Shambolic Aston Villa vs Smethwick Post-Match Thread

[The Edge]

Our keeper looked crap for the first goal. He really doesn't seem the most agile.

Bit harsh. I don't think any keeper could of saved that. The angle the ball took when it looped into the net made it almost impossible to save.

[Ads]

It was a brilliant header. I refuse to watch any replays though, so I stand to be corrected.

[walsall villain]

Our keeper looked crap for the first goal. He really doesn't seem the most agile.

The people around me all thought the cross were straight in but it was a header that changed the ball trajectory late.

[PeterWithesShin]

Peter Crouch could have been stood on his shoulders and it would still have gone in.

[brontebilly]

Our keeper looked crap for the first goal. He really doesn't seem the most agile.

Bit harsh. I don't think any keeper could of saved that. The angle the ball took when it looped into the net made it almost impossible to save.

seemed to me that he had enough time to sort his feet out, get back and tip it over. The header was struck from a decent distance out.

[AlexAlexCropley]

Header was speculative and Kalinic made zero attempt at jumping or backpeddling

[KRS]

If Tammy had done his job then we’d have been 1-0 up at the time, but the cross was whipped in and Kalinic was caught flat footed because it was unexpected. There was no time to back peddle but he did attempt to jump and tip it over. It was unlucky to end up being such a well placed header and you can’t really blame the keeper.

[olaftab]

Keeper is suspect and it’s a very dark day when Robson-Kanu scores against you and even worse if he manages to score with a header.

[ASHTONVILLA]

Helder Costa and Ivan Cavaliero were actually at Wolves in 16/17. Have a guess which Scottish manager had Wolves losing six in a row even with those players in the ranks...

Yeah but had the good sense to bin him early rather than wait several years to give him time. Every club makes bad appointments, some look fine on paper but just don't work out, some are just baffling. But well run clubs do not hang about giving too much tie when it becomes obvious a manager is not going to work.

Our biggest mistake in recent years has not been a lack of patience, it has been sticking with duds too long and then changing them part way through the season not giving the replacement enough time to do transfer business.

[Fred Crump]

Header was speculative and Kalinic made zero attempt at jumping or backpeddling

The Blackburn keeper, David Raya , saved a a very similar one yesterday. He looks much more agile and is only 23.

[Chris Smith]

Helder Costa and Ivan Cavaliero were actually at Wolves in 16/17. Have a guess which Scottish manager had Wolves losing six in a row even with those players in the ranks...

Yeah but had the good sense to bin him early rather than wait several years to give him time. Every club makes bad appointments, some look fine on paper but just don't work out, some are just baffling. But well run clubs do not hang about giving too much tie when it becomes obvious a manager is not going to work.

Our biggest mistake in recent years has not been a lack of patience, it has been sticking with duds too long and then changing them part way through the season not giving the replacement enough time to do transfer business.

I don’t see how you can make that distinction when everything we have tried has failed in recent years. I think this time we are doing things differently due to the structure put in place by the new owners. This is their first managerial appointment and they are naturally going to give him time to deliver on their vision.

[aj2k77]

The proof of the pudding will be in the summer. If it looks and feels like more of the same then it's exactly that. We have to be doing something different.

The scouting has been abysmal for years.
The youth coming through hasn't been either good enough or managed well.
The contracts have been ridiculous.
We've taken far too many risks on players with poor injury records.
The training has been weak. We look too formulaic going forwards and unorganised and unconcentrated without the ball.
The transfers have been bland, painting by numbers dirge, throwing huge amounts of money without thought of how players fit in to systems.

I want to see us working hard, we've used money instead of hard work for years now. We need brains. We've had plenty come in and say 'we are implementing this and that'' but there's been no change.

[ASHTONVILLA]

I don’t see how you can make that distinction when everything we have tried has failed in recent years. I think this time we are doing things differently due to the structure put in place by the new owners. This is their first managerial appointment and they are naturally going to give him time to deliver on their vision.

Look lets be clear, I want things to turn around and was pleased when we appointed Smith. However if this form does not pick up before the end of the season then he should not get the start of next season. The form is abject and there are no signs of the football improving, no sign of the coaching making a difference, no sign of any tactical acumen. The transfer business also looks questionable although under this new structure we also have to point at 'Suso' for that.

[SoccerHQ]

Our keeper looked crap for the first goal. He really doesn't seem the most agile.

Bit harsh. I don't think any keeper could of saved that. The angle the ball took when it looped into the net made it almost impossible to save.

seemed to me that he had enough time to sort his feet out, get back and tip it over. The header was struck from a decent distance out.

I agree. He just seemed to jump a bit from his standing position. It was a bit of a freak header though, most times they just go over the bar from that position.

Not sure why he's being blamed for second as that took massive deflection.

[Risso]

I don’t see how you can make that distinction when everything we have tried has failed in recent years. I think this time we are doing things differently due to the structure put in place by the new owners. This is their first managerial appointment and they are naturally going to give him time to deliver on their vision.

We really don't know anything much about the new owners though.  I do believe Edens has been quite ruthless at his NBA team though, sacking a relatively successful manager who he was also friends with.  We're not going to get into the play offs this season, but if there's at least an upturn in fortunes, then I think Smith will be given the chance to have a good go at it next season.  If things continue as they are though, with no wins in the next four or five games, then I think he'll be potted.