Dean Smith - Confirmed

[brian green]

Leaving it late to show the fight we must go down with.  My suspicion is that we will get the relegation but not the fight.  I would like to see a clever manager.  British managers virtually all come across as the kid who was good at football at school and never had to do any homework.  Blokes who say "should of".

[Legion]

We're not exactly fighting against it all that well.

[brian green]

I also agree with Des.  I would take a manager who in defeat goes home to his penthouse and revives his flagging spirit by playing a Chopin prelude on his baby grand piano.  While a whole team of scouts and coaches scours the known world for good young players.

[Legion]

We have some good, young players. Archer and Ramsey for example. They are just not being used and Smith is persevering with what is not currently working.

[Des Little]

And here it comes! https://twitter.com/jpercytelegraph/status/1278078787628998656?s=21

[ChicagoLion]

And here it comes! https://twitter.com/jpercytelegraph/status/1278078787628998656?s=21

Good, I would love to know the outcome.

[hilts_coolerking]

And here it comes! https://twitter.com/jpercytelegraph/status/1278078787628998656?s=21

What a great time to send the message to the squad 'we should never have bought some of you'.

[Legion]

Oh dear.

[260475]

Getting too late now, when there have been 12 weeks or so when detailed analysis focus and ideas could have changed (whether the personnel did or not) and we could have come back with a different style. Hasn't happened as far as I can see (and if it was done doesn't show), so unless the position is rescued in 6(?) games there is one hell of an expensive lesson to have been taken. So if he stays to the end of the season (because of a view there is not enough time for anyone else to effect a change), then I would be pushing to make a change anyway at the end of the season whether we survive or drop. That should be the structural approach that another poster suggested higher up - i.e. more than just the manager.

I want to see us stay up like most others, but the appetite to spend more (on more of the same) would test even billionaires.

[Legion]

Compare and contrast: https://twitter.com/JPercyTelegraph/status/1159855536625672192

[RamboandBruno]

Smith was the right appointment at the time. Same as MON was, similar to BFR and Brian Little.
Things just don't work out sometimes...

In hindsight, Smith turned out to be a good choice to get us up, but at the time of the appointment he wasn't an obvious choice; other than Brentford played some good football some of the time (notably against us) and he was a Villa fan.

His credentials and results, whilst very respectable for the clubs concerned, weren't screaming out and weren't particularly progressive :
Walsall League 1
2012 - 19th
2013 - 9th
2014 - 13th
2015 - 14th
2015-16 started season well
Brentford Championship
2016 - 9th
2017- 10th
2018 - 9th

Overall, it would seem thus far, he's had just the one outstanding season as a manager.

Even so, I was hoping for something better this season.

Being totally pedantic here and no bearing on the smith in or out debate, but didn’t he get Walsall to the play offs one season? I’m sure they lost to Barnsley in the league one semis, same year they got to a cup final and lost.

[The_ads]

Genuinely astonished as to why people would scoff at Dyche. It’s not always about champagne football, it’s about getting results to stay in the league with the big boys. How we can possibly not want a manager that has got a club as unfashionable as Burnley on the same number of points as Spurs,  when we are in fucking 19th fucking place and barely have a shot at goal let alone going somewhere like Palace and winning. His teams work their bollocks off and they are hard to beat, the complete antithesis of us. We’re powder puff, easy to play against, predictable, lazy, and fucking boring and we’ve got people turning their nose up at a manager like that. Get real.

Maybe part of the reason why Dyche is doing so well at Burnley is that they didn't sack him when they were relegated.

Fair point Dave but if we are to keep him we absolutely have to get the recruitment right because we’ve fucked this up for about 40 consecutive transfer windows. Also, If Suso was Purslows man then he should go too.

[cdbearsfan]

If you're managing Burnley you can get away with being relegated and keep your job (well, then, you probably wouldn't now). Not at a club of our size. It would be ridiculous to stand by him in those circumstances.

[hilts_coolerking]

I think the bottom line is that no-one has done their job effectively this season, with the exception of three or four players.

[Des Little]

Interesting point there re: Purslow/Suso - be interesting to see how that pans out