Dean Smith - Confirmed

[Ketzster]

So is Dean suddenly going to change his formation, drop the clown Wes, play Jack in the middle, use subs properly, have a plan B and get the team fit?

Is he bollocks. 

Get rid while still have a chance to stay up.

Absolutely, keeping him for Norwich and Watford is just wasting games we need to win. We won’t win them with Smith, like yesterday.

It’s a year ago today we lost to Leeds at home. He didn’t make any changes when he needed to in the championship between then and Stoke away. The only thing that changed was Grealish coming back to single handedly drag us up. If Smith had been left to his devices, we were on course to finish towards the lower end of the championship. If he had made tactical changes etc. before Grealish came back you could give Smith credit for promotion. But he never made any changes. He still had Mings, Mcginn and Abraham during the 2 wins in 13 game run and couldn’t do anything with them.

Grealish coming back in the championship is the equivalent of Barcelona getting Messi back after injury. Grealish isn’t exceptional in the same way in the Premier League so if you take that advantage away you are back to being reliant on Smith again, like we were before Derby at home last season. If you take out Grealish single handedly getting us up in those ten games, this year we have won 6 games when we have had to rely on Smiths ability as manager. Ipswich at home, Bristol City, Everton, Norwich who were missing lots of players, a lucky win against Brighton and a win against a dismal Newcastle. The rest has mostly been dire, a fair amount of it being the worst I’ve ever seen. Smith has overseen performances such as Wigan away, Reading away, Hull at home, Swansea in the cup, yesterday, Wolves away etc. It hasn’t made any difference whether it’s been Premier League, or championship where he had much better players available than Wigan did for example. People kept on, ‘we’ve played the top teams in the last seven games’. How do you explain last season where we won 2 in 13 against footballing powerhouses such as Wigan, Hull, QPR, Reading etc? Everybody says he needs a plan B, but in his whole time here he hasn’t tried anything different so what is there to suggest he will now? We needed him to last season and he didn’t.

If you have a player like Grealish in the championship like we did, it can mask the reality of the managers ability. Smiths ability was evident before Grealish came back, he couldn’t do it in the championship so it was never going to work in the league above. All of the problems that are there now, have been there all year. It’s possible to get promoted under the wrong manager when you’ve got a player like Grealish. You’re obliged to keep that manager and then you spend a fortune and you’re in a total mess, like we are now. I’ve wanted him gone since Wigan away

[mr underhill]

If I were the owners Boxing Day would be the point of no return for Dean if we lose.Harsh, yes, but necessary for any chance of survival.

[PeterWithe]

We are in a position I feared we might be, in the relegation spots going into a transfer window. The powers that be wondering whether to back the current manager with funds or to back an alternative manager instead. Stick or twist.

I’d stick, we need some continuity, we have played very well in some games, terrible in others, the last two being the worst and fresh in the mind so it’s only natural to concentrate on them. We need to build something and DS needs a little more patience and a lot more players who are capable of hitting the ground running.

[Demitri_C]

What i dont get its taken half the season before smiths contemplating a 4-4-2. Poor.

[Clampy]

Sacking him is the easy thing to do and I haven't seen any credible options as who to replace him with yet. I'd stick with him but it needs to improve massively after yesterday.

[geolex]

 it needed to improve massively after Leics.... it didn't,it needed to improve massively after Sheff Utd... it didn't...

sacking him is not the easy option its the difficult one.. letting the ship sink and doing nothing is the easy option...owners have a big week ahead of them that will shape the clubs future....that said i really hoped (and still do) he would prove to be the manager we all crave...so sad really....

[Axl Rose]

Sacking him is the easy thing to do and I haven't seen any credible options as who to replace him with yet. I'd stick with him but it needs to improve massively after yesterday.

Exactly how I feel, Clampy. Well put.

[andyh]

Sacking him is the easy thing to do and I haven't seen any credible options as who to replace him with yet. I'd stick with him but it needs to improve massively after yesterday.

Being true to form there Clampy.
Not having a a go at you, but you are being consistent in your defence of every single manager we have ended up sacking.

[Ian.]

Sacking him is the easy thing to do and I haven't seen any credible options as who to replace him with yet. I'd stick with him but it needs to improve massively after yesterday.

Exactly how I feel, Clampy. Well put.

I’m really struggling to understand how we have lost so much of what was good in a very short space of time.
I agree with Clampy though, we need to stop the rot and very quickly. I’m just never ever confident over Xmas with the Villa, never have been.

[Legion]

For what it's worth, I agree with Clampy.

[Ads]

If we lose on Boxing Day then they'll sack him.

[Monty]

If we lose on Boxing Day then they'll sack him.

Which might be, if not too late exactly, then at least pointlessly after a huge missed opportunity.

[Risso]

At which point we might be 6 points from safety.  What a mess.

[mallo]

We should win on boxing day - lose and he'll go I think. I'd like to see 2 up front Boxing day. If we stuff it up and they win I've no idea who'll replace him.

[Risso]

We should win on boxing day - lose and he'll go I think. I'd like to see 2 up front Boxing day. If we stuff it up and they win I've no idea who'll replace him.

I can see two points at most from the next two games, then we've got Burnley away and Man City at home.  Looking nailed on for relegation I reckon.