Dean Smith - Confirmed

[not3bad]

I remember when Villa were in trouble last season I saw a tweet that said "No manager called Dean Smith has the right to survive in the premier league."

[Ketzster]

Yes well obviously he’s proven all of the doubters wrong and thank god we wrong because otherwise we wouldn’t have seen them play like this. Many times before I’ve often thought ‘there’s no future in playing like this’ when watching various managers try and find a way of playing. One of the most pleasing things I think is that even if we were to stumble along for the rest of the season (I don’t think we will now), they’ve identified a way of playing that works. We can see that it works and that there’s a massive future in playing like this. It’s far easier then to buy players required for that rather than keep chopping and changing and scrambling around like we have for so long. What’s so hard to fathom is how rapid the improvement has been. I know people are saying we can finish top 8 which would be a great achievement, but I think the players and the staff deserve better than that the way they are playing at the moment. And to be saying that shows what a remarkable job they’ve done

[Monty]

I remember when Villa were in trouble last season I saw a tweet that said "No manager called Dean Smith has the right to survive in the premier league."

Christ almighty, the contempt of that. But I guess Dekan Schmidt of Red Bull Sudetenwaltz would be very welcome.

[Dave]

But not a lot of love for Deano, weirdly.

I happened to check the odds for next England manager this morning out of curiosity.

Smith is currently just behind Phil Neville.

[cdbearsfan]

Perhaps because he wouldn't be so stupid as to leave his dream job for that nightmare.

[LeeB]

Perhaps because he wouldn't be so stupid as to leave his dream job for that nightmare.

They couldn’t afford him, skint pricks.

[clash city rocker]

Whenever we win now the first thing I slap on is heroes. Can be bowie, the oasis version or the motorhead version. We can be heroes just for one day !!!

[Toronto Villa]

But not a lot of love for Deano, weirdly.

I happened to check the odds for next England manager this morning out of curiosity.

Smith is currently just behind Phil Neville.

And long may it remain that way.

[olaftab]

Good post Monty.

[Drummond]

Eddie Howe was talked up a lot but that took some time. Wilder has been, until Easter at least. Perhaps people are waiting to see what happens to us this season, I get the feeling that should we sustain our performance (unlikely but possible) then people will start talking about him.

[pauliewalnuts]

Let's not get carried away. Let's just enjoy it for what it is.

He's currently showing himself to have done a very good job. No need to pile on the expectations or to point the finger of mistrust at this or that section of the media, at ourselves, or anyone for that matter. Just sit back and enjoy what is currently a very interesting time for us.

We are going to continue to be volatile - we're not going to start beating all and sundry, we're going to lose matches we never expect to, and we're going to win others equally unexpectedly. The most important thing by far, though, is that there's currently a degree of excitement and hope that hasn't been there for a fair while and the direction of travel, despite the peaks and troughs, is in the right direction.

What matters most right now is what we're seeing thus far, and it's much, much better than we have seen for a long time. Let's just enjoy it without piling on added pressure or letting unnecessary eexpectations grow.

[not3bad]

Let's not get carried away. Let's just enjoy it for what it is.

He's currently showing himself to have done a very good job. No need to pile on the expectations or to point the finger of mistrust at this or that section of the media, at ourselves, or anyone for that matter. Just sit back and enjoy what is currently a very interesting time for us.

We are going to continue to be volatile - we're not going to start beating all and sundry, we're going to lose matches we never expect to, and we're going to win others equally unexpectedly. The most important thing by far, though, is that there's currently a degree of excitement and hope that hasn't been there for a fair while and the direction of travel, despite the peaks and troughs, is in the right direction.

What matters most right now is what we're seeing thus far, and it's much, much better than we have seen for a long time. Let's just enjoy it without piling on added pressure or letting unnecessary eexpectations grow.

Agreed. But shit! Wouldn't it be good if we put one over on Manure???

[eamonn]

Do we still "set traps"? Doesn't sound like we need to, dictating play as we are increasingly doing.

And great posts, Monty. I think Brian Green should name his next nag "SudetenWaltz".

[paul_e]

Do we still "set traps"? Doesn't sound like we need to, dictating play as we are increasingly doing.

And great posts, Monty. I think Brian Green should name his next nag "SudetenWaltz".

We do it all the time, we show them space where we want them to have the ball so we can swarm them and turn over possession. Watch the number of times we have 2-3 players around a man just as he takes a pass.

[Chris Smith]

Let's not get carried away. Let's just enjoy it for what it is.

He's currently showing himself to have done a very good job. No need to pile on the expectations or to point the finger of mistrust at this or that section of the media, at ourselves, or anyone for that matter. Just sit back and enjoy what is currently a very interesting time for us.

We are going to continue to be volatile - we're not going to start beating all and sundry, we're going to lose matches we never expect to, and we're going to win others equally unexpectedly. The most important thing by far, though, is that there's currently a degree of excitement and hope that hasn't been there for a fair while and the direction of travel, despite the peaks and troughs, is in the right direction.

What matters most right now is what we're seeing thus far, and it's much, much better than we have seen for a long time. Let's just enjoy it without piling on added pressure or letting unnecessary eexpectations grow.

Nah, in the middle of winter with a pandemic stalking the land I want to get carried away. I want optimism and thrills not caution and patience. I want to shake off the doubt that has become my normal pre-match feeling before every game and replace it with the belief that we are now the team others have to worry about and I want all of that to happen with Villa fans as manager and captain. In short I want romance and excitement not caution and pragmatism and for my kids to experience the same feeling I had in the 70s and early 80s.