The Official Dean Smith Thread | Page 245 | Vital Football

The Official Dean Smith Thread

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I just stumbled across an interview with Gary Neville where he briefly talked about his time as a manager at Valencia, he admits that he made simple mistakes and massive mistakes etc but the interesting bit is when he said for the 3 years prior, as a pundit, he had been analysing players, managers, tactics and systems but for the last 6 weeks or so at Valencia he was under so much pressure that he completely lost confidence in himself and his head was like a spinning top and suddenly he didn't know which players to pick or what system to use anymore and that was the end of his managerial career.

It has me wondering how common that is among managers when things start to go wrong and they just spiral. We've seen it a million times as fans haven't we? to the point were we just can't fathom some of the team selections or some of the decisions the managers make. We see even the players sometimes look like they cant even understand what they have been asked to do on the pitch, then at full time the post match interviews leave us all the more baffled that we must have watched a different game.

It certainly felt like that towards the end of Lambert, then with Bruce selling nearly all our senior defenders without bringing in replacements etc. Are we seeing the same signs with Smith?

So if this is a common thing and not just a Gary Neville thing then the worry for me is would a manager even recognise it. Not many managers walk these days and the cynic in me says thats because they dont want to miss out on the fat payoff or maybe their ego is so big they refuse to admit they got it wrong, but what if its nothing to do with the money or ego and its simply because they are so caught up in that whirlwind that they just don't see it until someone removes them from it?

Food for thought maybe
 
Melon Donkey said:
No it is not acceptable. We are second from bottom with time running out fast. I can even be bothered to go into what our results were like before Covid-19.
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Haven't won since January. PLAYED 8 LOST SIX. Goals against 60. More defeats than anyone in the PL. 160m wasted on players Smith didn't exactly complain about. And he's really good at complaining.
 
garygaryshaw said:
Really?? I have hardly come across any fan who thinks Deano should stay on. Some will say give him til the end of the season, but even they want to change Managers at the end of the season. I do half think he's have got the bullet after the Leicester game if it wasnt for Covid
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Also reaching the LC final against mainly reserve and youth teams helped temper criticism before the leicester surrender.
 
mike_field said:
Former Aston Villa favourite Mark Bosnich has been back in the press this week and given head coach Dean Smith's comments following the Wolverhampton Wanderers game when it came to fatigue and the fixture pile up, it seems Bozzie agrees with a good number of fans who found that to be a pointless excuse.
https://astonvilla.vitalfootball.co...ite-has-sympathy-for-smith-but-offers-advice/
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Don't think 4 matches in 11 days is that unreasonable (DS said 11 matches in 4 days at one point). Wolves had a similar spell last season, with a small squad, and when one of the players was asked about it he said it was tough, but they knew it was coming, and they fine-tuned everything including how much they did in training.

Seems common sense with that schedule that you don't have people training flat out. They don't need to. Adjust the training regime, and use the fact there are 5 subs, and it should be OK. I've wondered before when we come on the field with no go whether it's due to over-training.
 
ldgavfc said:
(A) Sorry but that's incorrect. Jesus Pitarch is paid a considerable amount of money to act as sporting director. He builds the team, Smith coaches it. As much as Smith makes it sound like he has a major say in signings, Villa's owners aren't paying Jesus millions of pounds to act in some kind of advisory role to Dean when it comes to transfer decisions.

(B and C) We signed young players with potential probably for the exact reason that the investment could be recouped probably in the case of relegation or the players just not working out. We can sell them all on and start again in the summer if we want to.

A new sporting director who knows the British game is a must. As impressive as Jesus' CV is at building winning sides in La Liga in the past 20 years, he has zero premier league experience and has flopped majorly this season.

For everyone moaning about management, what you have to ask yourself is this.

Is it the style of football we have been playing for the past 18 months you don't like, or is it the poor standard of players who have epically failed to replicate that style in the premier league this season? If it's the former, Smith is the man you want gone. If it's the latter, Pitarch and the players are to blame. Simple as that.
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Afraid you're wrong. Pitarch scours the world for possible recruits, ones who could fit what the club wants. There is constant discussion between Pursloe, Pitarch and DS as to what positions need strengthening. DS also has the option of throwing his own names into the pile. There's a hell of a lot of work in what Pitarch does. He's guided by what Purslow and the owners want for the club, but also by what the coach needs. It's a team effort. When he's got a list of candidates which tick the boxes then he, DS and Purslow put their heads together and decide which ones they're going to try to get. Try being the operative word. I reckon DS has far more influence here than he did at Brentford. It's a team effort.

Ask yourself this. Did Pitarch think signing Drinkwater and the other bloke was a brilliant idea? Bet he'd never thought of it. Bet is was DS getting cold feet and saying he needed experience as backup, or more.
 
McParlandTheGreat said:
Don't think 4 matches in 11 days is that unreasonable (DS said 11 matches in 4 days at one point). Wolves had a similar spell last season, with a small squad, and when one of the players was asked about it he said it was tough, but they knew it was coming, and they fine-tuned everything including how much they did in training.

Seems common sense with that schedule that you don't have people training flat out. They don't need to. Adjust the training regime, and use the fact there are 5 subs, and it should be OK. I've wondered before when we come on the field with no go whether it's due to over-training.
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Only 3 matches in 11 days as they didn't turn up for the chelsea game.
 
jcvilla said:
I just stumbled across an interview with Gary Neville where he briefly talked about his time as a manager at Valencia, he admits that he made simple mistakes and massive mistakes etc but the interesting bit is when he said for the 3 years prior, as a pundit, he had been analysing players, managers, tactics and systems but for the last 6 weeks or so at Valencia he was under so much pressure that he completely lost confidence in himself and his head was like a spinning top and suddenly he didn't know which players to pick or what system to use anymore and that was the end of his managerial career.

It has me wondering how common that is among managers when things start to go wrong and they just spiral. We've seen it a million times as fans haven't we? to the point were we just can't fathom some of the team selections or some of the decisions the managers make. We see even the players sometimes look like they cant even understand what they have been asked to do on the pitch, then at full time the post match interviews leave us all the more baffled that we must have watched a different game.

It certainly felt like that towards the end of Lambert, then with Bruce selling nearly all our senior defenders without bringing in replacements etc. Are we seeing the same signs with Smith?

So if this is a common thing and not just a Gary Neville thing then the worry for me is would a manager even recognise it. Not many managers walk these days and the cynic in me says thats because they dont want to miss out on the fat payoff or maybe their ego is so big they refuse to admit they got it wrong, but what if its nothing to do with the money or ego and its simply because they are so caught up in that whirlwind that they just don't see it until someone removes them from it?

Food for thought maybe
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Having coached/managed myself, you bring up some valid points. It is difficult to sometimes see beyond the end of your own nose when nothing seems to go right. The only usual cure is a break, whether brought about by the end of a season, or enforced by change of job etc.
A change in staff (ie new set of eyes) can help sometimes but most-often managers are loyal to a fault to their assistants and won't want to upset people who have shown them loyalty and hard work. A case in point is the appointment of Calderwood when Bruce was in charge. We gradually got worse after his arrival at the club, and he most certainly wasn't Bruce's choice (it meant Clemence was demoted). But Bruce couldn't/wouldn't move him on. It's noticeable that Bruce has done better at Newcastle without him. Is the Terry appointment with Smith a similar scenario?
The problem that Dean Smith is now facing is that he's changed from his "signature" style to try and get results and it's still not working. So what does he do? Go back to "his way" with players questioning why, or stick with the new way that isn't working either. As a manager you have to have conviction and belief in your own methods in order for the players to respond and for you to put your point across. I think this is why the players aren't performing for Smith right now, because they know it's not his way of playing and he isn't comfortable. Say what you want about Allardyce, Pulis, Warnock etc., but they all have their own way of doing things and will not deviate to placate the media or fans. Ron Saunders was the same.
Personally I think Smith relies far too much on the statistical/analysis side of things. He isn't a "motivator"so-to-speak and in times like this it's a case of showing some emotion to get players to understand/respect you. I don't think he has that in his locker....
 
gmvillan said:
Personally I think Smith relies far too much on the statistical/analysis side of things. He isn't a "motivator"so-to-speak and in times like this it's a case of showing some emotion to get players to understand/respect you. I don't think he has that in his locker....
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I very much agree with the Stats bit because he's always talking about nonsense like that.
The thing I do know about him is he doesn't suffer fools and he is very much a leader and his own man.
I have a mate of an ex-teammate of his who told me all this way before he became our manager.
I agree it doesn't look like it although you only have to upset one primadonna and they soon ruin you
 
jcvilla said:
I just stumbled across an interview with Gary Neville where he briefly talked about his time as a manager at Valencia, he admits that he made simple mistakes and massive mistakes etc but the interesting bit is when he said for the 3 years prior, as a pundit, he had been analysing players, managers, tactics and systems but for the last 6 weeks or so at Valencia he was under so much pressure that he completely lost confidence in himself and his head was like a spinning top and suddenly he didn't know which players to pick or what system to use anymore and that was the end of his managerial career.

It has me wondering how common that is among managers when things start to go wrong and they just spiral. We've seen it a million times as fans haven't we? to the point were we just can't fathom some of the team selections or some of the decisions the managers make. We see even the players sometimes look like they cant even understand what they have been asked to do on the pitch, then at full time the post match interviews leave us all the more baffled that we must have watched a different game.

It certainly felt like that towards the end of Lambert, then with Bruce selling nearly all our senior defenders without bringing in replacements etc. Are we seeing the same signs with Smith?

So if this is a common thing and not just a Gary Neville thing then the worry for me is would a manager even recognise it. Not many managers walk these days and the cynic in me says thats because they dont want to miss out on the fat payoff or maybe their ego is so big they refuse to admit they got it wrong, but what if its nothing to do with the money or ego and its simply because they are so caught up in that whirlwind that they just don't see it until someone removes them from it?

Food for thought maybe
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Good perspective that from GNev. I think managers can overdo it with the tactics and details which overload players. Quite simplistically, you need to a way of getting goalscorers to score and keep them out at the other end. We for example, have Samatta, who can score goals if we can get the ball down the wing quickly and quick balls whipped in from wide in behind the defence for him to attack as Wembley proved - yet how often do we do that?
 
Seeing Bournemouth and West ham going for it in recent games and us sitting back and losing by the odd game and picking up a point here and there. Got me thinking is Dean Smith looking at goal difference compared to the other two teams?
 
Remember the game at Old Trafford where we played well, on the frontfoot and scored 2 goals then went to Chelsea a few days later & looked lost. We've never been the same since and really struggle to create more than a rare chance - I think they're all scared of making a mistake.
 
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