Dean Smith - Confirmed

[Des Little]

Huge three league games coming up.

[ROBBO]

Leaving Luiz out for me was plain stupid.

[PaulWinch again]

My view is that no one wants to see Dean sacked, haven’t seen anyone say that. However there is some concern that we seem to be repeating the same mistakes and not learning. Also our tactics seem muddled. We’re getting caught playing it out of the back, and at the same time sitting deep to play on the counter.
It’s not working, and we all want Dean to sort it, but he needs to start showing that he can.

[sid1964]

I along with 99.99% of Villa fans are desperate for Dean to be a success in the Premier League, however if anyone thinks that Purslow and the 2 owners are going to sit on their hands and do nothing, then they are very much mistaken.

As mentioned above the next 3 league games are massive for Smith.

[PaulWinch again]

Leaving Luiz out for me was plain stupid.

Yes that’s utterly baffling and worrying.

Luiz needs to play, because he looks like a player who can get his foot on the ball and control it. We badly need that.

[ROBBO]

The first inkling that we were sitting too deep DS should have played three in front of the defence instead he bought on a winger -fullback as he did last game with the same result no improvement, clog the midfield up and with the Arse only having ten men we would have won the game.

[Clampy]

We would be making a huge mistake to get rid of Dean in any circumstances. Fulham sacked Jokanovic, still didn't survive, and look at them now - 12th in the championship.

Anyone who thought we would not be fighting a relegation battle all season long was in the grip of delusion. I think we'll scrape survival under Smith, same as I did before we'd kicked a ball this season. But if we don't, he's still the manager I'd want in charge of the team next season.

On the other hand, Leicester sacked Ranieri and now they're third in the Premier League.

True, but they gave the job to Craig Shakespeare and Claude Puel after they sacked him.

[ldavfc4eva]

No panicking just yet, but he needs to switch formation at the very least.

4-2-3-1 would have been perfect yesterday with Nakamba and either Hourihane or Luiz alongside him.

Dean isn’t up there on his own though, Surely JT or The other bloke (Richard someone?sorry I can’t think of his name!) should be pointing these things out to Dean.

A few have said we look knackered after 70 mins, which is a massive worry if true as fitness should be sorted now.

I still think he needs time, but he won’t get it if he can’t see what’s in front of him, need to get a win and fast and then get some consistency.

It’s a long season, and the likes of Newcastle, Brighton, Norwich will all be stuck at the bottom, Watford may come good yet and I can’t see Sheff Utd staying where they are, we can’t afford to get cut adrift though in the bottom three, need some wins fast.

[Luke8]

Leaving Luiz out for me was plain stupid.

Yes that’s utterly baffling and worrying.

Luiz needs to play, because he looks like a player who can get his foot on the ball and control it. We badly need that.

Was an odd decision not to have him in the squad at all. Especially given the opposition (we were always likely to be put under pressure at some stage) and that you would say Hourihane and Lansbury offer something relatively similar.

Would assume that Smith rates Luiz quite highly though, given that he pretty much brought him straight into the team to begin with, so hopefully just a selection mistake that won’t be repeated.

[brontebilly]

Leaving Luiz out for me was plain stupid.

Would have been an ideal first sub to bring in yesterday. Get his foot on the ball and keep us playing. Concerning that Henri Lansbury was picked ahead of him in the squad.

[OzVilla]

Thing is we really cant afford these 'selection mistakes'. I get the Trez or AEG line ball ones but not this, Luiz playing was a complete no brainer. I like Smith a lot but I've been unimpressed with his contribution so far this season whether it's been team selections, formations, game management and substitutions.   

[Nii Lamptey]

Also didn't like the fact that he laid blame on the players yesterday, when in reality, HE was solely to blame for yesterday's loss. A bit of honesty wouldn't go amiss?

A lot of the midfield were shot after 65 mins, yet he didn't freshen it up accordingly with Hourihane/Lansbury. You've also got to question the club's fitness training. Professional athletes shouldn't be breathing out of their arses after an hour. You may argue that the Premier League is a different ballgame, but Norwich/Sheff utd don't seem to be struggling as we are?

Really want him to succeed, but so far, he's like a rabbit caught with headlights coming straight at him. Come on Dean, sort it out!

[Bad English]

After an hour? I was shocked to see (during breaks in play) some of them looking a bit fucked during the first half whereas the Arse players weren't even sweating.

[Dogtanian]

Dean's mistake yesterday was not swapping some players over earlier to put fresh legs on the pitch and shore us up.  He was right in what he said in his interview that some silly mistakes cost us goals too.

We all talk about the players having to step up a level and needing time as it's a tough learning curve in this division, well the same applies to Smith too.  He will learn though.

[Steve67]

I hope we don’t see wholesale changes for the Brighton cup game. They need the fitness, to play together, to take the cup seriously etc.