#64 We Need to Talk About Dean Smith

After the first half-dozen or so games under Aston Villa Head Coach, Dean Smith, the 2018/19 season was very much alive. After the turmoil of the summer and a managerial sacking, most Villans were happy that it looked like we’d hit the play-offs come the end of the season.

Smith talked about his obsession with automatic promotion, but MOMS was realistic enough to be happy with a realistic shot at the play-offs, considering what had gone on before.

Considering Smith also hadn’t finished higher than 9th in any league table, caution also suggested one should learn to walk before they got too carried away with running.

Fast-forward to February, just weeks away from the period of the season that Steve Bruce used to fondly refer to as, the time when the daffodils start to appear, and it seems Villa have failed to sew their promotion seeds.

Already, on the topic of Smith’s suitability for the job in-hand, ala Brexit or pretty much anything else on social media, we have now seemingly entered the vortex of binary discourse that strangles the potential to discuss anything rationally with any context or nuance.

There are those who bullishly tell you that Smith is 100% the man for the job, that the current squad is cr*p and the Head Coach needs his own players.

They will tell you we don’t need to talk about Dean Smith.

While on the other side, there are those that feel Smith is completely out of his depth, in what is fast becoming one of the most difficult managerial jobs in the English game.

#SmithOut is already in operation.

Three seasons have flown by in the Championship for Villa, and the problem is, it’s easy to now see why this is Leeds 14th season outside the Premier League, why it’s Sheffield Wednesday’s 19th season and Nottingham Forest’s 20th.

So, with that in mind, Villa can’t afford to do anything blindly now and must give everything proper consideration.

In the latest MOMS podcast, we take a proper look at the Dean Smith situation. What does his time at Brentford and Walsall tell us? How does he stack up in terms of expectations compared to previous Villa managers? Is he REALLY the next Brian Little or Martin O’Neill? Or is a more accurate comparison in terms of Villa’s past with Graham Turner?

Smith has made mistakes and we look at whether these ultimately are a concern or something that he will be addressed given time.

Basically, we wanted to have an adult conversation about the direction Smith is going and potentially could go. This podcast episode is just that.

Hopefully, it will provide listeners with some food for thought.

[A long form article on Dean Smith is incoming on this website too].

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Show Notes

Episode 64 – We Need to Talk About Dean Smith

It’s now just two wins in his last 13 games for Dean Smith at Aston Villa. Is it time to be concerned? Villa now will realistically spend a fourth consecutive season in the Championship. Will there be any more? I think it’s time we talk about Dean Smith.

The second part of the latest MOMS podcast dedicates itself to a big Dean Smith debate, as we discuss recent rather unimpressive performances and results, and look back to signs of concern from his managerial career, so far. Does he ultimately have a lack of pedigree for the Villa task? Does he just need time and a bit more luck? Have some fans been providing false hope about him on social media?

Before David, Dan and Chris get into all matters DS, they also look at the recent games against the Baggies and Smith’s former club, Brentford. They also share their thoughts on the new ‘Part of the Park’ marketing slogan, host a mini ‘Conor Hourihane Show’, pay respects to Gareth Barry, and address racism and toxicity at Villa Park.

Also, outside of the VillaVerse, we look at crazy Italian games, dissolving Franco-Welsh relations and the conclusion of Spygate.

Enjoy!

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Credits:

David Michael – @oldmansaid 

Dan Rodgers – @avfc_vilr

Chris Budd – @BUDD_music

Producer/Editor – David Michael

My Old Man Said – https://myoldmansaid.com

Villa Underground – http://www.villaunderground.com

6 COMMENTS

  1. Yes Jinksy, managers do get judged by results. Just as in every walk of life we are judged, by ourselves & others as to whether we are this or that, whether we have done our best & achieved what we can with what we have, same in all walks of life.
    To have a new man at the helm who got the job because he moulded & shaped a team that showed us how to play football, a brand of football that we envied, then to want him out because he has struggled since the spine of our team got injured, Axel & Jack, and suddenly we are all feeling such doubt and uncertainty and now many believe he is probably not the right man after all. I would get that and not be critical of the doubters, if he had had the time to build, like he did at Brentford. He has not had a chance, simple as that.

    I think the Tories are doing a crap job, but I am realistic enough to know that should they get replaced I will not see an instant turnaround, I will have to have some patience.
    It is the same in all walks of life, change takes time. Yes, we want success, do we believe we can have instant success, instant change? Or does change take some degree of time, however long, depending upon the said circumstances?

    If Grealish stays injury free we may make make the playoffs, for what good it will do. Even if we go up we will come straight back down. There are holes in our squad, defensively & more with some of our strongest players being loan signings with no guarantee that we will still have them next season.

    If we could give Dean Smith a summer transfer window with some funding I honestly believe that we will have a really strong season coming, we may goo up, we may not, but we will be in a position of strength with a team that he has the potential to move forwards playing attractive footy.

    Those that think we should go up this year & stay up are genuinely not living in the real world. Sorry to be so blunt, but the merry go round that us fans can help to perpetuate will only stop if we get real and lower our expectations.

  2. As I mentioned before, In a previous comment that never made it on here, he is the man for the job.
    He has not had a proper chance to build, shape & mould his own team. Some bad results & everyone is asking questions.
    What people seem to not get a handle on is the fact that our squad is not that good, without Jack in the team we are pretty much on a par with most teams in the Championship.

    If Dean gets a proper chance we will have some good times to look forward to, but it will not happen straight away.

    There is no patience with most Villa fans in my opinion. If those of you that do want him out get your wish then I look forward to the same old story repeating at some point soon with the new man in charge.

    I was there when we won the league and as much as I would love a taste of that same success again at some point in the future, it will only happen if we start by being realistic and patient, allowing this new regime to bed in & establish itself and then prosper over time, which is what will happen if Dean Smith stays at the helm, in my opinion.
    If nothing else, we will have attractive football to watch, unlike some of the crap we have seen in recent years.

  3. Well managers in any business get judged by results. That’s what they are paid for. That’s the bottom line. He has 25% wins!! That’s relegation form not play offs. We lose half the team from loans next season and get back another load of useless mo ey grabbing gits. I’m worried he will be gone 12 games into the season. He does not seem to be planning at all for next season. That’s naive and shows his inexperience. I am concerned he like Bruce is just waiting for another transfer window to add to our woes and leave more players on huge wages who will never play. Surely the owners will not allow this

  4. with every new appointment the need for success @ Vila becomes harder as all the top managers on FM think ihey could do better. Trouble is that electronic players don’t have the fragility of human players , yet many of those who claim otherwise have little experience of managi ng humans

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