Brumstopdogs Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penguin Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 I don't really think it was particularly reactionary or OTT for many to have written Smith off, we really were at last chance saloon. We had 1 win and 8 losses in 12 prior to our remarkable turn-around, we'd been chopping and changing all season and didn't even look to know or best side or formation, we actually were looking progressively worse and rudderless as we went on. Going down would have been an absolute disaster: Jack goes for sure and then take your pick from: Mings, McGinn, Luiz. Essentially lose our once in a generation talent and potentially have our spine ripped out and who knows the FFP ramifications. We are Aston Villa fans not Dean Smith fans at the end of the day. But he did turn it round at the death and in some style and I'm sure in doing so earnt a lot more trust from us for when we do hit an inevitable sticky patch in the future, I know he has from me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penguin Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 11 minutes ago, nick76 said: But also Wilder hasn’t become a bad manager because he only has 1 point out of 5 games now who you loved last season. Some fans had concerns about Smith but some fans didn’t. I said we would survive because I believe Smith learns and adapts. Sometimes too slowly for my liking and yes lockdown helped us but there were so many new factors last season from players, experience, languages, injuries etc against established teams it was always going to take time, we were going to have really bad spells like pre lockdown but he also has really good spells. Like today Barkley said he switched McGinn and Barkley at half time, a slight tweak but made such a difference in my eyes. We’ll have a bad spell at some point but that’s when fans need to keep their heads. Meanwhile we enjoy the now. He performed an absolute miracle last season to be fair, that squad is Norwich levels of direness. Wouldn't surprised me if he ultimately ended up getting the boot for his overachievement though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post JAMAICAN-VILLAN Posted October 18, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted October 18, 2020 (edited) Deano was all for it haha Edited October 18, 2020 by JAMAICAN-VILLAN 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post TrentVilla Posted October 18, 2020 Moderator Popular Post Share Posted October 18, 2020 Just imagine how much we could improve with another couple of windows and our owners backing Smith..... 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stockport_Villain Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 (edited) It’s amazing what can happen if you give someone a bit of time to find their feet, let him get his support team sorted and a say in the players he wants. Long may it continue. Edited October 18, 2020 by Stockport_Villain 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAMAICAN-VILLAN Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 3 minutes ago, TrentVilla said: Just imagine how much we could improve with another couple of windows and our owners backing Smith..... And the homegrown players we have invested in... flourishing with the coaching and team ethos we are developing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vive_La_Villa Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 He is becoming the special manager I thought he could become at the start of last season. But I wasn’t being realistic or fair. Every manager needs time to build a team and also needs quality players. He is now starting to show what happens when he has that. Long may it continue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkyvilla Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 14 minutes ago, penguin said: I don't really think it was particularly reactionary or OTT for many to have written Smith off, we really were at last chance saloon. We had 1 win and 8 losses in 12 prior to our remarkable turn-around, we'd been chopping and changing all season and didn't even look to know or best side or formation, we actually were looking progressively worse and rudderless as we went on. Going down would have been an absolute disaster: Jack goes for sure and then take your pick from: Mings, McGinn, Luiz. Essentially lose our once in a generation talent and potentially have our spine ripped out and who knows the FFP ramifications. We are Aston Villa fans not Dean Smith fans at the end of the day. But he did turn it round at the death and in some style and I'm sure in doing so earnt a lot more trust from us for when we do hit an inevitable sticky patch in the future, I know he has from me. He is an Aston Villa fan and deserved better consider where we were when he took over, but what's gone is gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stratvillan Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 27 minutes ago, penguin said: I don't really think it was particularly reactionary or OTT for many to have written Smith off, we really were at last chance saloon. We had 1 win and 8 losses . We are Aston Villa fans not Dean Smith fans at the end of the day. But he did turn it round at the death and in some style and I'm sure in doing so earnt a lot more trust from us for when we do hit an inevitable sticky patch in the future, I know he has from me. This is it for me. We have had such disappointment over the last decade that we could almost see what was coming. This isnt so much doubting Smith as doubting villa. If I'm being honest I probably would have changed manager, but what Smith did post lockdown I think was amazing. If you look at our defence - jesus! My youngest (11), said tonight this must have been like supporting villa when I was young. I was born in 71, so was 11 /12 when we won the league and European cup. I said not quite but we are getting there. We will lose 3/4 in a row this year. But we wont buckle like previously - thank you Dean. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevonIsAPlaceOnEarth Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 36 minutes ago, TrentVilla said: Just imagine how much we could improve with another couple of windows and our owners backing Smith..... I think this is an important point. There will be many negative weekends this season, but the trend over the next 3 years is going to be very exciting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 1 hour ago, Villarocker said: Dean Smith's Villa are the only team in the top 5 European leagues to win all their games. MIlan have won all 4 league games as well but sure its decent company to keep Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulC Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 Its funny how things can turnaround. We lost 4-0 the time we played at Leicester just before the Covid break. We looked abysmal. 7 months later we go there and win and we look an completely different team. Well done to Smith for turning it around. hes building something very special here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weedman Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 19 minutes ago, Stratvillan said: This is it for me. We have had such disappointment over the last decade that we could almost see what was coming. This isnt so much doubting Smith as doubting villa. If I'm being honest I probably would have changed manager, but what Smith did post lockdown I think was amazing. If you look at our defence - jesus! My youngest (11), said tonight this must have been like supporting villa when I was young. I was born in 71, so was 11 /12 when we won the league and European cup. I said not quite but we are getting there. We will lose 3/4 in a row this year. But we wont buckle like previously - thank you Dean. Doubting is not the same as writing off. Doubting him was perfectly normal - with the way we were playing I'd be surprised if there was a single Villa fan without any doubt. Writing him off was and is completely different and, as has been proven, completely wrong. When you couple the "writing off" with ridiculing and putting down anyone who didn't agree with you and then proclaiming that you were clearly right to do so whenever we played poorly and despite being proven absolutely wrong by the seasons end STILL trying to take the moral high ground by claiming it was nothing more than a simple critique it just makes it clear trolling rather than an informed opinion or debate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farlz Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 This all genuinely makes me so happy. I haven't wanted a Villa manager to succeed quite like I have Smith in a very long time. Maybe just because I'm suckered in by the fact he's one of us but I just love the bloke. That lockdown period really was the best possible thing that could have happened for us and Smith. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post JAMAICAN-VILLAN Posted October 18, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted October 18, 2020 I am desperate for us to turn Leeds over. To stick one up to all the pundits etc. EVERY single season prediction i've seen had Leeds finishing MID Table or top 10 magically, just because Bielsa, and us either getting relegated or barely scraping survival again. It's obvious nobody really follows what we do or have even been taking us seriously. Yet Leeds were/are magically predicted to come up in their first season and just blow us out of the water. The disrespect. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GENTLEMAN Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 4 minutes ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said: I am desperate for us to turn Leeds over. To stick one up to all the pundits etc. EVERY single season prediction i've seen had Leeds finishing MID Table or top 10 magically, just because Bielsa, and us either getting relegated or barely scraping survival again. It's obvious nobody really follows what we do or have even been taking us seriously. Yet Leeds were/are magically predicted to come up in their first season and just blow us out of the water. The disrespect. I even want Wolves to turn them over 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomaszk Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 Keep it coming Deano. We're in the position now where any sub bar Trez/Traore monstrously weakens us. Any other sub in the whole squad before 80 mins and we'd have lost that tonight. Excellent game management to roll to Traore dice when he did. Thought he tweaked it at HT from the 4-2-3-1 back to his favoured 4-3-3 and we were more dominant in that shape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sulberto21 Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 6 hours ago, Tomaszk said: Keep it coming Deano. We're in the position now where any sub bar Trez/Traore monstrously weakens us. Any other sub in the whole squad before 80 mins and we'd have lost that tonight. Excellent game management to roll to Traore dice when he did. Thought he tweaked it at HT from the 4-2-3-1 back to his favoured 4-3-3 and we were more dominant in that shape. Did it around the 15 minutes mark and he confirmed it in the post match interview. We controlled the majority of the game after that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomaszk Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 He bloody loves 4-3-3 does Deano. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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