com/CT
  • GM : 11.02.2024
Re: Dean Smith - Confirmed
« Reply #2325 on: January 13, 2019, 10:16:14 AM »
Why don't we press high anymore? It was something we did from day one of Dean arriving. Something his teams were known for.

My opinion, for what that's worth, is the players just aren't up to it and have actually stopped doing it. The culture of this club for years was built on lazy, half arsed players like Gabby, Lescott, Bacuna, Richards etc. It's clearly not gone away because yesterday and last week we looked every bit as spineless (McGinn apart).

The Spanish keeper in the pre match warm ups who trots around, not bothering to save shots - that stuff is infectious, especially to younger players.

Until we get rid of this attitude, we have no chance of going up and days like yesterday will just keep happening.

...and I trust Dean Smith 100% that he'll put it right.

Online PaulWinch again

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 49020
  • Location: winchester
  • GM : 25.05.2024
Re: Dean Smith - Confirmed
« Reply #2326 on: January 13, 2019, 10:19:24 AM »
What Spanish keeper?

Offline CT

  • Member
  • Posts: 7436
  • Location: Cheltenhamshire lalala
    • http://astonvilla.blogfootball.com/CT
  • GM : 11.02.2024
Re: Dean Smith - Confirmed
« Reply #2327 on: January 13, 2019, 10:21:48 AM »
What Spanish keeper?

Apologies, Portuguese!

Offline PeterWithe

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 8508
  • Location: Birmingham.
  • GM : 12.02.2025
Re: Dean Smith - Confirmed
« Reply #2328 on: January 13, 2019, 10:22:16 AM »
Goalkeepers. They all look the same to me.

Offline Ads

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 39424
  • Location: The Breeze
  • GM : 17.04.2024
Re: Dean Smith - Confirmed
« Reply #2329 on: January 13, 2019, 10:26:43 AM »
I think 442 might be the way to go for the time being. We cannot win the midfield so what's the point trying?

Play Davis with Tammy off him.

Online PaulWinch again

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 49020
  • Location: winchester
  • GM : 25.05.2024
Re: Dean Smith - Confirmed
« Reply #2330 on: January 13, 2019, 10:41:36 AM »
What Spanish keeper?

Apologies, Portuguese!

To be fair to him, specifically, I can understand why he might be less than engaged.

Offline Brassneck

  • Member
  • Posts: 1753
Re: Dean Smith - Confirmed
« Reply #2331 on: January 13, 2019, 10:44:49 AM »
Nothing wrong with his team selection today - I'd have gone with the same 11.

It is clear that the players at his disposal cannot fit into & play in the way Smith likes to play.

I think the fundamental issue is that Smith should be designing a system that best suits best the players at his disposal rather than enforcing one that clearly isn't working. Plan B can't be to bring in Hause and Whelan when 2-0 down, can it....

What system would you play when you have Taylor & Bree as wing backs, Hourihane, BB, Whelan as midfielders and Bolasie, Albert & El Ghazi as wingers?

Smith made the changes at 0-1.  El Ghazi was absolutely the right decision.  I get giving Hause 20 minutes but do struggle with Whelan.  The only other option available to Smith was to go 442, sacrificing BB for Davies or Hogan.

Smith has been working on a style of play since he arrived.  Initially it was successful.  Lately, it has faltered.  Does he change it to  a 3rd system this season or does he stick with it, knowing it is only going to be 4 or 5 games until reinforcements arrive.  It could be detrimental to change things again, just for 4 games.

There is no right or wrong decision.  It could be that sticking with what he believes in will pay dividends at the end of the season

Offline Clampy

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 28332
  • Location: warley
  • GM : PCM
Re: Dean Smith - Confirmed
« Reply #2332 on: January 13, 2019, 10:54:00 AM »
The Hause sub was unnecessary. Maybe if we were 3-0 up and cruising and he wanted to give him the last 10 minutes on the pitch, then fine. It was a sub that could have been better used elsewhere.

Offline Brassneck

  • Member
  • Posts: 1753
Re: Dean Smith - Confirmed
« Reply #2333 on: January 13, 2019, 10:58:12 AM »
The Hause sub was unnecessary. Maybe if we were 3-0 up and cruising and he wanted to give him the last 10 minutes on the pitch, then fine. It was a sub that could have been better used elsewhere.

He clearly didn't want to go 442, which was the only other option.

Offline Clampy

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 28332
  • Location: warley
  • GM : PCM
Re: Dean Smith - Confirmed
« Reply #2334 on: January 13, 2019, 11:00:45 AM »
The Hause sub was unnecessary. Maybe if we were 3-0 up and cruising and he wanted to give him the last 10 minutes on the pitch, then fine. It was a sub that could have been better used elsewhere.

He clearly didn't want to go 442, which was the only other option.

But it was still a pointless sub he didn't really need to make.

Online Lastfootstamper

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 11370
  • Age: 58
  • Location: Greater Birmingham
  • GM : PCM
Re: Dean Smith - Confirmed
« Reply #2335 on: January 13, 2019, 11:01:07 AM »
Nothing wrong with his team selection today - I'd have gone with the same 11.

It is clear that the players at his disposal cannot fit into & play in the way Smith likes to play.

I think the fundamental issue is that Smith should be designing a system that best suits best the players at his disposal rather than enforcing one that clearly isn't working. Plan B can't be to bring in Hause and Whelan when 2-0 down, can it....

I disagree with your first point, brontebilly. We've brought a head coach in presumably because he has a defined way of playing. We've witnessed it in full hue and cry, and it looks good.

If Plan B is go 442 and bring on Davis, we might as well have kept Bruce.

Like Brassneck says, we need some better players, that's clear.

Offline Brassneck

  • Member
  • Posts: 1753
Re: Dean Smith - Confirmed
« Reply #2336 on: January 13, 2019, 11:05:20 AM »
The Hause sub was unnecessary. Maybe if we were 3-0 up and cruising and he wanted to give him the last 10 minutes on the pitch, then fine. It was a sub that could have been better used elsewhere.

He clearly didn't want to go 442, which was the only other option.

But it was still a pointless sub he didn't really need to make.

It wasn't pointless because it has given Hause his first run out - It might have always been the plan to do this, regardless of the score.  Until Hause is up to speed, we still have the issues at the back.

Personally, I'd have swapped Bree for Hutton & BB for Davies.

Offline Clampy

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 28332
  • Location: warley
  • GM : PCM
Re: Dean Smith - Confirmed
« Reply #2337 on: January 13, 2019, 11:09:52 AM »
Well we'll just have to agree to disagree on that one. I just thought it was a saft thing to do.

Offline Risso

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 84826
  • Location: Leics
  • GM : 04.03.2025
Re: Dean Smith - Confirmed
« Reply #2338 on: January 13, 2019, 11:11:38 AM »
Well we'll just have to agree to disagree on that one. I just thought it was a saft thing to do.

I agree.  I also think the triple substitution will have a bad effect on squad morale.  Elphick looked especially furious.  If it was always the plan to take him off and give Hause a run out, nobody had told Elphick.

Offline Clampy

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 28332
  • Location: warley
  • GM : PCM
Re: Dean Smith - Confirmed
« Reply #2339 on: January 13, 2019, 11:15:19 AM »
Like I said last night, I thought Elphick was injured at the time or had took a slight knock. Besides, what would have happened if we had picked an actual injury just after making a needless sub?

 


SimplePortal 2.3.6 © 2008-2014, SimplePortal