Dean Smith - Confirmed

[Baldy]

Off at a tangent but listening to an Athletic podcast recently the corrospondent reckons Wolves owners take note of social media and forums etc.  He felt that the small but very vocal minority of fans calling for Nuno out may have played a part.  He wondered if the owners may have felt they had read it wrong when they saw the outpouring of love for Nuno at the last game.

It sounds crazy that it could be the case that a few know nothing morons could have an influence on the future of a multi million pound business.  I'm sure there's far more to it than this, but even so I guess it's be careful what you wish for.

Hopefully Mendes is losing interest, they'll now fall down the plug hole where they belong and we'll never have to listen to their mind the gap nonsence again.  And if they did play a part, cheers to the mad few idiots calling for his head.

Footy-Ville should be on the Villa payroll. 

[eamonn]

I think Nuno wanted to leave as much as Wolves were indifferent to him staying. He probably rightly concluded that he had taken them as far as he could. He's also been away from his family for over a year. If work is stagnating and you're a wealthy man anyway, some things are more important.

[chrisw1]

I think Nuno wanted to leave as much as Wolves were indifferent to him staying. He probably rightly concluded that he had taken them as far as he could. He's also been away from his family for over a year. If work is stagnating and you're a wealthy man anyway, some things are more important.

Possibly, but wanting him out was madness.  Maybe with a summer off Nuno would have come back re-energised and ready to go again.  As it is they've got to pay him off and all of his (very highly regarded) backroom staff.  I may be wrong but feel they've dropped a bollock here when a bit of love and patience may have served them better.

[paul_e]

Point taken. He is a fairly recent addition. Often their forward/midfield press included Sterling, Aguero. Da Dilva, Gundohan, Foden, Jesus etc. No wonder they play the ball along the ground. 

True but Guardiola in particular has always had a proper defensive midfielder in his team, there's even stories on the internet of him wanting to try Neuer in Midfield when he was at Bayern.

[ChicagoLion]

Point taken. He is a fairly recent addition. Often their forward/midfield press included Sterling, Aguero. Da Dilva, Gundohan, Foden, Jesus etc. No wonder they play the ball along the ground. 

True but Guardiola in particular has always had a proper defensive midfielder in his team, there's even stories on the internet of him wanting to try Neuer in Midfield when he was at Bayern.

He could sort of get away with it at Barca because they were so dominant. But every team needs an enforcer type, unless of course you are lucky to have a Bremner Mortimer Cowans Midfield- Bremner was the most defensively minded but Cowans and Mortimer were pretty handy at the defensive stuff.

[LeeB]

Point taken. He is a fairly recent addition. Often their forward/midfield press included Sterling, Aguero. Da Dilva, Gundohan, Foden, Jesus etc. No wonder they play the ball along the ground. 

True but Guardiola in particular has always had a proper defensive midfielder in his team, there's even stories on the internet of him wanting to try Neuer in Midfield when he was at Bayern.

He could sort of get away with it at Barca because they were so dominant. But every team needs an enforcer type, unless of course you are lucky to have a Bremner Mortimer Cowans Midfield- Bremner was the most defensively minded but Cowans and Mortimer were pretty handy at the defensive stuff.

The full video of us drawing 2-2 in the FA Cup at Blackburn in 1990 is on YouTube, I was there and I watched a bit of it last week. One of the Blackburn players broke on the counter and Sid executed the most brilliantly cynical, two footed scissor tackle on the lad from behind. He certainly could mix it.

[Monty]

Busquets is a proper c**t in midfield as well.

[OCD]

A really top quality protector in front of the defence with Nakamba as back-up would be a massive piece of the jigsaw and probably the last piece defensively. Offensively, we need a 10 and a top quality right sided midfielder.

[martyn ellis]

I don't know how much it's due to the influence of Dean Smith alone, but he and the team around him seem to have the knack of improving players who are either already at the club or have been brought in with a very underwhelming response from the fans. Which of the following have not improved their performances? I would include virtually the whole of the defence in simply getting better as the season wore on, starting with Matt Targett who received a very muted welcome when he came and even a shrug of the shoulders from Southampton fans I know who were not particularly bothered he was going. What a season he has had! Konsa has steadily improved to the extent that even the BBC sports pages were somewhat disappointed he didn't make the provisional international squad. Hause, after a terrible first couple of games as a rejected Wolves player, has become a reliable option to come in (Magnificent against Chelsea). Mings - well we all know about Tyrone; brilliant season. Compare this with his status at Bournemouth. Cash also steadily improving apart from the occasional rashness. Midfield, Nakamba has just been getting better and better and could turn into our own Kante. McGinn has been nurtured through his bad injury and is now back to his best, while El Ghazi and Trez have also chipped in and made the transformation from Championship to Premier.
My view is that, with the clearly improved coaching they are getting through O'Kelly, Shakespeare, Terry with Smith at the helm, they could be being coached by the dream team; and with the youth team doing so well under Verity and Bramley and others connected to them, we'll have some good ones coming through, some of whom have already made it. The youth team looked so well-coached the other night I could hardly believe they are 17 years old. Exciting times for Villa with room for a few new faces but a lot of talent already within the club ready for further development.

[dave.woodhall]

I can well imagine that in a few years time, when Deano gets bored with winning everything, Mark Delaney will become manager.

[Percy McCarthy]

Pre-Covid we lost 0 points from winning positions and post Covid we've lost 19.

so it’s still down to Covid?

When did he learn crap game management?

[OCD]

I can well imagine that in a few years time, when Deano gets bored with winning everything, Mark Delaney will become manager.

John Terry may be ahead of him in the queue.

[Percy McCarthy]

Pre-Covid we lost 0 points from winning positions and post Covid we've lost 19.

so it’s still down to Covid?

Think that statistic demonstrates it was a significant event in the season. There's been other factors too, there is no single cause for the up and down nature of the season. But 9 of our players contracting a disease isn't too handy.

I don’t think any one can deny it had an impact.
I just don’t think it can continue to excuse such poor returns from winning positions over 2 seasons.
He never seems to make a proactive decision, at best it’s reactive at worst passive and indecisive.

He never seems to make a proactive decision apart from the times he has and we’ve won games, or again are the numerous games we’ve won only down to the players and not Smith, in which case he can’t win with you and the same posters on here who wanted him gone last season.

There is nothing surer than Smith will get the sack at some point, it’s the nature of the beast of the last 40 odd years, unless your Alex Ferguson, or we really progress quickly and he moves on from us. However, despite the disappointments of 2021, he has done a good job and progressed us. He’s suffered this year from losing his biggest big game player for 1/3 of the season and one of his others being a gamble that has paid off. Let’s see who we get in, who we let go and how we do next season. Talk of getting rid now, strikes me as the kind of over privileged stuff, ‘we’re Aston Villa don’t you know who we are’. we’ve heard this kind of stuff from some Wolves fans moaning about Nuno.

do You need  to see the stats regarding losing points from winning positions?

Do you? Ads posted them and you ignored the half that didn’t fit your argument.

[cdbearsfan]

I can well imagine that in a few years time, when Deano gets bored with winning everything, Mark Delaney will become manager.

John Terry may be ahead of him in the queue.

In the event that we are mega successful, I expect Terry would have been enticed away long before Smith gets bored. He may even go somewhere this summer.

[TonyD]

A really top quality protector in front of the defence with Nakamba as back-up would be a massive piece of the jigsaw and probably the last piece defensively. Offensively, we need a 10 and a top quality right sided midfielder.

I’ve asked on here before but who is currently considered the world’s best midfield enforcer?