Dean Smith - Confirmed

[Toronto Villa]

The thing is we don’t truly know who specifically actually isn’t good enough.

[Simon Page]

I still think the biggest problem has been a lack of Premier League experience in the team. It means we have difficulty closing games out or reacting to opponents who are - obviously - the best in the country. Add in costly errors and a real problem properly carving open top level defences and it's all uphill from there. If you look down the middle of the side, there's precious little top-end experience.

That's not to say all the other things - coaching, ability, tactics, changes - aren't massive factors. I just wish we'd got a few more solid top flight players instead of some of the "promising" category. That way we wouldn't be so reliant on most of the team having to get up to speed quickly and consistently while trying to compete at the very highest level of the game.

[CT Villan]

I still think the biggest problem has been a lack of Premier League experience in the team.

Agree...it's at all levels of the club :

Dean & ROK learning how to manage in the PL
Terry learning how to coach (let alone in the PL)
Most players learning how to play in PL
Suso learning how to recruit for the PL
Owners learning how to 'own' a PL club - granted Edens has some pro-sport ownership experience

Perhaps the only exception is Purslow, but that's a massive amount of inexperience with the others and no great surprise we are struggling.

[john e]

The thing is we don’t truly know who specifically actually isn’t good enough.

Nyland, Konsa, Hause, Taylor, Hourahane, Elmo, Lansbury, are all not prem standard
(I might be wrong but apart from Lansbury I think every one of them took part in our last game, which is why we have a big problem)

But that still leaves a good number who I think are good enough, I'm comparing to other teams and squads in the bottom half of the table not the De Bruyns and Van Dijks of this world

[Big Ming]

The thing is we don’t truly know who specifically actually isn’t good enough.

Nyland, Konsa, Hause, Taylor, Hourahane, Elmo, Lansbury, are all not prem standard
(I might be wrong but apart from Lansbury I think every one of them took part in our last game, which is why we have a big problem)

But that still leaves a good number who I think are good enough, I'm comparing to other teams and squads in the bottom half of the table not the De Bruyns and Van Dijks of this world

Neither winger is good enough IMHO.

[john e]

The thing is we don’t truly know who specifically actually isn’t good enough.

Nyland, Konsa, Hause, Taylor, Hourahane, Elmo, Lansbury, are all not prem standard
(I might be wrong but apart from Lansbury I think every one of them took part in our last game, which is why we have a big problem)

But that still leaves a good number who I think are good enough, I'm comparing to other teams and squads in the bottom half of the table not the De Bruyns and Van Dijks of this world

Neither winger is good enough IMHO.

ha ha yeah I forgot about them

[SamTheMouse]

I still think we're fine down the middle of the pitch, the massive problem we have is that all the wide players - including the full backs - are not good enough to play in this league.

All of them.

[WarszaVillan]

The thing is we don’t truly know who specifically actually isn’t good enough.

Nyland, Konsa, Hause, Taylor, Hourahane, Elmo, Lansbury, are all not prem standard
(I might be wrong but apart from Lansbury I think every one of them took part in our last game, which is why we have a big problem)

But that still leaves a good number who I think are good enough, I'm comparing to other teams and squads in the bottom half of the table not the De Bruyns and Van Dijks of this world

Neither winger is good enough IMHO.

ha ha yeah I forgot about them

I think Hause and Konsa could be squad players in a mid-table Prem team. Hause has done pretty well since the break IMO

[PaulWinch again]

If he fails to keep us up he’ll have done a poor job and should go.

[RamboandBruno]

to suggest a 10 game winning run last year, the best in the clubs history, was a fluke is just the most bizarre re-writing of history. I watched probably 7 of those 10 games home and away and whilst not always being on top of our game, we were never lucky or Flucky, sometimes we had to dig in, hold on and take our chances (Sheffield and Rotherham away), but that’s the sign of a good and dare I say it well coached team.
Of course we got better when our most talented player came back, that would of been the same for any team at any level, but the idea grealish did it on his own just isn’t true. He wasn’t our best player in quite a few of those games and I would argue apart from a 10 minute spell in 1st leg against WBA, didn’t really turn up in play off semis or final.
Some people have made their minds up about smith months ago, maybe even early on in the season and that’s fine and their prerogative. Since lockdown I’ve been feeling a bit non plused about the whole thing. But the re-writing of history to suit the agenda of getting rid is I think unfair.
It’s been hard to watch this season, but I can remember at least 3 seasons since I’ve been going down VP, where we’ve escaped relegation by 1 place in the league and non of them were easy to watch. As has been mentioned countless times, if Smith keeps us up after the dismantling of the promotion winning squad and the partially inadequate purchases (I think some of them do have potential if we escape, Konsa, Hause, Luiz, possibly Wes, Guilbert, possibly Targett) it will be a huge achievement.

[john e]

The thing is we don’t truly know who specifically actually isn’t good enough.

Nyland, Konsa, Hause, Taylor, Hourahane, Elmo, Lansbury, are all not prem standard
(I might be wrong but apart from Lansbury I think every one of them took part in our last game, which is why we have a big problem)

But that still leaves a good number who I think are good enough, I'm comparing to other teams and squads in the bottom half of the table not the De Bruyns and Van Dijks of this world

Neither winger is good enough IMHO.

ha ha yeah I forgot about them

I think Hause and Konsa could be squad players in a mid-table Prem team. Hause has done pretty well since the break IMO

I don’t think they, especially Hause are good enough even for the Championship
they just aren’t good enough on the ball, lacking basic footballing ability unfortunately

[PaulWinch again]

Dean - West Ham showed how your results against top 6 sides can define your season. Think on that.

[The_ads]

Not just that, West Ham had something about them tonight. We would concede that penalty and collapse and lose the game 3-0. We have no battling qualities at all, no nouse to shut down a top 6 teams major threats and certainly in no way savvy enough to go and win a game like that 3-2. We deserve to go down because we’ve been fucking garbage since the turn of the year and even worse since the restart.

[Sexual Ealing]

Not just that, West Ham had something about them tonight. We would concede that penalty and collapse and lose the game 3-0. We have no battling qualities at all, no nouse to shut down a top 6 teams major threats and certainly in no way savvy enough to go and win a game like that 3-2. We deserve to go down because we’ve been fucking garbage since the turn of the year and even worse since the restart.

There is plenty to criticise Smith for, but a game played between West Ham and Chelsea isn't one of them.

[The_ads]

Not just that, West Ham had something about them tonight. We would concede that penalty and collapse and lose the game 3-0. We have no battling qualities at all, no nouse to shut down a top 6 teams major threats and certainly in no way savvy enough to go and win a game like that 3-2. We deserve to go down because we’ve been fucking garbage since the turn of the year and even worse since the restart.

There is plenty to criticise Smith for, but a game played between West Ham and Chelsea isn't one of them.

I’m making the comparison that we were powder puff against Chelsea at home, outplayed for the majority of game and never looked like getting back into game once behind. West Ham on other hand.....