The Official Dean Smith Thread | Page 463 | Vital Football

The Official Dean Smith Thread

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I can’t tell if you’re serious or not…

Well I'm not calling for Smith's head, but he needs to improve.

In answer to the question if not Smith then who, then I'd say Gerrard would be towards the top of most premier league clubs wanted list now. He's done a great job in Scotland.
 
A new manager would only be ok until their first defeat and then there would be calls for his head.

:agree: The last Villa manager I can remember who didn't have people calling for his head was Graham Taylor in his first spell.
Although now I come to think of it, I'm sure there were a few rumblings about him during our first season back in the top flight
 
:agree: The last Villa manager I can remember who didn't have people calling for his head was Graham Taylor in his first spell.
Although now I come to think of it, I'm sure there were a few rumblings about him during our first season back in the top flight
More than rumblings,Gary. Football was unattractive, to say the least but an injury crisis gave young Ian Olney a chance . GT was forced to change tactically and we played some tremendous counter attacking football. We topped the table after a 2-0 win at Spurs but finished runners up to Liverpool. Then it was Turnip time for Graham. He was a real gent and unusually for a Manager, he was forthright and honest.
 
More than rumblings,Gary. Football was unattractive, to say the least but an injury crisis gave young Ian Olney a chance . GT was forced to change tactically and we played some tremendous counter attacking football. We topped the table after a 2-0 win at Spurs but finished runners up to Liverpool. Then it was Turnip time for Graham. He was a real gent and unusually for a Manager, he was forthright and honest.

One of my favourite seasons following the Villa that one, the season before we only survived on the last day of the season - I'm sure GT was getting some shit then.
I'm pretty confident last nights performance will mean we dont see 3 at the back again for a long while. Although there were bloody loads of people on here calling for a back 3 over the summer and 2nd half of last season
 
One of my favourite seasons following the Villa that one, the season before we only survived on the last day of the season - I'm sure GT was getting some shit then.
I'm pretty confident last nights performance will mean we dont see 3 at the back again for a long while. Although there were bloody loads of people on here calling for a back 3 over the summer and 2nd half of last season


I think that was before it became clear we were signing Tuanzebe for the season.....
 
No nor me , but there were certainly grumblings when Lord Ron sold Gidman and Andy Gray and we had a couple of relatively lean years.
Andy Gray being sold was the most traumatic thing I'd experienced football-wise until losing Jack .
My mate emigrated to Australia after Andy was sold , I say mate he was a lad who used to get a lift with us back in the day.
 
Yep, last season was a big improvement even though apparently he had hit the ceiling the season before.

I don't want to get rid because there is really no one else out there, and I would rather be a bit more patient with Smith. We're not getting into Europe this season, let's accept it. I would rather have another midtable finish than run the risk of everything falling apart because we're too eager to sack the manager.
Stephen, with respect I disagree with all your comments. First season in the Premier we were almost relegated. He should have gone then. The following season was a big improvement? He couldn't win a match when Jack was injured.Some of his decisions were illogical eg his continual playing of Barclay.
You think there is no one better out there, are you joking?
The owners are putting in hundreds of millions and have publicly stated they are impatient people. Do you think they will wait? Also it's rather defeatist to say after 9 games that a European place is gone. There are more than enough games to get into 7th or 8th place, but certainly not with Dean.
I, and others, are not 'eager' to sack him, but regretfully he is not of sufficient managerial quality to get us where the owners want us to be, in my humble opinion.The illogical systems, the strange selection of some players and the non selection of others, the slowness of the use of substitutions is not only bad for the team its losing us points. The best example of that this season is the Watford match. He alone lost us three points there.
Points means places and the quicker he goes and the sooner we get a better manager in, the more chance we have of being successful.
UTV
 
No nor me , but there were certainly grumblings when Lord Ron sold Gidman and Andy Gray and we had a couple of relatively lean years.

For sure and also he who walks on water our own Brian Little. I think they all left through Dough Ellis's ego and he didn't want to be associated with bad results.

Big Ron had loads of fans on his back which to me was awful because I felt he had a great eye for players and was building something special at the club but with a chairman with his hand permanently on the eject button, it never materialised.
 
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The owners are putting in hundreds of millions and have publicly stated they are impatient people. Do you think they will wait? Also it's rather defeatist to say after 9 games that a European place is gone. There are more than enough games to get into 7th or 8th place, but certainly not with Dean.
I, and others, are not 'eager' to sack him, but regretfully he is not of sufficient managerial quality to get us where the owners want us to be, in my humble opinion.The illogical systems, the strange selection of some players and the non selection of others, the slowness of the use of substitutions is not only bad for the team its losing us points. The best example of that this season is the Watford match. He alone lost us three points there.
Points means places and the quicker he goes and the sooner we get a better manager in, the more chance we have of being successful.
UTV

I think the first line is false, I've seen absolutely nothing from them to suggest they are anything other than pragmatic. Think about how bad we were in the Premier Lge. before lockdown, they still didnt sack him. You arent going to want to hear this but he's really going to have to totally and utterly lose it to get the sack this season.
Now what I can see is him getting replaced in the off-season. We're only 9 games in, 3 losses in a row and a point behind Leicester. I am sorry but he has to lose a minimum of 5 games in a row before they'll consider it IMO. If we don't have a proper reaction vs. West Ham then I think that will be the beginning of the end because a lack of a reaction for me means he's lost the players. And that would him gone by the end of November I would imagine.

Here is where I see things, if Dean goes then next manager will be nothing more than a stop gap. I would want the next manager to take us to Europe and then dispense with him and get yourself Diego Simone or Conte. The type of manager y'all want isn't coming in here after Smith or at least the type of manager I want isnt coming here next. If we're lucky he'll be the 3rd appointment by the club.
 
Stephen, with respect I disagree with all your comments. First season in the Premier we were almost relegated. He should have gone then. The following season was a big improvement? He couldn't win a match when Jack was injured.Some of his decisions were illogical eg his continual playing of Barclay.
You think there is no one better out there, are you joking?
The owners are putting in hundreds of millions and have publicly stated they are impatient people. Do you think they will wait? Also it's rather defeatist to say after 9 games that a European place is gone. There are more than enough games to get into 7th or 8th place, but certainly not with Dean.
I, and others, are not 'eager' to sack him, but regretfully he is not of sufficient managerial quality to get us where the owners want us to be, in my humble opinion.The illogical systems, the strange selection of some players and the non selection of others, the slowness of the use of substitutions is not only bad for the team its losing us points. The best example of that this season is the Watford match. He alone lost us three points there.
Points means places and the quicker he goes and the sooner we get a better manager in, the more chance we have of being successful.
UTV

He finished 17th his first season and 11th his second, that's not improvement? Also showed the decision to not sack him after the first season was the right one.

If you say there is someone better out there right now, then why don't you name them? The list is hardly inspiring is it.

I don't think we're good enough for Europe this season, because I don't think the squad is good enough or at least it doesn't look it so far, but maybe if we could have a consistent line-up in the right formation we'd have a better idea.

Do I think Smith is going to lead us to Champions League glory? Probably not, but until there is someone better out there who wants to take on the project then we're better off sticking. One wrong appointment and this whole thing can fall apart and put us on another downward spiral, where we're sacking the manager every 8 months and on our way to being relegated again.
 
Somewhere recently in this thread I wrote that I thought that we were witnessing the beginning of the end for Smith whether quickly or slowly. The events of the summer, the rotten luck with injuries, the international shenanigans, let alone the rebuild going on is going to take a toll. And let’s not forget he is well over the average tenure of a premier league manager. I don’t want him gone , I want him to succeed. If he goes I won’t lose any sleep. I like him but I’m too old to really care now. I don’t idolise anyone in football anymore , the game has gone, the game has changed .

Maybe the team needs a new voice to hear. I dunno . We are not right though haven’t been all season and haven’t been since YKW left . It think it is a bit of a mess and we haven’t known what to do since YKW dropped his post euro bombshell because they thought he was staying. Our thinking has been muddled in our signings .

To reiterate i don‘t want him gone , it’s not time yet. And those that want him gone are going to be disappointed as he won’t be gone in the very immediate future of a few games .

But I will say this . Some are stooping low calling him a clown and a prick after last nights game .Bang out of order. He is neither. Get a fcuking grip on yourselves. He has done a fine job with what has been asked of him and should be considered as such in the final reckoning on his time here. Will he be good enough to take us where we want to go? ( where ever that is ?) . At the moment looking unlikely but he has come through sticky patches before ….
 
Stephen, with respect I disagree with all your comments. First season in the Premier we were almost relegated. He should have gone then.

But we weren't relegated. Against all the odds, and unlike nearly all promoted teams, we stayed up. Considering we were only 5th in the Championship the season before that was a big achievement. As was the 11th place last season.

But it's the here and now we should worry about. DS is entitled to look back on a successful period, but we have problems. Like every manager, he solves them or goes.
 
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