Dean Smith - Confirmed

[The Edge]

So, the manager has one defined style of play, and imposes this on players he knows are not capable of playing it? How's that likely to turn out?

Not only that. When we're losing, against a shit Wigan side, he decides to bring on the very player least likely to ever be able to play 'his way'?

And that's good management?

I call it not having a plan B.

Dean Smith has been brought in to make us a better and more attractive team to watch. To get us promoted asap playing an attractive brand of football. His style is to play attacking fluid football and we were all thrilled when we battered Derby, Middlesboro & WBA and who can forget the 5-5 v forest? Intoxicating stuff. He will plough on regardless until we have the team built in his image. He's implementing it come what may. Doubting him already and questioning whether he has a "plan b" is playing up to our "fickle" reputation. Admittedy mistakes are being made but I can forgive him as he is desperately trying to polish the turd of a squad that Steve Bruce left him with. The bigger picture is full houses at Villa Park watching us playing with style and panache and marching back into the Premier league. Rome wasn't built in a day though was it?

[The Edge]

I've plenty of faith in the guy. I want him to have time to try and turn around years of dreadful appointments and decision making.

This.

[DrGonzo]

FFS the guy has been dealt a crock of shit, after years of mismanagement and terrible transfer policy.  Half a transfer window to begin one of the biggest rebuilding jobs since Leeds disappeared in a puff of over ambition is not sufficent time.  We all want the club to be succesful, jumping on the manager as soon as times become tough is  (often justifiably I admit) part of the reason we are up the Swannee without a whistle as it is.  As to style DS must coach his way with all the numpties for the sake of those that will be part of his plans going forward.  Let's see where we stand this time next year.

[Villa75]

"turd of a squad"?

Not long ago, many on here were calling it "the best in the division" along with others saying "a better manager than Bruce would have us promoted".

Also, this "turd" was producing some great performances not long ago, thanks to the new manager. The fact they have recently produced some diabolical performances is also down to the same guy.

Smith needs to sort it out, and soon. The owners may indicate they are happy to stay in the division for the foreseeable, and even mean it, but I'm pretty sure the novelty of that idea will run out all too soon for the majority of the fans.

[Villa75]

Some might say, we're "up the Swannee without a whistle"  because we keep employing managers who are not up to the job.

I sincerely hope Smith is not one of those. I'm hoping for a good performance and result Saturday, and an end to all of the excuses for turgid displays.

I repeat. This squad has played some great football, and impressive results. The manager has to show began do that again, in a regular basis.

[Ads]

The manager also has to have the opportunity to improve the quality and balance of the squad.

The deficiencies have been there all season. As bad as Saturday was, Sheffield United rings in the ears where we could have lost 7 or 8 and they eased off and felt sorry for us. There's been equally lamentable performances elsewhere.

We're very weak at full back, we have been weak in goal although the new keeper looks a lot better and but for him, we'd have been thumped by Swansea and Wigan. We're devoid any midfield cover for the defence and two injuries have been disastrous for a style of play that the manager was able to ring out for 6 or 7 game period.

We need to stop the slump we've been on post-Albion. A win Saturday would be more than welcome,especially with two of the bottom 3 to come. Although worth bearing in mind we took 2 points form the corresponding fixtures with the squad under Bruce.

[stuart445]

So, the manager has one defined style of play, and imposes this on players he knows are not capable of playing it? How's that likely to turn out?

Not only that. When we're losing, against a shit Wigan side, he decides to bring on the very player least likely to ever be able to play 'his way'?

And that's good management?

I call it not having a plan B.

Dean Smith has been brought in to make us a better and more attractive team to watch. To get us promoted asap playing an attractive brand of football. His style is to play attacking fluid football and we were all thrilled when we battered Derby, Middlesboro & WBA and who can forget the 5-5 v forest? Intoxicating stuff. He will plough on regardless until we have the team built in his image. He's implementing it come what may. Doubting him already and questioning whether he has a "plan b" is playing up to our "fickle" reputation. Admittedy mistakes are being made but I can forgive him as he is desperately trying to polish the turd of a squad that Steve Bruce left him with. The bigger picture is full houses at Villa Park watching us playing with style and panache and marching back into the Premier league. Rome wasn't built in a day though was it?

You mean a squad that Smith has said is the best he's managed.  Also a squad many of the Bruce haters were saying should be perofming better and that any manager would be able to get performing better.

Howcome now we are performing worse than we were under Bruce it's all Bruce left a shit squad etc... Which is the total opposite to what they were saying when Bruce was here.

[Chinchilla Bathhouse]

So, the manager has one defined style of play, and imposes this on players he knows are not capable of playing it? How's that likely to turn out?

Not only that. When we're losing, against a shit Wigan side, he decides to bring on the very player least likely to ever be able to play 'his way'?

And that's good management?

I call it not having a plan B.

Dean Smith has been brought in to make us a better and more attractive team to watch. To get us promoted asap playing an attractive brand of football. His style is to play attacking fluid football and we were all thrilled when we battered Derby, Middlesboro & WBA and who can forget the 5-5 v forest? Intoxicating stuff. He will plough on regardless until we have the team built in his image. He's implementing it come what may. Doubting him already and questioning whether he has a "plan b" is playing up to our "fickle" reputation. Admittedy mistakes are being made but I can forgive him as he is desperately trying to polish the turd of a squad that Steve Bruce left him with. The bigger picture is full houses at Villa Park watching us playing with style and panache and marching back into the Premier league. Rome wasn't built in a day though was it?

You mean a squad that Smith has said is the best he's managed.  Also a squad many of the Bruce haters were saying should be perofming better and that any manager would be able to get performing better.

Howcome now we are performing worse than we were under Bruce it's all Bruce left a shit squad etc... Which is the total opposite to what they were saying when Bruce was here.

Rubbish, from August to October this forum was full of people saying what a shit and unbalanced squad Bruce had built. And he had. That's why we started the season badly and that's why he was binned. This is what he left us with.

[brian green]

Agree.  Bruce only made it to the current season because the club was in such turmoil over threatened liquidation and ownership  change it was agreed, correctly, that there were even more pressing priorities than finding a new manager.

[The Edge]

So, the manager has one defined style of play, and imposes this on players he knows are not capable of playing it? How's that likely to turn out?

Not only that. When we're losing, against a shit Wigan side, he decides to bring on the very player least likely to ever be able to play 'his way'?

And that's good management?

I call it not having a plan B.

Dean Smith has been brought in to make us a better and more attractive team to watch. To get us promoted asap playing an attractive brand of football. His style is to play attacking fluid football and we were all thrilled when we battered Derby, Middlesboro & WBA and who can forget the 5-5 v forest? Intoxicating stuff. He will plough on regardless until we have the team built in his image. He's implementing it come what may. Doubting him already and questioning whether he has a "plan b" is playing up to our "fickle" reputation. Admittedy mistakes are being made but I can forgive him as he is desperately trying to polish the turd of a squad that Steve Bruce left him with. The bigger picture is full houses at Villa Park watching us playing with style and panache and marching back into the Premier league. Rome wasn't built in a day though was it?

You mean a squad that Smith has said is the best he's managed.  Also a squad many of the Bruce haters were saying should be perofming better and that any manager would be able to get performing better.

Howcome now we are performing worse than we were under Bruce it's all Bruce left a shit squad etc... Which is the total opposite to what they were saying when Bruce was here.

What do you expect Dean Smith to say? Would you expect him to start his new job by slagging off the players? It's Brucies squad however you look at it. He left us with a shocking defence including 3 right backs, no centre half cover, a crap left back and piss poor cover in the goalkeeping position. An ageing midfield that includes a totally ineffective Hourihane and a geriatric pair in Whelan and Jedinack. So yeah I'd call that a turd of a squad that Bruce left us which Deano has had 3 fkn months to work with and half a transfer window to sort it.

[paul_e]

We have a squad of 2 halves:

The attacking half with Grealish, Tammy, Kodjia, Mcginn, Bolasie, Adomah and El Ghazi is probably the most potent attack in the league, the number of chances we create, the number of goals we've scored and the way we play when they're all fit and 'ticking' is proof of that.

The defence is a liability, 1 left back who is utter shite, a goalkeeper who looked utterly devoid of confidence in himself or the defence in front of him, 2 senior right backs who make 1-2 glaring defensive mistakes every game, a centre back who has spent most of the season playing on the wrong side and looking lost, previously a centre mid with no mobility playing there because he could head a ball. I could go on. That defence is relegation battle standard.

Put the 2 together and you have a mid-table side that can blow teams away but can also be completely over run by teams who target our fullbacks and attack with pace. Smith needs time to get players in to the defence and get them formed into a unit, if he can do that then the attack will drag us into the playoffs. A left back worthy of the shirt and defensive midfielder with pace and strength but who can also pass and dictate play. Get those 2 right and we'll look a very different team once they're settled in.

[stuart445]

So, the manager has one defined style of play, and imposes this on players he knows are not capable of playing it? How's that likely to turn out?

Not only that. When we're losing, against a shit Wigan side, he decides to bring on the very player least likely to ever be able to play 'his way'?

And that's good management?

I call it not having a plan B.

Dean Smith has been brought in to make us a better and more attractive team to watch. To get us promoted asap playing an attractive brand of football. His style is to play attacking fluid football and we were all thrilled when we battered Derby, Middlesboro & WBA and who can forget the 5-5 v forest? Intoxicating stuff. He will plough on regardless until we have the team built in his image. He's implementing it come what may. Doubting him already and questioning whether he has a "plan b" is playing up to our "fickle" reputation. Admittedy mistakes are being made but I can forgive him as he is desperately trying to polish the turd of a squad that Steve Bruce left him with. The bigger picture is full houses at Villa Park watching us playing with style and panache and marching back into the Premier league. Rome wasn't built in a day though was it?

You mean a squad that Smith has said is the best he's managed.  Also a squad many of the Bruce haters were saying should be perofming better and that any manager would be able to get performing better.

Howcome now we are performing worse than we were under Bruce it's all Bruce left a shit squad etc... Which is the total opposite to what they were saying when Bruce was here.

What do you expect Dean Smith to say? Would you expect him to start his new job by slagging off the players? It's Brucies squad however you look at it. He left us with a shocking defence including 3 right backs, no centre half cover, a crap left back and poss poor cover in the goalkeeping position. An ageing midfield that includes a totally ineffective Hourihane and a geriatric pair in Whelan and Jedinack. So yeah I'd call that a turd of a squad that Bruce left us which Deano has had 3 fkn months to work with and half a transfer window to sort it.

Nice bit of history changing there but the main narrative when Bruce was in charge was that this was the best squad in the championship who any other club would love to have and that any manager would be able to get better performance and results out of.

You can deny it all you want but you know that is what was being said.

[The Edge]

"turd of a squad"?

Not long ago, many on here were calling it "the best in the division" along with others saying "a better manager than Bruce would have us promoted".

Also, this "turd" was producing some great performances not long ago, thanks to the new manager. The fact they have recently produced some diabolical performances is also down to the same guy.

Smith needs to sort it out, and soon. The owners may indicate they are happy to stay in the division for the foreseeable, and even mean it, but I'm pretty sure the novelty of that idea will run out all too soon for the majority of the fans.

Who said our squad was the best in the division? Not me that's for sure. What many have said, including myself, is that we have the best attack/midfield in this division but that's only half the team. The back 5 is woefully unbalanced. We've conceded more goals than Rotherham ffs.
 

[Chinchilla Bathhouse]

So, the manager has one defined style of play, and imposes this on players he knows are not capable of playing it? How's that likely to turn out?

Not only that. When we're losing, against a shit Wigan side, he decides to bring on the very player least likely to ever be able to play 'his way'?

And that's good management?

I call it not having a plan B.

Dean Smith has been brought in to make us a better and more attractive team to watch. To get us promoted asap playing an attractive brand of football. His style is to play attacking fluid football and we were all thrilled when we battered Derby, Middlesboro & WBA and who can forget the 5-5 v forest? Intoxicating stuff. He will plough on regardless until we have the team built in his image. He's implementing it come what may. Doubting him already and questioning whether he has a "plan b" is playing up to our "fickle" reputation. Admittedy mistakes are being made but I can forgive him as he is desperately trying to polish the turd of a squad that Steve Bruce left him with. The bigger picture is full houses at Villa Park watching us playing with style and panache and marching back into the Premier league. Rome wasn't built in a day though was it?

You mean a squad that Smith has said is the best he's managed.  Also a squad many of the Bruce haters were saying should be perofming better and that any manager would be able to get performing better.

Howcome now we are performing worse than we were under Bruce it's all Bruce left a shit squad etc... Which is the total opposite to what they were saying when Bruce was here.

What do you expect Dean Smith to say? Would you expect him to start his new job by slagging off the players? It's Brucies squad however you look at it. He left us with a shocking defence including 3 right backs, no centre half cover, a crap left back and poss poor cover in the goalkeeping position. An ageing midfield that includes a totally ineffective Hourihane and a geriatric pair in Whelan and Jedinack. So yeah I'd call that a turd of a squad that Bruce left us which Deano has had 3 fkn months to work with and half a transfer window to sort it.

Nice bit of history changing there but the main narrative when Bruce was in charge was that this was the best squad in the championship who any other club would love to have and that any manager would be able to get better performance and results out of.

You can deny it all you want but you know that is what was being said.

That was with a squad containing Terry, Grabban and Snodgrass - ie. last season. Not this season and this squad - ie. the one Bruce left behind, which is what I thought was being discussed here. Try to keep up Stuart.

[paul_e]

Nice bit of history changing there but the main narrative when Bruce was in charge was that this was the best squad in the championship who any other club would love to have and that any manager would be able to get better performance and results out of.

You can deny it all you want but you know that is what was being said.

Stop making shit up, almost everyone complained about the state our defence was left in, a huge amount of the criticism of Bruce in September/October was directly related to that. There were plenty of people who thought he was dragging our attacking play down a level and the performances in the first couple of months under Smith proved that to be the case, things have gone off the rails in the last 5-6 games, everyone knows that but the attacking play has quite clearly been better under Smith, denying that is a ridiculous position to take.