The Official Dean Smith Thread | Page 311 | Vital Football

The Official Dean Smith Thread

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12th or above for me, 12th being absolute minimum give or take 3 point wriggle room.

DS showed improvement at the death, he needs to show momentum from the start now.

If Purslow repeats last year and gives any indication of European places I might shoot myself. The line from the top, for fans and DS directly, is we want to see 10-15 points added, that would show the steady growth towards our ambitions we are looking for.
 
Yup (repeating again lol) this year has to be a one off adjustment never to be repeated. Outside of the first month of the season, we need to be safely clear of the drop full stop - 12th or above).

If we aren't there by Xmas, if we are close I'll not panic. If we are adrift, then the answer is clear to all.

Thanks, you're a good bloke, you're written into our history as a fan but...

We all know there will be ups and downs and so called 'second season syndrome', so one result won't decide anything but the realms of 4-5 on the trot, that's a different scenario for where we want to be.
 
mike_field said:
Yup (repeating again lol) this year has to be a one off adjustment never to be repeated. Outside of the first month of the season, we need to be safely clear of the drop full stop - 12th or above).

If we aren't there by Xmas, if we are close I'll not panic. If we are adrift, then the answer is clear to all.

Thanks, you're a good bloke, you're written into our history as a fan but...

We all know there will be ups and downs and so called 'second season syndrome', so one result won't decide anything but the realms of 4-5 on the trot, that's a different scenario for where we want to be.
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Can't argue with that logic Field. Christmas is the cut off point for me and hopefully our owners. Saying that, hope it doesn't come to it!
 
I always struggled with logic field's.

Yup - as long as we are in the midtable mix at Xmas, he gets until the end of the year. If we aren't, we pivot and he leaves with our thanks.
 
mike_field said:
No, next season is marked improvement 10-15 points minimum, 12th place minimum.

Not expecting Europe but top 10 has to be the realistic and driven aim to make this year worthwhile.
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Surely you have to add in the quality of football served up aswell? Smith’s brand of football in premiership has been turgid to say the least
 
The wait until Xmas lark means we're prepared to write off the coming season, prepared to write off serious team improvement, serious everything else. Unless we're convinced DS will take us through next season and get us up around the level we're hoping for, we ought to go for somebody else now.

We've messed around long enough. Time's gone for "wait, and see if he can do it". We need to be positive and be ambitious for the future. I don't think he's the bloke. If anybody thinks he is and is convinced he can take us right through next season then fine. But ditch this "give him until Xmas" nonsense.
 
McParlandTheGreat said:
The wait until Xmas lark means we're prepared to write off the coming season, prepared to write off serious team improvement, serious everything else. Unless we're convinced DS will take us through next season and get us up around the level we're hoping for, we ought to go for somebody else now.

We've messed around long enough. Time's gone for "wait, and see if he can do it". We need to be positive and be ambitious for the future. I don't think he's the bloke. If anybody thinks he is and is convinced he can take us right through next season then fine. But ditch this "give him until Xmas" nonsense.
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Like it or not, and I don’t, the club appear to be sticking with Smith. I don’t know what their ambitions are but at least with Suso now gone if things don’t improve from this season then Smith and his choir boys will have no scape goat to transfer all the blame onto.

But if we get off to a weak start and are swirling around the plug hole by Christmas then yes we’ve wasted a season by the time the owners have replaced him and done something different in the January window.

Purslow has put himself under a lot of pressure on Smiths behalf...
 
tarzansbrother said:
Surely you have to add in the quality of football served up aswell? Smith’s brand of football in premiership has been turgid to say the least
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We started going at teams. We then retreated into our shell. We ended being tight at the back and posing more threat in the main - hence the annoyance about Sheff U, Newkie, Everton and finally West Ham.

I'd take that.
 
McParlandTheGreat said:
The wait until Xmas lark means we're prepared to write off the coming season, prepared to write off serious team improvement, serious everything else. Unless we're convinced DS will take us through next season and get us up around the level we're hoping for, we ought to go for somebody else now.

We've messed around long enough. Time's gone for "wait, and see if he can do it". We need to be positive and be ambitious for the future. I don't think he's the bloke. If anybody thinks he is and is convinced he can take us right through next season then fine. But ditch this "give him until Xmas" nonsense.
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Disagree because you're picking a date on the assumption we'll stick to it if it's clearly going tits up again. Fans don't need to micromanage - our Board won't agree with us anyway.

Or you promote the message we want a managerial whore who doesn't give a fuck, takes the money and knows he's out after two bad results.

We can't keep talking about our love of a Poch - and then not give time when improvement (however small) isn't enough. It's not settling, it's challenging them. There are no guarantees - let's just see what they can do.
 
crimsondonkey said:
Like it or not, and I don’t, the club appear to be sticking with Smith. I don’t know what their ambitions are but at least with Suso now gone if things don’t improve from this season then Smith and his choir boys will have no scape goat to transfer all the blame onto.

But if we get off to a weak start and are swirling around the plug hole by Christmas then yes we’ve wasted a season by the time the owners have replaced him and done something different in the January window.

Purslow has put himself under a lot of pressure on Smiths behalf...
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The only bit I disagree with, is Purslow isn't yet under pressure. He should be, but he won't be.

We all joke about MON under Ellis as opposed to RL, I can't help but think Faulkner with DS would be a better match.
 
mike_field said:
Purslow isn't yet under pressure. He should be, but he won't be
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So worse case and Villa are hovering in and around the bottom 3 at Christmas, after spending I don’t know but another decent wedge - the owners are going to be saying to Purslow that it’s his judgment that kept Dean as manager after a woeful season only saved by an incredible escape. By keeping Dean now he has backed him and is taking a pretty big risk on his own future.

After seeing the season as a whole, post euphoria of the last 4 games, would you gamble your job on Smith? I know I wouldn’t.
 
Despite the profit related (I assume now) bonus investment fro Purslow - without doing the man down, I actually doubt he's that invested because he'll still get a pay off like managers.

I just assume we'll go through DS next, then the next sporting director, before he becomes a thing.

It seems to be the way it works in football now.

Difference is, I would on DS as long as we now see momentum. But that leeway isn't endless.
 
McParlandTheGreat said:
The wait until Xmas lark means we're prepared to write off the coming season, prepared to write off serious team improvement, serious everything else.
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Total nonsense.

No one (surely?) is writing anything off. But it makes complete sense to avoid knee jerk reactions, and giving a manager/head coach a period of time (until Christmas/10-15 games of a 38-game season) to assess progress (or otherwise) is far from unreasonable, in my humble opinion.

Dean Smith was in charge when we were promoted (from nowhere) and was in charge when we maintained our Premier League status. Kudos for that, and at the very least a proper opportunity to prove himself.
 
mike_field said:
I disagree on that. I'd like Suso to continue to be our abroad scout, but I'd bring in the chap that worked at Saints and then Spurs (now moved to Germany - is it Paul Smith or something) as the overall head because he has the UK market nailed as well.

DS shouldn't be given the final say on transfers, but he should have 1/2 veto's. Otherwise we are back to lurching from a MON to a Houllier to an Eck etc and no defined style of play, plan, continuity etc.

We need to tweak not overhaul.
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Looks like the owners agree with my opinion on Suso. Failure cannot be accepted, Suso failed, he had to go.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/f...ing-director-Jesus-Garcia-Pitarch-sacked.html

Whether or not Smith is given more say / final say on transfers there has to be major improvements to our scouting and recruitment process. Really need to make better signings going forwards if we want to progress up the premier league table.
 
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