Dean Smith - Confirmed

[PaulTheVillan]

It's not been the best start to life without Grealish has it.

Dean needs to work out how to win without Jack pronto.

Yeah because he’s had so much time to sort it out

[pauliewalnuts]

What is consistent under Dean is how many times we play matches completely ceding the centre of midfield.

It seems to be almost every match and today was another great example.

[Demitri_C]

It's not been the best start to life without Grealish has it.

Dean needs to work out how to win without Jack pronto.

Yeah because he’s had so much time to sort it out

What about last year? Didnt have a clue what to do.

[Vegas]

What is consistent under Dean is how many times we play matches completely ceding the centre of midfield.

It seems to be almost every match and today was another great example.

Agreed, but isn’t that just because we don’t have very good centre  midfielders?

[Monty]

I know there are absentees, I know it'll take time to gel, but man alive that was tactically poor as well. Buendìa was poor, but thrust that close to Ings he was always receiving the ball with his back to goal - how is that any sort of good idea? And because of that gap between the deep two and the front two, McGinn was constantly having to play a three man midfield virtually by himself.

But the worst thing, the absolute worst thing, is that we look like we have no plans in attack. The best coaches at the best teams practice these movements, these patterns to pull apart massed defences, and even with Grealish last year we look like we have none of that. We look laboured, slow, ponderous, we spend so often with one guy on the ball just waiting in vain for a movement up front, or else trying to burst through himself because there's no structured way to do it. Our plan was always to counterattack or rely on moments of genius; well, the genius is gone, and you don't finish top 8 if all you do is counterattack.

Ramsey was bright enough when he came on and Ash looked very competent at left back, much more so than at left wing, but the damage was done. Tactically, a shocking day. And not for the first time.

[wince]

It's not been the best start to life without Grealish has it.

Dean needs to work out how to win without Jack pronto.

Yeah because he’s had so much time to sort it out

He had 3 months last season to try something. With a wafer midfield like that result will be the same. I don’t expect anything next week if we play like that and the pressure needs to be on now as I reckon.

[Risso]

Never mind a one man team, he's a one man manager. His record without Greasy is abysmal.

[Demitri_C]

Never mind a one man team, he's a one man manager. His record without Greasy is abysmal.

Exactly. Its not one game. Its more than 10

[john e]

Grealish has carried this team for the last 3 season

[pauliewalnuts]

What is consistent under Dean is how many times we play matches completely ceding the centre of midfield.

It seems to be almost every match and today was another great example.

Agreed, but isn’t that just because we don’t have very good centre  midfielders?

But he's had two and a half seasons to fix that.

[PaulTheVillan]

He should be sacked for picking El Ghazi

[eamonn]

I know it is an over-reaction but would love to see someone like Potter at Villa

Swap one Villa man for another.

[ez]

Smith had another stinker today. Again not responding to the danger signs until we're losing. He simply must break that habit.

[villadelph]

It's not been the best start to life without Grealish has it.

Dean needs to work out how to win without Jack pronto.

Yeah because he’s had so much time to sort it out

He had a third of a season last year to create some semblance of a strategy.

[wince]

I know it is an over-reaction but would love to see someone like Potter at Villa

Swap one Villa man for another.

Need better than that. I’m not saying dean needs to go now or even this season if he improves, but when time comes I don’t want a villa man in the side living his dream. I want an absolute bastard. Dean is just too nice.