Dean Smith - Confirmed

[eamonn]

Why do we always get managers who are incurably stubborn?  One after another we pay fortunes for managers totally devoid of flexibility or vision or imagination or creativity.  When other clubs recruit managers they choose peach melba or crepes Suzette or strawberries and cream.  We get managerial suet pudding, roly poly, spotted dick or stewed prunes.  After boiled cabbage for main course.

Yuck!

[phantom limb]

I’d give him a chance to get us back up next season. Of course he has his faults, and he has talked some bollocks after games at times but I feel our major problem has been the gamble of chucking in a load of inexperienced players and hoping that things worked out. Some key injuries haven’t helped either, and here we are.

A small fortune down the drain, 19th in the league, 17 losses out of 28 games, the worst defence in the top flight, and a goal difference of -22.

And you want to keep this man in the hopes he might get us back up again?

They don't seem interested in busting a gut for him, this lot, and since most of them are his signings, that tells me he needs to go, ASAP.

I agree, the players look mentally shot and disorganised. The lack of experience throughout has done for us unfortunately, it was always a gamble. The players also have to accept responsibility, far too many mistakes over the season have gifted away goals and dropped us points.

[Footy-Vill]

Anyone have his post match comments to hand ?!
I could not sit thru a TV spectacular of analysis from Sven and Carra but would like to hear or read any soundbites or insights to how he saw the game.

Judging by the bemused, slightly glazed over look he appeared to have whenever the camera cut to him on the sideline, I'd say 'blurrily'.

He's hurting in sure.
But yes was a sorry sight seeing him standing there in pouring rain reaching for his water bottle and his facial expressions.
I think he's definitely more at home at Villa park and will hope Saturday he gets the Dr Jekyll from the Hyde performance tonight.
First 10 minutes fine but that was it and that has a lot to do with Smith.

[Legion]

Reminds me of Lambert vs Norwich.

[OzVilla]

Smith isn’t going anywhere. They’ve made their decision to stick with him and that’s that.

[Steve67]

Smith isn’t going anywhere. They’ve made their decision to stick with him and that’s that.

More fool them.  It's their money I suppose!  If they want to piss it away, it's up to them.

[AsTallAsLions]

Smith isn’t going anywhere. They’ve made their decision to stick with him and that’s that.

And they probably think that's some sort of show of strength but to me it's tantamount to giving up. Unforgivable to go down without a fight like we are.

[JJ-AV]

He's not been good enough but the recruitment has been poor.

I think it's too late to sack him now, we don't have the squad for a pragmatist so I think we should stick with it and give him another go. There are 6 or 7 who would get away with their inadequacies at a lower level and continuity would be important.

The time to make a change was after Watford away, they didn't and he won at Burnley and was safe.

[Footy-Vill]

Smith isn’t going anywhere. They’ve made their decision to stick with him and that’s that.

And they probably think that's some sort of show of strength but to me it's tantamount to giving up. Unforgivable to go down without a fight like we are.

I like this word tantamount I never heard it before !
I only know paramount ! And mason .

[David_Nab]

Anyone have his post match comments to hand ?!
I could not sit thru a TV spectacular of analysis from Sven and Carra but would like to hear or read any soundbites or insights to how he saw the game.

Judging by the bemused, slightly glazed over look he appeared to have whenever the camera cut to him on the sideline, I'd say 'blurrily'.

He felt we were in the game and 1 nil down and the pen killed us off ...not sure what game he was watching but other than the first 8 mins we didn't threaten them at all.Them only having one goal at the point of the pen doesn't make it a close game , it really wasn't

[Villan82]

Smith isn’t going anywhere. They’ve made their decision to stick with him and that’s that.

And they probably think that's some sort of show of strength but to me it's tantamount to giving up. Unforgivable to go down without a fight like we are.

Same here.

They aren't impressing me with that attitude. In fact, they are showing that they are another bunch of idiots.

[ChicagoLion]

Smith isn’t going anywhere. They’ve made their decision to stick with him and that’s that.

And they probably think that's some sort of show of strength but to me it's tantamount to giving up. Unforgivable to go down without a fight like we are.

Same here.

They aren't impressing me with that attitude. In fact, they are showing that they are another bunch of idiots.

Emperors New clothes

[brontebilly]

I know some people are pointing to Burnley and Dyche as a reason to stick with Smith through relegation and a possible journey back. But the difference is that Dyche made Burnley a decentish proposition even as they were going down and probably identified players who would augment those who were coming back along for the ride. Does anybody have any reason to suppose Dean Smith will provide the same?

Burnley have some limited players, a lot actually when you look at their first eleven, but they are a tight cohesive unit and well capable of scrapping results against better teams.

I watched them at the weekend v Spurs and someone like Jack Cork in midfield would improve us immeasurably. Is he a world beater, absolutely not, but he knows how to hold his own in this division. We spent our budget in that area on two greenhorns at this level, both of whom had very limited pre seasons with us. Luiz in particular has very little adult football played at any level (we were completely played by Man City "rated by Pep" nonsense).

Apart from those two, we had Hourihane for who the step up was always going to be a challenge. Of course Henri Lansbury who was nowhere near good enough for us in the championship. In Jan, to fix this glaring hole we bring in a washed up or dried out Drinkwater to SOS..ffs

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Dyke managed to get Burnley back up with a 13,000 capacity at Turf Moor. Since then they've qualified for Europe.

[Risso]

He's talking the absolute shite of someone who has lost the plot totally.  "I thought we were well organised defensively, but we kept giving away free headers from set pieces."  THAT DOESN'T SOUND VERY WELL ORGANISED TO ME THEN!