Dean Smith - Confirmed

[brian green]

I square the circle of my conscience.  I do not see it as Liverpool winning the title.  I see it as everybody else losing it.

[David_Nab]

There's no reason at all that finishing around 12th should have been beyond us.  Everybody from say, Burnley in 11th down is eminently beatable, and it's really just down to shit scouting, and even shitter coaching that we are where we are. 

Burnley's midfield this season has mostly been Ashley Westwood, Jack Cork, Jeff Hendrick and Dwight McNeil.  Pretty bloody ordinary by anybody's standards, but coached into an effective unit by Dyche.

Smith has pointed out in recent games we have been harder to beat , if we had been like that from the start we would of been boring maybe but gotten some draws along the way.Palace are not far off top 6 and are one of the lowest scorers in the league but they keep goals out.

Liverpool have been great this season but overall I thing the league has been very ordinary with alot of the top teams United , Chelsea , Spurs and Arsenal all having issues putting runs together and yet we haven't taken points of any of them.

[brian green]

Just like I don't see the Conservative and Unionist Parties winning the last General Election by 80 seats, I see the 71.5% of those entitled to vote losing it by 80 seats.  Sorry I know this is not the place but somehow the media anus slurping of Liverpool FC and Boris Johnson is part of the agony of being alive at this time.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Smith has pointed out in recent games we have been harder to beat , if we had been like that from the start we would of been boring maybe but gotten some draws along the way.Palace are not far off top 6 and are one of the lowest scorers in the league but they keep goals out.

Only Norwich and Steve Bruce's Newcastle have scored fewer goals than Palace. We've scored 6 more goals than Sheff Utd but conceded twice as many as them.

[Lastfootstamper]

I'm glad to see a properly coached Ashley Westwood has been promoted to pretty bloody ordinary. I told you he was alright.

Actually, pro-Westwood baiting aside, it's interesting that he's in a more effective midfield than ours which includes a Brazilian international, Super John McGinn and someone widely regarded as our best young player since probably Gary Shaw. Christ we've wasted some opportunities over the years with our short-term, shit or bust approach. It's scary to see names associated with our utterly shite last decade doing perfectly well in the Premier League.

I'd say Bruce and perhaps O'Neill were our only shit-or-bust appointments since Docherty, and the extent to which it applied to O'Neill only being apparent after he'd gone. There's largely been longer term plans with objectives, we've simply ballsed the execution up time and time and time again.

In fact, thinking about it, it's almost always gone tits-up when we've used our egg basket for a centre-forward that either flopped, was past it, or lasted a little over 5 minutes before having to retire. Buy better strikers, Villa.

[brian green]

Tommy Docherty was treated like we treated Remi Garde.  We had to pass the hat round to buy Bruce Rioch for £100,000 from Luton.

[Chris Smith]

Smith has pointed out in recent games we have been harder to beat , if we had been like that from the start we would of been boring maybe but gotten some draws along the way.Palace are not far off top 6 and are one of the lowest scorers in the league but they keep goals out.

Only Norwich and Steve Bruce's Newcastle have scored fewer goals than Palace. We've scored 6 more goals than Sheff Utd but conceded twice as many as them.

It’s only been since we lost Heaton (and Wesley) that our goal difference has gone to pot and our league position has declined accordingly. I can’t help thinking that if we do go down that game at Burnley will be pivotal. It was one of our best performances but losing two key players put a stop to any chance of gaining any momentum from it.

[Simon Page]

I'm thinking less in terms of managerial appointments and more our transfer policy coupled with what we end up putting out on a Saturday and what we've coached them to do. Young and hungry, proven at a level, ticky-tack, Villa Engine, allez le bleu...

[AV82EC]

Smith has pointed out in recent games we have been harder to beat , if we had been like that from the start we would of been boring maybe but gotten some draws along the way.Palace are not far off top 6 and are one of the lowest scorers in the league but they keep goals out.

Only Norwich and Steve Bruce's Newcastle have scored fewer goals than Palace. We've scored 6 more goals than Sheff Utd but conceded twice as many as them.

It’s only been since we lost Heaton (and Wesley) that our goal difference has gone to pot and our league position has declined accordingly. I can’t help thinking that if we do go down that game at Burnley will be pivotal. It was one of our best performances but losing two key players put a stop to any chance of gaining any momentum from it.

Yep we looked very good that day, Jack was unplayable, Wesley commanding up top and Dougie running it in the middle. Then fate intervened and we’ve been pretty cack  ever since.

[KevinGage]

Just like I don't see the Conservative and Unionist Parties winning the last General Election by 80 seats, I see the 71.5% of those entitled to vote losing it by 80 seats.  Sorry I know this is not the place but somehow the media anus slurping of Liverpool FC and Boris Johnson is part of the agony of being alive at this time.

Utterly horrendous. On both counts.

[Lastfootstamper]

Despite the obvious fact that we are crap, we’re not actually down yet and the teams around us, including Pearson’s Watford, that is Pearson who lots were raving about when he took over their, are just as crap. Watford may have had a spectacular win over Liverpool but its the only win they’ve had in 10, that’s how long their new manager bounce has lasted. If after Liverpool and Man Utd, we are 3 or 4 points behind Bournemouth, West Ham and Watford then I think we are gone, if it’s 1 or 2 points and we have palace, Everton, arsenal and West Ham to play, then it’s all to play for.

And Dyche, I like Sean Dyche and his growl, but the irony that he got relegated with Burnley and they stuck with him, seems to have by passed a lot of Smith outers on here.We’re they heralded for then barnstorming football the year they last went down?
I’m almost past caring whether smith stays or goes, I’ve not enjoyed a game since Watford in January and that nearly gave me a heart attack. What I do know is, a lot of supporters would of realistically took 17th as an achievement this season after the way we came up and the rushed squad rebuild. Coming 17th invariably means you lose a lot of games, but this seems to have by passed a lot of people. However shite we are, and we are really hard to watch at the moment, coming 17th is not exactly the impossible given we’re on the same points as Bournemouth and West Ham and one behind Watford.
If the internet had existed in April and May 1989, it would of been interesting to see if SGT would of been getting this vitriol, as his Villa escaped an immediate return to Div 1 as it was,  by 1 point with a 1-1 draw with Cov on last day of the season. Just saying like.

excellent post

Although, according to the poll on here, 98.4% of H&Vers thought - realistically - we'd finish 17th or higher.  45% thought we'd finish 12th or higher.

Lies, damn lies... Over half of those that voted went for 13th-17th, a spot in which we're currently denied by goal difference.

Those that voted for that, how did you think we'd achieve these heights? A season long battle, or gently but safely descending there with two games to go?

[Mister E]

... includes a Brazilian international, Super John McGinn and someone widely regarded as our best young player since probably Gary Shaw...

what's let this credible MF down has been the bleedin' awful defending. Having a tighter defence - and the confidence that comes with that - means that our MF would have been able to play more offensively (bringing in Doug was also going to take a while for him to get acclimatised to the EPL).
Everything comes back to the continual achilles heel that we've had for several seasons: poorly coached defence (despite having an ex CB as manager and an ex CB as coach).

[hilts_coolerking]

Lies, damn lies... Over half of those that voted went for 13th-17th, a spot in which we're currently denied by goal difference.

And 13 points off 13th.

[Steve67]

... includes a Brazilian international, Super John McGinn and someone widely regarded as our best young player since probably Gary Shaw...

what's let this credible MF down has been the bleedin' awful defending. Having a tighter defence - and the confidence that comes with that - means that our MF would have been able to play more offensively (bringing in Doug was also going to take a while for him to get acclimatised to the EPL).
Everything comes back to the continual achilles heel that we've had for several seasons: poorly coached defence (despite having an ex CB as manager and an ex CB as coach).

It's a lot wider than that.  Our forwards don't hold the ball up, therefore, we don't 'defend from the front'.  We don't protect the defence because we have no physicality at all.  When was the last time one our midfielders made a crunching, you had to look away, tackle?  We are seriously piss weak in midfield.  In defence, we lack concentration, are not touch tight, ever, struggle to defend against good movement, which comes down to communication and concentration, oh, and our keepers do not command respect and other than Heaton, are a liability.   Every aspect of the team is very, very poor. Don't get me started on our wingers!

[N'ZMAV]

it could be that the team, coaching, scouting, management, set plays, tactics, style of play, everything is just not good enough - I can't say I've seen anything other than Grealish that's been good enough this season. It's all been rather pathetic.