Dean Smith - Confirmed

[Brassneck]

He will though.

And therein lies the problem.  DS has stuck up for Wesley recently and claimed that it's far too early to pass judgement.  I think it's clear to most that the lad is a million miles off PL standard and is not going to improve anywhere near to what is needed.  We played today without a striker - Imagine what we'd have done with Keenan on the pitch for 90 minutes?  He did more in his cameo appearance than Wesley did in 88 minutes.

DS has been happy to drop other players (Luiz, Taylor for example).  Neither has been anywhere near as appallingly woeful as Wesley has - I suspect that DS will stick with Wesley due to his previous comments, to the point of being stubborn.  He won't be the first manager to do so and he won't be the last.  It seems like we're playing with 10 men for most of the time.

[hilts_coolerking]

I don't think Wesley is a million miles off but he needs a big attitude adjustment.

[kippaxvilla2]

We can’t keep changing coaches every year.  Even if we go down he gets my vote.  He’s either the Vic Crowe or Ron Saunders of this era.  Either way I would feel sad if he left.

[Lastfootstamper]

Something I've been mulling over. With the way we (try to) play and the players we're using to implement it, do we need a centre-forward?

[Damo70]

Something I've been mulling over. With the way we (try to) play and the players we're using to implement it, do we need a centre-forward?

Could someone like Jack or SJM perform the 'false number nine' role? We certainly aren't getting the best out of Jack at the moment.

[danno]

He will though.

And therein lies the problem.  DS has stuck up for Wesley recently and claimed that it's far too early to pass judgement.

It is too early to pass judgement. De Gea joined the (then) champions and looked shaky for 6 months, Petrov joined us and took ages to really get going. Bale almost joined small heath, Shearer scored a hat trick on his debut then had a real dry spell. Am sure older posters can reel off far better examples.

He's in a new league, new country, in a team full of new players (either new to this league or to this club), playing as a lone striker, in a team that don't fashion many chances.

Seven games is too early to pass judgement, and fwiw (not much) he also has just as many goals to his name as mister "we should have signed" Maupay.

[Toronto Villa]

We can’t keep changing coaches every year.  Even if we go down he gets my vote.  He’s either the Vic Crowe or Ron Saunders of this era.  Either way I would feel sad if he left.

Agreed. He has to improve though and he has to hold himself to the high standard he expects of his players. Yes the players made mistakes. It wasn't Dean's fault that we completely switched off after we scored. But that said the accountability isn't just on the players. The PL has no mercy rule and even the so called 'smaller' sides who have been there for many years now have just become more clever at seeing out games or picking up points to get themselves to 40. We need to learn that. That we have been in the lead or that we've thrown away so many points from positions where we should have got something is a big silver lining in a grim looking cloud.

I just watched Chris Wilder give a very blunt interview after their loss earlier in the day to Liverpool and it sounded very much like Dean after Arsenal. Players are pros they have to do better and silly mistakes or mental errors are so costly. The manager has a big role but the players need to get wise quickly.

[tomd2103]

Thought he was a bit late to react to the change Burnley made at half-time.  They went to a three in midfield, with Westwood dropping a bit deeper and we didn't push anyone on to him.  Not a massive sea change, but it allowed Burnley to just get a bit more of a foot hold in the game. 

His lack of willingness /awareness to make changes during games is becoming a bit if a concern. 

[Damo70]

Rightly or wrongly people start passing judgement as soon as a ball is kicked at the start of the season, or even during pre season. I have seen enough so far not to panic, but that doesn't mean I don't have concerns. I would be very concerned if there were doubts about the managers future at this stage when we seem to have gone to great lengths to get the structure of the club right. Owners, chief exec, director of football, head coach, assistant.

[Brassneck]

He will though.

And therein lies the problem.  DS has stuck up for Wesley recently and claimed that it's far too early to pass judgement.

It is too early to pass judgement. De Gea joined the (then) champions and looked shaky for 6 months, Petrov joined us and took ages to really get going. Bale almost joined small heath, Shearer scored a hat trick on his debut then had a real dry spell. Am sure older posters can reel off far better examples.

He's in a new league, new country, in a team full of new players (either new to this league or to this club), playing as a lone striker, in a team that don't fashion many chances.

Seven games is too early to pass judgement, and fwiw (not much) he also has just as many goals to his name as mister "we should have signed" Maupay.

Is it too early to drop him as well?

Personally, I've seen enough to know that he's never going to make it at this level - There is absolutely nothing positive to say about todays performance and it's not the first time.  Would you expect to play next week if you'd put in a performance like that?

Judging him is not the issue - It's whether he should start next week.

[ChicagoLion]

He will though.

And therein lies the problem.  DS has stuck up for Wesley recently and claimed that it's far too early to pass judgement.

It is too early to pass judgement. De Gea joined the (then) champions and looked shaky for 6 months, Petrov joined us and took ages to really get going. Bale almost joined small heath, Shearer scored a hat trick on his debut then had a real dry spell. Am sure older posters can reel off far better examples.

He's in a new league, new country, in a team full of new players (either new to this league or to this club), playing as a lone striker, in a team that don't fashion many chances.

Seven games is too early to pass judgement, and fwiw (not much) he also has just as many goals to his name as mister "we should have signed" Maupay.

Is it too early to drop him as well?

Personally, I've seen enough to know that he's never going to make it at this level - There is absolutely nothing positive to say about todays performance and it's not the first time.  Would you expect to play next week if you'd put in a performance like that?

Judging him is not the issue - It's whether he should start next week.

Exactly how I see it, we might as well play Hogan.

[tomd2103]

Rightly or wrongly people start passing judgement as soon as a ball is kicked at the start of the season, or even during pre season. I have seen enough so far not to panic, but that doesn't mean I don't have concerns. I would be very concerned if there were doubts about the managers future at this stage when we seem to have gone to great lengths to get the structure of the club right. Owners, chief exec, director of football, head coach, assistant.

We have been competitive in games Damo and I think it is too early to have major concerns at this point.  There do, however, seem to some patterns emerging from both players and the coaching staff even this early on which need to be fixed. 

[danno]

Of course its not too early to drop him, if we think Davis will do better.

But to definitively say any player anywhere is going to be a superstar or a flop after seven games is mental.

Xhaka at Arsenal was scouted 30 times and they still signed him! They're obviously taking the piss, if it's possible to know someone is never going to cut it after seven games.

[ChicagoLion]

Of course its not too early to drop him, if we think Davis will do better.

But to definitively say any player anywhere is going to be a superstar or a flop after seven games is mental.

Xhaka at Arsenal was scouted 30 times and they still signed him! They're obviously taking the piss, if it's possible to know someone is never going to cut it after seven games.

It took less to work out Tonev and Hogan.

[olaftab]

We can’t keep changing coaches every year.  Even if we go down he gets my vote.  He’s either the Vic Crowe or Ron Saunders of this era.  Either way I would feel sad if he left.

This. I believe even if we are relegated Smith should stay.