The Official Dean Smith Thread | Page 526 | Vital Football

The Official Dean Smith Thread

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I read a report from the telegraph (before paywall kicked in) suggesting he argued that Ings, Buendia, Bailey and a fourth player who I can’t remember had only played something like 26 minutes together on the pitch.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2021/11/07/dean-smith-sacked-aston-villa-five-straight-defeats/

You get injuries and set backs every week, you can’t expect the perfect conditions to perform. Those sorts of comments don’t sit well with me, every player who started on Friday was in their natural position of which 5 are internationals and a couple knocking on the door. He can’t hide behind these things making them seem unfortunate, they happen all the time to every club. You need to be able manage and build a side not reliant on certain players or it ends up being your downfall…
 
I'm personally deeply saddened by this. IMO he worked minor miracles here. He inherited a dreadful mess left by Steve Bruce and took us from bottom half of the Championship to Premier League in his first season. He then kept us up with a poor squad and last season took us to a solid finish of 11th, again with a squad that was hardly replete with quality.

Wonderful memories include the play off semi and final, the wins against Birmingham home and away, the demolition job of Liverpool at home, hell the United win at Old Trafford just a few weeks ago, all wonderful performances and memories.

He achieved great things here, people talk about it was all about Grealish but to my mind Smith made Grealish a much, much better player than he ever looked under other managers.

I'm disappointed in the players it has to be said, I think they've buried him, Smith didn't instruct them to not do the basics. I think we dropped the ball in the summer with transfers, the players bought for Smith we not right and certainly not ready made. He was also unfortunate to experience injury and fitness problems of the like I've never seen at the club.

That said, he was not perfect. I think his persistence with 3-5-2 was a big mistake, he just couldn't find solutions to the big problems which emerged this season. I do believe the widely speculated 'Smith ceiling' was hit this season in and among the complexity presented by all the above issues.

The owners now have a lot to do to nail the replacement, if the approach is anything like transfers in the summer then I'm not going to expect too much...

Anyway, Smith, for me, one of us and a legitimate Villa legend, I genuinely wish him all the best going forward, this is one of the saddest days I've experienced supporting the club in quite a long time.
 
I'm personally deeply saddened by this. IMO he worked minor miracles here. He inherited a dreadful mess left by Steve Bruce and took us from bottom half of the Championship to Premier League in his first season. He then kept us up with a poor squad and last season took us to a solid finish of 11th, again with a squad that was hardly replete with quality.

Wonderful memories include the play off semi and final, the wins against Birmingham home and away, the demolition job of Liverpool at home, hell the United win at Old Trafford just a few weeks ago, all wonderful performances and memories.

He achieved great things here, people talk about it was all about Grealish but to my mind Smith made Grealish a much, much better player than he ever looked under other managers.

I'm disappointed in the players it has to be said, I think they've buried him, Smith didn't instruct them to not do the basics. I think we dropped the ball in the summer with transfers, the players bought for Smith we not right and certainly not ready made. He was also unfortunate to experience injury and fitness problems of the like I've never seen at the club.

That said, he was not perfect. I think his persistence with 3-5-2 was a big mistake, he just couldn't find solutions to the big problems which emerged this season. I do believe the widely speculated 'Smith ceiling' was hit this season in and among the complexity presented by all the above issues.

The owners now have a lot to do to nail the replacement, if the approach is anything like transfers in the summer then I'm not going to expect too much...

Anyway, Smith, for me, one of us and a legitimate Villa legend, I genuinely wish him all the best going forward, this is one of the saddest days I've experienced supporting the club in quite a long time.
I agree with a lot of what you write mate, but if it’s ok I’ll agree to disagree with your assessment of Jack, regardless of who was manager Jack had it all, and was always destined to become the player he his today, no doubt Deans man management helped in some ways, but he didn’t takeover a Keenan Davies type player and turn him into a Jack Grealish kinda player let’s be honest!
I feel sadder than I thought I would to be honest, but again I think that’s because he was a Villa boy like the rest of us.

Looking at the table today, it’s not good reading, again I understand the sentiment behind his sacking, regardless he’s left us in a very poor position, and if Watford get a goal (as I write this) we’ll be one place above relegation, so for me he’s left us in bad way that could have repercussions for the next few seasons.

So even though I feel a tinge of sadness, I did when Bruce left if I’m honest, only because of his struggles with his parents passing, and he looked a defeated man, but tomorrow is another day, and I’ll be happy that the club have acted, and we can now look forward to a new manager being unveiled.

So thanks Dean for giving it your all, but as my teachers used to write in my yearly reports ‘He spends to much time talking and his work has suffered for it’ 5/10
 
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Yes this is sad.
I've not been a dean out person. But it is clearly evident something has not been right for a while. Something has happened behind closed doors I am sure.
And just when you think it's looking bad we get a crinkled ripped off bit of paper doing the rounds on a premier League pitch. Seriously. What the fuck?
Sad I wanted it to work with Smith. Obviously. I am worried now on who we are going to bring in. Very very very worried.
 
I read a report from the telegraph (before paywall kicked in) suggesting he argued that Ings, Buendia, Bailey and a fourth player who I can’t remember had only played something like 26 minutes together on the pitch.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2021/11/07/dean-smith-sacked-aston-villa-five-straight-defeats/

You get injuries and set backs every week, you can’t expect the perfect conditions to perform. Those sorts of comments don’t sit well with me, every player who started on Friday was in their natural position of which 5 are internationals and a couple knocking on the door. He can’t hide behind these things making them seem unfortunate, they happen all the time to every club. You need to be able manage and build a side not reliant on certain players or it ends up being your downfall…

I have great sympathy for that perspective and it's obviously true but this is PL football and while you can blame injuries/lack of availability to those new players as being part of the problem this season, it does not excuse five losses on the bounce.

Footballs fans, generally speaking, talk a right load of sh*te most of the time but there are moments when it all comes together and everyone "knows".

That last game at VP with the deathly silence that prompted me to remark at the time that I hadn't heard it like that since the mid 1980s when everyone just knew that we were screwed said it all for me.
 
I'm personally deeply saddened by this. IMO he worked minor miracles here. He inherited a dreadful mess left by Steve Bruce and took us from bottom half of the Championship to Premier League in his first season. He then kept us up with a poor squad and last season took us to a solid finish of 11th, again with a squad that was hardly replete with quality.

Wonderful memories include the play off semi and final, the wins against Birmingham home and away, the demolition job of Liverpool at home, hell the United win at Old Trafford just a few weeks ago, all wonderful performances and memories.

He achieved great things here, people talk about it was all about Grealish but to my mind Smith made Grealish a much, much better player than he ever looked under other managers.

I'm disappointed in the players it has to be said, I think they've buried him, Smith didn't instruct them to not do the basics. I think we dropped the ball in the summer with transfers, the players bought for Smith we not right and certainly not ready made. He was also unfortunate to experience injury and fitness problems of the like I've never seen at the club.

That said, he was not perfect. I think his persistence with 3-5-2 was a big mistake, he just couldn't find solutions to the big problems which emerged this season. I do believe the widely speculated 'Smith ceiling' was hit this season in and among the complexity presented by all the above issues.

The owners now have a lot to do to nail the replacement, if the approach is anything like transfers in the summer then I'm not going to expect too much...

Anyway, Smith, for me, one of us and a legitimate Villa legend, I genuinely wish him all the best going forward, this is one of the saddest days I've experienced supporting the club in quite a long time.
Hear fucking hear.
 
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