Dean Smith - Confirmed

[rob_bridge]

Indeed Wince we should be looking to get around 50 points next season

[simboy]

I wouldn't change anything, personally. I wouldn't have done had we gone down either. I was worried when he took over that the job might be too much for him; a scar from the Graham Turner era, I think, but he soon dispelled that.

There aren't many players in the squad that have depreciated in value from when we brought them in and they look more and more like a cohesive unit. There's clearly a good spirit there and they all seem to respect the boss as well. The objective this season was making sure we stayed up. He's done that. Now we can invest again in the summer and kick-on.

At this point, I can't think of a better fit as manager for us. He's one of us, he gets the club completely and he's a top man to boot. It was his first season in the top flight and he himself openly admits that he has been learning as he's gone along.

Getting rid of him now would feel like getting rid of SGT after the first season back in Division 1. I'd back him and let him get on with the job. Besides, changing him would be a big gamble, especially with less than 6 weeks until the start of the season.

agreed.

We were the last club to know which league we were playing in at the beginning of the season. We had no central defenders worthy of the name, on the books, some ageing midfielders, and a striker who was destined for higher things, returning to a club with a transfer ban. Bruce's early season policies had left us in a rather difficult place come June last season. Add to that, we had just scraped up with a run of ten wins, ending up in 5th. Play off winners do not have a particularly good record of staying up, the following season.

Dyche had a full season where they swept all before them in the championship, and still got relegated.

We bought what was available, and what was available was moulded into a team which kept us in the Premiership, just. That is  significant credit to Smith and his team. We were let down by cavalier and oft times suicidal defending, that got sorted in the last few weeks.

Personally, a far better goal difference and a bit of mid table mediocrity will suit me just fine next term. 

 

[olaftab]

Judgement Purslow has to make is "Is Dean capable of delivering mid table mediocrity next season"?

[andyh]

Judgement Purslow has to make is "Is Dean capable of delivering mid table mediocrity next season"?

Precisely.
Finish around 10th- 12th next season and that’s massive progress over 3 years.

[AV82EC]

Judgement Purslow has to make is "Is Dean capable of delivering mid table mediocrity next season"?

Precisely.
Finish around 10th- 12th next season and that’s massive progress over 3 years.

A whole league Table higher than when he took over.

[garyfouroaks]

No reason Smith couldn't take us to a similar level or beyond with another year of investment.

I don't agree with your evaluation of Dyche and Howe, I think that there are numerous reasons why Smith may not be able to take us forwards.

I accept that there is also an argument in him remaining. It is a judgement call.

Watford were crazy to sack Pearson when they did. It is better to take decisions while the pressure is off, rather than on. Next season will be a Covid 19 affected odd one. Once you allow Smith to carry on, and probably spend the proceeds for Grealish, you are committing to another season. This is not a McLeish situation . It is one where it is reasonable to ask whether Smith can improve next season.

[Ian.]

That’s unfair to say we didn’t deserve to stay up and only did because of Bournemouth and Watford failings. If that’s the case you could use that argument anywhere. They always say the table doesn’t lie over a course of a season and we know it was by the skin of our teeth that we made it. Credit where credits due and most would have said survival this season was the aim. That other thread shows that was true when we gained promotion last May.

[garyfouroaks]

A whole league Table higher than when he took over.

And one point, a draw, from being back down there again, despite spending £140m in the summer with the highest net PL spend, more than Man U, Liverpool, Arsenal etc.

[Ads]

A whole league Table higher than when he took over.

And one point, a draw, from being back down there again, despite spending £140m in the summer with the highest net PL spend, more than Man U, Liverpool, Arsenal etc.

There's a lot of context to that spend, disingenuous to make comparisons with those clubs.

[garyfouroaks]

That’s unfair to say we didn’t deserve to stay up and only did because of Bournemouth and Watford failings. If that’s the case you could use that argument anywhere. They always say the table doesn’t lie over a course of a season and we know it was by the skin of our teeth that we made it. Credit where credits due and most would have said survival this season was the aim. That other thread shows that was true when we gained promotion last May.

I agree that the table does not lie.

Equally, the competition varies from season to season, Watford's repeated push on the self destruct button was fortunate.

[dave.woodhall]

A whole league Table higher than when he took over.

And one point, a draw, from being back down there again, despite spending £140m in the summer with the highest net PL spend, more than Man U, Liverpool, Arsenal etc.

And how many of them had to buy almost an entire new squad? Had about three players who were good enough two months before the season started? Or had season-ending injuries to two major players in the same game?

[mattjpa]

I think that next year WBA could really struggle unless they invest heavily. Whoever comes up through the playoffs will also have a torrid time without a great deal of time to build a prem ready squad. Palace have looked shocking and are about to lose Zaha, Leeds are in for a shock as well. Newcastle are always one day away from a crisis, I also see Antonio getting an offer for a last big move away from west ham. IF we can keep this defensive cohesion up and also work out how to see off games, I would hope we will improve over last season without too much difficulty.

[Ian.]

Absolutely, we had to rebuild a whole squad. It seemed a lot of money but in comparison it was also a lot of players for that amount. Not just a few at £30 - £40 million plus on singular players as others already in this league try and do.

[eamonn]

That’s unfair to say we didn’t deserve to stay up and only did because of Bournemouth and Watford failings. If that’s the case you could use that argument anywhere. They always say the table doesn’t lie over a course of a season and we know it was by the skin of our teeth that we made it. Credit where credits due and most would have said survival this season was the aim. That other thread shows that was true when we gained promotion last May.

Yes, it's the most reductive argument that always rears its head. We finished on 35 points which is about par for surviving. Watford and Bournemouth were slightly worse than us. They also had some impressive results - Watford hammering Liverpool for one. We still managed more points than either so we deserved to stay up.

[AsTallAsLions]

Yes we had to rebuild a whole squad and of course there were inevitable purchases, we effectively needed a whole new defence and certainly a striker (in fact, we should have bought two). But we also replaced a lot of squad players with squad players and loaned out a number of young prospects which on balance didn't make a lot of sense. We essentially spent a fair amount of money on players that didn't significantly improve on those we consciously let go, with the exception of Luiz.