Dean Smith - reflection & appreciation

[Small Rodent]

Maybe it's time to lock this thread?

Please! And lock the Other Games thread every time Man City play, so we don’t get an endless “Grealish watch”.

[pauliewalnuts]

He did a very good job getting us promoted, and to start with did ok in the top flight.

He then started to believe his own publicity and made a series of mistakes which he then proceeded to make over and over again. He absolutely deserved the sack and should have got it much earlier.

Given a choice, I would opt for him to do well, I’ve no reason not to.

That’s about it though. I don’t get the saintly view some have of him.

Nice he’s a Villa fan, but it’s not some sort of special key to sanctification.

[Ad@m]

It never ceases to amaze me how people will volunteer their time to post on a thread that they don't think should exist!

No one's forcing you to read it guys.

[algy]

I like Deano, and I think it's a testament to how well liked & respected he is that people are still tracking his progress and wishing him well after he's left the club. Hope one day him, or one of his family, reads this and realises just how important his contribution has been - the first step on our return to greatness.

Don't think the thread should be locked.

[Small Rodent]

It never ceases to amaze me how people will volunteer their time to post on a thread that they don't think should exist!

No one's forcing you to read it guys.

It’s a morbid fascination!!

[Abbeyfealeavfc]

So Dean Smith is the only Villa manager to have engineered a win vs man ure this season. That's something to be appreciated bearing in mind our record in games against them.

[steamer]

Dean did a great job for us but as in many walks of life you hit a ceiling
He moves on, he has another job we have another manager
I will always keep an eye on results of teams he manages and wish him well

[Risso]

At least shift it to ‘other football’ then.

[ez]

Yep, pretty much anyone staying up at Newcastle's expense is always the preference. Everyone loves some Jawdee tears!!!

Except perhaps Dirty Leeds, and the uncriticizable  Bielsa

Leeds would be my first choice to go. All that whinging over that goal a few years ago. Blimey.

[West Derby Villan]

I like Deano, and I think it's a testament to how well liked & respected he is that people are still tracking his progress and wishing him well after he's left the club. Hope one day him, or one of his family, reads this and realises just how important his contribution has been - the first step on our return to greatness.

Don't think the thread should be locked.

Totally agree, Norwich is a result I’m certainly interested in because of Dean. It would be a fantastic accomplishment if Dean manages to keep them up

[Smithy]

In the first page or so on here we have a thread about Gabby, and we have a thread specifically for ex-Villa players still playing - I don't think it's unreasonable to have a thread about ex-managers still managing.

If people don't want to discuss him, or Norwich's progress under him, I totally get it - and if that's most people it'll soon disappear off the front page soon enough.

(Yes, I am aware I've just bumped it to the top)

[eamonn]

Him keeping Norwich up would arguably be a bigger achievement than us surviving with four games left in 2020. I know they're well-placed but with half the season to go people have been writing them off for weeks/months.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

He did a very good job getting us promoted, and to start with did ok in the top flight.

He then started to believe his own publicity and made a series of mistakes which he then proceeded to make over and over again. He absolutely deserved the sack and should have got it much earlier.

Given a choice, I would opt for him to do well, I’ve no reason not to.

That’s about it though. I don’t get the saintly view some have of him.

Nice he’s a Villa fan, but it’s not some sort of special key to sanctification.

Of our ex-Managers he's the one I'd prefer to go for a pint with. Never understood those that mentioned having a beer with Bruce. Lambert I assume only drinks Thunderbird and MON probably drinks his own piss.

[Chris Harte]

I was sad when Dean Smith was sacked. I'd have loved a Villa fan to manage us to the next level, and the level beyond, but it wasn't to be. Had it not been for that spectacular collapse versus the little club from Wolverhampton whose fans have declared a rivalry with us after at least thirty-five years of being very quiet on the subject, he might well have had more time in the post. But then it seems the average shelf-life of a Villa manager is about three years so I was probably hoping against hope.

I for one wish him all the best for the future (other than when he manages against us, of course).

[Monty]

It's a shame it didn't work for him, but I kind of always knew it wouldn't. We were too haphazard, too unstable in our good phases under him. He was good at a lot, galvanised the team and gave us belief, but we never looked tactically in control of ourselves. These first few games with Gerrard (with the exception of Brentford) have really hammered that fact home for me - win or lose now we have a clear identity on the pitch.