Dean Smith - Confirmed

[Uknowthescore]

19 - Aston Villa have dropped 19 points from winning positions in 2021, the joint-most of any side in England's top four tiers along with Walsall and Wigan Athletic. They hadn't dropped a single point from a winning position this season before the turn of the year. Antagonist

Taken from Twitter. Got to look at smith being mostly at fault for this

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The problem lies with the squad. It's a midtable squad and it's delivering midtable form and results. There's plenty to work with, but if we want to compete in the top 8, we need 4 good quality players.

The form for the second half of the season isn't mid-table though, it's relegation battle form. Stick with Smith, and I think we'll be in for another mediocre season at best next year.

With this squad, probably. But it will almost certainly be improved. If we don't drop another £100m spend I'd be very surprised.

First half, great, second half poor. We could be talking about the season as a whole or a number of games we've played, males no odds. That maddening inconsistency is a symptom of mediocrity. Disappointing given how it could have gone, but overall a bit of meh is a welcome island in a choppy last(lost) decade.

[Toronto Villa]

The buck stops with Smith but the players were awful SH. No leadership without Mings

We got worse after the actual club captain came on and Palace completely nullified him on that side.

[Rudy65]

The problem lies with the squad. It's a midtable squad and it's delivering midtable form and results. There's plenty to work with, but if we want to compete in the top 8, we need 4 good quality players.

You are being too kind. The squad is giving us 4th bottom position of the last 15 games

[Toronto Villa]

19 - Aston Villa have dropped 19 points from winning positions in 2021, the joint-most of any side in England's top four tiers along with Walsall and Wigan Athletic. They hadn't dropped a single point from a winning position this season before the turn of the year. Antagonist

Taken from Twitter. Got to look at smith being mostly at fault for this

The silver lining in that stat is that we were in those positions to begin with. The concern I have is Dean Smith capable of next season taking even 50% of those points and improving us again?

[Smirker]

The problem lies with the squad. It's a midtable squad and it's delivering midtable form and results. There's plenty to work with, but if we want to compete in the top 8, we need 4 good quality players.

The form for the second half of the season isn't mid-table though, it's relegation battle form. Stick with Smith, and I think we'll be in for another mediocre season at best next year.

Who do you suggest we replace him with?

Someone better unless you are suggesting there couldn’t possibly be anyone better out there.

Well there's Klopp and Pep but who is actually going to come here?

[Brend'Watkins]

The problem lies with the squad. It's a midtable squad and it's delivering midtable form and results. There's plenty to work with, but if we want to compete in the top 8, we need 4 good quality players.

You can blame systems, formations, tactics or whatever but if the squad isn't good enough you'll only get so far. We have a mid table squad with 5 or 6 top players when they are on it.

As you say we need 4, I'd settle for 3 quality players which has to include an enforcer in the middle.

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The problem lies with the squad. It's a midtable squad and it's delivering midtable form and results. There's plenty to work with, but if we want to compete in the top 8, we need 4 good quality players.

You are being too kind. The squad is giving us 4th bottom position of the last 15 games

Form table based on 36 says something different.

[KevinGage]

Maybe he needs another coach, or someone on the staff needs replacing, like how Ferguson would hire Queiroz and the like when he felt he was going stale. Someone to help tactical management. I mean, if it's good enough for Ferguson then it's good enough for Smith.

Ferguson for all his tea cup tossing bravado was also light years ahead of others in terms of what it took to run a massive club. That is coaching, analytics, squad management and the psychological warfare against all others in getting that edge. I don’t think Dean Smith is broad enough mentally to grasp all of that.

It's frustrating, because I think he is open to change.

Unlike dinosaurs like O'Neill and McLeish, say.

He's not so arrogant to think he has all the answers, and regularly got fresh input from new coaches at Brentford and now Villa (Terry, then Shakespeare).   One or both of them may be off this summer; Terry spoke about wanting three years experience coaching before taking a management gig and will be in the frame for any decent Championship gig that becomes available this summer.  Shakespeare may hook up with Nigel Pearson at Bristol again.

So he could be forced into freshening it up anyway. 

We seen the response post lockdown 2020 when we did become more resolute and hard to beat. He had the way he wanted to play, but was pragmatic enough to alter it. So the penny did drop.

But it is a regular concern that when the opposition switch it up we don't seem able to respond. Also, if we start slow, it's rare for us to grow into the game and improve as Palace did today.

We've just made one of the most shot-shy sides in the league look like a total football outfit. It's the most chances they've created all season. Add it to the horror shows against Sheff U away when we couldn't beat the worst side in the division despite them being down to ten men and Burnleh second half.

[SoccerHQ]

Will be under more pressure next season as we will surely spend another 100m this summer and also still have Sanson to hopefully play a significant part next season.

Needs to get those signings right otherwise I suspect we'll reach a Claude Puel at Leicester type point 3-4 months into next season.

Hopefully he steps up but second halves like today are why a few of us have question marks in the long term in how high he can really get us up the league.

[Toronto Villa]

The problem lies with the squad. It's a midtable squad and it's delivering midtable form and results. There's plenty to work with, but if we want to compete in the top 8, we need 4 good quality players.

The form for the second half of the season isn't mid-table though, it's relegation battle form. Stick with Smith, and I think we'll be in for another mediocre season at best next year.

Who do you suggest we replace him with?

Someone better unless you are suggesting there couldn’t possibly be anyone better out there.

Well there's Klopp and Pep but who is actually going to come here?

Why does it need to be a manager currently in England? There is an entire planet of coaches to pull from. It’s the job of the club to go attract one. Not like money will be a problem.

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We don't do the ugly things well. I'm sure a striker, a 10 and a winger will be coming in, but it is the big horrible bastard in midfield who we need and will prove most useful.

Somebody who would have closed Eze and crunched him.

[DB]

The problem lies with the squad. It's a midtable squad and it's delivering midtable form and results. There's plenty to work with, but if we want to compete in the top 8, we need 4 good quality players.

You are being too kind. The squad is giving us 4th bottom position of the last 15 games

Form table based on 36 says something different.

Form is heading in the wrong direction.

[Monty]

Not that I am advocating for replacing Smith, but in a world where Everton can hire Carlo Ancelotti I don't think we need be so humble about what our choice of manager might be. No more Curbishleys and Holloways in the rumour pages if the time does come.

[Toronto Villa]

Maybe he needs another coach, or someone on the staff needs replacing, like how Ferguson would hire Queiroz and the like when he felt he was going stale. Someone to help tactical management. I mean, if it's good enough for Ferguson then it's good enough for Smith.

Ferguson for all his tea cup tossing bravado was also light years ahead of others in terms of what it took to run a massive club. That is coaching, analytics, squad management and the psychological warfare against all others in getting that edge. I don’t think Dean Smith is broad enough mentally to grasp all of that.

It's frustrating, because I think he is open to change.

Unlike dinosaurs like O'Neill and McLeish, say.

He's not so arrogant to think he has all the answers, and regularly got fresh input from new coaches at Brentford and now Villa (Terry, then Shakespeare).   One or both of them may be off this summer; Terry spoke about wanting three years experience coaching before taking a management gig and will be in the frame for any decent Championship gig that becomes available this summer.  Shakespeare may hook up with Nigel Pearson at Bristol again.

So he could be forced into freshening it up anyway. 

We seen the response post lockdown 2020 when we did become more resolute and hard to beat. He had the way he wanted to play, but was pragmatic enough to alter it. So the penny did drop.

But it is a regular concern that when the opposition switch it up we don't seem able to respond. Also, if we start slow, it's rare for us to grow into the game and improve as Palace did today.

We've just made one of the most shot-shy sides in the league look like a total football outfit. It's the most chances they've created all season. Add it to the horror shows against Sheff U away when we couldn't beat the worst side in the division despite them being down to ten men and Burnleh second half.

That last paragraph is my point KG. The drop off should not be as steep. Even in games without Jack, I accept a drop off but we literally went from contending for a top 4-6 spot to lower mid table or relegation form. Today we went from comfortable and cruising to looking like Palace were playing a side from league 1.