Dean Smith - Confirmed

[brontebilly]

Our problems lie with Jacks absence and started with his injury flaring up again.
He makes everyone in the team play better, not just the midfield or the strikers. Look at Targett, he is a world beater with Jack in front of him. He is just a jobbing full back when Jack isn’t there.

I have said before, Jack makes average players raise their game and be very, very good. When he is not playing they become very average again.
And being average isn’t going to win very many premier league games.

Our problems started before Jack's injury. We had a fortunate win at Southampton where he carried the team on his back with very little support around him. A farcical VAR call went in our favour that day too. Those kind of performances weren't going to get us many points even if he were fit. I think teams realised around then if they pressed our midfield two (Luiz/McGinn) we would go route one to Watkins far too often. Smith wasn't able to rectify that with Jack and without him we are a bit of a rabble in truth.

[Risso]

Not really a day to say that considering we played a different system than we normally do at the start and switched to a different on half time and another after the sending off.

We played exactly the same system we always do, just with a slightly different set of players due to injuries.

[PaulWinch again]

Ok I’ll re-phrase to play different ways effectively. It’s probably unfair to say Dean hasn’t attempted different things on occasion, but they very rarely are successful. When it happens it seems scattershot and there isn’t really a clear plan behind the changes, or if there is it isn’t well implemented.

[SoccerHQ]

Our problems lie with Jacks absence and started with his injury flaring up again.
He makes everyone in the team play better, not just the midfield or the strikers. Look at Targett, he is a world beater with Jack in front of him. He is just a jobbing full back when Jack isn’t there.

I have said before, Jack makes average players raise their game and be very, very good. When he is not playing they become very average again.
And being average isn’t going to win very many premier league games.

Our problems started before Jack's injury. We had a fortunate win at Southampton where he carried the team on his back with very little support around him. A farcical VAR call went in our favour that day too. Those kind of performances weren't going to get us many points even if he were fit. I think teams realised around then if they pressed our midfield two (Luiz/McGinn) we would go route one to Watkins far too often. Smith wasn't able to rectify that with Jack and without him we are a bit of a rabble in truth.

Turning point for me was Burnley second half. We were excellent 60 minutes and then threw the game away with lax defending. West Ham then came a week later and completely outplayed us and think from that moment squad lost confidence we could finish 6th or 7th and Jack injury just compounded it.

Eventually though in the coming years they'll be pressure not just from us but the ownership to actually push on for once if we're comfortable top half after 20 odd games so that's the true test for DS in the near future otherwise he'll simply be replaced.

[aj2k77]

Not really a day to say that considering we played a different system than we normally do at the start and switched to a different on half time and another after the sending off.

We changed system because of sending off. Otherwise it would have been the usual 4-3-3, Traore, El Ghazi, Sub on 70 minutes........ rinse, repeat. We've been well and truly figured out.

[Ads]

Not really a day to say that considering we played a different system than we normally do at the start and switched to a different on half time and another after the sending off.

We played exactly the same system we always do, just with a slightly different set of players due to injuries.

We played with 2 deep and a midfielder tucking in, depending on what side Ramsey was on. We then went 442 and then 342. We didn't play our more conventional 433 today in the usual way we do.

[BC Villain]

At what point does his position become untenable?  Lose to the stripeys and I would say that will be that

Seriously? Don't be a silly billy.

Let me make it clear, I'm not calling for  Dean Smith to be sacked given what's been achieved since he came to the club.  He's been successful, something the previous managers going back ten years havent been.

However, you can't ignore that we've been abysmal since the turn of the year, plus his record without Jack Grealish even in the Championship was poor and does little to counter the critics who keep saying he's the sole reason we were as good as we were in the first part of the season.  This is all after spending a small fortune as well.  Dean being a Villa fan should absolutely NOT protect him.

I would think (and expect) NSWE to be asking some very uncomfortable questions of Dean Smith if this runs allowed to continue. 

[Risso]

Not really a day to say that considering we played a different system than we normally do at the start and switched to a different on half time and another after the sending off.

We played exactly the same system we always do, just with a slightly different set of players due to injuries.

We played with 2 deep and a midfielder tucking in, depending on what side Ramsey was on. We then went 442 and then 342. We didn't play our more conventional 433 today in the usual way we do.

We started with the usual 4-2-3-1 that we've played for a large part of this season.  Not sure you can really claim a change in formation due to a red card!

[BC Villain]

At what point does his position become untenable?  Lose to the stripeys and I would say that will be that

With respect, I think that is a ridiculous thing to say.
You sound as though you want us to lose ?

No I don't.  I want him to turn it round.  But more fans are losing patience with him as these performances pile up.  Losing to Albion will hardly help his cause.  I'm not seeing any signs of him arresting this slump.

[paul_e]

We don't go route 1, what we've been doing is worse than that. We try to keep hold of the ball and move it through midfield but because so many of the players are struggling for confidence there are no obvious passes on to move forward so we have 2 choices: go for a 50/50 pass and risk giving the ball away or go backwards, if we go for the latter the inevitable consequence is that eventually we'll go long to try to break away.

Earlier in the season (the Liverpool game is a perfect example) everyone was moving off the ball so we could go back-to-front in a handful of passes and catch teams out but for whatever reason we haven't been doing that since January. The only good performance I can think of since then was the Burnley defeat but that was more that Grealish was on fire than anything we were doing as a team.

[PaulWinch again]

I still think that when it’s not clicking there isn’t a sense that we can shift game plan and be more effective. We end up looking toothless and out ball retention is appalling.

[Risso]

We don't go route 1, what we've been doing is worse than that. We try to keep hold of the ball and move it through midfield but because so many of the players are struggling for confidence there are no obvious passes on to move forward so we have 2 choices: go for a 50/50 pass and risk giving the ball away or go backwards, if we go for the latter the inevitable consequence is that eventually we'll go long to try to break away.

Earlier in the season (the Liverpool game is a perfect example) everyone was moving off the ball so we could go back-to-front in a handful of passes and catch teams out but for whatever reason we haven't been doing that since January. The only good performance I can think of since then was the Burnley defeat but that was more that Grealish was on fire than anything we were doing as a team.

Also at the start of the season, Martinez was brilliant at launching quick attacks, either with an accurate kick to someone up front, or with a quick throw out to a full back. That's mostly all gone now, all we get is him hanging on to the ball, then a 50:50 kick out. Not his fault, with Jack out nobody actually wants the ball.

[stubbsyandy]

At what point does his position become untenable?  Lose to the stripeys and I would say that will be that

With respect, I think that is a ridiculous thing to say.
You sound as though you want us to lose ?

No I don't.  I want him to turn it round.  But more fans are losing patience with him as these performances pile up.  Losing to Albion will hardly help his cause.  I'm not seeing any signs of him arresting this slump.

Really? This time last year we would be ecstatic to be in this position! Promotion when all seemed lost, stayed up when all seemed lost and a brilliant, yes brilliant start to the season...we are at the beginning of where we will be, patience and appreciation of what we have achieved is right for now.  But we need on going investment and PLEASE, no more Barkley and the like loan signings

[SoccerHQ]

At what point does his position become untenable?  Lose to the stripeys and I would say that will be that

Seriously? Don't be a silly billy.

Let me make it clear, I'm not calling for  Dean Smith to be sacked given what's been achieved since he came to the club.  He's been successful, something the previous managers going back ten years havent been.

However, you can't ignore that we've been abysmal since the turn of the year, plus his record without Jack Grealish even in the Championship was poor and does little to counter the critics who keep saying he's the sole reason we were as good as we were in the first part of the season.  This is all after spending a small fortune as well.  Dean being a Villa fan should absolutely NOT protect him.

I would think (and expect) NSWE to be asking some very uncomfortable questions of Dean Smith if this runs allowed to continue. 

Bar losing every single game left (which probably isn't out of the question if Jack isn't seen again) he'll be here next season.

Eventually though the time will come when we're 7th or 8th after 20 odd games in a season and it won't be acceptable for us to just give up even if we lose a key player to injury. We'll be expected to get into europa as a minimum.

We're still a bit off that but make no mistake with what the owners have pumped in already and will probably continue to do over next 2-3 years they'll be expecting a manager capable of pushing us on and finish a season strongly when we're actually in the top half of the league (as opposed to just getting points to stay up).

It's not impossible. Moyes would've been seen as a joke appointment in 2017 yet West Ham have actually got stronger in last three months, largely on the back of one January signing and they've got as good a chance as anyone in finishing in the top 4 now. The frustation remains that could've been us given where we were even in mid February.

[BC Villain]

At what point does his position become untenable?  Lose to the stripeys and I would say that will be that

With respect, I think that is a ridiculous thing to say.
You sound as though you want us to lose ?

No I don't.  I want him to turn it round.  But more fans are losing patience with him as these performances pile up.  Losing to Albion will hardly help his cause.  I'm not seeing any signs of him arresting this slump.

Really? This time last year we would be ecstatic to be in this position! Promotion when all seemed lost, stayed up when all seemed lost and a brilliant, yes brilliant start to the season...we are at the beginning of where we will be, patience and appreciation of what we have achieved is right for now.  But we need on going investment and PLEASE, no more Barkley and the like loan signings

Sorry, but based on the performances early in the season,  the regression is alarming.  We've gone from being one of the most exciting teams in the table to easily one of the dullest.

Not pleased to see Smith's comments tonight about "standing in awe of some wonderful Man City passing" either.  Far too much respect being shown