Dean Smith

[DCJonah]

There's a small part of me that still thinks it's a bit harsh, when you lose Grealish, replace him with 3 players and never have the opportunity to start them together. 

[Hank Scorpio]

So I keep reading "something wasn't right" this season. 

So what do we actually think it was that lead to this happening? I think smith couldn't figure out how to replace grealish. We are left with plenty of square pegs and round holes. The transfer policy this summer didn't fix anything.

[maqroll]

1 hour ago, andym said:

7 losses out of 11 games and 20 goals conceded (only the bottom 2 have let in more) is going to have any manager on thin ice. Add in how the second half of last season went and he's probably been given more time than most managers get.

And I think he'd have been given more time still if there was any hint of a turnaround, if it had been a case that we'd played ok and just been a bit unlucky in this losing run. But we haven't, we've been awful - the first half against Soton was one of the worst 45 minutes you will see from any side all season. He started flailing around with line ups and formations, dropping the captain etc and once that starts happening its only ending one way.

It's a shame because it's been a great 3 years overall, and he's a top guy.

But he had to show he could grow as manager as expectations grew at the club, and he hasn't. There's still the same knocks you can put on him as when he first arrived - slow to react tactically, liable to streaky results, and after looking like he had sorted it last season, a reversion to being disorganised defensively. We have consistently been one of the poorer sides for keeping possession and accurate passing, and that is always going to hold a team back if they want to push for the higher places.

Good luck wherever you end up Dean!

 

The sticking with 3-5-2 just because didn't make much sense and seemed a bit clueless. Turns out it was catastrophic. 

[villa4europe]

1 minute ago, Pissflaps said:

So I keep reading "something wasn't right" this season. 

So what do we actually think it was that lead to this happening? I think smith couldn't figure out how to replace grealish. We are left with plenty of square pegs and round holes. The transfer policy this summer didn't fix anything.

Could be as simple as lack of belief or futility after we sold Jack 

Fans rode the "what's the point of it all when city can do that?" wave pretty well, maybe our players haven't 

I think it's a mental thing, how or why beyond that though I haven't got a clue, could be losing jack, could be losing Terry who I always thought was little more than a cheerleader and one of the lads in a role between the players and Smith but maybe the role was more important that I realised 

[maqroll]

9 minutes ago, TRO said:

Its inevitable that pundits, who don't give a toss, about our clubs status, make these comments...I would think so many other clubs were delighted to see us floundering.

Chelsea do it, and its foresight from the board.....we do it and we are mean.

Right now, no one can be sure, if its right or not......but losing matches in an unconvincing style, with plenty of basics absent, could not continue, unchecked.

Lots of comments today slating the decision from people who haven’t watched the games. It was worse than just 5 straight losses. Its been a complete meltdown. 

[JAMAICAN-VILLAN]

Just watched a Moyes interview post match Liverpool, he was asked, if he thinks he is the same manager as he was at Everton and Manchester United, or if he has just been given time, and thats the difference.

He said " No i'm the same manager, It was just down to me to improve, and bring it altogether, which is what everyone should do, and now i've got the experience " etc.

I only bring it up, as encouragement Dean can take.

As @TRO alluded to, possibly also a victim of his own success, got us to the elite level too quickly, and might not have mastered the craft of the level , as quickly as the expectations and pressure increased, overwhelmed. ( This does not mean he won't )

The pre season upended him somewhat also.

I wouldn't mind seeing Deano 2.0 back here one day, although, it will be weird seeing him manage another team.

Edited November 7, 2021 by JAMAICAN-VILLAN

[TRO]

Just now, maqroll said:

Lots of comments today slating the decision from people who haven’t watched the games. It was worse than just 5 straight losses. Its been a complete meltdown. 

Of course, it was more than 5 straight losses, we have the worst win record in 2021......and many, many more performance stats, that make grim reading...crikey, we only have to watch the games to know.

The club had no choice Imo.....no matter how sad it is.

[maqroll]

1 minute ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

Just watched a Moyes interview post match Liverpool, he was asked, if he thinks he is the same manager as he was at Everton and Manchester United, or if he has just been given time, and thats the difference.

He said " No i'm the same manager, It was just down to me to improve, and bring it altogether, which is what everyone should do " etc.

I only bring it up, as encouragement Dean can take.

As @TRO alluded to, possibly also a victim of his own success, got us to the elite level too quickly, and might not have mastered the craft of the level , as quickly as the expectations increased. ( This does not mean he won't )

The pre season upended him somewhat also.

I wouldn't mind seeing Deano 2.0 back here one day, although, it will be weird seeing him manage another team.

I'd love to see him go and manage a Middlesbrough or Derby and get them promoted. I'll always be a big Dean Smith fan.

[Davkaus]

8 minutes ago, DCJonah said:

There's a small part of me that still thinks it's a bit harsh, when you lose Grealish, replace him with 3 players and never have the opportunity to start them together. 

I think he was a victim of circumstance, but given the injuries, is this really the best we could hope for?

I'm torn. He started El Ghazi and brought on Davis on Friday, and got pelters for it, but you look at the bench and wonder what else he could have done

With a better fixture list, I'd have given him more games, but  you look at the next 5 games, and I think it really was a choice of hire a new manager now, or trust Smith, even if it takes us down.

[mjmooney]

53 minutes ago, TheAuthority said:

Agree. I've been livid all day. 5 games FFS.

The "want it all now" voices strike again.

The shabbiest possible treatment of the best fit manager we will ever have. And people are calmly discussing the pros and cons of replacing him with Steven Gerrard, FFS.  The game has most definitely gone. I'm not sad, I'm furious and disgusted. 

[Awol]

I’m gutted. Never met him but came across as the kind of bloke you’d like to. I thought he’d get more time, but since that Gerrard *spit* link first surfaced I’ve wondered whether Purslow wanted rid. He wants glamour and the fairy dust of those associated with the top 4.

Wish Dean all the very best, I can’t imagine how it would feel to be ditched as gaffer by the club you love. Also hope his dog is fitter than our squad, but if not it soon will be. 

[Davkaus]

2 minutes ago, Awol said:

I’m gutted. Never met him but came across as the kind of bloke you’d like to. 

Currently, my goal in life is to buy Deano a pint. 

[maqroll]

2 minutes ago, Davkaus said:

Currently, my goal in life is to buy Deano a pint. 

Ha, was just thinking what I'd say to him if I saw him in a pub. Deano, we hardly knew ye.

[Davkaus]

Just now, maqroll said:

Ha, was just thinking what I'd say to him if I saw him in a pub. Deano, we hardly knew ye.

Honestly, I'd just want to give him a hug and say sorry, and thank you. I thought he should be sacked after the last few games, but I'm a **** moron, don't listen to me. 

[chrisp65]

6 minutes ago, mjmooney said:

The shabbiest possible treatment of the best fit manager we will ever have. And people are calmly discussing the pros and cons of replacing him with Steven Gerrard, FFS.  The game has most definitely gone. I'm not sad, I'm furious and disgusted. 

It’s moved me another notch away from caring.

Genuinely disappointed in the club for pissing their pants and losing their nerve.

If it transpires there is no pre planned transition to a clearly ‘better’ manager, then we have truly shown ourselves to be also rans. 

 

[maqroll]

Just now, Davkaus said:

Honestly, I'd just want to give him a hug and say sorry, and thank you. I thought he should be sacked after the last few games, but I'm a **** moron, don't listen to me. 

It's natural to have mixed feelings about this. The whole mind v heart thing. I have to assume there were things that have gone on behind the scenes that m!de the decision a bit easier for Purslow than it would have been for you or I. Maybe one day we will hear how it all went down. 

[jacketspuds]

I’m gutted for him that he’s gone. But how many people can they say they took over their boyhood club when it was pretty much rock bottom, steadied the ship and took it back to the PL. Then kept it there for 2 seasons, and in to the 3rd.

However, his record this year speaks for itself and it is understandable why he has now gone. I will be disappointed if the decision was solely based on the last 5 games though.

[TRO]

4 minutes ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

Just watched a Moyes interview post match Liverpool, he was asked, if he thinks he is the same manager as he was at Everton and Manchester United, or if he has just been given time, and thats the difference.

He said " No i'm the same manager, It was just down to me to improve, and bring it altogether, which is what everyone should do " etc.

I only bring it up, as encouragement Dean can take.

As @TRO alluded to, possibly also a victim of his own success, got us to the elite level too quickly, and might not have mastered the craft of the level , as quickly as the expectations and pressure increased, overwhelmed. ( This does not mean he won't )

The pre season upended him somewhat also.

I wouldn't mind seeing Deano 2.0 back here one day, although, it will be weird seeing him manage another team.

David Moyes has a balanced team JV and when you have that, the time relates to working on gelling the team together......Moyes has also put an emphasis on physicality. that only a blind man would miss, we havent, we are lightweight on the whole. His team is steeped in workrate and when you get a combination of those kind of things confidence, takes over. I would wager many of those West Ham players would not interest our people, yet David Moyes gets a tune out of them, in much the same way Ron Saunders did with us, in a very pragmatic style.....that works.

I still think things were made hard for Dean by not getting the midfield balanced, that missing steel to help galvanise the team....and I also think we are weak in terms of running.....too many things were simply not right, and it simply overwhelmed Dean, he didn't know where to turn. I would love to know, how much real involvement he had in transfers....was money held back, for the new guy, was this planned yonks ago.

I would hazard a guess, that there are many other things, we don't know about, and will never know, but isn't that always the case.

If I am being brutally honest, I will be surprised if we see Dean pulling up trees in the Premier League in the future, however, I wish him luck as I have no axe to grind....just very sad day for him.

 

[TRO]

2 minutes ago, jacketspuds said:

I’m gutted for him that he’s gone. But how many people can they say they took over their boyhood club when it was pretty much rock bottom, steadied the ship and took it back to the PL. Then kept it there for 2 seasons, and in to the 3rd.

However, his record this year speaks for itself and it is understandable why he has now gone. I will be disappointed if the decision was solely based on the last 5 games though.

I would be surprised if it was.

[bobzy]

Gutted he’s been sacked to be honest. 
 

There’s nothing special about our club.