The Official Dean Smith Thread | Page 451 | Vital Football

The Official Dean Smith Thread

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Just because Dean is a nice bloke (and he is) and a fellow Villa fan doesn't mean he should be considered fireproof and above criticism by fans of the club or our senior management.

Everything about the last two games and the way DS has handled the
games and the rubbish he spouted after each one is a concern for me.

This team needs a good shake-up to bring consistency to our results and DS doesn't strike me as a man strong or experienced enough to do that.

I get it that we are a mid-table team and you lose some and you win some but seriously when will all this good half bad half nonsense stop and not just the odd player having a bad day but sometimes nearly the whole outfield 10 players and then only to hear and see the manager continually blaming the players afterwards forgetting he is the one who has coached them all week and somehow sent them out onto the pitch with that carefree attitude.

I expect more from my Aston Villa manager and for me personally, he simply isn't delivering at this level.
 
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Completely unacceptable today, but I don't think it's pull the trigger time just yet. There's no guarantee it won't all go the other direction, it's really easy to make things a whole lot worse.

But he can't get away with a game like that again. Europe is the aim, if we're not pushing for Europe I'm sure he'll have to be replaced, that's football, but we're not at that point yet.
 
With 10 minutes to go we were looking at moving up into 7th place, with the warm glow which goes with that. And DS would be getting the credit. You can't judge anything based on one match which turns sour, but you can use it to ponder wider concerns.

Barring a major slump I don't think DS is in immediate danger, but looking at the season as a whole I think the owners will be naturally focused on whether we're going in the right direction. Me, I'm not convinced our squad is being used to ultimate advantage, and sticking with 3-5-2 is a big part of that.
 
McParlandTheGreat said:
With 10 minutes to go we were looking at moving up into 7th place, with the warm glow which goes with that. And DS would be getting the credit. You can't judge anything based on one match which turns sour, but you can use it to ponder wider concerns.

Barring a major slump I don't think DS is in immediate danger, but looking at the season as a whole I think the owners will be naturally focused on whether we're going in the right direction. Me, I'm not convinced our squad is being used to ultimate advantage, and sticking with 3-5-2 is a big part of that.
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But those tactics clearly are too hit and miss. The full backs get totally exposed and today a weak Luiz Buendia were overrun in midfield. McGinn cannot do everything
 
This season could be his biggest test yet.

Too early to be offing him, imo, but perfectly understandable to be questioning him.

I just hope the owners and Purslow are tracking the next Jurgen Klopp incase we need to bring him in within the next year or two (whoever that is!)
 
So many midfielders yet smith still hasnt signed the enforcer we need. More games like this and maybe he won't get the chance.
 
I don’t understand why you buy players all summer to suit a 4-3-3 and then for highly winnable games at home, you revert to a formation only suited to (IMO) going man-for-man with good teams when away (eg. Chelsea).

We’ve had a few good results with 3-5-2, but you do have 5 primarily defensive outfield players on the pitch versus just the 4 if you go 4-3-3. It’s a big difference proportionally, especially when you’re playing a team who barely want to come out to attack you for 80 minutes like Wolves today. Axel was marking fresh air and when he had the ball, had too much time and space go over think and ended up playing suicidal balls into SJM.
 
This is the big worry with smith, at this level he is tactically inexperienced, naive, and learning on the job (slowly). Is this still acceptable for AVFC ? Another season is quickly slipping away
 
danvilla2 said:
I don’t understand why you buy players all summer to suit a 4-3-3 and then for highly winnable games at home, you revert to a formation only suited to (IMO) going man-for-man with good teams when away (eg. Chelsea).

We’ve had a few good results with 3-5-2, but you do have 5 primarily defensive outfield players on the pitch versus just the 4 if you go 4-3-3. It’s a big difference proportionally, especially when you’re playing a team who barely want to come out to attack you for 80 minutes like Wolves today. Axel was marking fresh air and when he had the ball, had too much time and space go over think and ended up playing suicidal balls into SJM.
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Solid points all round, I totally agree, man for man against better teams it allows us to press aggressively while giving us a spare man in case the press is broken. Its totally useless against teams equal to or poorer than us.

Watching us today and vs. Spurs we look bloated in the middle of the pitch. We don't have enough players advanced high enough up the pitch. And when our full-backs have pushed on we're very vulnerable on the counter. Constantly leaving our centre backs facing up against fast and tricky wide players.

Whats also odd about the 3-5-2 set up is Luiz is still dropping deep in between our CBs. You end up with 4 players sitting in our own half offering nothing in the final third, tapping it around the middle of the pitch. And like you say playing suicide passes into our CMs or straight up giving it straight to the opposition.
 
danvilla2 said:
I don’t understand why you buy players all summer to suit a 4-3-3 and then for highly winnable games at home, you revert to a formation only suited to (IMO) going man-for-man with good teams when away (eg. Chelsea).

We’ve had a few good results with 3-5-2, but you do have 5 primarily defensive outfield players on the pitch versus just the 4 if you go 4-3-3. It’s a big difference proportionally, especially when you’re playing a team who barely want to come out to attack you for 80 minutes like Wolves today. Axel was marking fresh air and when he had the ball, had too much time and space go over think and ended up playing suicidal balls into SJM.
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This.
 
danvilla2 said:
I don’t understand why you buy players all summer to suit a 4-3-3 and then for highly winnable games at home, you revert to a formation only suited to (IMO) going man-for-man with good teams when away (eg. Chelsea).
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Because none of our wing forwards have been fit?
 
sirdennis said:
4-3-3 with Bert and Bailey either side of Ings.

Ollie isn't at the races at the moment.
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I know what you mean but with Bert and Bailey both out, what's the alternative?

We had the measure of them until Luiz and Buendia went off and then we totally collapsed.

It's a real kick in the teeth.
 
It was more the changes they made bringing on Bodense and extra attacker that outsmarted smith who didn't adjust . Then again wolves played through the lines with ease all game just didn't capitalise til late on
 
Having slept on the result I can't say I'm feeling any better perhaps even angrier how such a capitulation could happen.

The player's attitude and Smith's tactics need to be seriously looked at and analysed and fixed and I don't mean a quick fix for a couple of games and then this sort of rubbish is back again when we never know which Aston Villa are going to turn up next at a game.

Whatś going on this season with all this inconsistency shows a lack of self-belief from the players and mismanagement from Smith and his coaching staff.

Smith couldn't have chosen a worse game to display his inexperience at this level and lack of tactical knowledge with Wes Edens having flown in to witness this debacle and by all accounts appeared furious at the final whistle.
 
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