Dean Smith - Confirmed

[Clampy]

Grealish may possibly want to move on but McGinn seems the type who'd want to stick around for a bit and try and get us back up.

Using what logic?

McGinn joined us over Celtic last summer for money.

Or maybe he wanted to play in England as well. Some players do. I'm not suggesting he will stick around forever, but I get the sense he'd want to try and have another crack at getting us back up rather than leaving after one season.

[Ads]

Anybody who can quadruple the wages we pay is aiming for Champions League football.

I don't think McGinn will go anywhere. Anybody with a modicum of ambition would want to play in England as opposed to Scotland. He's on a long contract and for good money.

If any player is part of an FFP solution it is Grealish. One may go, but not both.

[Chris Smith]

Grealish may possibly want to move on but McGinn seems the type who'd want to stick around for a bit and try and get us back up.

depends who if anyone comes in for him

If someone decent comes in and offers to quadruple his wages I’m not sure helping us get out of the championship will seem so attractive

I agree but at the same time I doubt that the type of club that might be able to afford to quadruple his wages are going to be looking at him.

[Risso]

I think just playing in the Premier League would be a big enough draw. And he wouldn’t have to quadruple his wages, but he would earn a lot more.

And let’s be honest, the chances of us going up any time soon are fairly remote.

[john e]

Grealish may possibly want to move on but McGinn seems the type who'd want to stick around for a bit and try and get us back up.

depends who if anyone comes in for him

If someone decent comes in and offers to quadruple his wages I’m not sure helping us get out of the championship will seem so attractive

I agree but at the same time I doubt that the type of club that might be able to afford to quadruple his wages are going to be looking at him.

if your right we should be ok then

[olaftab]

From the moment you step into just about any job you are judged.

However you are given a reasonable period of time to understand your role , learn the ropes, gain experience and then contribute.

[Steve67]

You also have to alter the culture at the club.  They were trained to play a particular style under Steve Bruce that Smith would be trying to change over a longer term period.  Bruce wept about having to alter the losing mentality at the club after her took over from RDM.  Smith has to remove the anti-football culture.

[Villa75]

From the moment you step into just about any job you are judged.

However you are given a reasonable period of time to understand your role , learn the ropes, gain experience and then contribute.

As an 17/18 year old apprentice working in a new job, yes. Not as a manager, in any walk of life I've ever known.

[Steve67]

From the moment you step into just about any job you are judged.

However you are given a reasonable period of time to understand your role , learn the ropes, gain experience and then contribute.

As an 17/18 year old apprentice working in a new job, yes. Not as a manager, in any walk of life I've ever known.

I disagree with you.  It really does make a difference when you are having to win the loyalty of the players, teach them different things, ask them to play and think differently.  Smith is not beyond criticism in the way that he has utilised some of the players at times, his subs etc but he's been in the role for only one window and clearly needs to alter the squad some more.  Management may be the principle but football isn't like running an office, HR department or Chinese Takeaway. 

[mr underhill]

Well I was  on six months probation in every senior managerial job I had. it was trial by more senior management than me.

[Rudy65]

From the moment you step into just about any job you are judged.

However you are given a reasonable period of time to understand your role , learn the ropes, gain experience and then contribute.

As an 17/18 year old apprentice working in a new job, yes. Not as a manager, in any walk of life I've ever known.

I disagree with you.  It really does make a difference when you are having to win the loyalty of the players, teach them different things, ask them to play and think differently.  Smith is not beyond criticism in the way that he has utilised some of the players at times, his subs etc but he's been in the role for only one window and clearly needs to alter the squad some more.  Management may be the principle but football isn't like running an office, HR department or Chinese Takeaway.

I would be more positive if I could see just any improvement. At the moment there appears to be none

[Villatillidie25]

Isn’t the question we should all be answering:

Was the huge uptick in form where we blew teams away a result of
a) new manager bounce
b) genuine improvements made by Smith that have since unravelled as a result of grealish, tuanzebe, Chester injuries and a subsequent loss of confidence as results went against us

If you’re in camp a then I’d suggest smith might not work out (I’d say definitely too soon to say though) but camp b is slightly more optimistic and equally plausible

[paul_e]

Isn’t the question we should all be answering:

Was the huge uptick in form where we blew teams away a result of
a) new manager bounce
b) genuine improvements made by Smith that have since unravelled as a result of grealish, tuanzebe, Chester injuries and a subsequent loss of confidence as results went against us

If you’re in camp a then I’d suggest smith might not work out (I’d say definitely too soon to say though) but camp b is slightly more optimistic and equally plausible

I think there's a 3rd option as well which is that the pre-season fitness work wasn't enough to play at that tempo for more than a month or 2 and now we're seeing the dropoff in tempo because the fitness levels aren't there.

It could also be a combination of the 3 (which is where my thinking is right now).

[Risso]

I think the fitness thing is a complete red herring.  It isn't a lack of fitness hampering certain players, it's a lack of ability and/or confidence, combined with a lack of proper organisation from the manager.  Alan Hutton, even at 30+ is up and down the right hand side of the pitch all game.  It's not lack of fitness that makes him a liability, it's the inability to do his job as a defender properly.  With Hourihane, he just doesn't have the natural aggressive game to be a sitting midfielder.

I can't think of any player where you could honestly say that Bruce's pre-season regime is the cause of their inability to do their job properly, it's just that we have two many players who aren't very good.  A situation that we really should have done more to rectify in the recent transfer window.

[brian green]

Correct.  We have too many sub standard players.