Quote from: Mister E on September 27, 2021, 09:02:46 AMQuote from: brontebilly on September 26, 2021, 09:40:56 PMQuote from: ROBBO on September 26, 2021, 11:16:21 AMWe are far more direct without Joe, he always slowed the movement down, yes he was brilliant for us but we were brilliant for him. I watch the side he plays for now and wonder is he really happy playing chess?..We are playing a much different style of football. Playing more for set pieces, physically stronger too. Bit like MONs teams in recent games. How can you assert that we're playing for more set pieces when the "King o the Collapse" has departed for medals?! - don't follow your logic at all, particularly when our game is now characterised by continuity (keeping the ball moving).And the reference to MON is strange too: firstly, because we're not playing players out of position (i.e. at right back) and secondly because MON teams were happy to sit deep for large parts of the game. Our current team is well-balanced and on the front foot.I don't recall us trying a single long throw under Smith before this season...We are also trying a lot more long diagonal punts into the box at set pieces, not just corners, like we did v Everton with Konsa nodding back a clever one that Ings put just wide. I don't see anything wrong with this...playing to our new strengths if we have 3 CBs on. Extra man in midfield now means the likes of Luiz and McGinn have a bit more freedom and not as worried about getting caught on the ball like they were when playing in a two. Playing with 4231 was designed really to get the best out of Grealish and Watkins but others like Luiz and McGinn struggled the longer it went on. In summary, I think there are significant changes in our style of play this season.
Quote from: brontebilly on September 26, 2021, 09:40:56 PMQuote from: ROBBO on September 26, 2021, 11:16:21 AMWe are far more direct without Joe, he always slowed the movement down, yes he was brilliant for us but we were brilliant for him. I watch the side he plays for now and wonder is he really happy playing chess?..We are playing a much different style of football. Playing more for set pieces, physically stronger too. Bit like MONs teams in recent games. How can you assert that we're playing for more set pieces when the "King o the Collapse" has departed for medals?! - don't follow your logic at all, particularly when our game is now characterised by continuity (keeping the ball moving).And the reference to MON is strange too: firstly, because we're not playing players out of position (i.e. at right back) and secondly because MON teams were happy to sit deep for large parts of the game. Our current team is well-balanced and on the front foot.
Quote from: ROBBO on September 26, 2021, 11:16:21 AMWe are far more direct without Joe, he always slowed the movement down, yes he was brilliant for us but we were brilliant for him. I watch the side he plays for now and wonder is he really happy playing chess?..We are playing a much different style of football. Playing more for set pieces, physically stronger too. Bit like MONs teams in recent games.
We are far more direct without Joe, he always slowed the movement down, yes he was brilliant for us but we were brilliant for him. I watch the side he plays for now and wonder is he really happy playing chess?
Quote from: Toronto Villa on September 25, 2021, 04:01:16 PMHe’s proving a lot of people wrong. Myself included. He had to do this without Jack Grealish. Nobody here gives a flying fuck about him now. And Dean Smith is becoming a better manager for it. We are starting to see a settled system, coaching emerging in terms of a plan on how to play and certainly how to attack and defend set pieces including throw ins. But we now have players who can legitimately change games and allow us when needed to play different ways. That’s critical if we want to push on.This is it. This is absolutely it. We don't look like a side that particularly misses him. Arguably we're better for his absence. Something unthinkable 6 months ago.
He’s proving a lot of people wrong. Myself included. He had to do this without Jack Grealish. Nobody here gives a flying fuck about him now. And Dean Smith is becoming a better manager for it. We are starting to see a settled system, coaching emerging in terms of a plan on how to play and certainly how to attack and defend set pieces including throw ins. But we now have players who can legitimately change games and allow us when needed to play different ways. That’s critical if we want to push on.
Quote from: algy on September 26, 2021, 11:33:57 AMQuote from: Toronto Villa on September 25, 2021, 04:01:16 PMHe’s proving a lot of people wrong. Myself included. He had to do this without Jack Grealish. Nobody here gives a flying fuck about him now. And Dean Smith is becoming a better manager for it. We are starting to see a settled system, coaching emerging in terms of a plan on how to play and certainly how to attack and defend set pieces including throw ins. But we now have players who can legitimately change games and allow us when needed to play different ways. That’s critical if we want to push on.This is it. This is absolutely it. We don't look like a side that particularly misses him. Arguably we're better for his absence. Something unthinkable 6 months ago.Seem to recall last year Adrian Durham claimed that Joe held us back and got ridiculed for it.As much as I think Durham is an odious little man, he may actually have had a point
Compare and contrast: Dean Smith's Aston Villa with Nuno's Spurs. One is focused, clear about how he wants his team to set up and play, and the other is Nuno. I hope this doesn't come back to bite me in the arse this weekend.
I was just listening to the Guardian Football Weekly podcast. Jordan Jarrett-Bryan, who I understand is a TalkSport presenter, was offered the opportunity to step back from his criticism of Dean Smith from the start of last season (when I think he basically said that he isn’t a good enough manager) in the light of mounting evidence, including Saturday’s result. Whilst complimentary about the performance he said ‘I’m just upset that these good times are happening to that set of supporters.’, ‘I like Aston Villa, it’s just the fans’, and ‘I’m not anti Aston Villa it’s just the supporters’. When challenged that ‘every club has these fans’ he said ‘they have more than most’.
I've been reflecting on the close-season. After last season, what were the big challenges that Deano faced? - 1. an over-reliance on one player, who - when absent - left a gaping hole in our team; 2. an inflexible formation that had become too predictable; 3. poor outcomes from set pieces; 4. a stale coaching team; 5. players being played to their strength.Despite the perhaps-unexpected departure of our Big Player and the disruption of the pre-season plans, it seems clear that there has been a real focus on addressing the shortcomings (point 4 above is perhaps evidenced by the post above that gave us this link https://twitter.com/PreeceObserver/status/1442531907099635716).Point 5 above refers to Cash's improved right-wing exploits, SJG and Luiz being used more effectively (negating the need to being in a specialist DMF) and the existence in the squad of 4 CB that can play in different systems effectively. I may be crediting Smith, Lange and Purslow with too much, but it does seem to me that they did an in-depth review of a successful second season and have now addressed several significant improvement areas.It's pretty impressive if viewed as I've outlined it.
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Topic: Dean Smith - Confirmed (Read 1537219 times)
