Dean Smith - Confirmed

[stuart445]

If he chooses to give Smith a free hit this season then that is his choice, you coming on here telling people that he cant have a free hit because Bruce didn't isn't going to change his views.
Smith has a free hit from me aswell for the rest of this season, as would any manager that has come in under the same circumstances.
I had no intentions of giving Bruce a free hit, he was brought in as the promotion expert with that being the only thing on which he would be judged. He failed and left us in a mess.

You say you'd give any manager a free hit who came under same circumstances... But then you had no intentions of giving a Bruce a free hit, wow the hypocrisy is off the scale.

[LukeJames]

If you think Bruce and Smith came into the club in the same circumstances then you are way beyond help.

[old man villa fan]

If you think Bruce and Smith came into the club in the same circumstances then you are way beyond help.

Quite right. Building for the future takes time. Even longer if your hands are tied.

[john e]

Bruce did get a free hit

he stayed on after not getting us into the play offs had three more transfer windows and even went into a third season

that’s pretty much a free hit in my book

[passitsideways]

Bruce did get a free hit

he stayed on after not getting us into the play offs had three more transfer windows and even went into a third season

that’s pretty much a free hit in my book

It was a free hit 1 million times out of 1 million in my book, they weren't very far out from the playoffs at the time he took over from Di Matteo, and he was then massively backed (by Championship standards) in January, paid a big fee for Hogan, paid big wages to Lansbury and Hourihane, and Bree and Bjarnason both cost a couple million as well, yet he barely made a dent on proceedings and there were no rumblings whatsoever that his job was under threat despite losing 7 of 8 to start 2017.

[Abbeyfealeavfc]

Stats comparing Conor Hourihane with John McGinn.
                                   Hourihane  McGinn    
% tackles won                 55%      66.1%
Clearances                       28           14      
Blocks                                 6             5
Interceptions                    11           23
% Shooting accuracy   45.9%     32.6%
Goals                                  4              2
Assists                               8              6
% Successful crosses  10.8%      25%
Chances created            41            48
Total passes                  1284        916
% passing accuracy     87.1%     79.5%
% passing accuracy
In opposition half         82.8%      76.8%
% Duals won                 56.9%      53.6%
Aerial duals won          48.4%       40%
Recoveries                     146          169

Stats always tell their own story and some above are in favour of Hourihane and some are against him in comparison to McGinn. What they do prove is that, to say Hourihane is a "passenger" and "contributing little" is frankly ridiculous. He has his faults as all footballers do but he also has his strengths not least the fact that he has contributed to 22.6% (nearly 1 in 4) of our goals in the championship this season.
I trust Smith to keep picking the best players at his disposal.

[chrisw1]

If he chooses to give Smith a free hit this season then that is his choice, you coming on here telling people that he cant have a free hit because Bruce didn't isn't going to change his views.
Smith has a free hit from me aswell for the rest of this season, as would any manager that has come in under the same circumstances.
I had no intentions of giving Bruce a free hit, he was brought in as the promotion expert with that being the only thing on which he would be judged. He failed and left us in a mess.

You say you'd give any manager a free hit who came under same circumstances... But then you had no intentions of giving a Bruce a free hit, wow the hypocrisy is off the scale.

I'm not convinced that the fact some people didn't like Bruce from the off is reason enough for you to be unreasonably negative about Smith.

It would be fucking nuts to employ a young up and coming manager like Smith and not give him a decent amount of time to mould the team the way he wants, particularly as we've had a glimpse of just how good his football can be.

With that said, with the additions in defence I think he has a pretty good squad on his hands and I would like to see some real progress between now and the end of the season.

[paul_e]

If he chooses to give Smith a free hit this season then that is his choice, you coming on here telling people that he cant have a free hit because Bruce didn't isn't going to change his views.
Smith has a free hit from me aswell for the rest of this season, as would any manager that has come in under the same circumstances.
I had no intentions of giving Bruce a free hit, he was brought in as the promotion expert with that being the only thing on which he would be judged. He failed and left us in a mess.

This is where I am, they took over clubs in similar circumstances (90% of a decent squad but 3-4 key players that needed to be added) but the job they were employed for is very different. Bruce was part of a shit or bust strategy that he failed (in his first season) and he got a 2nd go and failed again. Smith is employed to improve the standard of the football and to build something sustainable. Wanting Bruce out after 6 months but being qwilling to give Smith longer isn't hypocrisy, it's judging managers by their own measure, Bruce managed for 1 season at a time and was all about promotion, he failed twice because we're still in this league. Smith not getting promotion this season isn't a failure by his own terms because that's not the only criteria he's given himself to be judged on. Stuart seems to find this a very difficult concept.

[andyh]

Stats comparing Conor Hourihane with John McGinn.
                                   Hourihane  McGinn     
% tackles won                 55%      66.1%
Clearances                       28           14       
Blocks                                 6             5
Interceptions                    11           23
% Shooting accuracy   45.9%     32.6%
Goals                                  4              2
Assists                               8              6
% Successful crosses  10.8%      25%
Chances created            41            48
Total passes                  1284        916
% passing accuracy     87.1%     79.5%
% passing accuracy
In opposition half         82.8%      76.8%
% Duals won                 56.9%      53.6%
Aerial duals won          48.4%       40%
Recoveries                     146          169

Stats always tell their own story and some above are in favour of Hourihane and some are against him in comparison to McGinn. What they do prove is that, to say Hourihane is a "passenger" and "contributing little" is frankly ridiculous. He has his faults as all footballers do but he also has his strengths not least the fact that he has contributed to 22.6% (nearly 1 in 4) of our goals in the championship this season.
I trust Smith to keep picking the best players at his disposal.

There are stats and there are stats.
Hourihane looks very positive in that list of numbers but we have seen him play.

[paul_e]

The value of stats is always about collecting the right ones. A lot of the stats in that table are telling us the same thing, which is that Hourihane is effective around the opposition box, he can score goals and create chances. What isn't included there is the number odf times he's tackled and gives up, or the number of times he doesn't attempt a tackle and players go through midfield unchallenged. He's a strange player to place because in attack he's more effective if he comes from deep and is moving on to the ball but his lack of defensive discipline means you can't have him as the sole defensive midfielder. If we stuck to the current shape of 2 defensive midfielders and he had a more disciplined player alongside him he could work in that 'deep playmaker' role but then you're either picking between McGinn or Grealish or you're changing the shape further forward so they can play together.

If we could train Hourihane to help out the left back and we could put Tuanzebe in beside him I'd be ok with McGinn as a box-to-box option and then Tammy, Grelaish and Kodjia/Davis playing as a fairly loose front 3 with the option to drift wide or deep.

[Clark W Griswold]

Hourahane for me is pretty crap apart from those goals he weighs in with from time to time and for that reason I'd like to see him stay in the 18 for a while yet but not the 11.

[Steve67]

Hourahane for me is pretty crap apart from those goals he weighs in with from time to time and for that reason I'd like to see him stay in the 18 for a while yet but not the 11.

I agree.  Yes, he's scored four goals but he takes every corner and free kick too, so he cannot help but add to his assists tally.  Upgrade needed.

[Sexual Ealing]

If he chooses to give Smith a free hit this season then that is his choice, you coming on here telling people that he cant have a free hit because Bruce didn't isn't going to change his views.
Smith has a free hit from me aswell for the rest of this season, as would any manager that has come in under the same circumstances.
I had no intentions of giving Bruce a free hit, he was brought in as the promotion expert with that being the only thing on which he would be judged. He failed and left us in a mess.

You say you'd give any manager a free hit who came under same circumstances... But then you had no intentions of giving a Bruce a free hit, wow the hypocrisy is off the scale.

H&V community health advice. These posts are much more enjoyable if read while imagining Bob Mortimer delivering them in the style of Harry Kane in Gangs of the EPL.

[ChicagoLion]

A lot of those stats confirm his lack of contribution for someone who is supposed to be a creative player and lacks defensive ability.
Successful croses 10.8% woeful.
Assists 8. Crap.
Goals 4 pathetic.
I see absolute no point in comparison with McGinn as you don’t need to look at stats to know who the most effective player is, just watch them play.

[colin69]

Dean has tried to address the mess he inherited but it will take time.