The Official Dean Smith Thread | Page 7 | Vital Football

The Official Dean Smith Thread

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Well it can only really get better from now. Pretty sure we’ll already see a difference in the way we play by Swansea next week. It’ll take time, but anything which isn’t BruceBall is an improvement.
 
Wow! What a couple of weeks this has been. I’m glad we never opted for any of the dinosaur club. Don’t shoot me for just a couple of concerns though. Smith will get my backing and I’m looking forward to seeing what he can achieve. I’m slightly miffed about the other options though. I have a concern that whether Henry or Faria actually wanted Terry as their assistant? I’ve been reliably informed by a well respected journalist that his understanding is that Faria wants a PL job, the family story may be true, but for now the real reason is he’s waiting for a job in the top flight. Was Terry being forced on them and they didn’t want him? Which obviously rings the alarm for Smith and if he’s just taking it to fulfill the boyhood dream? Secondly, does anyone know what Pitarch is all about? I’ve read on a few pages that apparently he wasn’t well liked in previous roles and questions over whether he is good enough? Again, just concerns. Smith will get my full backing and I’m looking forward
 
Neil Moxley sums it up for me I think -

Clearly wanted to shoehorn JT in there somewhere. Nod to the dressing-room, that. But will discover quickly playing ain’t the same as coaching. Pitarch a Mendes man. Strange set-up, confused process. Fans hopeful rather than excited? Fingers x’d. Need some good news round here..
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It's almost like we didn't know which route to go down so went down 3 different routes at the same time.

Hopeful it works... but not excited.
 
ASPINALL said:
I`ve wanted him as Manager forever, he should have been here instead of RDM.

I reckon we would have been up last season playing decent football.

Then again i wanted Lambert so what do i know.

What i can`t understand is the John Terry seemingly " forced " appointment alongside him, Dean has worked with his team and this has what has been a success for him.

If you read the Hogan interview he even states Terry is quiet off the pitch and a leader on it, we need him in that position to somehow now be a different person - it just seems odd to me.

Just like Peter Withe couldn`t turn Cascarino into a forward for us, can Terry work wonders with this defence ? I hope so of course but we will see.

Just seems a strange combination at the moment to me.
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Terry knows the majority of the squad from last season, he can be the friendly face that gets the managers message across - especially with those players that may be unsure about him.
He will hopefully help boost morale around Bodymoor Heath as well, as its nowhere near what it was last season.
 
Brentford fans seem to be taking all this in good spirit as well. I thought they would be fuming about him walking when they are in such a good position. Most seem to think with the way their club is structured a new man will slot in straight away and things carry on as before. They do all say he is a top guy though
 
DeanoVilla said:
Neil Moxley sums it up for me I think -



It's almost like we didn't know which route to go down so went down 3 different routes at the same time.

Hopeful it works... but not excited.
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I am not sure about that. Jesus is setting the playing philosophy of the whole club and I presume the scouting system will be under his remit as well. In theory all the sides will start playing in the same style and Dean Smith's team play very decent football . JT is clearly here to learn , and if he is using us as a stepping stone to greater things , then fine. What I do know is that he was clearly a massive influence (non playing as well) last season and will get the respect of all the players.

It is a very pragmatic appointment . A championship experienced manager who knows the league along with an assistant who knows the squad.

Also I like managers who have done well at more than one club and in relative terms Smith ticks those boxes.
 
DeanoVilla said:
Meh... he'll get my support but meh....

Think this appointment casts a lot of questions about our owners intentions. Think about it, they've never actually said we're gonna get you up then throw money at the club to try and challenge the top 6.

The appointment to me suggests they want to either

a) get us up and sell
b) do a Brentford and make us a sustainable club in this division, selling our best players each year and using the academy
c) get us up and struggle like Newcastle.

Think dreams of us being the next Man City were shot down last night.

Like I say, he'll get my support but I'm certainly not excited for the future.
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I think you are getting too far ahead though Deano. I think this is an appointment for the here and now. And it should be . We are 15th in the championship with a mish mash squad having only just come out of a situation where we couldn't pay a tax bill. I don't think we can even think about Man city at the moment . I agree r e Rodgers but I still maintain he was not going to come from Celtic. If we were in the premier league. Yes.

As for Henry. I think we dodged a bullet. Now it's done I can totally see the sense in this appointment . And maybe this is a sign that the owners are in touch with the fans as they know that being a villa fan Smith will have an affinity with us and the club which can only help. But yes I know it's got no ultimate bearing on his capability.
 
Very very pleased. A young English manager with the right ideas. At least we will see some decent attacking football at Villa park now. As for John Terry it's a bit of a strange one just throwing him in there.
 
Just had a feeling Terry was gonna come as someone's number 2...surprised with Deano...but thinking about it makes sense...bet there's some well pissed off Brentford fans today....:wahey::wahey::wahey::wahey: could be a good move...lets hope so...
 
I know i will be in the minority here but the appointments worry me. I hope I am wrong, part of me says the Villa man has an effect. It helped Crowe, Little, Gregory, BFR so who knows.

But I see similar similarities to Lambert on this. Good "lower team" manager, but can he handle both the pressure, and the mess that is Aston Villa. Can he manage egos like Grealish wanting to play for England but currently not playing well but keeping out a guy who wecare paying 70k a week to ? (Not having a go at the players, it is just one of the issues he didnt have at Walsall or Brentford) , similar to our maverick star forward, a Chelsea and England player and a bloke who scored 20 plus for him , how will he handle that ? (Never mind Richards n McCormack)

I also worry we have made the same mistake for the 4th time on the trot - employing a manager, nit bringing in his staff and expect him to work with people he has never met. I am convinced Calderwood was the doing of Bruce.

And this Jesus ?. Valencia sounds good but we follow Valencia as i have a place near there, i go the odd game, my son pays subscription to watch them - until lasg season Valencia were appalling, similarvto the decline of Villa, season after season of relegation struggle. They hot back last season, unfort. Jesus departed long before the rebirth.

I will now support and pray to god this works, but I am sceptical.

One question keeps worrying me..... "if Dean Smith was from Aylesbury and supported Watford - would the fans want him ?"

Personally, I think we need top 2 and bare minimum is Top 6 and win the plag offs, will Smith give that, maybe, maybe not - he hasnt before and you would put your money that managers like Pulis will (and alrhough his time had come, you know Bruce was correct when he said we will be there or there abouts - coz thats what he does. I dont think we were in a position to take a "maybe". Nothing is guarenteed, but you know a Rodgers can do it, can handle a big club, can handle big players, can handle big problems. I think we should have gone that way. Whether Rodgers, or someone like him.
 
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I think Smith ticks a number of boxes for the new owners. His teams have played a decent style of football wherever he's been. He knows this league. He's worked in a system with a director of football and is used to not having complete control over transfers. The fact that he's a villa fan and will give everything to the job is a bonus.

A lot rests on how he and this Jesus guy get along. The way it should work is that the manager wants to play a certain way and wants to sign players that fit in that system. The exact opposite of us just splurging on Hogan simply because he's in form at the time then having no idea what to do with him, bar telling him to work hard.

I like that they've mentioned that they want to try to get all the youth teams playing the same way as the 1st team. From what I've seen over the last few years it's the youth sides that are playing passing, attacking football and the 1st team that are playing hoofball so maybe we'll actually see a few more of our academy lads getting a go.

I'm cautiously optimistic about this. Can't wait for the Swansea game now.
 
I think the young players will get a chance as well . Wes Edens was very big on that , and it must be part of the managers remit to bring them through.
 
Holtelower I believe that Pitarch left Valencia in 2004 and has been at a couple of sides in various roles since then so I doubt he can be blamed for whatever mess has been going on there the last few years. Probably that Jack Grealish I'd imagine.
 
JW1985 said:
I think Smith ticks a number of boxes for the new owners. His teams have played a decent style of football wherever he's been. He knows this league. He's worked in a system with a director of football and is used to not having complete control over transfers. The fact that he's a villa fan and will give everything to the job is a bonus.

A lot rests on how he and this Jesus guy get along. The way it should work is that the manager wants to play a certain way and wants to sign players that fit in that system. The exact opposite of us just splurging on Hogan simply because he's in form at the time then having no idea what to do with him, bar telling him to work hard.

I like that they've mentioned that they want to try to get all the youth teams playing the same way as the 1st team. From what I've seen over the last few years it's the youth sides that are playing passing, attacking football and the 1st team that are playing hoofball so maybe we'll actually see a few more of our academy lads getting a go.

I'm cautiously optimistic about this. Can't wait for the Swansea game now.
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:agree::stupid: could be another Lambert...but on paper it sounds a good team as in Smith and Terry....glad Terry has come back tbh....
 
On the subject of a standard playing style throughout the club, I was quite impressed with the style shown by the U23s last week.
 
The biggest worry is being patient, there is none at all in modern football. We will need a little luck along the way too (injuries, fixtures etc. ). The goalkeeper situation and defense is not ideal, but Terry will hopefully help out there.
 
I can see the concerns of some, but for me I'm more than happy to give a born and bred Villan a chance, I believe it makes a difference, it would to me, he's got a reasonable record and with JT hopefully kicking our defence/changing room up the arse we may get a bit more passion out of the players, which wouldn't go amiss, as always, time will tell
 
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