Bruce Sacked at last (now official)

[kippaxvilla2]

I don’t want him to go as I just know he will go somewhere else and get them up.  Careful what you wish for.  Hello Phil Parkinson.

[Sexual Ealing]

It wouldn't be that unusual for there to be provision that the contract automatically rolls over for another year on the anniversary of it being entered into (for example) unless either side gives notice to the contrary within a certain period.

Usually in football a rolling contract is a one, occasionally two, year contract that renews daily.

IIRC one of the main reasons Super Ron left was because they wanted to switch his rolling contract to a fixed one.

I'm no lawyer, nor am I law-abiding, but it can't be unusual to have a break clause in a contract, however it's constituted. I've had them myself.

[DB]

A break from all things Villa for me for a bit. Let’s see what come out in the wash, for now, World Cup and summer to look fwd too.

[Des Little]

If he’s going, get him gone now and for fucks sake get the next fella in. Don’t piss about.

[AsTallAsLions]

I don’t want him to go as I just know he will go somewhere else and get them up.  Careful what you wish for.  Hello Phil Parkinson.

That's not a good enough reason to want him to stay at Villa and fail to bring us up.

[sickbeggar]

aye, if he get's another job with more money for players and gets them up, then thats erm......just because he has more money for players.  he's not gonna turn up at reading and work a miracle

[SoccerHQ]

My questions about Dean Smith are:

He's never won promotion or got close

How much of the Brentford success is down to the club's innovative approach rather than him?

I think the never won promotion thing is a bit harsh.

He took over Walsall when they were rock bottom of league 1 in January 2011. Kept them up that year, the next one was a struggle but over the next 3 season he got them solid mid table. I saw much of his tenure and a defined easy on the eye style of play developed over the time.

He left Walsall in December 2015 second in the table and I reckon they'd have gone up permanently if he'd stayed for that season.

Slow start at Brentford but they've finished top 10 twice and nearly snuck into the play offs back end of this season. He's lost Jota, Colin, Harlee Dean and Hogan in recent times to the Midlands who were all key players for Brentford.

Yes Brentford use that moneyball system but he's also signed a few of his old boys from Walsall, Romain Sawyers who plays as their number 10 had an excellent season just gone.

I had my doubts of him taking over a year or so ago but think the time is right as he's shown he can develop and improve players and also rebuild teams when they lose 3-4 of the regular 11 so all qualities we're going to need from a manager/head coach for next season.

[SoccerHQ]

It looks to me like a Lerner style retreat.

We are all aware that we will face severe FFP challenges next season. I am an Aston Villa fan. But I am also a businessman. Under the current circumstances, I think the club needs to rethink not only the past two years but also the past ten years. Villa needs to be a sustainable football club. People join. People leave. That is the cycle of football.

If that's not a hint at a Grealish exit then I don't know what it is.

I also don't understand how some people seem to have worked out we've got this FFP thing licked because we'll get some money for Gil or Gollini or whichever player we'd all forgotten played for us, when the chairman is talking of 'severe challenges' with the CEO having mentioned next year being a problem, too.

He really couldn't have made it much clearer. Brace yourselves.

It's basically a message not to turn up at the Holte gates with pitchforks as and when Grealish leaves.

At least there's honesty and prior warning to all this. Lerner changed his approached pretty much overnight and with little warning. Remember all the what if "McLeish had money to spend" soundbites from the General at the same time we were selling Young and Downing.

[Steve67]

My questions about Dean Smith are:

He's never won promotion or got close

How much of the Brentford success is down to the club's innovative approach rather than him?

I think the never won promotion thing is a bit harsh.

He took over Walsall when they were rock bottom of league 1 in January 2011. Kept them up that year, the next one was a struggle but over the next 3 season he got them solid mid table. I saw much of his tenure and a defined easy on the eye style of play developed over the time.

He left Walsall in December 2015 second in the table and I reckon they'd have gone up permanently if he'd stayed for that season.

Slow start at Brentford but they've finished top 10 twice and nearly snuck into the play offs back end of this season. He's lost Jota, Colin, Harlee Dean and Hogan in recent times to the Midlands who were all key players for Brentford.

Yes Brentford use that moneyball system but he's also signed a few of his old boys from Walsall, Romain Sawyers who plays as their number 10 had an excellent season just gone.

I had my doubts of him taking over a year or so ago but think the time is right as he's shown he can develop and improve players and also rebuild teams when they lose 3-4 of the regular 11 so all qualities we're going to need from a manager/head coach for next season.

Sorry SHQ, not having a go, but this smacks of Graham Turner to me.  Very solid job on a low budget, never managed a big club etc.  Dean Smith is a good bloke but he's not ready to manage Villa IMO.  I haven't a clue who we go for if Bruce goes but Dean isn't the man to get the juices flowing for me.

[OzVilla]

Agreed, this is preparing us for some of the changes that'll be required that won't be popular.  That can only mean one thing, all saleable assets are up for sale with no exceptions and they may go for less than the fan base feel they're worth either.  We need to sell and not just the Gil's and Gardner's of this world.

[SoccerHQ]

I would've agreed with the not ready part a year ago when we were going all out for promotion.

With the way Brentford finished the season, 2-2 at Fulham, beating SHA 5-0 and with the change of our circumstances I think he is now.

Give him a year to mould a new team and I reckon we'd have a proper go at the automatic spots in 2019/20.

Edit: Was actually very surprised West Brom didn't appoint him considering he was on their shortlist so maybe Brentford have put a high buyout clause in his contract.

[sickbeggar]

Agree. think smith is a decent manager but he'll get eaten alive if he took over now.. Whatever the financial realities, its going to take a lot for people to face it. We finished 4th so people will expect that again. Maybe they will  keep Bruce for now so when he inevitably can't do it again, then they can bring in someone like Smith at a low point. Probably crediting them with more intelligence than they've got admitedly

[Steve67]

Fair enough SHQ, at least he's one of our own and has no connections elsewhere.  If he came, I would certainly support him.  One of the reasons he has done well at Brentford is thought to be because of their infrastructure.  Hopefully, ours won't undermine him.

[SoccerHQ]

Agree. think smith is a decent manager but he'll get eaten alive if he took over now.. Whatever the financial realities, its going to take a lot for people to face it. We finished 4th so people will expect that again. Maybe they will  keep Bruce for now so they when he inevitably can't do it again, then they can bring in someone like Smith at a low point. Probably crediting them with more intelligence than they've got admitedly

Anyone who expects us to waltz into 4th with 85 points next season is going to need a reality check I think so again think this statement is partly due to that.

Dosen't mean we can't make play offs but think it would be more us biding our team in 8th/9th and then coming strong in final third of the season.

Guess it's all up in the air until mid of August when we know the squad we will have but I just can't see how it would be as strong as the one we assembled from September 2017 given the restrictions we face.

[VinnieChase84]

Agree. think smith is a decent manager but he'll get eaten alive if he took over now.. Whatever the financial realities, its going to take a lot for people to face it. We finished 4th so people will expect that again. Maybe they will  keep Bruce for now so they when he inevitably can't do it again, then they can bring in someone like Smith at a low point. Probably crediting them with more intelligence than they've got admitedly

Anyone who expects us to waltz into 4th with 85 points next season is going to need a reality check I think so again think this statement is partly due to that.

Dosen't mean we can't make play offs but think it would be more us biding our team in 8th/9th and then coming strong in final third of the season.

Guess it's all up in the air until mid of August when we know the squad we will have but I just can't see how it would be as strong as the one we assembled from September 2017 given the restrictions we face.

Who says a weaker squad on paper couldn’t achieve more. After all Wolves, Cardiff and Fulham did and they had weaker squads than us ‘on paper’