Villarocker

It says he's head coach and not the manager. As someone in a similar position in a different vocation, I sympathise with him. Sometimes it can be very frustrating working with what you've been given.

If we sell Grealish, Mings, McGinn and Trezeguet for a combined £130m+ I would then go for Benrahma (£25m) to replace Trezeguet out wide left, Lolley (£10m) to replace McGinn, Mitrovic (£30m) to give us a real threat up front and scour the likes of Holland or Belgium to find a left-sided centre back to partner Engels. We could replace Grealish with Eze from QPR for £25m. Probably spend £100m of the money we take in and that leaves £30m in the coffers to help with FFP. If we were to go up the next season, we would have young, talented players already with us and use the next big money to add 5 real quality players rather than build a whole team. I'd start the season with a team like this: ...................... Heaton.................. Guilbert... Engels....?........ Targett ......................... Luiz..................... ........................Lolley.................... El Ghazi............ Eze....... Benrahma ...................... Mitrovic................... Subs: Steer, Hause, Hourihane, Samatta, Wesley, Elmohamady, Nakamba.

The sacking talk is absolutely nuts. So people honestly think that the owners and top bosses at the club haven't discussed sacking Smith even before the lockdown? They probably chat after each game about it right now. It's a difficult thing though as he's 1 point from safety. The only way I see them sacking them is if they know who we'll be losing in the summer and feel Smith isn't the man to try to take us back up. In which case, I see them offering the job to John Terry until the end of the season with the temptation of a first management job at Villa if he keeps us up.

I don't think the players are up to it. They are thick and make ridiculous decisions throughout the game. You can clearly see they're not doing what they are asked to do by the reactions of the coaching staff. I think Smith needs to gamble up front and put the Ramsey lad in and and find a wide player from the reserves as both El Ghazi and Trezeguet are playing like headless chickens.

We've played 4 games in 10 days, of course he's gonna make changes. I guarantee you that if he hadn't people would have been moaning that he hadn't.

McGinn is playing so much better than Hourihane. However, Trezeguet is playing like his brain and feet are in different bodies.

Then why pay more for Wesley than for Maupay?

Dean Smith's biggest howler, and this will haunt him, is not buying Neal Maupay. He knew the guy but thought he was not worth £20m. Yet, it was OK to spunk £14m on Targett and God knows how much on Trezeguet, Konsa, Nakamba etc. Goals win games and always have and we went into this season too lightweight up top, a bit like a fit bird with a nice round arse and a flat chest. Maupay is not just about goals. He's an aggressive little runt and a workhorse who makes things uncomfortable for defenders. Davis is too placid considering his size. We should have paid that bit extra for Maupay and maybe now we wouldn't be staring at relegation.

They're brain dead mate. It's OK us all looking at Smith but is it his fault the players are so f**king stupid and make such idiotic mistakes.

Davis past it straight to their players hoeing his lack of talent by not having the nous/skill/talent to back-heel it for McGinn to run on to. We will go down not just because we cannot defend but because we went into the season with an unknown Wesley up front and Davis in reserve.

On comes Traore to twist Taylor's blood and set up a goal or two for Jimenez. Wow! Villa changes.

These players are just thick. Stupid mistakes time and time again and pretty much none of them can be trusted. The keeper highlighted that earlier. Even defenders at set pieces and delivery into box is just so poor. That isn't Dean Smith's fault. He cannot make someone cross a ball better or not tackle. He can tell them not to or how to but they ultimately commit the action. However, making team changes in-game IS something Dean Smith is responsible for and time and again he does it all too late. Why wait for them to score? Bring McGinn on now for Hourihane.

I'm sort of with you on this JV. I was totally for giving Deano the beginning of next season even if we got relegated but I'm leaning more now to sacking him whatever happens. I was in the sympathy camp, believing that he had brought us up and got us to a final etc. He has had young, foreign players to work with and nearly all the new players and coaching staff are new to the league. However, for me personally, at ownership level we now always seem like we are a Lerner-style capitulation away from going down the pan so need to be at it on the pitch and find a solid base but, right now we look anything but solid. We fans see it game in game out and nothing seems to change. Deano isn't manager, he is head coach. I don't see much in terms of coaching improvement with our players. There's only one player returned from lockdown with any sign of improvement and that is Luiz. Other than him the rest look edgy. The problem for the owners is, we are not down and out. Mathematically we are bang there with a shout at survival so to sack Deano now is a massive gamble. We go down and there would be a lot of "what ifs." We are at the crossroads because I feel that if we did stay up there is a basis for a decent team and the recruitment in the summer would be more about quality than quantity. However, who will recruit the players? Can Deano work with them? I think if we stay up we need to up our quality at coaching level. I like Dean Smith but unfortunately I think the Premier League is a step too far for him. But, if we go down, it might be worth sticking with him. Either way, if stick with Deano over Sean Dyche any day.

We should be letting Mings, McGinn and Grealish go for anything less than a combined £120m.

Did we get him from Charlton?

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When Grealish goes, is it possible that Dougie could be moved further forward into that kind of position and Marvellous be brought back in as DM? Especially if we are in the Championship.

Yes, after agree with that. He wasn't one of the standout players, for me, prior to lockdown. But, since the return, he's been our best player in each game. Looks like he came back with the knowledge of how to play the holding role and now looks accomplished there.

Say it 38 more times and people may start to believe you

The two centre backs were almost on the wing. They're both way out of position and therefore at fault.

I was of the opinion that Deano should be given the first 10 games of next season should we be relegated. However, the fact that he said he watched lal the games back and had 1-2-1 chats with the players about their performances makes me think he isn't up to it. Nothing has changed.

Why take so long to put subs on when we clearly were getting nowhere? It made absolutely no sense. We are devoid of ideas.

You know this will end 1-0 to them. Its what pissed us off so much about Bruce.