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Author Topic: Dean Smith - Confirmed  (Read 1522595 times)

Offline Luke8

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Re: Dean Smith - Confirmed
« Reply #6795 on: February 23, 2020, 04:50:42 PM »

Ok I was wrong on Mings already being with us. The point I was making is we wont have these players if we go down.

Fair enough. That’s true, but while it would be devastating, we would have an awful lot of money to replace them/rebuild with.

More thankfully, that hasn’t happened yet - so here is very much hoping we stay up and it’s never a problem!

Offline Flin5tone

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Re: Dean Smith - Confirmed
« Reply #6796 on: February 23, 2020, 04:57:01 PM »
Maybe bring back Martin O'Neil, most successful manager in recent times,knows the club and could bring the buzz back to Villa Park

One of many options out there

Offline Luke8

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Re: Dean Smith - Confirmed
« Reply #6797 on: February 23, 2020, 04:59:22 PM »
And also, as you mention, while we don’t want to rely on other teams, pretty much everyone else is at least as bad as us. In fact, out of the bottom eight, only Watford (due to their decent run when Pearson took over) have taken more points than us from the last ten games.
And over the last three games, all of our relegation rivals have taken more points than us.  It's possible to spin this whatever way you want.

Yet we are still importantly not in the relegation zone. You can indeed look at it however you like - I just felt the bigger sample size was more indicative of the inconsistent form/standard level of the teams around us.

My general point was, we were awful yesterday, but we are as likely to follow that up with a decent performance as we are another bad one. I wouldn’t necessarily expect us to win any of our games left but at the same time I’d give us a chance of getting something in everyone bar probably the Liverpool one.

Online Lastfootstamper

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Re: Dean Smith - Confirmed
« Reply #6798 on: February 23, 2020, 05:00:13 PM »
Big Sam would be a massive improvement. Where is this mythical 'right style' of football? All I see is us looking shit and getting beat all the time. Taylor got labelled a long ball merchant, but I sure enjoyed watching his team more than this turgid rubbish.

Big Sam knows how to use flair players like Grealish and knows how to organise a defense.


So why's he been unemployed for nearly two years?

Offline CT

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Re: Dean Smith - Confirmed
« Reply #6799 on: February 23, 2020, 05:13:55 PM »
Big Sam would be a massive improvement. Where is this mythical 'right style' of football? All I see is us looking shit and getting beat all the time. Taylor got labelled a long ball merchant, but I sure enjoyed watching his team more than this turgid rubbish.

Big Sam knows how to use flair players like Grealish and knows how to organise a defense.


So why's he been unemployed for nearly two years?

Shortage of brown C5 envelopes.

Offline Mister E

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Re: Dean Smith - Confirmed
« Reply #6800 on: February 23, 2020, 05:22:52 PM »
...  I still think we will just be fine. It’s then a big decision for the owners either way in the summer on what they do with Smith.
...
I admire your optimism (honest, I do).
For us to be in control of our season toward the end, something fundamental has to happen to (i) instill some fight and passion in our players, (ii) iron out the basic errors in our game, and (iii) adopt a more resilient approach, to make us harder to score against. That all this hasn't happened yet suggests the fundamental event is unlikely to happen, unless this weekend has become 'shit-or-bust' moment for all concerned.
At the moment, whilst the mathematics are still in our favour, I sense that the squad has almost come to accept that relegation is likely; and that Smith has run out of remedial ideas.

Offline tomd2103

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Re: Dean Smith - Confirmed
« Reply #6801 on: February 23, 2020, 05:43:16 PM »
Most frustrating thing for me is we've followed up two fantastic late wins v Watford and Leicester with three straight defeats. And all three games were ones we could've got at least a point in.

Majority of other teams would've produced a solid unbeaten run on the back of those two confidence boosting wins. Only have to look at Burnley. Terrible against us on New Years day. barely lost a game since then and they've played most of the leagues better teams in the last two months.

Seen ever since O'Neill walked the whole club has been unable to build on any kind of momentum. Look back to the McLeish season, great 3-1 away win to Chelsea, lost at home to Swansea two days later.

Lambert years had odd goal result like winning at Anfield in September 2014. We next won a league game in December.

Seems to have haunted us for years we simply can't kick on as a club. Again euphoria from promotion but can't quite get the results from start of the season so we've spent the whole season hovering between 15th-19th and simply can't kick on from that.

I don't think the season was going too badly up until the league game against Leicester.  That was the first game where we got taken apart and the players seemed to give up a bit.  We have got the odd result here and there since then, but it has been a poor run on the whole. 

During the earlier part of the season up to the Leicester game where we were doing OK, we just couldn't put enough space between us and the bottom reaches of the league to give us a bit of a cushion if things went badly. 

Offline themossman

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Re: Dean Smith - Confirmed
« Reply #6802 on: February 23, 2020, 06:12:13 PM »
It’s impossible to know if the biggest factor is the tactics or the players.

Based on Smith’s comments about transfers, before and during January, I said we had two valid options at that point - back Smith in January with more signings of his choosing, who fit his narrow repertoire of formations. Or, get someone in who can galvanise a limited squad and outthink opposition managers.

We did neither and that’s why we’re going down.

Offline Brassneck

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Re: Dean Smith - Confirmed
« Reply #6803 on: February 23, 2020, 07:25:27 PM »
Didn't Purslow state only last week that the club are behind Smith for the long term?  Hence his new, improved contract that he's only 3 months into.

Another interesting Purslow comment was that it takes 4 years to become competitive with the likes of Burnley, Bornemouth, Watford etc in terms of wages.

For me, the enormity of being relegated in 2016 (timing wise) is really beginning to hit home. 

Smith looks almost certain to be here for the long haul.  Why not accept this and get behind him - Even if it's not what you want to happen.

Offline N'ZMAV

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Re: Dean Smith - Confirmed
« Reply #6804 on: February 23, 2020, 07:33:26 PM »
Didn't Purslow state only last week that the club are behind Smith for the long term?  Hence his new, improved contract that he's only 3 months into.
ah the dreaded vote of confidence.... we've seen those before....

Offline SoccerHQ

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Re: Dean Smith - Confirmed
« Reply #6805 on: February 23, 2020, 07:38:38 PM »
The only opinions that matter are Wes and Nas. Purslow can only really carry out their orders and decisions until he is no longer required himself

This is where it starts to get tough for them as big decisions will have to be made in next six months even if we stay up.

The glory period is pretty much over (unless we produce a great cup final performance on Sunday) and once it ended for Lerner we rapidly descended into chaos due to the continual wrong decisions.

I think given the rocky period over xmas in which they stood right behind DS I imagine he'll still be manager in August whichever decision we'll be in. Poor start to the season and he'll be under big pressure but it was ever thus.

Offline Smithy

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Re: Dean Smith - Confirmed
« Reply #6806 on: February 23, 2020, 07:47:29 PM »
I'm still behind Smith, and have everything crossed that he can keep us up and push on next season (I like the way we play under Dean when we're playing well - which is not often enough), but the lack of fight in the side on Saturday was really worrying.  I can forgive a team that is outplayed by a better side, or out-thought by a better manager (these are the top managers in the world, after all so I don't expect Dean to out-think the opposition every single week) - but what I can't forgive is a lack of effort.  By all means, make mistakes, but TRY.

It worries me that the players aren't fighting enough.  Now, whether that's down to Dean personally and his ability to motivate, or they just don't have enough bottle for a fight like this, I don't know - but it has to change, because another six or seven performances like yesterday and we'll go down with a whimper.

Offline David_Nab

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Re: Dean Smith - Confirmed
« Reply #6807 on: February 23, 2020, 07:53:17 PM »
Didn't Purslow state only last week that the club are behind Smith for the long term?  Hence his new, improved contract that he's only 3 months into.

Another interesting Purslow comment was that it takes 4 years to become competitive with the likes of Burnley, Bornemouth, Watford etc in terms of wages.

For me, the enormity of being relegated in 2016 (timing wise) is really beginning to hit home. 

Smith looks almost certain to be here for the long haul.  Why not accept this and get behind him - Even if it's not what you want to happen.

Smith was Purslow choice so makes sense he will back him but should there be a need to remove Smith Purslow may find himself also looking for a job

Also every club who hires a manager has a long term plan hence the 3/4 year contracts ...few actually stay the distance ,its just the nature of the game.

Offline john e

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Re: Dean Smith - Confirmed
« Reply #6808 on: February 23, 2020, 07:55:58 PM »
Big Sam would be a massive improvement. Where is this mythical 'right style' of football? All I see is us looking shit and getting beat all the time. Taylor got labelled a long ball merchant, but I sure enjoyed watching his team more than this turgid rubbish.

Big Sam knows how to use flair players like Grealish and knows how to organise a defense.


Id rather go down than have him at the helm

I hated every minute of Bruce's  time with us so another British dinosaur would be like being transported back to Hell for me
I know it's not great at the moment in fact it's a lot shit but fuck me every time we might need a manager it's the same old gravy chain done nothing big Sam that gets bigger up

after all we have been through with Mcleish, Lambert, Bruce will we never learn that nothing good comes of employing managers like them it just takes years and years to get over them

Offline Three Spires Villa

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Re: Dean Smith - Confirmed
« Reply #6809 on: February 23, 2020, 08:03:19 PM »
If we go down, it could also take years to get over it. Personally I don’t want a “fat Sam” type of manager, but I am fast losing patience with the manager we do have.

 


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