Thomas Holte
Vital Football Legend
Not in the forum I don't think, there was the odd time we caught another forum prompting votes over the years but largely i'd say not really!
Small Heath Alliance = Small-Minded Morons

Not in the forum I don't think, there was the odd time we caught another forum prompting votes over the years but largely i'd say not really!
We climbed 8 places this season from 5th in Championship to 17th in PL. If you look at it that way, job done. Those that come up through the play offs usually go straight down.
Smith also has to improve our style next season, far too much passing it around the back and the lack of pace in our attack is painful to watch.
Pre season shouldn’t be so much about fitness, only three week break but more on shooting and crosses into the box, basic football skills which these players get paid very highly to do.
Just hope Villa now get on with getting some quality players in , keep our better players for a change and move the players on who just take up space, we have to improve.
Smith also has to improve our style next season, far too much passing it around the back and the lack of pace in our attack is painful to watch.
Pre season shouldn’t be so much about fitness, only three week break but more on shooting and crosses into the box, basic football skills which these players get paid very highly to do.
If my memory serves me correctly Bruce, Di Matteo and Garde all had Grealish at their disposal tooI’m sure Jack coming back from injury and then winning 10 on the bounce got Smith out of jail free on that occasion if memory serves?
Yes,lack of pace and physicality. Anwar,Trez, Drinkwater,Jota and Connor. All decent players but how many nice players does a team need?Tempo is the biggest problem.
Lack of it without the ball to press and get it back; lack of with the ball to get at teams when they are out of shape and vulnerable.
Tempo is the biggest problem.
Lack of it without the ball to press and get it back; lack of with the ball to get at teams when they are out of shape and vulnerable.
The problem there though is, he wasn’t the player then that he is now, or have I missed something.If my memory serves me correctly Bruce, Di Matteo and Garde all had Grealish at their disposal too
Two or three quality signings around Jack and we would come alive. We are not that far off being decent. We are just so impotent in the final third, we need a poacher and some pace.
Crucial month mate, maybe all will click. Trouble is, I fear the building will become re-building with people poaching a few players. I am not that bothered by most, I think that is me being a bit long in the tooth, a bit grumpy with the brain aches and the fact I didn't see what a lot of you did this season effort wise. BUT as you say, a few quality signings, and then it can lift other players. It could also lift the manager, who it looks likely will be getting his chance.
If there are to be exits, I hope they are done swiftly so Smith and whoever comes in to help, gets the right replacements. If we are ambitious though, no exit should be happening, the owners, ceo and manager have to assure those who want out, they don't need to go anywhere, that will take some quality signings to build things.
Can Smith attract that quality?
Hope so.
Still a big job at hand, still fear too big a job, but I'm not going to knock my head against a brick wall through the rest of the summer over this. Hope the platform is now given very solid foundations. Over to the men in charge, all of them, no space for them to hide next season.
Yes it is a big summer, as I see it there are two ways of doing this, the Burnley way or the Man City way. The Burnley way is buying decent quality solid mid table players and drilling them into a robust hard to beat unit. The Man City way is to start tempting high class players with over inflated contracts and rewards to quickly move up the pecking order and reap the benefits of European football and cup wins.. It will be interesting to see which way our owners go. If we start getting surprise big names then we know they are going for it, if it is like last summer then it is going to be a long hard season. Which ever way they need to move fast we cannot afford to waste time.Crucial month mate, maybe all will click. Trouble is, I fear the building will become re-building with people poaching a few players. I am not that bothered by most, I think that is me being a bit long in the tooth, a bit grumpy with the brain aches and the fact I didn't see what a lot of you did this season effort wise. BUT as you say, a few quality signings, and then it can lift other players. It could also lift the manager, who it looks likely will be getting his chance.
If there are to be exits, I hope they are done swiftly so Smith and whoever comes in to help, gets the right replacements. If we are ambitious though, no exit should be happening, the owners, ceo and manager have to assure those who want out, they don't need to go anywhere, that will take some quality signings to build things.
Can Smith attract that quality?
Hope so.
Still a big job at hand, still fear too big a job, but I'm not going to knock my head against a brick wall through the rest of the summer over this. Hope the platform is now given very solid foundations. Over to the men in charge, all of them, no space for them to hide next season.
Yes it is a big summer, as I see it there are two ways of doing this, the Burnley way or the Man City way. The Burnley way is buying decent quality solid mid table players and drilling them into a robust hard to beat unit. The Man City way is to start tempting high class players with over inflated contracts and rewards to quickly move up the pecking order and reap the benefits of European football and cup wins.. It will be interesting to see which way our owners go. If we start getting surprise big names then we know they are going for it, if it is like last summer then it is going to be a long hard season. Which ever way they need to move fast we cannot afford to waste time.
It isn't as the evidence that they are in a solid mid-table team and have been for years proves.I'd say it's pushing it to describe the likes of Westwood and Lowton as quality solid mid table players tbh - the difference is Burnley have a manager who gets more than the sum of the parts out of his team. I suppose though if we aspire to being the next Burnley there is one obvious move we could make.
As we keep saying though we haven't time to arse around - bit of quality and some pace and power
There was only a few days between Bruce's sacking and Smith's appointment, so Grealish was the same playerThe problem there though is, he wasn’t the player then that he is now, or have I missed something.
I’m only stating the obvs, if jacks return had been delayed any longer I think our finishing position would've have been different.
And at the end of the day, if we start with Dean Smith we finish with him, because I see no use in swapping managers mid season, some believe Dean is the right man and that’s fair do’s, I just think we should/could have better, saying that if Dean becomes our fergie than that’s great, I just don’t see it.
Yes it is a big summer, as I see it there are two ways of doing this, the Burnley way or the Man City way. The Burnley way is buying decent quality solid mid table players and drilling them into a robust hard to beat unit. The Man City way is to start tempting high class players with over inflated contracts and rewards to quickly move up the pecking order and reap the benefits of European football and cup wins.. It will be interesting to see which way our owners go. If we start getting surprise big names then we know they are going for it, if it is like last summer then it is going to be a long hard season. Which ever way they need to move fast we cannot afford to waste time.