Dean Smith - Confirmed

[dave.woodhall]

Abraham in this team and we'd be at least where Brighton are, and probably with more points.

[ASHTONVILLA]

Another manager took his team down but he'd done well, or at least he's done well since. Ours should be sacked because he's going to relegate us twice. Your hindsight is spot on but I'm not sure about your seeing into the future.

He did well with a limited resource and at the time got a lot of praise for how well he did despite going down. I can see why they kept him. It all very much depends on what resource a relegated club had, and how well the manager did. If Huddersfield had got relegated first season up it would have been harsh on Wagner had they fired him as they played OK beyond expectations. in the end they just about stayed up.

Smith has not done well, we are not going down as plucky losers we are playing very poor football and have underachieved given the money spent. He also was poor last season when Grealish was out hence my comment that I can't see him doing well if we go down. He had a purple patch where everything clicked, as did Sherwood for a while. Been found wanting and can't see it improving. Obviously would love to be proven wrong though! I was happy with smith when we appointed him but it hasn't worked out. When things aren't working you need to change, not wait longer. We made that mistake with Lambert who also played good football with a smaller team before coming in and playing defensive anti-football with 'young and hungry' moneyball players. I wouldn't want Smith even if we manage to stay up, he just has not done well enough. Ditto Suso.

Not that Dyche would be my first choice as a replacement, but he definitely has a better track record. Would rather see us go for someone that has done well in similar circumstances with a bigger team like Benitez, though can't see that happening given his history with Purslow.

[KevinGage]

Sacking Dyche for Burnleh going down in 2015 would be the equivalent of us offing O'Neill for not making the knockout stages of the Champions League - had we ever qualified.

They were doing well to go up in the first place and didn't disgrace themselves in the top flight, even on Championship wages and budget back then.

Promotion then gave a small club with little debt the chance to invest and come back stronger when they did drop.

As comparisons go it's up there with apples and orangutans.

[dave.woodhall]

Another manager took his team down but he'd done well, or at least he's done well since. Ours should be sacked because he's going to relegate us twice. Your hindsight is spot on but I'm not sure about your seeing into the future.

He did well with a limited resource and at the time got a lot of praise for how well he did despite going down. I can see why they kept him. It all very much depends on what resource a relegated club had, and how well the manager did. If Huddersfield had got relegated first season up it would have been harsh on Wagner had they fired him as they played OK beyond expectations. in the end they just about stayed up.

Smith has not done well, we are not going down as plucky losers we are playing very poor football and have underachieved given the money spent. He also was poor last season when Grealish was out hence my comment that I can't see him doing well if we go down. He had a purple patch where everything clicked, as did Sherwood for a while. Been found wanting and can't see it improving. Obviously would love to be proven wrong though! I was happy with smith when we appointed him but it hasn't worked out. When things aren't working you need to change, not wait longer. We made that mistake with Lambert who also played good football with a smaller team before coming in and playing defensive anti-football with 'young and hungry' moneyball players. I wouldn't want Smith even if we manage to stay up, he just has not done well enough. Ditto Suso.

Not that Dyche would be my first choice as a replacement, but he definitely has a better track record. Would rather see us go for someone that has done well in similar circumstances with a bigger team like Benitez, though can't see that happening given his history with Purslow.

The money we spent last summer has been done to death - when the final whistle blew at Wembley we had at best three, maybe four players signed to us who were good enough for the Premier League. We had to sign practically an entire new squad while still keeping within FFP. In those circumstances I still fail to see how one manager is a plucky loser deserving of another chance while another isn't good enough, never has been and all his success was down to someone else.

[Mister E]

The way I understood, as part of a long term strategy to ensure stability, the new management structure (DOF/head coach instead of manager) was brought in to enable the club to hire and fire quickly and easily without an O'Neill style hangover. Much was written about this southampton/Brentford model when we appointed Dean Smith. I've very suprised with the results he's still in charge. Althought, my statto friend tells me our xG stat has improved since the restart.

That approach assumes that the right DoF is in charge. Suso definitely ain't the man.

[PeterWithe]

I think when Dean gets the inevitable boot, he'll have a lot of regrets that his teams have rarely played the sort of football for which he was appointed. Its the choice of wide players recruited that puzzle me, so out of kilter with what we saw in his Brentford days.

Whenever I hear him speak I nearly always think, 'yes he knows what he wants to do' but we so rarely see on the field the game he's thought out in his head.

[The_ads]

He just looks found out to me, with the turning circle of a tanker and a lack of pace. Forget Webster, we'd have been better off signing Dawson from the Albion for half the price and some considerable experience.

And this in a nutshell is why the transfer policy has been a shit storm. All talk of planning ‘meticulously’ has resulted, in the main, in a load of unproven, average dross. Had our planning been some promise (Konsa, Wesley) along with some proven premier league players (Dawson, Rodriguez) and we’d have held our own because the bottom half of the premier league is really fucking average. Even now we aren’t adrift and we really should be

[Mister E]

I think appointing Dyche would be another instance of us appointing someone with no experience of what's he's being asked to do, i.e. make a big club successful.  I'm all for giving guys a chance to prove themselves but do we have to keep doing it?  Why not try to go for someone who has got some experience of making a big club successful?

This is really the killer point: we've spent loads of dosh (because we had to) but we put our faith in a manager with limited experience of the job expected of him.
Since the manager / head coach is one of the most important employees the club has, why leave the job in the hands of a relative novice*?


* I use this word to describe Smith because he has not - in his experience - done what this club has asked him to do this season. 

[Risso]

Abraham in this team and we'd be at least where Brighton are, and probably with more points.

Which wasn't ever going to be possible given Chelsea's situation.  So that being the case, attempting to replace somebody like Tammy with Wesley was ridiculous.

[LeeB]

Abraham in this team and we'd be at least where Brighton are, and probably with more points.

Which wasn't ever going to be possible given Chelsea's situation.  So that being the case, attempting to replace somebody like Tammy with Wesley was ridiculous.

What was the answer though? The Georides and Wet Spam both spunked twice what we did, and I'd argue we got the better player of the three.

Basically, we had a lot of jam but too many slices of toast.

[Risso]

I'm really not that bothered that other teams spent as badly as we did on a striker.  Despite that at least Newcastle have stayed out of trouble, and did sign that Saint-Maximin who looks like everything our useless wingers aren't.  Personally I'd have gone for Maupay.  Preferably as well as Wesley, but if the money wasn't available then instead of.  He's scored some very important goals for Brighton this year, quite a few of which have been match winners.

[chrisw1]

I'm really not that bothered that other teams spent as badly as we did on a striker.  Despite that at least Newcastle have stayed out of trouble, and did sign that Saint-Maximin who looks like everything our useless wingers aren't.  Personally I'd have gone for Maupay.  Preferably as well as Wesley, but if the money wasn't available then instead of.  He's scored some very important goals for Brighton this year, quite a few of which have been match winners.

I think we'd have beem much better off with Maupay too, but to put some perspective on it 8 goals for them is hardly prolific, considering Wesley scored 5 for us.

[Drummond]

I know not all trasnfers work out, but this year I'd argue that hardly any at all have:

Heaton - yes, obviously missing second half of season not his fault.
Jota - no.  Couldn't get into a crap Blues team, and obvious why.  Slow and physically weak.
Wesley - no, reasons above.
Trezeguet - no, an even more rubbish and less effective Andre Green
Nakamba - no.  Rubbish, can't play football.
Luiz - just about, our best player of late.
Mings - no, huge, huge disappointment, mistakes all over the shop.
Samatta - no.  Very average indeed.
Baston - no, pointless non-signing
Drinkwater - no, just about the worst loan singing we've ever made.  Woeful.
Engels - no.  Started off OK, has nose-dived since.
Reina - no, way past his best, lacks fitness and that run out to midfield against Leicester, fuck me.
Konsa - jury out, looks promising but no way the finished article.

So it's not Dean Smith's fault then. How could any manager expect to keep a team up with a squad as bereft of talent and attitude as you suggest?

[Risso]

I know not all trasnfers work out, but this year I'd argue that hardly any at all have:

Heaton - yes, obviously missing second half of season not his fault.
Jota - no.  Couldn't get into a crap Blues team, and obvious why.  Slow and physically weak.
Wesley - no, reasons above.
Trezeguet - no, an even more rubbish and less effective Andre Green
Nakamba - no.  Rubbish, can't play football.
Luiz - just about, our best player of late.
Mings - no, huge, huge disappointment, mistakes all over the shop.
Samatta - no.  Very average indeed.
Baston - no, pointless non-signing
Drinkwater - no, just about the worst loan singing we've ever made.  Woeful.
Engels - no.  Started off OK, has nose-dived since.
Reina - no, way past his best, lacks fitness and that run out to midfield against Leicester, fuck me.
Konsa - jury out, looks promising but no way the finished article.

So it's not Dean Smith's fault then. How could any manager expect to keep a team up with a squad as bereft of talent and attitude as you suggest?

Well I'm assuming he had a hand in buying them. And there really can't be any denying that the coaching has been terrible as well.

[Axl Rose]

Your descriptions are spot on for me, Risso.

Mings has been a massive disappointment. Thinks he's better than he actually is.

Nakamba might just be my least favourite of the lot. Shocking player. £11 would have looked like a rip off.

Jota seems to spend all his time making that ridiculous 'shaka' hand sign whilst sitting in the club gym wearing training kit.

Nearly all signings mentioned above move at snail pace, also.