Michael Bailey confirms: Smith offered job.

[Feedthewolf 4,846]

 

[Ken Hairy 3,771]

Absolutely and utterly gutted, but will obviously give the guy full support. 

[Feedthewolf 4,846]

Just now, Ken Hairy said:

Absolutely and utterly gutted, but will obviously give the guy full support. 

I wouldn't go that far, but 'underwhelmed' would certainly fit my feelings towards the appointment.

[Graham Paddons Beard 2,429]

Underwhelmed doesn’t come close 

What a shambles . 

[graz 22]

Not excited but not overly upset tbh. Just a bit 'meh'. 

[alex_ncfc 662]

If you're going to sack Farke you need to have something exciting lined up. 

This isn't it. 

[Coneys Knee 952]

Massively disappointing if this happens. This whole scenario is shambolic.  Worrying for Webber and above, because if this doesn’t work out, they’ll be the ones in the firing line. 

[keelansgrandad 6,679]

How is he any better than DF? We have seen the board act weird on occasions and this is up there.

But we have to get on with it and have to hope he is the answer. 

But each time this happens, my belief in the board diminishes.

[WD40 720]

Let’s see where we are at the end of this crucial run of games. But it’s all rather embarrassing. 

[TheGunnShow 5,937]

Smacks of a second-choice case as ultimately he was still at Villa before the decision was made to relieve Farke of his duties.

Gut instinct, and I can't make that clear enough, tells me they wanted Knutsen first but his unwillingness to leave before the end of the season scotched it.

[RugbyCanary 94]

I think the previous term ..........'meh'............ Sums it up if true

[Terminally Yellow 2,448]

Just now, Graham Paddons Beard said:

Underwhelmed doesn’t come close 

What a shambles . 

Nonsense. 

There is no perfect candidate. Smith ticks a whole load of boxes.

Recent experience in Premier League relegation fight ✔️

Experience of promotion from the Championship ✔️

Experience of developing players ✔️

Passing, attacking football ✔️

My concerns? 

Sacked from his previous job being unable to turn around fortunes 

Criticism over his ability to organise the club's defence. 

For me, he's a significantly better candidate than Lampard and possibly the most appealing out of work manager after Lucien Favre. Wouldn't have been my choice, but as I said I'm not sure who I would have gone for personally.

[RugbyCanary 94]

Just now, TheGunnShow said:

Smacks of a second-choice case as ultimately he was still at Villa before the decision was made to relieve Farke of his duties.

Gut instinct, and I can't make that clear enough, tells me they wanted Knutsen first but his unwillingness to leave before the end of the season scotched it.

If this were true, surely, a stopgap could have been found......I think kk would have been a good fit here too

[Robert N. LiM 4,329]

Surprised by all the negativity. This, from a grateful Villa fan, is worth a read. In particular, it gave me a new perspective on the £150m Villa spent after promotion. 

 

[alex_ncfc 662]

[Robert N. LiM 4,329]

1 minute ago, alex_ncfc said:

That tweet is self-contradictory. If he's better than Lampard then calling him third choice is meaningless. Reeks of club-bashing without information.

[Pugin 601]

I am very happy to judge him solely on performances and results. He starts with an entirely clean record. The signs are that he is a good man.

[hogesar 9,657]

With Shakespeare makes me feel a bit better. Experienced number 2

[Feedthewolf 4,846]

Trying to temper my disappointment by looking at the positives.

Has worked his way up through the divisions, so has great knowledge and experience of the English game at all levels.

Is well-liked and respected, seems like a positive bloke with a good demeanour.

Reports suggest he was extremely knowledgeable and positive about our club, its infrastructure and its philosophy.

In his time at Brentford particularly, he had them playing an attacking and attractive style on a shoestring budget.

All players (including, importantly, Cantwell) will have a clean slate and an opportunity to impress.

On the flipside, the guy needs results fast. If he starts with two or three defeats, it may not take long for the crowd to turn on Webber...

[All the Germans 1,075]

Farke > Smith > Lampard.

 

Edit - added Lampard for reference.

Edited November 13, 2021 by All the Germans

[Macey 5]

1 minute ago, TheGunnShow said:

Smacks of a second-choice case as ultimately he was still at Villa before the decision was made to relieve Farke of his duties.

Gut instinct, and I can't make that clear enough, tells me they wanted Knutsen first but his unwillingness to leave before the end of the season scotched it.

Agree with most of this, though I actually think Smith was 3rd choice. My gut feeling is they wanted Knutsen but as you say he wanted to see the season out with his team and wouldn't come, so they turned to Lampard and then Smith. It's clear Smith wasn't even in Webbers thoughts because he was still at Villa at the time of Farkes sacking. All we will hear now is how impressive Smith was during his interview.... 

Yes he kept Villa up but he's spend a hell of a lot of money in that time, you'd expect them to stay up with the squad they had. For me I don't think he fits with what the club wants to do, the culture that has been built etc.

[Robert N. LiM 4,329]

4 minutes ago, TheGunnShow said:

Gut instinct, and I can't make that clear enough, tells me they wanted Knutsen first but his unwillingness to leave before the end of the season scotched it.

Or, they wanted Knutsen but after interviewing Smith, concluded he was the better bet. PL experience, knows the team already, much more likely to hit the ground running. 

This is gut instinct too. But most of the sense of shambles that people have been referring to has come from premature reporting, often by news sources linked to betting firms. We don't know what has gone on behind the scenes.

[Branston Pickle 3,654]

Just now, RugbyCanary said:

If this were true, surely, a stopgap could have been found......I think kk would have been a good fit here too

Based on what?

It’s astonishing how people are looking at Smith, with huge experience in this country and recently in the English top flight, and going ‘meh, this is underwhelming’, whilst at the same time wanting a guy who has never managed away from a very weak Norway league.  It makes little sense to me.

 

[Graham Paddons Beard 2,429]

3 minutes ago, Terminally Yellow said:

Nonsense. 

There is no perfect candidate. Smith ticks a whole load of boxes.

Recent experience in Premier League relegation fight ✔️

Experience of promotion from the Championship ✔️

Experience of developing players ✔️

Passing, attacking football ✔️

My concerns? 

Sacked from his previous job being unable to turn around fortunes 

Criticism over his ability to organise the club's defence. 

For me, he's a significantly better candidate than Lampard and possibly the most appealing out of work manager after Lucien Favre. Wouldn't have been my choice, but as I said I'm not sure who I would have gone for personally.

It isn’t nonsense. We have ended up with 3rd choice - possibly even 4th. 
 

Sacking a manager 2 hours after a win , only to appoint a manager who wasn’t even available at the time is , I repeat , shambolic. 
 

Whether Smith is successful is not the point I’m making . But we have ended up with a guy (and a coach) apparently not good enough for a relegation rival . But good enough for us . 

[Yella Army 57]

1 minute ago, hogesar said:

With Shakespeare makes me feel a bit better. Experienced number 2

I agree. He is a very very good number 2 and I am very pleased to see him as part of the set up.

[Capt. Pants 4,225]

A better choice than Lampard but it doesn't make it right.

If you expected the evolution of our club and this fkucing project was to sell our best player, sack the manager and appoint someone on the face of it even worse, you would have laughed.

Fcuking shambles.

[TheGunnShow 5,937]

Just now, Robert N. LiM said:

Or, they wanted Knutsen but after interviewing Smith, concluded he was the better bet. PL experience, knows the team already, much more likely to hit the ground running. 

This is gut instinct too. But most of the sense of shambles that people have been referring to has come from premature reporting, often by news sources linked to betting firms. We don't know what has gone on behind the scenes.

Yeah, that is also possible - if Webber realised that Smith had become available and fancied it, why not give the interview?

[Ward 3 372]

9 minutes ago, alex_ncfc said:

If you're going to sack Farke you need to have something exciting lined up. 

This isn't it. 

Exactly!! Smith obviously wasn't 1st choice either as we sacked farke before smith got the boot. At least the surname fits 

[cambridgeshire canary 6,704]

One of the most 'meh' appointments in a long time.

 

Smith still had a job at Villa when Farke was fired so clearlry far from first choice, hell he was most likely never even considered.

[Feedthewolf 4,846]

Just now, Branston Pickle said:

Based on what?

It’s astonishing how people are looking at Smith, with huge experience in this country and recently in the English top flight, and going ‘meh, this is underwhelming’, whilst at the same time wanting a guy who has never managed away from a very weak Norway league.  It makes little sense to me.

Absolutely this. Knutsen is appealing to people because he represents the unknown, whereas Smith is a more 'solid' appointment, hence the lack of excitement. Only time will tell whether it was worth rolling the dice, but let's not forget how awful our season was pre-Brentford (when the decision was made to remove Daniel).