The Official Dean Smith Thread | Page 417 | Vital Football

The Official Dean Smith Thread

Status
Not open for further replies.
Still not sold on him, major concerns that he has no plan B when things aren’t going right, Jesus some games 5 mins after kick off doesn’t look like we have a plan A, Palace being the stand out, it goes 2-2 every man and his dog knew we were on for a defeat and he keeps dithering and the inevitable happens and they get a 3rd, he then does a Bruce, and brings on every striker we have with 4 mins left.

And the decline since the 1st of Jan is a worry (even if some think it isn’t) we haven’t won back to back games this year, teams start of shite and end shite, some start great and end great a lot start poor but build and finish strong, we’ve seen a decline for a while now, since the start of the year we’ve only won 1 game more than WBA, even Sheffield Utd have won more games than us, does he deserve another 120m! for me no.
 
Last edited:
The league table doesn't lie at the end of the season we will be behind this overrated hyped Leeds side and the worst Arsenal side in years, two teams we were all taking the piss out of when we had 2 games in hand and we 8 points clear of them.
As keeps being pointed out the season lasts 38 games, overall I've ended up being disappointed, yes I get we have finished higher in the league but it still feels like it does when we have been a goal up against Utd and lost 3-1 it's no consolation we played well for one half.
It's also made us less attractive to players especially those from abroad who will look at the table to see where we are as a club.

Deano must be a bit disappointed with things after the start we made if he's honest but he will front the progress line I expect as that keeps him in a job.
 
Re league position, reckon other players would view 8th-12th as decent mid-table PL. Doubt if they are concerned with the precise position that much.

Reckon it's us and maybe Dean and the players that are disappointed we're not in the top half, especially when 8th at one point looked a reasonable call.

Perhaps the lesson is that no matter how well you start, depth of squad counts over the season.
 
We also need to be careful what we wish for, a new manager could quite literally fcuk things up. There are very few managers who can guarantee success - they are usually already tied up to a big team with bottomless pockets.

I'd grade Dean Smith as a C+ so he's doing ok atm, not great, not shite but until a Jurgen Klopp or the ilk become available, I'm for maintaining a steady ship for the time being.
 
Last edited:
It's also made us less attractive to players especially those from abroad who will look at the table to see where we are as a club.

Deano must be a bit disappointed with things after the start we made if he's honest but he will front the progress line I expect as that keeps him in a job.
I think this is my only major disappointment overall on the season as a whole. Finishing just a little higher, and above Arsenal, would definitely have been a good selling point to potential new players. But at the end of the day, the money is speaking yet again as the season draws to a close. West Ham have dropped down, Leicester will be overtaken if the Dippers beat Burnley today and Everton have dropped off a cliff. Sickening in many ways and a very very difficult challenge for Smith to get us up to that level of top six.
 
I think this is my only major disappointment overall on the season as a whole. Finishing just a little higher, and above Arsenal, would definitely have been a good selling point to potential new players. But at the end of the day, the money is speaking yet again as the season draws to a close. West Ham have dropped down, Leicester will be overtaken if the Dippers beat Burnley today and Everton have dropped off a cliff. Sickening in many ways and a very very difficult challenge for Smith to get us up to that level of top six.
Yep, squad depth is crucial with multiple games a week. This season especially with COVID breaks and playing catch up. If we had played Man City out of the traps we may have caught them cold. Looking on the bright side, we've had a stress free season - the first one in how many years?
 
If we managed to attract players to improve the club based on last season's showing then I look forward to Haaland, Kane and Mbappe's arrivals this summer.
 
Perhaps the lesson is that no matter how well you start, depth of squad counts over the season.
Sadly, this is 100% correct, and that all comes down to...... money. You only have to look at the league table from the turn of the year and compare to now. FFP has changed the landscape of English football permanently so that the rich keep getting richer and nobody can join "the club."
 
2015-16 according to Lescott... :slap:
But in all seriousness, I cannot remember the last time we played so many games at the end of a season with no stress about relegation, promotion or trying to get into Europe.... it is a weird feeling...
The fact we are "discussing" the merits of keeping or changing our manager, the form of some of our players, our mild disappointment at our post Xmas season - makes a change from
tenor.gif
 
I do agree about squad depth but even when we have had chance to rotate a couple certain players play every minute of every game, where with better player management they could play 75 mins and reduce their overall pitch time by several games a season without ruining anything
 
Re league position, reckon other players would view 8th-12th as decent mid-table PL. Doubt if they are concerned with the precise position that much.

Reckon it's us and maybe Dean and the players that are disappointed we're not in the top half, especially when 8th at one point looked a reasonable call.

Perhaps the lesson is that no matter how well you start, depth of squad counts over the season.

I think the concern is more so if we are directly competing against Leeds for a player. They are the only team where its going to be a coin flip if we compete. In general, I think we have little chance of competing with teams 9th+ and we probably edge out everyone below us. Between us and Leeds its 50/50 IMO.
 
I think the concern is more so if we are directly competing against Leeds for a player. They are the only team where its going to be a coin flip if we compete. In general, I think we have little chance of competing with teams 9th+ and we probably edge out everyone below us. Between us and Leeds its 50/50 IMO.
Compare the stadiums and training facilities and I feel we blow Leeds out of the water.
 
Wonder what we'd be saying if we'd lost after Dean brought on two 17 year olds when under pressure from Spurs. Very brave of him I thought. Full marks, they didn't let us down. DS deserves the credit.
It's that fine line between stupid and brave..... but the one thing you can never level at Dean Smith is negative approach to keeping a lead.....
 
Status
Not open for further replies.