Dean Smith - Confirmed

[ChicagoLion]

He is not beyond criticism and his poor decisions are there for all to see.
He needs to get a grip on things with the games coming up,if not he and we are in trouble.

[Flin5tone]

I'm not calling for him to be sacked, he's a top bloke and villa, who wouldn't want him to succeed but the table will tell you he isn't doing a good job. We're 4th from bottom

I just dont think he deserved a 4 year contract and why? Where was he going? Who'd want him, apart from a championship club. 

[SoccerHQ]

"pressed at wrong times"

"couldn't fault the effort, kept going"

"AEM blocked for third goal"

Plenty to get into from those comments! That is nature of DS's management from the start at Walsall, he never criticises individuals in interviews and keeps things in house which is sensible.

Wasn't even asked about the Mings injury which sums up the WM coverage.

[olaftab]

There is no need to panic. Dean needs to take stock and reset the team back to to team that beat Newcastle easily and should have won at Old Trafford. He is limited on CF options as Kodjia is unreliable and Davis is injured and not that good in any case. So he has to go with what he's got. Must aim for 10 points from next 5 games otherwise we will be in it for the season.

[tricky59]

I hate to think what it would have been like on here for Ron Saunders when we struggled in the 75/76 season after promotion the previous season.

[TheMalandro]

I hate to think what it would have been like on here for Ron Saunders when we struggled in the 75/76 season after promotion the previous season.

Some of the comments are ludicrous.

We're a promoted team, with new signings in almost every position.
The individual mistakes are what's really killing us at the moment.

From what I've seen of the squad, it's a positive, happy group.

Stick with them.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

I know, I saw it. As I said in another thread, good teams will do that to you.

I think that's letting us off too lightly.  We made life difficult for ourselves.

We did. Our passing was appalling and the players let their inferiority get to them. I'd have started Guilbert over Elmo, and I'd have brought Hourihane on when it became obvious that we were going to get fuck all from open play.

I'd imagine the thinking was to get Elmo putting in the crosses rather than wasting El Ghazi on the wing, allowing him to play more central.

We knew before the game Leicester have a very strong midfield, maybe the best in the PL, so to allow them the freedom of Villa Park today was a massive tactical mistake. Conor could have helped out and you're right, we desperately need him on dead balls. As I mentioned on the Match thread, I can't see the point of the referee awarding us corners. They're such a waste of time.

[garyshawsknee]

There is no need to panic. Dean needs to take stock and reset the team back to to team that beat Newcastle easily and should have won at Old Trafford. He is limited on CF options as Kodjia is unreliable and Davis is injured and not that good in any case. So he has to go with what he's got. Must aim for 10 points from next 5 games otherwise we will be in it for the season.

I'm not pinning this one on Dean, probably more the DOF fault, but buying a relatively unknown forward when your other options aren't very reliable ( as you rightly say ) is really poor planning and short sighted.

[Villafirst]

Smith says we were too open in our play - surely that was his instructions?  He needs to be a bit more solid at times with his formation and tactics especially against a bang in form Leicester.

[rougegorge]

I hate to think what it would have been like on here for Ron Saunders when we struggled in the 75/76 season after promotion the previous season.

Some of the comments are ludicrous.

We're a promoted team, with new signings in almost every position.
The individual mistakes are what's really killing us at the moment.

From what I've seen of the squad, it's a positive, happy group.

Stick with them.

In 75/76, we may not have won away but we only lost twice at home and were never in danger of going down and we didn't struggle to the extent that we are doing this season.

The players were bickering and remonstrating with each other after the 3rd went in today,  and showed little application in the second half.

[brian green]

Can't see Smith being the man for us long term.  Too accident prone.

[TheMalandro]

I hate to think what it would have been like on here for Ron Saunders when we struggled in the 75/76 season after promotion the previous season.

Some of the comments are ludicrous.

We're a promoted team, with new signings in almost every position.
The individual mistakes are what's really killing us at the moment.

From what I've seen of the squad, it's a positive, happy group.

Stick with them.

In 75/76, we may not have won away but we only lost twice at home and were never in danger of going down and we didn't struggle to the extent that we are doing this season.

The players were bickering and remonstrating with each other after the 3rd went in today,  and showed little application in the second half.

Well beaten by a superior team.

I'm not bothered about that. It's the goals that we handed to them that frustrate me.

[villa `cross the mersey]

We don't appear to have learned our lesson even under new owners - awarding a manager a contract extension prior to securing our place in the league seems premature -  hopefully I'm proven wrong in 6 months time .
Like many I was bounded over by the euphoria of promotion and just maybe we were ahead of " the plan" - likewise we have a team and manager unaccustomed to this league and are learning how difficult it is - whilst I applaud the support for the manager from the owners they may need to show a ruthless streak if we are in the bottom 3 after Christmas.
The Wesley signing is looking increasingly suspect as he fails to demonstrate any positive attributes whatsoever - who actually scouted/recommended him ?
I'd love to be optimistic about the upcoming games but Smith's`s reluctance/inability to change system or pattern of play is looking to be his Achilles heel

[Des Little]

Playing an open game against that lot today was absolutely asking for what we got. In fact, we got off lightly. It could have been a lot more.

[Risso]

Playing an open game against that lot today was absolutely asking for what we got. In fact, we got off lightly. It could have been a lot more.

Yes, they could easily have had 6 or 7 today.  This is getting really concerning now.  Jack is the only player at the moment in any semblance of form.  We have good players like Mings and McGinn hopelessly out of form, then just utter pilchards like Wesley stealing a living.  This isn't going to end well.