Dean Smith - Confirmed

[KevinGage]

I love Dean, even when we looked doomed I found it hard to criticise the bloke. So if, as seems likely, he's our boss next year I'm happy with that and hope we can push on.

If, however, the owners push the boat out on a really big name manager I wouldn't object to that either.

Pretty much where I'm at.

Edit: like rather than love.  I have criticised him and would still be concerned about our pattern of play throughout the season.

But it's heartening to see a fellow Villa fan take us up and then keep us up.

[Meanwood Villa]

He deserved criticism for some of the performances turned out over the season and I think recruitment has been poor, although how much of that is down to him isn't that clear. But with other managers it's got to the point where I really dislike them and that hasn't happened with him. So chuffed we got over the line and would love it if we can kick on with him in charge.

[RamboandBruno]

I think without the coronavirus break we'd have sunk without a trace, so we can be thankful that he used the time to reorganise himself and the squad.

Pre lockdown I thought it was Norwch plus two from us Bournemouth and Brighton. Thought Watford were big and ugly enough to draw clear and West Ham had too much quality.

Despite backing Smith on here numerous times, I thought he looked lost pre lockdown and the Leicester mauling in particular, when I thought we were gone. Likewise in some of the early re start games I thought he as well as the team were struggling. In hindsight maybe we were just playing teams in Chelsea, wolves, Man U and Liverpool that were much better than us.

To me it isn’t right that the coach/manager gets all the flack when things go wrong and none of the credit when they go well. It’s been said too many times that essentially Grealish got us up last season and that Smith was lucky.
If we sit back now on a rainy Monday after yesterday’s highs and look at smiths 21 months in charge, we’ve gone from mid table championship, to the best winning run in our history, promotion at Wembley, a league cup final, narrowly defeated to one of the best sides I’ve ever seen, and now premier league survival when it looked impossible with 4 games to go.
To me that’s impressive. We could argue he was lucky with grealish coming back when he did last year, inversely it could be argued smith was unlucky he got injured in the first place and maybe we would of gone up automatically if he hadn’t.
This seasons been a hard watch at times, and sometimes it has seemed like Dean has struggled, but on the whole the transformation since the restart has been startling and shows to me that he does have tactical nous.
For me we keep smith, we let a few players go, hopefully keep all of our better players, and get 4 or 5 players in that will improve us and the futures bright(er)

[Jon Crofts]

Slept under his desk at the office last night.

[paul_e]

Smith that managed us against Arsenal is good enough for where we want to go next season, Smith that managed us against Man Utd isn't. I'm happy for him to have time to see which of those 2 versions wins out with a year of experience under his belt, a squad that knows what being in the premier league means and a bit pot of cash to spend on a handful of players rather than having to rebuild the squad completely.

[chrisw1]

Ben Yedder sounds like a kid from Cradely Heath that's good in the air.

<applause>

[aj2k77]

He's come in for stick this season, rightly so as from November onwards we were poor BUT he took over when we were in the bottom half of the Championship and 18 months later we have survived getting back in the top division. He's passed both tests and thrown in a cup final. As he earned a shot at keeping us up and I think it's only fair that having achieved that he's earned his shot and building and moving on to the next stage.

The football has at times been very poor and defensively we have been shite, it's not been perfect and I remain sceptical about whether he has what it takes to move us forward but I'm proud of what he's achieved, he is a Villa fan and I know it shouldn't matter .... but it does to me, and I can't deny I love it just a little bit more that one of us has got us a toehold back in top flight football.

When he does get the sack, which happens to everyone eventually, he can be proud of the job he's done and like looking back at Gabby doing the rags time and time again, you forget about the bad times and remember how much sweeter it was knowing someone like me or you got the chance to live the dream and for a while took hold of it.

Well done Smith, you proved a lot of people wrong, including me. Tastiest humble pie I've eaten for a long, long time.

Up the Villa.

[Neil Hawkes]

Of course he'll be in charge beginning of next season. I'm just not convinced next year will be anything other than a struggle with him to be brutally honest - all season we lacked any sort of real identity in our play, and when we got a run in at the death it was based on skin-of-teeth, siege defending of the kind that makes me wonder if those advocating for Allardyce didn't get their wish in the end, in a way. Not to diminish this, or to say that I'm not really fond of Deano, I really am. I just remain unconvinced. But perhaps that's all for another day.

I feel the same.

And did he keep us up? Or did Bournemouth and Watford's shocking implosion do that? In the last two seasons we have been the fifth best side in the Championship , and 17th best in the Prem. That is hardly positive momentum. Yes, Smith did do well to achieve promotion- from a division he knew well, and in the play off lottery. I am not belittling his achievements, but the Villa job is not work experience.

He did not make the same impact that Dyche did when he took Burnley up, or Howe when he took Bournemouth up. The team has not been unlucky this season, it has not been good enough. Are we in a much better position to recruit this summer than last? What style of play are we offering new recruits?

Grealish is likely to go. Is Smith the man to replace him and use the money wisely?

Sweet mother of god.
How many times does it need to be said, 12 new players to start a premier league season; after finishing 5th in championship and winning the play off finals, we did not have a starting 11 from the promoted squad.
Where would you expect the majority of premier league teams, (with experience under their belts), to have ended up if they had to replace a keeper, centre half, defender, midfield enforcer, winger & striker before the first ball was kicked, noting that all the substitutes where also in their 1st season at the club?
AND THEN to lose the keeper & striker midway through the season, plus one of their influential midfielders for a major part of the season?
If any other manager did what Deano had done, (based on above), there would be plaudits galore; however we are Aston Villa and don't even get plaudits from our local news outlets.

[paul_e]

He's come in for stick this season, rightly so as from November onwards we were poor BUT he took over when we were in the bottom half of the Championship and 18 months later we have survived getting back in the top division. He's passed both tests and thrown in a cup final. As he earned a shot at keeping us up and I think it's only fair that having achieved that he's earned his shot and building and moving on to the next stage.

The football has at times been very poor and defensively we have been shite, it's not been perfect and I remain sceptical about whether he has what it takes to move us forward but I'm proud of what he's achieved, he is a Villa fan and I know it shouldn't matter .... but it does to me, and I can't deny I love it just a little bit more that one of us has got us a toehold back in top flight football.

When he does get the sack, which happens to everyone eventually, he can be proud of the job he's done and like looking back at Gabby doing the rags time and time again, you forget about the bad times and remember how much sweeter it was knowing someone like me or you got the chance to live the dream and for a while took hold of it.

Well done Smith, you proved a lot of people wrong, including me. Tastiest humble pie I've eaten for a long, long time.

Up the Villa.

The bold bit has been addressed. Since the restart we've conceded 11 in 10 with 7 of those coming against the 3 top 4 sides we played. If that was repeated over the course of an entire season we'd have a record similar to Sheff Utd who've been praised for their defence all season. What Smith needs to do is work out how to keep that defensive stability but add more goal threat, probably by adding more pace into the team and working on our finishing.

[Dick Edwards]

He's come in for stick this season, rightly so as from November onwards we were poor BUT he took over when we were in the bottom half of the Championship and 18 months later we have survived getting back in the top division. He's passed both tests and thrown in a cup final. As he earned a shot at keeping us up and I think it's only fair that having achieved that he's earned his shot and building and moving on to the next stage.

The football has at times been very poor and defensively we have been shite, it's not been perfect and I remain sceptical about whether he has what it takes to move us forward but I'm proud of what he's achieved, he is a Villa fan and I know it shouldn't matter .... but it does to me, and I can't deny I love it just a little bit more that one of us has got us a toehold back in top flight football.

When he does get the sack, which happens to everyone eventually, he can be proud of the job he's done and like looking back at Gabby doing the rags time and time again, you forget about the bad times and remember how much sweeter it was knowing someone like me or you got the chance to live the dream and for a while took hold of it.

Well done Smith, you proved a lot of people wrong, including me. Tastiest humble pie I've eaten for a long, long time.

Up the Villa.

Well said.

[Steve67]

I wonder if Dean will fine himself for turning up at work drunk?  Actually, he may get around that bit of ill discipline as he was already at work!  Cheeky fecker will probably claim the overtime!

(He deserves it today to be fair).

[Drummond]

I think without the coronavirus break we'd have sunk without a trace, so we can be thankful that he used the time to reorganise himself and the squad.

Quite possibly. It's amazing what a difference it made having a few weeks break, a chance to have 1:1 chats with players and review how they've done isn't it?

[Toronto Villa]

This morning Dean Smith woke up albeit a little foggy as a PL manager. This morning our players woke up (or maybe they still haven't) as PL players. We all woke up this morning as fans of a PL club. None of us thought we would be doing that 5 games ago, and certainly not before the break. But a series of events has led us to this point. The major one being the one we all wanted most of all. That the manager and players found out a way to win points in the PL through defensive cohesiveness. And even while it wasn't perfect as shown with late goals conceded at Everton and West Ham, the run to the end showed that we have made significant progress to that end. We desperately need a forward but any team that over the course of the season only concedes 40 or so goals generally has enough about them to stay up.

We deserved to stay up. Dean Smith deserves to be Vill manager.

[RamboandBruno]

This morning Dean Smith woke up albeit a little foggy as a PL manager. This morning our players woke up (or maybe they still haven't) as PL players. We all woke up this morning as fans of a PL club. None of us thought we would be doing that 5 games ago, and certainly not before the break. But a serious of events has led us to this point. The major on being the one we all wanted most of all. That the manager and players found out a way to win points in the PL through defensive cohesiveness. And even while it wasn't perfect as shown with late goals conceded at Everton and West Ham, the run to the end showed that we have made significant progress to that end. We desperately need a forward but any team that over the course of the season only concedes 40 or so goals generally has enough about them to stay up.

We deserved to stay up. Dean Smith deserves to be Vill manager.

Well said

[darren woolley]

I'm so proud of Dean Smith he's kept us up and got us to a cup final that for me is incredible.