Dean Smith - Confirmed

[Risso]

Smith. League position doesn't lie and with Jack injured so long I think it's a good position.

You're correct that league position doesn't lie. Leeds are 8th in their first season back.

[Dave P]

People are saying the same things about Bielsa now that they were saying about Chris Wilder last season.

[Monty]

People are saying the same things about Bielsa now that they were saying about Chris Wilder last season.

If you ignore the decades-long career of being one of the most influential coaches in modern history, sure.

[nick harper]

I would take Potter over Smith tomorrow. I think Deano is great, I think he has done really well to get us to safety, and then kick on, but if we are as ambitious as claimed, then he needs to be replaced with someone tactically more astute sooner rather than later. Leeds are the prime example of a manager making the difference, they have a decent championship squad with 3-4 good players on top, and Bielsa has extracted every last ounce of ability from them. No way any other manager with that squad gets close to 55 points. Spurs should be offering him the earth on a stick to go there. Problem we have is every manager in the land knows how we will line up every week, the way we will play, the time we will make subs etc. We have no variation, no ability to change things. If Smith is going to kick us on to the top 6 as per the will of the owners, he is going to have to adapt and improve too.

The saddest bit of this post which makes my heart sink when I read it is the part where are you say every manager in the land knows how we will lineup,knows how we will play and knows when we will make our subs
Dean Smith is no way near as bad as Lambert McLeish and Bruce but that is exactly what They did week after week
There’s a big problem right there

I often see people say Dean is learning on the job and if he is I’ve got no problem but I’d like to see it manifested in tactics and playing formations on the pitch every so often

The inability to respond to circumstances or  pose tactical challenges is a huge problem and not sure how this gets addressed. Does Smith even accept that he has a problem ?

This where I get frustrated if I’m honest. I expect Smith and the coaches will have watched Sundays game this week and analysed how the game slipped away from us, how we lost control of the midfield, the wide players drifted out of the game, Watkins couldn’t get the ball to stick, and Eze found ever bigger holes to exploit. Would they not look at what tactical changes in shape or personnel they might have made to turn things round, or do they think Palace just pressed us better and there was nothing we could have done?

[ChicagoLion]

I would take Potter over Smith tomorrow. I think Deano is great, I think he has done really well to get us to safety, and then kick on, but if we are as ambitious as claimed, then he needs to be replaced with someone tactically more astute sooner rather than later. Leeds are the prime example of a manager making the difference, they have a decent championship squad with 3-4 good players on top, and Bielsa has extracted every last ounce of ability from them. No way any other manager with that squad gets close to 55 points. Spurs should be offering him the earth on a stick to go there. Problem we have is every manager in the land knows how we will line up every week, the way we will play, the time we will make subs etc. We have no variation, no ability to change things. If Smith is going to kick us on to the top 6 as per the will of the owners, he is going to have to adapt and improve too.

The saddest bit of this post which makes my heart sink when I read it is the part where are you say every manager in the land knows how we will lineup,knows how we will play and knows when we will make our subs
Dean Smith is no way near as bad as Lambert McLeish and Bruce but that is exactly what They did week after week
There’s a big problem right there

I often see people say Dean is learning on the job and if he is I’ve got no problem but I’d like to see it manifested in tactics and playing formations on the pitch every so often

The inability to respond to circumstances or  pose tactical challenges is a huge problem and not sure how this gets addressed. Does Smith even accept that he has a problem ?

This where I get frustrated if I’m honest. I expect Smith and the coaches will have watched Sundays game this week and analysed how the game slipped away from us, how we lost control of the midfield, the wide players drifted out of the game, Watkins couldn’t get the ball to stick, and Eze found ever bigger holes to exploit. Would they not look at what tactical changes in shape or personnel they might have made to turn things round, or do they think Palace just pressed us better and there was nothing we could have done?

it happens so frequently you would think that they would come up with a strategy that isn't more of the same by now.

[Smithy]

Bielsa has been in charge of Leeds for six months longer than Dean has for us, and had one extra full pre-season of work and transfers with his club.

Bielsa took over a side that had just finished 13th in the Championship.  Dean took over a side that was 14th in the Championship.

Bielsa is clearly a very good manager, with a great track record.  Dean Smith is also a pretty good manager, with a pretty good track record at Aston Villa.

How will they both do next season? Who knows. Leeds might be the next Sheff Utd (remember this time last year when Chris Wilder was hailed as a genius?). Leeds might also be the next Leicester, with a maverick foreign manager who speaks little English leading them to an unlikely title charge.

I certainly don't think Bielsa would represent a 100% cast-iron guarantee of a better season next year, than the one we will get with Dean in charge.  There are probably only two or three managers in world football that I'd swap him for right now, and they're all at top clubs and winning titles, so it's not going to happen. 

The bar for who I'd be happy to replace him with is pretty high right now, but obviously becomes a little lower once we're no longer progressing, but while we are progressing, short of Pep wanting a new challenge, I don't want anyone else in charge.

I still think we could be sat here this time next season looking forward to an assault on Europe with a Villa fan managing the team and a Villa fan captaining it.  I don't think it could be much better than that.  And I'm 100% happy giving Dean the chance to make that happen.

[Smithy]

People are saying the same things about Bielsa now that they were saying about Chris Wilder last season.

If you ignore the decades-long career of being one of the most influential coaches in modern history, sure.

Yes, but apart from the Championship trophy with Leeds last season, the last time he actually won something Dean Smith was still playing and six years away from retirement.

[Toronto Villa]

Bielsa had a chance to mould his squad in the Championship whereas Dean got us promoted and lost a load of players and had to do rebuild us in the PL. It had to have helped Bielsa doing that at a lower level.

The big season now for both is next. Dean Smith will be supported again in the summer with a lot of money and he won’t have any excuses if we are not at least challenging for a top 8 position. Bielsa will need to now add PL level players to what he has and it will be intriguing to see how much he gets to work with to do that. Otherwise irrespective of how good he is they will regress if they don’t improve. And also how those players are integrated into the system he has at Leeds.

[Nunkin1965]

Bielsa has been in charge of Leeds for six months longer than Dean has for us, and had one extra full pre-season of work and transfers with his club.

Bielsa took over a side that had just finished 13th in the Championship.  Dean took over a side that was 14th in the Championship.

Bielsa is clearly a very good manager, with a great track record.  Dean Smith is also a pretty good manager, with a pretty good track record at Aston Villa.

How will they both do next season? Who knows. Leeds might be the next Sheff Utd (remember this time last year when Chris Wilder was hailed as a genius?). Leeds might also be the next Leicester, with a maverick foreign manager who speaks little English leading them to an unlikely title charge.

I certainly don't think Bielsa would represent a 100% cast-iron guarantee of a better season next year, than the one we will get with Dean in charge.  There are probably only two or three managers in world football that I'd swap him for right now, and they're all at top clubs and winning titles, so it's not going to happen. 

The bar for who I'd be happy to replace him with is pretty high right now, but obviously becomes a little lower once we're no longer progressing, but while we are progressing, short of Pep wanting a new challenge, I don't want anyone else in charge.

I still think we could be sat here this time next season looking forward to an assault on Europe with a Villa fan managing the team and a Villa fan captaining it.  I don't think it could be much better than that.  And I'm 100% happy giving Dean the chance to make that happen.

Exactly where I am in this debate.
Our owners are clearly happy to give Smith the summer to develop the squad and progress further.
It's not quick enough for some and I accept that but it's nowhere near the time to think about changing the structure.

[Risso]

People are saying the same things about Bielsa now that they were saying about Chris Wilder last season.

Completely different. Wilder did brilliantly to extract every last bit of value out of his squad in their first year back, but there's only so far you can take a Championship squad before spending big. He was hung out to dry a bit this year by his board, with their only real acquisitions being a replacement goalie and a mostly untried kid up front. Not surprisingly it wasn't nearly enough.  Leeds have got enough good young players to have another successful season next year, and I would think that they'll add to the squad as well.

[Risso]

Our owners are clearly happy to give Smith the summer to develop the squad and progress further.
It's not quick enough for some and I accept that but it's nowhere near the time to think about changing the structure.

No offence, but how do you know what the owners are thinking one way or the other? They might be delighted with progress, slightly miffed about how the season has tailed off, or planning to bin Smith shortly after the Chelsea game for all you know.

[sickbeggar]

I doubt they plan to bin him yet. If they were like that then they wouldn't have employed him in the first place

[Monty]

I'd lose a bit of respect for the owners if they did already plan to sack him, but I'd also lose a bit of respect if they hadn't thought about it. They do have to bear in mind both the commitment to a long-term plan and the need to not ignore warning signs on the pitch.

[Risso]

I doubt they plan to bin him yet. If they were like that then they wouldn't have employed him in the first place

Why? They took over with the club in a mess and a need to get out of the Championship. The job now is to become a nailed on, top 6 club. The person who did the first bit is not necessarily the same as the person needed for the next bit.  And they were extremely close to binning him last year before the pandemic struck.

[Nunkin1965]

Our owners are clearly happy to give Smith the summer to develop the squad and progress further.
It's not quick enough for some and I accept that but it's nowhere near the time to think about changing the structure.

No offence, but how do you know what the owners are thinking one way or the other? They might be delighted with progress, slightly miffed about how the season has tailed off, or planning to bin Smith shortly after the Chelsea game for all you know.

That's true but I'd be surprised if they made that decision.
If this season had been poor overall then yes I'd say that a decision would be made.
But over 38 games we'll finish mid table.
Do you think they will change the structure then?