Dean Smith - Confirmed

[hipkiss92]

We’ve had 11 games under Smith and 9 of them have been against teams above us in the league. This season will be defined by the games we blew under Bruce, not the last 6 or 7.

The two teams weve played below us were in Smith’s first two games and we won both with clean sheets.

We’re in a better position with Smith in charge than even today’s game would suggest.

Also, we’re historically awful on Boxing Day, so am writing off the Swansea game now.

[Brassneck]

We’ve had 11 games under Smith and 9 of them have been against teams above us in the league. This season will be defined by the games we blew under Bruce, not the last 6 or 7.

The two teams weve played below us were in Smith’s first two games and we won both with clean sheets.

We’re in a better position with Smith in charge than even today’s game would suggest.

Also, we’re historically awful on Boxing Day, so am writing off the Swansea game now.

I think that the season will be defined by a combination of the Bruce games AND the batch of points dropped recently under Smith.

In fairness, top 2 was always going to be an uphill task after the Bruce calamities against Reading, Ipswich, Preston and Blackburn.  However, the late goals conceded against Leeds, Forest & Albion have cost us another 5 points that have left us out of the battle for top 2 and scrapping to make up ground with the top 6.

Smith is very attack minded - To the detriment of the defence (which is woeful and needs protecting).  it is the sacrifice we must make in the short term until it can be addressed in January and most likely further in the summer.

[AndyB6]

Do we have any idea about whether Dean Smith has a plan B?

[Rudy65]

I cannot believe how Hogan continues to be credited with skills he does not have.  My assumption is the time honoured deceit that he cost a mountain of money so he must be good.

Or the habit of rating players inversely proportionately to the amount of time they actually spend in the team.

As I have said on here before Hogan only had 6 months of decent football in his whole career. He was often injured before. We overpaid for a limited player with no prior track record. Junk

[Neil Hawkes]

When you're baking a cake you can either use what's in the cupboard, or buy your own ingredients. The cake would be very different with these two options.

[Ads]

Hourihane is a mirage off the ball. Badly outclassed by some pretty ordinary midfielders like Joe Allen and the Leeds lot.

Fucking hell Ads, you're normally the happy clapper around here. Who's pissed on your chips tonight?

Leeds are the best team offensively we've seen at Villa Park this season so describing then as pretty ordinary is rather silly.

Likewise, Joe Allen, ordinary?! Someone who two years ago, reached the UEFA Cup final, the League Cup final, the semi-final of the Euros and got selected in the Euros team of the tournament?!

Go home Ads, you're drunk!

We've just been battered on our own patch by a side chock full of utter nobodies, half of which appear to be 12 years old, who were injury ravaged. There were absolutely no positives. An utterly lamentable performance, where the manager was badly exposed.

That midfield was a disgrace against Stoke and it should be no surprise to anybody that Leeds played between the lines at will.

We're self evidently a 1 man team.

[brian green]

That is a perfect summary of my feelings too.  Especially the sentence about absolutely no positives, a lamentable performance and the manager being badly exposed.  That was the defining game of the season.

[Matt Collins]

God it doesn't take much for the doom sayers to come out does it

Leeds are top of the league you know? Just won their 6th game on the bounce. Definitely the best team we've played this year

[brian green]

I am not a doom sayer.  I could not have survived 75 years on the Holte as a doom sayer.  I am a realist.  I call it how I see it.

[PeterWithe]

Dean has had an awful lot of praise so far, I don’t see a problem in pointing out where he has been thoroughly bested by a coach with fewer resources.

Swings and roundabouts.

[Ads]

I'm really disappointed he hasn't rolled the dice with young players.

JDH and O'Hare at the top and bottom of a midfield with McGinn, we'd Have been no worse off these last two games and may have seen significantly more energy and movement than either the utterly woeful Hourihane and Whelan could ever offer.

[Steve67]

I would rather make an assessment of our Great Barr, Aston Villa supporting, Holte End Head Coach when he's had the chance to wheel and deal in the transfer market.  He's been dealt a very dodgy hand and has improved it. Sadly, the decision making in our defence is absolutely woeful and we all know that you cannot polish a turd.  Many of the other players, with their big salaries, even bigger egos just simply have not worked out and need to go. Build a team.

[Ads]

How come all you lot can whinge like fuck, yet when I'm miffed it's like Rourkes Drift in the defence of the subject.

Yes Smith is one of us, so in using local, straight to the point language what we are done used to in these parts, its fair to say Smith has been shite the past two games.

[Villafirst]

Smith has had to make do with an unbalanced team from the word go. Let's see what happens when he's had a couple of transfer windows to bring players in of his own choice.

[Ads]

It still doesn't absolve him of criticism. He's deserving of plenty for yesterday.