Dean Smith - Confirmed

[Lastfootstamper]

^^^does not apply to Smith. My reality depends on it.

[Clark W Griswold]

I was thinking similar. Lambert has managed to get himself plenty of work since and largely been shit, his Norwich success seems to be the exception to the rule. The other three, do we really know whether they've been for loads of interviews and struggled to get work since? I would have thought Gregory and De Matteo would still have a good shout of getting work even in the PL and O'Leary could have worked his way back up. As for how promising they were, Gregory had never managed anyone, the others were ok but hardly touted as the new Ferguson.

I think it's ridiculous to suggest offing Smith at the moment, if we get 0 points out of the next 3 then i could at least understand people starting to say it but i still wouldn't agree. Maybe if we get into March and things look utterly hopeless and irreversible but i really don't like promoted managers being sacked in their first season in the league above.

[Risso]

It's not because he's a Villa fan. It's because he's been here barely a year,  worked one miracle already and we've had a few bad performances against better teams than us. If you want him sacked after that, good luck persuading any decent manager that joining the Villa would be anything other than disastrous for his career.

Villa Park has been a career ender for many a promising or decent manager for nigh on 30 years. Yet they still come, why is that?

Interesting comment. Name them then?? The “promising or decent” managers in the last 30 years who’s career was ended by coming to Villa??

Lambert
Gregory
O'Leary
Di Matteo

And which one of those falls into the “promising or decent” category ??

All of them at the time, hence me mentioning them.

[Clampy]

You can throw Remi Garde in there as well.

[Ian.]

You can throw Remi Garde in there as well.

You mean another to throw into the scrap heap?

[tomd2103]

I was thinking similar. Lambert has managed to get himself plenty of work since and largely been shit, his Norwich success seems to be the exception to the rule. The other three, do we really know whether they've been for loads of interviews and struggled to get work since? I would have thought Gregory and De Matteo would still have a good shout of getting work even in the PL and O'Leary could have worked his way back up. As for how promising they were, Gregory had never managed anyone, the others were ok but hardly touted as the new Ferguson.

I think it's ridiculous to suggest offing Smith at the moment, if we get 0 points out of the next 3 then i could at least understand people starting to say it but i still wouldn't agree. Maybe if we get into March and things look utterly hopeless and irreversible but i really don't like promoted managers being sacked in their first season in the league above.

Would go along with that, but things could look very different after tonight and the next three league games both for the better or a lot worse. 

After half a season back in the top flight, the thought of going straight back down into the Championship and the inevitable asset stripping that would follow is a really unappealing one to be honest, so there may be some itchy fingers should the prospect of relegation become a distinct possibility in the new year.

I do think Dean Smith hasn't had the easiest of jobs this season.  We didn't come up from the Championship with the spine of a successful side and he's had to start from scratch with practically a new team. 

[Damo70]

It's not because he's a Villa fan. It's because he's been here barely a year,  worked one miracle already and we've had a few bad performances against better teams than us. If you want him sacked after that, good luck persuading any decent manager that joining the Villa would be anything other than disastrous for his career.

Villa Park has been a career ender for many a promising or decent manager for nigh on 30 years. Yet they still come, why is that?

Interesting comment. Name them then?? The “promising or decent” managers in the last 30 years who’s career was ended by coming to Villa??

Lambert
Gregory
O'Leary
Di Matteo

Gregory joined us from Wycombe, did a decent job for a while then moved on to Derby and QPR so we hardly ended his career. His stock was higher after leaving us than it was prior to joining us. Lambert has never been short of work basically just down to the fact he never relegated us. O'Leary did okay enough with us for his reputation not to be hit too badly and Di Matteo wasn't with us long enough for people to form much of an opinion.

[Sexual Ealing]

It's not because he's a Villa fan. It's because he's been here barely a year,  worked one miracle already and we've had a few bad performances against better teams than us. If you want him sacked after that, good luck persuading any decent manager that joining the Villa would be anything other than disastrous for his career.

Villa Park has been a career ender for many a promising or decent manager for nigh on 30 years. Yet they still come, why is that?

Interesting comment. Name them then?? The “promising or decent” managers in the last 30 years who’s career was ended by coming to Villa??

Lambert
Gregory
O'Leary
Di Matteo

Gregory joined us from Wycombe, did a decent job for a while then moved on to Derby and QPR so we hardly ended his career. His stock was higher after leaving us than it was prior to joining us. Lambert has never been short of work basically just down to the fact he never relegated us. O'Leary did okay enough with us for his reputation not to be hit too badly and Di Matteo wasn't with us long enough for people to form much of an opinion.

O'Leary's continued unemployment is everything to do with David O'Leary and nothing to do with Aston Villa.

[Simon Page]

I think only Mercer and Docherty have won major honours after leaving us. It's not so much we're a graveyard, more there are precious few clubs where you can achieve more, especially given we have almost exclusively stuck to British managers who don't tend to get things like the Madrid gig. We are, more often than not, the biggest job of a manager's career.

[Allan C]

You can throw Remi Garde in there as well.

The only one in my opinion. Circumstances at that time made his lot impossible.

[cdbearsfan]

Although he still could have done better. Well, he couldn't have done a lot worse.

[wince]

Dare I say tactics Tim? My views on dean is that our owners might not be as patient if their investment is threatened by relegation. He has a lot to learn and a lot to prove as it is either win or lose and these poor runs of form are worrying. However I do think we came up too soon with a squad of individuals. In that respect it reminds me of the lambert young and hungry days. Stay up we won’t be on the relegation scrap next year.

[chrisw1]

I think both Sherwood and O'Learly in particular were heavily tainted by their time with us.  O'Leary was pretty highly regarded before joining but got massively found out.

I think saying we've ben a graveyard for managers is a pretty reasonable call.

[N'ZMAV]

we do like to ruin a decent manager, oh and strikers too - we've ruined a few of those.

[ChicagoLion]

Or it could be we have recruited some awful managers and players.