Dean Smith - Confirmed

[RamboandBruno]

QUOTE
Dean Smith doesn’t need us to fire him. He knows that will happen on its own the more we spend. He will get at minimum the next window to improve us again and if we do get better he will deserve to keep his job.
UNQUOTE

I take a little umbrage at this comment.
Since he has come in we have continually progressed.
Promoted first year, a year ahead of schedule, as admitted by our CEO.
We where down and out last season, he took a while but addressed that & kept us up; first ever year managing in the top flight.
Second ever season managing in the top flight and we have gone beyond, (so far), expectations; top ten would be a marvellous achievement.
On course for the most clean sheets since when?
So what exactly does everyone find wrong with him?
AND to put it bluntly - fuck getting a big name in, just because we can; how does anyone know exactly what he is capable of, after continual improvement year after year - why does anyone assume he can not get better the longer he stays in charge? (As he has already proved he can continually improve).

The stats would suggest the fortunes of the team under Smith are wholly dependent on the fitness of Jack Grealish. We were useless in the championship without him and despite all the investment since that continues to the present day.

I doubt there is a single poster on the site that doesn't want Deano to succeed. But like any coach his record is open to be critiqued. It wasn't too long ago (though it feels like forever pre-covid) that the board appeared to be on the verge of giving him the boot. If this season continues to peter out I don't think our board will let sentiment get in the way of a hard-nosed business decision.

In saying all that, I certainly hope it won't and Grealish will come back and inspire some football worth watching.

I’ve made a similar point earlier, but In the same timeframe, how have Spurs done without Kane, Leicester without Vardy. I honestly don’t know the answer to this, but would be interesting to compare.

I’ve always felt smith is on a bit of a hiding to nothing in some quarters, when we’ve done well it’s solely down to jack, when we’re not doing well, it’s because smiths not good enough.
Does he get any credit for us having the 3rd best defense in the league and maybe finishing the season with one of the most clean sheets we’ve ever had, or is that just down to Martinez?

[Sexual Ealing]

Great point.

[Risso]

Does he get any credit for us having the 3rd best defense in the league and maybe finishing the season with one of the most clean sheets we’ve ever had, or is that just down to Martinez?

Of course he does.  All good teams are built on the bedrock of a stable defence, and we certainly have that now. And in Martinez we probably made the transfer of this or any other season. But that doesn't excuse the dire football of late. Nobody is calling for his head, but the way certain people are (over)reacting to criticism and discussion of what has been a really disappointing recent period, you'd think people were marching on VP with pitchforks and burning torches.

[ChicagoLion]

Some people perceive criticism of the manager as an attack on the club, some support the club and consider the manager fair game. Bruce had lots of defenders even though lots were calling him out.It is more understandable regarding Smith he is Villa but there again we spend plenty of time having a go at each other on here.

[brontebilly]

QUOTE
Dean Smith doesn’t need us to fire him. He knows that will happen on its own the more we spend. He will get at minimum the next window to improve us again and if we do get better he will deserve to keep his job.
UNQUOTE

I take a little umbrage at this comment.
Since he has come in we have continually progressed.
Promoted first year, a year ahead of schedule, as admitted by our CEO.
We where down and out last season, he took a while but addressed that & kept us up; first ever year managing in the top flight.
Second ever season managing in the top flight and we have gone beyond, (so far), expectations; top ten would be a marvellous achievement.
On course for the most clean sheets since when?
So what exactly does everyone find wrong with him?
AND to put it bluntly - fuck getting a big name in, just because we can; how does anyone know exactly what he is capable of, after continual improvement year after year - why does anyone assume he can not get better the longer he stays in charge? (As he has already proved he can continually improve).

The stats would suggest the fortunes of the team under Smith are wholly dependent on the fitness of Jack Grealish. We were useless in the championship without him and despite all the investment since that continues to the present day.

I doubt there is a single poster on the site that doesn't want Deano to succeed. But like any coach his record is open to be critiqued. It wasn't too long ago (though it feels like forever pre-covid) that the board appeared to be on the verge of giving him the boot. If this season continues to peter out I don't think our board will let sentiment get in the way of a hard-nosed business decision.

In saying all that, I certainly hope it won't and Grealish will come back and inspire some football worth watching.

I’ve made a similar point earlier, but In the same timeframe, how have Spurs done without Kane, Leicester without Vardy. I honestly don’t know the answer to this, but would be interesting to compare.

I’ve always felt smith is on a bit of a hiding to nothing in some quarters, when we’ve done well it’s solely down to jack, when we’re not doing well, it’s because smiths not good enough.
Does he get any credit for us having the 3rd best defense in the league and maybe finishing the season with one of the most clean sheets we’ve ever had, or is that just down to Martinez?

Smith deserves a lot of credit for the rate of improvement in Konsa and Targett this season. Their transformation has been remarkable. Martinez has been a great signing but defensively as a unit we are miles better.

But the football we have been trying to play for weeks now has been dreadful. Put simply, we don't seem to have a clue what to do if Jack isn't on the pitch. The alarm bells for me were ringing that night in Southampton where our sole tactic seemed to be to boot the ball in his general direction, the rest of the midfield contributed nothing.

[Ketzster]

Smith deserved a lot of praise for how we were playing until the second half at Burnley. But since then it’s another period of sustained struggle. I do agree with the people saying about Grealish, because 4 wins in 24 games when Smith has been in charge without Grealish really is extremely poor. And that’s not just been against Premier League teams as you know. In those 24 games are teams like Wigan and Reading. The problem is it’s not just the Grealish thing, it’s the lack of points that we get when we go behind in games. Putting the two together does highlight the lack of tactical flexibility and the ability to think differently. As Risso quite rightly said, once we start badly in games you know it will continue like that because nothing ever changes during a game. On the other hand we’ve seen what happens when the 4-3-3 works as well.

[Sexual Ealing]

Some people perceive criticism of the manager as an attack on the club, some support the club and consider the manager fair game. Bruce had lots of defenders even though lots were calling him out.It is more understandable regarding Smith he is Villa but there again we spend plenty of time having a go at each other on here.

Smith is deserving of support, Bruce was not.

[JuanMartinez]

That night at Soton where we won.

Unreal.

[Neil Hawkes]

So reading between the lines, we all think he is good, but he is not perfect.
Some want a (supposedly) better manager.
Most want to see if, in time, he can be the better manager that the others seem to want.

Constructive criticism is always beneficial, provided there is a proposed solution, criticism "just because someone else can do better, &/or something else will be better, but I don't know who or what will be better" is just mild ranting, (in my opinion).

I love this forum (and that is not sarcasm), I really do. Brightens my day no matter what sort of work or personal crap has been dealt out.

[ChicagoLion]

I still think that the midfield is a problem. We do not have a natural anchor. so we are asking Luiz and SJM to compensate. Nakamba is the nearest but his limitations with the ball is probably why Smith does not pick him except for injuries.
Our limitations are masked when Jack plays because the opposition are  having to accommodate  him.
Take Jack out, it evens it up and our 3 are found wanting. The structure does not look right and add in the limitations of our wide players and you get the performances we have been seeing recently.
Smith needs to come up with a plan B instead of just shuffling the 3 in the middle and the 2 out wide.

[London Villan]

The bigger question is how Dean moves us forward. There are two scenarios for next season - #1 with Jack #2 no Jack.
If Jack is here next season Dean has to build the team around him.

Only looking at #1 here...
4231 = Jack as the 10, but we need 1 quality holding midfielder to play alongside SJM, Dougie or Sanson. 

We need at least two forwards then - Bert quality or better replacing Davis, AEG and Trez.

4 players £100m.

Option #2 doesn't bare thinking about and will result in +£200m spending and comes with all sorts fo risks for any manager.

[PeterWithe]

To be fair to Dean he has tried to do something about our over reliance on Jack, he got the coup of the Barkley loan, one we were all pretty much happy with, it hasn’t worked out

[Rigadon]

What are we aiming for next year? More consolidation or winning stuff?  If the latter we need to bring in 3 or 4 players who would improve any top 6 teams first 11.  With that kind of squad, any decent manager (Smith included) would have a great chance to make some history of the positive kind!!

If we’re not ‘going for it’ now, then when?

[RamboandBruno]

I still think that the midfield is a problem. We do not have a natural anchor. so we are asking Luiz and SJM to compensate. Nakamba is the nearest but his limitations with the ball is probably why Smith does not pick him except for injuries.
Our limitations are masked when Jack plays because the opposition are  having to accommodate  him.
Take Jack out, it evens it up and our 3 are found wanting. The structure does not look right and add in the limitations of our wide players and you get the performances we have been seeing recently.
Smith needs to come up with a plan B instead of just shuffling the 3 in the middle and the 2 out wide.

This is a fair summary. A midfield enforcer, at least one wide man and a forward the priorities in the summer I would of thought.

[aj2k77]

What are we aiming for next year? More consolidation or winning stuff?  If the latter we need to bring in 3 or 4 players who would improve any top 6 teams first 11.  With that kind of squad, any decent manager (Smith included) would have a great chance to make some history of the positive kind!!

If we’re not ‘going for it’ now, then when?

More consolidation. Top half with an eye on an outside chance of Europe somehow and gaps in the squad being filled. Our best players being given contract extensions where needed.