Dean Smith

[Lichfield Dean]

1 hour ago, romavillan said:

What's the difference between a duck?

One leg's both the same

[Zatman]

1 hour ago, Delphinho123 said:

If Smith doesn't drastically change the system and how we play, I think we're doomed. This playing out from the back when most of the players struggle with the ball at their feet simply isn't working. Teams are just pressing us high up the pitch and we're causing ourselves so many problems. Southampton had a game plan against us and it was so obvious we were struggling after the first 10 minutes and yet Smith didn't change it. 

 

Is this really on Smith, they are professional footballers and this probably the most basic thing you can do. Konsa was passing out from the back at Brentford, Mings can do it and Engels is no donkey. Except Hause, Taylor and Chester who is gone then our defenders are comfortable on the ball

[JAMAICAN-VILLAN]

30 minutes ago, Zatman said:

Is this really on Smith, they are professional footballers and this probably the most basic thing you can do. Konsa was passing out from the back at Brentford, Mings can do it and Engels is no donkey. Except Hause, Taylor and Chester who is gone then our defenders are comfortable on the ball

I think Pepe Reina is a major factor of pushing this to be honest.

When it comes off, great, but so many times it has been an inch from catastrophe.

For example, I remember a point when he played it short to Mings, who just panicked and played it directly back to him under even more pressure ffs.

They don't have the confidence of skill to do that currently IMO.

We can;t doss about right now.

[Delphinho123]

36 minutes ago, Zatman said:

Is this really on Smith, they are professional footballers and this probably the most basic thing you can do. Konsa was passing out from the back at Brentford, Mings can do it and Engels is no donkey. Except Hause, Taylor and Chester who is gone then our defenders are comfortable on the ball

Ah see I can’t agree with this. Our back 3 at present is Hause, Mings and Konsa. I think it’s a bit of a myth that Konsa is good on the ball. He’s not bad, certainly better than Hause, but he’s no superstar. As an example, I think Tuanzebe was far better on the ball than he is. Mings, whilst a superb defender on the whole, has also struggled a little at this level with the amount of time he has and Hause is downright dreadful. As a unit, they’re not great passing it around back there. 

This is made even worse by the fact our central midfielders are also fairly dreadful with the ball at their feet. Luiz, for all his fancy one touch stuff, gets caught out a lot, Nakamba is very poor with the ball at his feet and Drinkwater, well, you know the rest. 

As a team, I just don’t think we’re suited to playing out from the back and I think this showed at Southampton where we put ourselves under an immense amount of pressure trying to play a passing game in our own half.

Its admirable that we’re trying to play this way but it isn’t working. You need to get teams turned, running back towards their own goal and not just knocking it around in front of them. We’re so easy to play against, press high and wait for one or two errors and you’re in. 

I feel it’s like Smith and co. have this style of football, which we do all want to see (think Man City/Liverpool etc.) and he’s intent on playing it regardless of the players at his disposal. If we’re all honest with ourselves, a lot of our players aren’t cut out for this level. Guilbert was signed with a view to playing in the championship, Targett couldn’t get in the Southampton team last season, Hause was our reserve left back in the Championship, Nakamba is fairly average, Luiz is young and developing and the wingers, the less said about them pair the better.

But that’s ok. You just need to realise that and play a different way. Why not try playing ugly and direct. Get it long to Davis/Samatta, ask them to try and hold the ball up and if they don’t, win the second ball and go from there. Samatta and Grealish have been our best players the last few weeks so let’s get it up to them quickly and get into the opposition half instead of knocking it around for 5 minutes at the back with Reina and eventually losing the ball. 

Yes it’s Bruceball, but you have to accept that if you don’t have the tools at your disposal to play a certain way, you have to change it. 

[Vive_La_Villa]

25 minutes ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

I think Pepe Reina is a major factor of pushing this to be honest.

When it comes off, great, but so many times it has been an inch from catastrophe.

For example, I remember a point when he played it short to Mings, who just panicked and played it directly back to him under even more pressure ffs.

They don't have the confidence of skill to do that currently IMO.

We can;t doss about right now.

Reina needs to stop his little clips to a player up the field that come straight back.  Nearly cost us 2 goals on Saturday and Reina had to redeem himself with saves. To be fair he is probably one of our best passers but his approach just isn’t working.

[foreveryoung]

10 hours ago, Vive_La_Villa said:

Probably the only manager to ever start the pre-season summer with 2 adequate first team players in the squad as well. 

Poor Smith, so the likes of Carlo Ancelotti would have no chance either.

Inexperience 'including' the manager will get us relegated this season.

[Vive_La_Villa]

7 minutes ago, foreveryoung said:

Poor Smith, so the likes of Carlo Ancelotti would have no chance either.

Inexperience 'including' the manager will get us relegated this season.

The likes of Carlo Ancelotti would never take that job. Anyway my post wasn’t even defending him so I have no idea what Ancelotti has to do with anything. 

Edited February 24, 2020 by Vive_La_Villa

[foreveryoung]

34 minutes ago, Vive_La_Villa said:

The likes of Carlo Ancelotti would never take that job. Anyway my post wasn’t even defending him so I have no idea what Ancelotti has to do with anything. 

Just saying, it's not the team, they are good enough to stay up.

It's no good Smith ripping into the players yet again, when he has nearly a season with them and still they are inconsistent. He's been in the job long enough now to understand whats going wrong every other game. To me his systems just ask to much of the players, we need back to basic football to stay in this league.

[Laughable Chimp]

1 hour ago, Delphinho123 said:

Ah see I can’t agree with this. Our back 3 at present is Hause, Mings and Konsa. I think it’s a bit of a myth that Konsa is good on the ball. He’s not bad, certainly better than Hause, but he’s no superstar. As an example, I think Tuanzebe was far better on the ball than he is. Mings, whilst a superb defender on the whole, has also struggled a little at this level with the amount of time he has and Hause is downright dreadful. As a unit, they’re not great passing it around back there. 

This is made even worse by the fact our central midfielders are also fairly dreadful with the ball at their feet. Luiz, for all his fancy one touch stuff, gets caught out a lot, Nakamba is very poor with the ball at his feet and Drinkwater, well, you know the rest. 

As a team, I just don’t think we’re suited to playing out from the back and I think this showed at Southampton where we put ourselves under an immense amount of pressure trying to play a passing game in our own half.

Its admirable that we’re trying to play this way but it isn’t working. You need to get teams turned, running back towards their own goal and not just knocking it around in front of them. We’re so easy to play against, press high and wait for one or two errors and you’re in. 

I feel it’s like Smith and co. have this style of football, which we do all want to see (think Man City/Liverpool etc.) and he’s intent on playing it regardless of the players at his disposal. If we’re all honest with ourselves, a lot of our players aren’t cut out for this level. Guilbert was signed with a view to playing in the championship, Targett couldn’t get in the Southampton team last season, Hause was our reserve left back in the Championship, Nakamba is fairly average, Luiz is young and developing and the wingers, the less said about them pair the better.

But that’s ok. You just need to realise that and play a different way. Why not try playing ugly and direct. Get it long to Davis/Samatta, ask them to try and hold the ball up and if they don’t, win the second ball and go from there. Samatta and Grealish have been our best players the last few weeks so let’s get it up to them quickly and get into the opposition half instead of knocking it around for 5 minutes at the back with Reina and eventually losing the ball. 

Yes it’s Bruceball, but you have to accept that if you don’t have the tools at your disposal to play a certain way, you have to change it. 

Konsa's passing stats were slightly worse than Hause's last I checked. The difference is Konsa doesn't attempt as many passes as Hause does.

[Keyblade]

On 22/02/2020 at 12:43, sne said:

Allowed 28 shots today apparently  

Blatantly obvious that whatever pro's the 3 at the back in theory could provide they are not offsetting us totally giving up the midfield.

The 5 at the back has to stop so we can get another body in CM.

The problem is, without McGinn, the options for the third man in midfield are the nonexistent Hourihane and Drinkwater

[sne]

Just now, Keyblade said:

The problem is, without McGinn, the options for the third man in midfield are the nonexistent Hourihane and Drinkwater

Absolutely.

But then again the CB options are Hause, Engels and Konsa and the wide options are Trez and El Ghazi (who might be injured)

[Keyblade]

1 hour ago, foreveryoung said:

Poor Smith, so the likes of Carlo Ancelotti would have no chance either.

Inexperience 'including' the manager will get us relegated this season.

Apart from the absurdity of comparing multiple time CL winner Carlo Ancelotti to Dean Smith, Ancelloti inherited a squad worth half a billion pounds with multiple 30m+ players in there not one that was cobbled together for 10m per player. 

[foreveryoung]

7 minutes ago, Keyblade said:

Apart from the absurdity of comparing multiple time CL winner Carlo Ancelotti to Dean Smith, Ancelloti inherited a squad worth half a billion pounds with multiple 30m+ players in there not one that was cobbled together for 10m per player. 

Just noting the fact Smith ain't all that and my belief is a more experienced manager would not have made this such a struggle like Smith is. 

[DCJonah]

Our defensive stats are abysmal. Like smith a lot but in this area it's been woeful

[ciggiesnbeer]

On 22/02/2020 at 22:58, villalad21 said:

It won't. Almost always have the opposite effect in modern football.

Slating own players in public is what Mourinho usually does at the end of his reign and it all falls apart. Losing his players.

Ferguson has always said he never agree with that. You have to keep that behind closed doors.

Fair counter. Honestly my pro Dean Smith attitude is down to nothing but faith right now. I cant defend his recent record, sadly. The facts are what they are.

[TDR V2]

11 games left, aside from the top 3 there isn't a massive difference between everyone else. If we can start to defend, even just a little better then we have a good chance of surviving. 

Surviving should be seen as success, even next season 11th to 17th would be a success. We have been sh1te for years and if we hadn't got promoted last season we probably wouldn't have Grealish, McGinn or Mings today. Smith's current unofficial target is survival, and he is trying to do it playing football not anti football. 

Christ I've just seen our remaining fixtures, scrap everything I've just said. Surviving won't be a success, it'll be a bloody miracle. West Ham away could be our biggest game in recent history.

[VillanousOne]

It's over half a season and Dean still doesn't know his best eleven or the best formation, having said that i couldn't give you a line up of players or formation that I think would change our results, mentally we are broken, we either seem to go gungho with our closing down which leads to mistakes, or we stand off so much that opposition players have huge amounts of space to play in.

we'll probably be relegated before we see the best of Drinkwater or Borja.

I would say we offer more threat from set pieces if we play Connor, but he also offers very little else when he starts.

I can see Dean responding to the Saints defeat by playing Connor and Elmo, he always responds to a crap performance by starting Elmo, then drops him when we play even worse.

 

[TRO]

6 hours ago, nick76 said:

Agreed but we are still 17th.  

So many are saying we are done for and we can’t see us winning another game, our fixture list coming up is so hard, our recruitment has failed, our players aren’t good enough. 
 

We still are 17th, the teams around us are just as bad as us and none of them can see where they are going to win their next game because they concede easy and can’t score.  

We are 17th, we still have this in our own hands to survive and 11 games to do that with.

I don’t know where the next point is coming from, how we stop conceding so many goals and how we start scoring more but again we are 17th after 27 games, despite everything (and there is a lot of validity to what people are saying) but we are 17th.....c’mon the Villa boys!!! Have faith!

West Ham have just given a creditable performance against the leagues 2 top teams away from home despite no points.....even though they are  below us they look more capable, by the evidence of their play, to find a way out.

We have to up our game and show more fight.

[nick76]

43 minutes ago, TRO said:

West Ham have just given a creditable performance against the leagues 2 top teams away from home despite no points.....even though they are  below us they look more capable, by the evidence of their play, to find a way out.

We have to up our game and show more fight.

We did alright against Spurs and would’ve got a draw apart from a last minute stupid mistake and we beat Leicester.  We were dogshite against Southampton I agree but we can cherry pick anything to suit our argument.  
 

West Ham really impressed tonight, they were opposite against Man City, they have surprised me how bad they have been this season with the talent they have.  If they play like they did tonight for the rest of the season they will survive but they are 18th for a reason.

Remember we are still 17th...not in the relegation zone . Yes I agree we need to up our game massively to stay up.

[Vive_La_Villa]

1 hour ago, TRO said:

West Ham have just given a creditable performance against the leagues 2 top teams away from home despite no points.....even though they are  below us they look more capable, by the evidence of their play, to find a way out.

We have to up our game and show more fight.

Didn’t see today’s game but there was nothing credible about the Man City performance.