Dean Smith - Confirmed

[Richard E]

Was having a very decent chat with some fans at HT yesterday in concourse. For me its pretty simple. Players have a ceiling to their ability. You have players to get you promoted, some to keep you in the league then you need better to elevate that further. This applies to managers as well. The bigger our squad gets, the more vast it gets with bigger players the more he looks lost. I love the bloke and for what hes done for us i will always have fond memories of him. I dont want that feeling to be tarnished further if he sticks in and it turns more sour. For me its time for a parting of ways and we both move on.

Question that also came up is this. Name one manager whose left us and gone onto a bigger job? Not happened since GT! Surely that says something

It's because there aren't any bigger jobs than managing the greatest football club the world has ever known and will know!

[Footy-Vill]

AVFC Transfers & News
@ITKAstonVilla


"NSWE STILL BACK Smith (as of now). The next three “easier” games are his last chance to turn around the form. Fail to do this and he will face the sack. Owners want to back Smith until it’s simply deemed impossible"

On Saturday day before Villa game  same account said:
"Tyrone Mings has been DROPPED from tomorrow’s starting XI. On further note Danny Ings will not make the team (hamstring), neither will Douglas Luiz"

Credible source by looks of things

[Drummond]

Preece has made a similar comment I believe.

I think Friday is the game that will decide.

[cdbearsfan]

If we are looking at getting rid, it would be madness to wait until the easier games are out of the way and give the new incumbent Man City, Leicester and Liverpool as his opening matches. In any case, the international break provides an obvious sacking window. Getting shot of him in December where you play a game roughly every twenty minutes would lead to a very awkward transition.

[algy]

Was having a very decent chat with some fans at HT yesterday in concourse. For me its pretty simple. Players have a ceiling to their ability. You have players to get you promoted, some to keep you in the league then you need better to elevate that further. This applies to managers as well. The bigger our squad gets, the more vast it gets with bigger players the more he looks lost. I love the bloke and for what hes done for us i will always have fond memories of him. I dont want that feeling to be tarnished further if he sticks in and it turns more sour. For me its time for a parting of ways and we both move on.

Question that also came up is this. Name one manager whose left us and gone onto a bigger job? Not happened since GT! Surely that says something

We have been a career killer for most of our previous managers.

I think it's that Villa is a very, very tough gig.  We're the biggest club in the region by far, covering a huge geographic radius that arguably stretches up to Stoke and down to Gloucester/Cheltenham.  That comes with expectations to match - to be successful at Villa, you need to put trophies in the cabinet.  Simple as that.  Anyone who doesn't win stuff, ain't going to get a job at a club of a similar stature, since clubs of a similar stature also demand trophies.

If you are a success and win stuff, there's not really any clubs 'above' Villa in the pecking order, since they'd by definition not be winning stuff.

And that's basically why IMO you don't get many managers go on to bigger things than Villa.  Aside from SGT, I'm not sure I can think of another in our history ... Joe Mercer, perhaps?  That's about it.

[dave.woodhall]

Was having a very decent chat with some fans at HT yesterday in concourse. For me its pretty simple. Players have a ceiling to their ability. You have players to get you promoted, some to keep you in the league then you need better to elevate that further. This applies to managers as well. The bigger our squad gets, the more vast it gets with bigger players the more he looks lost. I love the bloke and for what hes done for us i will always have fond memories of him. I dont want that feeling to be tarnished further if he sticks in and it turns more sour. For me its time for a parting of ways and we both move on.

Question that also came up is this. Name one manager whose left us and gone onto a bigger job? Not happened since GT! Surely that says something

We have been a career killer for most of our previous managers.

I think it's that Villa is a very, very tough gig.  We're the biggest club in the region by far, covering a huge geographic radius that arguably stretches up to Stoke and down to Gloucester/Cheltenham.  That comes with expectations to match - to be successful at Villa, you need to put trophies in the cabinet.  Simple as that.  Anyone who doesn't win stuff, ain't going to get a job at a club of a similar stature, since clubs of a similar stature also demand trophies.

If you are a success and win stuff, there's not really any clubs 'above' Villa in the pecking order, since they'd by definition not be winning stuff.

And that's basically why IMO you don't get many managers go on to bigger things than Villa.  Aside from SGT, I'm not sure I can think of another in our history ... Joe Mercer, perhaps?  That's about it.

Tommy Docherty, eventually.

[ChicagoLion]

If we are looking at getting rid, it would be madness to wait until the easier games are out of the way and give the new incumbent Man City, Leicester and Liverpool as his opening matches. In any case, the international break provides an obvious sacking window. Getting shot of him in December where you play a game roughly every twenty minutes would lead to a very awkward transition.

agreed.

[brontebilly]

Was having a very decent chat with some fans at HT yesterday in concourse. For me its pretty simple. Players have a ceiling to their ability. You have players to get you promoted, some to keep you in the league then you need better to elevate that further. This applies to managers as well. The bigger our squad gets, the more vast it gets with bigger players the more he looks lost. I love the bloke and for what hes done for us i will always have fond memories of him. I dont want that feeling to be tarnished further if he sticks in and it turns more sour. For me its time for a parting of ways and we both move on.

Question that also came up is this. Name one manager whose left us and gone onto a bigger job? Not happened since GT! Surely that says something

We have been a career killer for most of our previous managers.

I think it's that Villa is a very, very tough gig.  We're the biggest club in the region by far, covering a huge geographic radius that arguably stretches up to Stoke and down to Gloucester/Cheltenham.  That comes with expectations to match - to be successful at Villa, you need to put trophies in the cabinet.  Simple as that.  Anyone who doesn't win stuff, ain't going to get a job at a club of a similar stature, since clubs of a similar stature also demand trophies.

If you are a success and win stuff, there's not really any clubs 'above' Villa in the pecking order, since they'd by definition not be winning stuff.

And that's basically why IMO you don't get many managers go on to bigger things than Villa.  Aside from SGT, I'm not sure I can think of another in our history ... Joe Mercer, perhaps?  That's about it.

I know but....some of them are completely broken by the Villa experience, or their CVs are at any rate

DOL...came to us with a very good rep, one nightmare last season that exposed him as a treacherous pr*ck but hasn't got even a sniff of an EPL gig since
MON - 3 x 6th placed finishes but only gets Sunderland after us which went badly and finished now
Lambert - back to back promotions at Norwich, a shell of a man by the end of his time with us and a jobbing lower league coach these days
Little, BFR, JG - never managed any club of consequence again

[Jon Crofts]

AVFC Transfers & News
@ITKAstonVilla


"NSWE STILL BACK Smith (as of now). The next three “easier” games are his last chance to turn around the form. Fail to do this and he will face the sack. Owners want to back Smith until it’s simply deemed impossible"

On Saturday day before Villa game  same account said:
"Tyrone Mings has been DROPPED from tomorrow’s starting XI. On further note Danny Ings will not make the team (hamstring), neither will Douglas Luiz"

Credible source by looks of things

Who the week before said Bailey would start against Arsenal.

[Mister E]

If we are looking at getting rid, it would be madness to wait until the easier games are out of the way and give the new incumbent Man City, Leicester and Liverpool as his opening matches. In any case, the international break provides an obvious sacking window. Getting shot of him in December where you play a game roughly every twenty minutes would lead to a very awkward transition.

agreed.

These 'easier games': On current form, I don't fancy any one of them, to be honest!

[andyh]

And does he get all 3 easy games before potentially getting the bullet?
Does he need to get a certain number of points out of the 3 games to keep his job, and if he loses the first game can he still reach that points requirement?

So many questions.

[paul_e]

I never believe the "x games to save his job" rumours becase there are always too many questions over what it really means.

Making a decision after the next game makes a lot more sense.

[aj2k77]

We've been on a poor run for 36 games. What changes if we win a couple now? Surely the limitations have been bared for all to see. Again, we fiddle around when it comes to managers.

[Risso]

We've been on a poor run for 36 games. What changes if we win a couple now? Surely the limitations have been bared for all to see. Again, we fiddle around when it comes to managers.

Agreed.

[PaulWinch again]

Granted we don’t know what’s happening in the board room, but with a few historical exceptions I think once you’re down to “he’s got a couple of games to save his job” then you should pull the trigger. At the point surely you’re dissatisfied with the direction of travel - what’s a couple of games going to tell you? Not a whole lot. This calendar year we’ve been really poor and there’s been more than enough time to correct it.