Dean Smith New Interim Manager - Official

[Happy Fox]

Just now, Stuntman_Mike said:

What kind of set up can we expect from him? 

 

I really hope Shakespeare isn't going to pick Vardy through sentiment. 

Nacho has to start , Vardy impact sub if anything.

[J. James]

11 hours ago, st albans fox said:

Bloody shame that their first outing is at the etihaad but will be interesting to see how they approach it. We know what Brendan would have done 

Not the easiest start but team selection and effort will tell us a lot.

 

Heard that they may well rename their stadium next season to the Etihaal!

[Matt]

 

2 minutes ago, Happy Fox said:

Nacho has to start , Vardy impact sub if anything.

Shakespeare signed Nacho, I don’t know how much Shakey played him - not sure they had all that many games together?

 

Nacho’s been here for a few years now and we all know what he can do so I understand peoples fears about playing Vardy but hopefully Nacho will get the nod more often than not.

[Bazly]

I'm relieved, that its to the end of the season. Who knows what the shake out will need to be at the end of the season, so no point in a new manager on a multi-year contract costing lots of money up front.

 

Undoubtedly if the new team keep us up then they will be offered the job which I think would be a downgrade over Rodgers. It does seem to be a trend though, Chelsea got rid of Tuchel and now is back with Lampard, that cannot be an upgrade in anyone's books and is destined for tears - again. Similarly, I cannot see Smith being a long term prospect.

[Fox92]

We will stay up.

He will do it.

[ALC Fox]

17 minutes ago, Tielemans63 said:

Sorry if this has been posted already, but what an absolute mouthpiece this guy is:

 

 

Doesn't even make sense!

I'm not the biggest fan of Tanner's output. Sometimes it's okay but I do question whether he has the inside track as much as he claims.

 

But I do understand the thinking behind what he's saying. That is, we can't be sure what division we're going to be in so it was better to get an interim coach in and then see what we can do, rather than appoint a permanent coach who can't take us in the direction we want after the summer.

 

Whether that's true or not I don't know. If it is, we must have completely abandoned those thoughts as soon as Potter became available, if the reports that we offered him the job are to be believed. Or perhaps that was even a case of the #1 choice to replace Rodgers over the last few seasons having suddenly and unexpectedly become available, which forced us to act quickly but ultimately unsuccessfully.

 

Marsch is also a bit of a project manager I think. I reckon he'll do a decent job at a club where he'll get the time to implement his ideas. But the prevailing sentiment about American managers in this country will really hinder him here, unfortunately.

[Lcfc-1992]

1 hour ago, Sambiasso said:

That and outstanding loans we've taken out against future TV money. 

Would the sales of Maddison, Barnes and a few others not cover it?

[weller54]

30 minutes ago, 5waller5 said:

Winners delegate note taking:

 

 

 

 

How'd you spell Rebekah/Rebecca/Rebbeca?

[KFS]

19 minutes ago, Chelmofox said:

Is joe wicks on the coaching staff ?

Got to be better than that creep on the training videos constantly telling them to ‘come inside’

[Clever Fox]

If we are going to stay up we need a change of system as BRs clearly didn't work.

Nacho has to play in the hole on the right and Madison on the left.

The other big problem is we have no one to lead the line. Maybe just stick Souttar up there to win the Ball in front of the defence and bring others into play.

We also need Youri back with Mendy to retain better ball control. I'd also bring in Ndiddi in as a roaming CB to break up play .

And we need Evans experience to lead and control the defense.

With the right spirit from the players we can do it.

[Leicesterpool]

Is Smith allowed to recall Albrighton if he wanted to

[Beachyboy]

2 hours ago, Ric Flair said:

Hahahahaa it's an interesting angle.

 

I suspect though he's got a nice £5m bonus coming his way if he keeps us up and he'll have seen how loyal and rewarding our owners are in regards to an extension.

 

But if he does keep us up from here then his reputation is restored and he'll walk in to another PL gig next season.

Smith is a builder apparently, if he does a good enough job he's worthy of at least a 12 month contract. I wouldn't be too impressed with the club if he does a good job, an they just go thanks, an bring in Potter. It's hypocritical after keeping Rogers far too long, to then just get rid of a guy if he does a good job.

[indierich06]

Actually feeling pretty positive about this, given the names we've been linked with recently. Glad it's more of a 'team' than just one man expected to come in and turn things around.

 

It is very clear that the players are absolutely bereft of confidence at the minute. From Maddison's comments recently - "we'll be fine, we win comfortably on another day" - it seems like the players thought it was more a case of bad form, or that they were in denial and thought that they weren't really in a relegation battle - now their manager has gone, they're in the relegation zone, and they're all worrying and no-one seems to know what to do. I think the two games with Sadler and Stowell have actually made things worse.

The key thing for Smith & his assistants to do is get the players back to basics, and try and instill some confidence and belief. The squad IS good enough to avoid relegation, but it will take some doing and they will need to find some form quickly. I think the manner of the performance against Man City is what matters, rather than the result - give them a game, and try and build some confidence.

[elvisfmcfly]

2 minutes ago, Beachyboy said:

Smith is a builder apparently, if he does a good enough job he's worthy of at least a 12 month contract. I wouldn't be too impressed with the club if he does a good job, an they just go thanks, an bring in Potter. It's hypocritical after keeping Rogers far too long, to then just get rid of a guy if he does a good job.

Never hire the caretaker. 

[FoxesWalk]

I’m not overly inspired and I do think it’s too late (hope I am wrong), but I would back Smith and co to get us out of the Championship. 

[Foxdiamond]

34 minutes ago, Fox92 said:

We will stay up.

He will do it.

If Dean and Co keep us up that will be a wonderful achievement bearing in mind we have Man C first up. He will deserve to be offered the job for longer

[Claudio Fannieri]

Highly unlikely Dean Smith would have appeared on any fans list as a potential successor to Rodgers, however seeing a lot of the positive feedback and insight from Villa fans, plus alongside Shakey and JT, I have to say i am quite excited about the remainder of the season. 
 

What has impressed me is Smith and team want to be here and we’re prepared to come in and work under the clubs terms rather than try and hold a gun to the clubs head and force a long term contract on decent money. Smith is clearly backing himself and his team to come

in and make a positive impact and contribution to this season. 
 

He seems like a very similar character to Nigel Pearson and given his reputation as a builder and working on longer term projects, he could be just the person we need to help the rebuild regardless of the division we start the next season in. 
 

Did an excellent job with Villa getting them promoted, keeping them up and getting them to a League Cup Final, struggled in the initial period after they sold Grealish and the new signings bedded in and I think had Villa given him more time for the team to gel he would have continued to be a success, it just felt Villa wanted a more fashionable name and wanted Gerrard, which didn’t really work out.

 

As for Norwich, they were down and buried before he took over, and when he was sacked they were in the play off positions, and since he has left they don’t seem to have kicked on. 
 

I really hope he gets a tune out of the squad and we see an upturn in results and performances that gives everyone associated with our club a much need lift and gives optimism for next season regardless of the division we find ourselves in. 
 

 

Edited 11 April 2023 by Claudio Fannieri

[Lesta2014]

Guessing there was a meeting between him and the players before training today! I hope the official site upload pics and video clips of first session. I hope to see the players smiling again and a different look to sessions if there is any clips included. 

[WigstonWanderer]

1 hour ago, SheppyFox said:

Whatever happens, show some bottle and go for it at Man City. If you setup to defend, it’s game over. They’re too good and will score against us, we need to throw caution to the wind and take a chance, literally a free hit with nothing to lose.

Part of me says this, and the other part worries about our goal difference 

[Rich1874]

Villa fan in peace. My old man was born and bred a Fox so always had an interest in you guys. Give Smith a chance. He's not a better than Rodgers of season 1-3, but he is better than Rodgers when he drops off a cliff as he seems to everywhere he goes. Getting Terry is a big bonus, Smith struggled with us after JT left so that's a real positive. I wouldn't be shocked to see our old keeper coach Neil Cutler arrive, and Martinez reckons he's the best keeper coach in the business so might help, although not letting Ward near the goal seems the easiest solution. 

 

Smith will go to Maddison and make him feel a million dollars. No one, even in his current form at Man City, has got anything close to what Smith got from Grealish. He was unplayable almost every game, free to cause havoc from the left. I'd be amazed if Maddison isn't given the same role, same freedom and as he has a better end product, will probably do enough to see you safe. We were 5 points from safety at one point and Smith found 4 wins from nowhere. Have a bit of faith, you have the players on paper to do it. 

[Foxdiamond]

2 minutes ago, Claudio Fannieri said:

Highly unlikely Dean Smith would have appeared on any fans list as a potential successor to Rodgers, however seeing a lot of the positive feedback and insight from Villa fans, plus alongside Shakey and JT, I have to say i am quite excited about the remainder of the season. 
 

What has impressed me is Smith and team want to be here and we’re prepared to come in and work under the clubs terms rather than try and hold a gun to the clubs head and force a long term contract on decent money. Smith is clearly backing himself and his team to come

in and make a positive impact and contribution to this season. 
 

He seems like a very similar character to Nigel Pearson and given his reputation as a builder and working on longer term projects, he could be just the person we need to help the rebuild regardless of the division we start the next season in. 
 

Did an excellent job with Villa getting them promoted, keeping them up and getting them to a League Cup Final, struggled in the initial period after they sold Grealish and the new signings bedded in and I think had Villa given him more time for the team to gel he would have continued to be a success, it just felt Villa wanted a more fashionable name and wanted Gerrard, which didn’t really work out.

 

As for Norwich, they were down and buried before he took over, and when he was sacked they were in the play off positions, and since he has left they don’t seem to have kicked on. 
 

I really hope he gets a tune out of the squad and we see an upturn in results and performances that gives everyone associated with our club a much need lift and gives optimism for next season regardless of the division we find ourselves in. 
 

 

The fact that a lot of Villa fans still have positive views on Dean is encouraging 

[BlueFox789]

28 minutes ago, Clever Fox said:

If we are going to stay up we need a change of system as BRs clearly didn't work.

Nacho has to play in the hole on the right and Madison on the left.

The other big problem is we have no one to lead the line. Maybe just stick Souttar up there to win the Ball in front of the defence and bring others into play.

We also need Youri back with Mendy to retain better ball control. I'd also bring in Ndiddi in as a roaming CB to break up play .

And we need Evans experience to lead and control the defense.

With the right spirit from the players we can do it.

Dont know about 'Clever' fox..

[Sambiasso]

25 minutes ago, Lcfc-1992 said:

Would the sales of Maddison, Barnes and a few others not cover it?

With so many players needing replacing in the summer

Lots of players then have 12months left which lowers their value
Values drop due too, being in the championship
Players on eyewatering wages 
Only new signings have relegation wage clauses in their contract.
Loans already taken out against TV money.

All in all it doesn't bode well for us long term.

 

[FerrisBueller]

I’m still convinced we are going down, but watching the interview with him, I feel slightly more hopeful than I did previously. Maybe it’s his middle management of a a car dealership appearance, but I’ve fell for that before with Brendan.

[KFS]

4 minutes ago, Rich1874 said:

Villa fan in peace. My old man was born and bred a Fox so always had an interest in you guys. Give Smith a chance. He's not a better than Rodgers of season 1-3, but he is better than Rodgers when he drops off a cliff as he seems to everywhere he goes. Getting Terry is a big bonus, Smith struggled with us after JT left so that's a real positive. I wouldn't be shocked to see our old keeper coach Neil Cutler arrive, and Martinez reckons he's the best keeper coach in the business so might help, although not letting Ward near the goal seems the easiest solution. 

 

Smith will go to Maddison and make him feel a million dollars. No one, even in his current form at Man City, has got anything close to what Smith got from Grealish. He was unplayable almost every game, free to cause havoc from the left. I'd be amazed if Maddison isn't given the same role, same freedom and as he has a better end product, will probably do enough to see you safe. We were 5 points from safety at one point and Smith found 4 wins from nowhere. Have a bit of faith, you have the players on paper to do it. 

Love this. Thanks mate