Dean Smith - Confirmed

[AsTallAsLions]

A year already? He’s achieved a lot in that time, decent football, quality signings and uniting the club and fans. He’s had a bit of luck along the way with the new owners and the appointment of Purslow but he’s convinced them all he can do it. I hope he fulfills all his ambitions with his and our club.

Hear, hear.

Yeah, no.

?

[Ads]

It's what Deano often says.

[dave shelley]

For balance he does sometimes say no, yeah.  Either way he's alright by me.

[Chipsticks]

The man who finally gave us our villa back. He allowed us to dream and brought us home.

[Hookeysmith]

He listens and he learns and we improve - cant ask any more than that

The players like him
We like him
The owners like him

A perfect match

[Toronto Villa]

The inside story of Dean Smith's year of revolution at Aston Villa


Dean Smith celebrates a year at Aston Villa on Thursday

John Percy
10 OCTOBER 2019 • 7:48AM

It was just over a year ago that Dean Smith climbed into his car on a chilly autumn evening, left his home in Great Barr and set off for the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Birmingham.

He did not know it at the time, but it was a journey that was to change his life. The meeting at the Hyatt, shortly before midnight, was effectively a job interview for the vacant managerial post at Aston Villa. On Thursday, he celebrates one year in charge, with the club promoted back to the Premier League and winning over a new generation of fans with a thrilling brand of football.

It is an extraordinary rise, and reward for an arduous career path which started nearly 15 years ago in Leyton Orient’s youth academy. Smith has always craved this job, ever since standing in the Holte End as a fan with his brother Dave in the early 1980s.

“Everyone can see the passion and ideas Dean has for the club, but it’s almost like he is just starting,” says Richard O’Kelly, one of Smith’s assistants and a crucial figure behind the scenes over the last seven years.

“It’s not a case of him reaching his dream job and thinking that’s enough. He wants to come here and really achieve something. He is very focused on what he’s doing, building things, establishing a structure, and he does it really well.”


Smith's side thrashed Norwich on Saturday

Smith was a popular appointment in October last year, at a time when the mood around Villa Park was fractious after the final months of Steve Bruce’s tenure. He had been on the final shortlist of two at both West Brom and Derby earlier that year, but it was that meeting with chief executive Christian Purslow in Birmingham which swung it.

Villa’s fans have now got their club back, delivered by one of their own.

Promotion was achieved via the play-off final at Wembley and Villa have made a steady start in the Premier League, after a £127 million squad revamp. Smith’s vision of football was there in high definition at Carrow Road last Saturday, as Villa romped to a 5-1 victory over Norwich.

It has not always been easy, however, and it has ultimately proved a long journey to the Villa dug-out. Smith’s first steps in coaching began at Orient, where he also played for six years, and he was soon promoted to first-team duties alongside manager Martin Ling. His progress as a coach was rapid, passing his pro-license in 2008 with class-mates which included Brendan Rodgers and Roy Keane.

This Saturday, Smith will be Ling’s guest when the League Two club face Walsall (another of his former clubs) at the Breyer Group Stadium.

Ling is now Orient’s director of football and his relationship with Smith stretches back to the late 1990s, extending far beyond football.

“When I had my mental health issues, Dean was always there for me and my family,” said Ling, who has struggled with depression for more than ten years.


Richard O'Kelly shares coaching duties with Smith and John Terry

“He was the one who my wife Caroline first turned to. I’ve been in the Priory more than once and he was a big help on both my recoveries.

“When I was struggling, he was on the end of the phone and always visiting. He said some strong words and that shows how close we are.

“We speak at least once a week. We were close pals when we played together, and still are now; we go to the same golf society and Cheltenham every year.

“I don’t see Dean as this big Premier League manager, he will never change and that’s one of his strengths.”

It was Smith’s time at Walsall where his reputation really started to soar as a No 1. Thrown in at the deep end in January 2011 as a caretaker manager, with the Saddlers in danger of relegation to the fourth tier, he pulled off a miraculous rescue mission on the final day.

Four more campaigns followed, where he stabilised the club in League One and guided them to their first ever Wembley appearance in the Football League Trophy final.

He then earned a promotion to the Championship with Brentford, establishing a unique brand of entertaining football and further enhancing his reputation at another sensible, well-run club.

The list of players to flourish there under Smith and then generate money from sales is impressive: Neal Maupay, Chris Mepham, Ryan Woods, Romaine Sawyers, Ezri Konza and Jota (the final two are now at Villa).

“If I was ever coaching a team and didn’t enjoy watching them play, I’d leave the job,” says O’Kelly, who shares coaching duties at Villa with Smith and John Terry.

“You want football to be exciting and getting people out of their seats, with and without the ball. That was one of the things that brought us together all that time ago. He worked out very early how he wanted the team to play and what they stand for. He makes it clear, with logical and simple ideas

“Dean’s also a very good listener. He gives you the platform to air your opinion, even if he doesn’t always agree with it.”

One of the recurring themes about Smith is his ability to deal with the highs and lows, the capricious fortunes of a football manager. Last season, Villa won only three games from December to February and hopes of promotion appeared remote.

Yet a club record run of ten wins in a row propelled them into contention and Villa insiders insist Smith’s demeanour never wavered during both those sequences of form.

On the rare occasions Smith does lose his temper, players know about it. Tyrone Mings, the defender, pinpoints a half-time hairdryer moment at Stoke in late February as pivotal to last season’s revival.

“The manager is very level in his moods and isn’t one to shout so when he does that, it has an impact,” he said. “You definitely stand up and take notice.

“I think everyone who was at Stoke and was on the pitch in the first half will say we were not good enough. He was quite sharp.

“There is always a time and a place for keeping cool and there is also a time and a place for letting people know they are not meeting their expectations of what the manager has sent you out on the pitch to do. It was a good team talk.”

One of nine British managers in the Premier League, Smith is also highly regarded by his peers and emerging as an inspiration for young coaches. Last week he was at Birmingham University to talk at a seminar on leadership, and the 48-year-old’s route to the Premier League should serve as an incentive for many.

Steve Holland, Gareth Southgate’s No 2 with England, insists Smith is a flag-bearer for English coaches. “It is no good for any of us, myself or Gareth included, crying about the lack of this or the lack of that. It is the way it is and the challenge is to pick the best from the best and work as hard as possible to create our own opportunities,” he says.

“I think somebody like Dean and Richard [O’Kelly] worked for many years in the lower leagues behaving well, with good teams playing good football. They are a really good advert and it is fantastic that they get the opportunity to work at the highest level - not just work at the highest level, but at a club in Aston Villa who will have a chance to do a bit more than survive.”

Villa ultimately aim to challenge at the top end again but, for now, Smith can reflect on a year of steady evolution.

The kid from Great Barr is living a claret and blue dream.

[Nelly]

Thanks for that, TV.

[LeeB]

I love the man, long may he reign.

[Dogtanian]

I love the man, long may he reign.

I just read that straight after reading FatSam’s Boris Johnson is a c*** comment in the NSWE thread and my brain got very confused and afraid.

[FatSam]

I was interested to hear that one of the reasons (amongst others) that Victor Valdes was sacked from his role as U19 coach in the Barcelona academy, was that he didn't play 4-3-3 - the club formation.

Steve Bruce was a bit of a 'throw it at the wall and see what sticks' kind of a manager, but given how wedded Dean is to 4-3-3, I'd be interested to know whether the reserves and academy are asked (or required) to play this system.

[BC Villain]

Deano giving a talk at BCU a couple of weeks ago.  Gives a good insight into how he develop a culture at Walsall in particular.

https://youtu.be/YkJXeRQorMQ

[Brassneck]

Deano giving a talk at BCU a couple of weeks ago.  Gives a good insight into how he develop a culture at Walsall in particular.

https://youtu.be/YkJXeRQorMQ

Very good.  I really enjoyed that.

[Dogtanian]

Deano giving a talk at BCU a couple of weeks ago.  Gives a good insight into how he develop a culture at Walsall in particular.

https://youtu.be/YkJXeRQorMQ

Haha, pause it at the start and there’s a Muskahound right there.   

[LeeB]

Deano giving a talk at BCU a couple of weeks ago.  Gives a good insight into how he develop a culture at Walsall in particular.

https://youtu.be/YkJXeRQorMQ

Haha, pause it at the start and there’s a Muskahound right there.   

That was a great watch, thank you.

His message is simple, clear and effective. He's so the right manager for us.

[Sexual Ealing]

I love that man.