Dean Smith New Interim Manager - Official

[sacreblueits442]

27 minutes ago, CrazyKopCorner said:

How come in a day of sports science are they so fuching unfit? 

 

I would have thought that they would be non stop running by this stage of the season and playing for their lives 

 

The fact they are are little lambs to the slaughter and Maddison comes out and confirms that they weren't up for it is unforgivable 

 

Get shot of the lot of them - start again, bring in the youth and those who will put their heart and soul into the club and careers 

...the whole club is built and works in the same fashion!!!

  Do not expect anything different from the students,  they have the same mentality as the first team.

[funkyrobot]

When you try and think of a team line up for Liverpool, you realise what Smith faces when trying to select and manage this absolute state of a team. Obviously Iversen plays and Smith’s bizarre binning of Mendy is his major mistake but after that he’s got to choose between players playing very poorly. Thomas or VK? Faes or Souttar? Barnes or Daka? KDH or Soumare? Youri or Soumare? Ndidi? Tete? Praet? Maddison positioned centrally? He’s having to revisit players that have already been ejected from the 1st team for poor performances as their replacements have been no better or even worse. We should’ve sticked with Rodgers until the bitter end. We would’ve been still relegated but at least Rodgers would have it on his record and Dean Smith wouldn’t be getting the interim manager humiliation that our players are now subjecting him to. 

[Daggers]

8 hours ago, l444ry said:

Smith and his crew took on a poisoned chalice so they can't be blamed for the shambles Rodgers (and Stowell/Sadler) left them. But I can't get my head around why he's kept picking the walking timebomb that is Soumare then whine that the midfield is too open. 

And yet loads were on Monday. 
 

I am constantly amazed with how narrow some see the world and how desperately poor their memories are. It’s why I think we should do away with democracy and just make me the benevolent dictator. 

[fazzyfox]

I’ve just read his comments on the club website re the Fulham game, the shock and surprise at what was happening. Wish someone would ask him why he thought it would be a good idea to go away from home without a recognised DM. That’s a big reason why Fulham’s attacks were like a hot knife through butter, there’s a reason teams put someone there to protect the defence, it’s fundamental not optional.

[HankMarvin]

  

“Leicester's punt on Smith has backfired 

When they parted company with Brendan Rodgers last month, Leicester were already in deep trouble after slipping into the relegation zone. 

The decision to axe a coach who previously guided them to successive fifth-place finishes and an FA Cup came purely out of desperation to avoid the drop. Why, then, did they decide to take a punt on Dean Smith, a Championship-level manager whose top-flight credentials have never been proven?

Smith's greatest managerial achievement to date was masterminding Aston Villa's success in the 2019 Championship playoffs. The following season, up in the Premier League, they narrowly avoided relegation by a single point after spending close to £150million in the transfer market

The former Walsall and Brentford boss was then sacked early in the next season after a run of five straight defeats, before suffering relegation with Norwich last season and eventually losing his job there in December. Thus, the decision to rest their Premier League hopes on his shoulders was always a gamble.

Leicester can't have many complaints if they drop to the Championship after hiring a second-tier coach.”

[Phil Bowman]

3 hours ago, Daggers said:

And yet loads were on Monday. 
 

I am constantly amazed with how narrow some see the world and how desperately poor their memories are. It’s why I think we should do away with democracy and just make me the benevolent dictator. 

People are idiots.

When I need an escape from small-minded moronic bigots, I thank the lord for FoxesTalk.

[oxtonfox]

I don’t blame Dean Smith at all. This team was mentally brittle since day 1 of this season and the rot was setting in some time before. Last summer was a disaster, not Rodgers fault, but his stubbornness in team selection, and poor in game management has cost us dearly. The board must shoulder blame too for going missing through the season. 

[Blue-fox]

If Smith hadn’t came in, we would already be dead and buried. He’s gave us half a chance. 
 

I honestly don’t believe we would have got a single point keeping Rodgers here until the end of the season. 

[STUHILL]

12 minutes ago, HankMarvin said:

  

“Leicester's punt on Smith has backfired 

When they parted company with Brendan Rodgers last month, Leicester were already in deep trouble after slipping into the relegation zone. 

The decision to axe a coach who previously guided them to successive fifth-place finishes and an FA Cup came purely out of desperation to avoid the drop. Why, then, did they decide to take a punt on Dean Smith, a Championship-level manager whose top-flight credentials have never been proven?

Smith's greatest managerial achievement to date was masterminding Aston Villa's success in the 2019 Championship playoffs. The following season, up in the Premier League, they narrowly avoided relegation by a single point after spending close to £150million in the transfer market

The former Walsall and Brentford boss was then sacked early in the next season after a run of five straight defeats, before suffering relegation with Norwich last season and eventually losing his job there in December. Thus, the decision to rest their Premier League hopes on his shoulders was always a gamble.

Leicester can't have many complaints if they drop to the Championship after hiring a second-tier coach.”

Wonder who they would have suggested then? Or worse, are they implying we should have kept hold of Bodgers? 

[oxtonfox]

2 hours ago, fazzyfox said:

I’ve just read his comments on the club website re the Fulham game, the shock and surprise at what was happening. Wish someone would ask him why he thought it would be a good idea to go away from home without a recognised DM. That’s a big reason why Fulham’s attacks were like a hot knife through butter, there’s a reason teams put someone there to protect the defence, it’s fundamental not optional.

I was surprised at this after we showed this vulnerability against Everton. 3 central mids  was a must away from home and especially in this game. Bad decision that was exposed ruthlessly. A bigger concern though was the lack of application in general. That really shocked me and showed the team is simply not up for it mentally. 

[Tielemans63]

I don't blame Smith for any of this, obviously. However, I also don't think he's that great. He doesn't have great options but that line up v Fulham was an accident waiting to happen.

 

Would be disappointed if he got the gig permanently. Just a bang average manager imho.

 

[st albans fox]

3 minutes ago, STUHILL said:

Wonder who they would have suggested then? Or worse, are they implying we should have kept hold of Bodgers? 

Yes 

assumng we go down, the narrative will be that we let rodgers down with recruitment and then denied him the opportunity to keep us up ! 

[Bayfox]

34 minutes ago, Tielemans63 said:

I don't blame Smith for any of this, obviously. However, I also don't think he's that great. He doesn't have great options but that line up v Fulham was an accident waiting to happen.

 

Would be disappointed if he got the gig permanently. Just a bang average manager imho.

 

He won't be getting it if Fulham was part of his job interview, playing youri and soumare was as bad as anything rodgers cooked up.

[ian__marshall]

Smith's far from prime Guardiola but he's been dealt a very sh*t hand.

 

I imagine he thought prior to taking the job that it'd be a relatively easy fix, I.e. Increase the work rate and organisation and the quality will shine through as they're just lacking confidence.

 

Instead I bet he wishes he never agreed to take on the role. Clearly the squad are way off the rest league in terms of fitness and that's not something you can address in 8 games. Add to that player's that have clearly been mismanaged in terms of conditioning, rehabilitation, and recovery, preventing him bringing in the likes of Ricardo, Evans, and taking a closer look at Vestergaard, whilst seeing his best player in Iheanacho miss crucial games has clearly impacted the options open to him. 

 

Also, it's becoming clear as day how unbalanced the squad is. We seriously lack energy and height/physical presence in the centre of the park, and we're restricted to one half decent wide player who turns it on once every four games but offers absolutely nothing out of possession to support the team. 

 

The contract situation is a joke meaning that he's faced with the dilemma of putting blind faith in talented players who have their eyes firmly on lucrative contracts elsewhere and aren't willing to dig deep in the event they pick up an injury and jeopardise a move, or gamble on lads who have half the talent and lack that little bit of magic to turn a draw into a victory but will run through brick walls as they know full well that failure will mean Championship football next season. 

 

I'm not making excuses for him as he has made some mistakes, the omission of Mendy being one (unless there's more to it that hasn't been divulged, not ITK just seems odd he didn't even make the bench). However, I can imagine that him and his backroom staff have been completely shocked at the state of the situation that they've inherited from someone who many in the football world seem to think is an elite coach.

 

Unfortunately the options to change things up really are very limited and I can understand why he hasn't been able to address some of the glaringly obvious issues that we as fans see such as the nonexistent midfield as the reality of the situation is that we simply don't have the players needed to sure things up. 

 

Given the circumstances I'd be willing to give him next season as I think a) he'd get us up to speed physically so that we can at least compete, and b) he'd have the opportunity to bring in new players and rebalance the squad.

 

That said if either he chooses not to take on the role or the club actually pursue someone half decent (not that Martin chap) then I will certainly be understanding of the situation should a different manager be in the hot seat come next season. 

[Tuna]

2 hours ago, HankMarvin said:

  

“Leicester's punt on Smith has backfired 

When they parted company with Brendan Rodgers last month, Leicester were already in deep trouble after slipping into the relegation zone. 

The decision to axe a coach who previously guided them to successive fifth-place finishes and an FA Cup came purely out of desperation to avoid the drop. Why, then, did they decide to take a punt on Dean Smith, a Championship-level manager whose top-flight credentials have never been proven?

Smith's greatest managerial achievement to date was masterminding Aston Villa's success in the 2019 Championship playoffs. The following season, up in the Premier League, they narrowly avoided relegation by a single point after spending close to £150million in the transfer market

The former Walsall and Brentford boss was then sacked early in the next season after a run of five straight defeats, before suffering relegation with Norwich last season and eventually losing his job there in December. Thus, the decision to rest their Premier League hopes on his shoulders was always a gamble.

Leicester can't have many complaints if they drop to the Championship after hiring a second-tier coach.”

What a load of shit.

 

5 points out of 12 which is a lot more than Rodgers was getting before he was sacked.

[Leicesterpool]

Smith must have looked at the squad on paper and seen the names of maddison, vardy, pereira, Barnes, dewsbury-Hall, nacho, ndidi and tielemans. Must have thought wow some talent there. Arrives to find a squad of players ready to leave and disinterested.

[HankMarvin]

2 hours ago, Tuna said:

What a load of shit.

 

5 points out of 12 which is a lot more than Rodgers was getting before he was sacked.

if you’re going to say something is a load of shit at least get the amount of games right it’s 5

 

Averaging a point a game, rodgers averaged  0.89

that point a game could be down to point 0.7 in 2 games 

[whoareyaaa]

If Nacho didn’t get injured then it would have made Deans task a lot easier losing nacho has ****ed us and any chance Smith had in keeping us safe 

[Leicesterpool]

It's harsh to blame any manager who's given seven games to keep you in the league with the squad and options we have. Deano I'd say has already got a lot more out of Vardy, than Rodgers has in two seasons so there's a positive note. 

 

Deano though as got realise that neither Tielemans or Soumare are good enough to keep us in the league. Best option is to throw Ndidi and Dewsbury Hall back into the starting XI. 

Edited 10 May 2023 by Leicesterpool

[An Sionnach]

Smith has been left with a disfunctioning  midfield. Every combination of midfielder has been tried with limited success. Little protection for the defense ,slow movement and bar Maddison not much creativity. In truth there is not much he can do now bar try to motivate them if only for the sake of their careers.

[Leicesterpool]

Wouldn't surprise me if Deano has tried to convince Terry to consider to come out of retirement for the last three games. Just try anything to sort that backline out.

[Rusko187]

Happy for him to stay in for the remainder of the season, previously thought that we should give him next season too but I'm not sure that would be for the best. I don't hold any blame against him, it's a mess that's been brought on by the previous manager, the board, owner and players.. Dean has only had a few games to try and make an impact but the rot is deep in this club.

 

Think it's best for all parties that this club has a thorough shake up, players, board, manager, coaches... the lot!

[RoboFox]

I'm not sure it really mattered who came in IMO. It could've been Delia Smith and we'd probably be in the same position.

 

The club panicked and were hedging their bets on the weight of Rodgers' ego being lifted from the squad sufficiently enough to ensure a fabled "new manager bounce" to drag us out of trouble.

 

Smith seems like a decent guy who's probably out of his depth. None of this is his fault, and I'm sure he's as shocked as anyone at the state of some of the so-called footballers he's inherited. 

 

He isn't the long term solution when we're in the Championship, either. We need a complete clear out and reset. Valiant effort, but it just didn't work out. 

 

[Blue ROI]

Smith wasn't the most inspiring appointment but 5 points out of 12 isnt a bad return. Over the course of a season thats safety assured.

 

The buck stops with Rodgers though. Don't let any clueless reporters tell you otherwise.

[foxfanazer]

Nobody could have fixed the mess left by that ****. We've picked up more points than we would've done by keeping him though. As we know it was all left too late. Too many ostriches