Michael Bailey confirms: Smith offered job.

[Wings of a Sparrow 1,414]

Jeez. I can't believe all the negativity.

At least let's see what the guy can do. 

[Ward 3 372]

Get Craig Fleming and malky in. F..k it

[Ken Hairy 3,772]

2 minutes ago, Graham Paddons Beard said:

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 . 

That's the damming part for me, Villa aren't or rather shouldn't be a relegation rival the fact that they've turned into one since Terry left leaves me feeling massively worried about the rest of this season now. 

Smith without Terry smacks of Lambert without Culverhouse. 

[Danke bitte 965]

My mates a Villa fan, massively gutted he was sacked as he felt he was starting to galvanise a squad bereft of Grealish. I’m not disappointed, think it’s a solid appointment. 

[TheGunnShow 5,940]

6 minutes ago, Macey said:

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.

Could readily argue he's got more experience of that culture with his time at Brentford though. He got them right up at the sharp end of the Championship, Frank got them over the line.

[Kenny Foggo 1,116]

6 minutes ago, 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.

Or they wanted Knutsen and his club wanted compensation and we wouldn't pay it... who knows. Time to get behind the new guy.

[PurpleCanary 5,557]

I know football fans have conveniently short memories but have posters who a week or so back were slagging off Farke for his W6 D8 L35 Premier League record forgotten quite so soon?

[Mario Harpershite 20]

11 minutes ago, Robert N. LiM said:

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. 

 

That from a Villa fan does a beautiful job of revising how successful he was at Brentford by the way.
 

Warburton got the Playoffs the season before him and he got them three mid table finishes before leaving for Villa after which Frank got them to the playoffs again. 
 

I’m ambivalent about this appointment and will give him a chance but let’s not pretend he’s been an unqualified success wherever he has been. 

[Robert N. LiM 4,338]

1 minute ago, Ken Hairy said:

Villa aren't or rather shouldn't be a relegation rival the fact that they've turned into one

Do you really think they have, though? From the outside, Smith's sacking looked like a pretty knee-jerk reaction to a poor run. 

[bringbackchippy 51]

Well happy with Smith.

Good loyal guy, his teams  play good football.

[Wings of a Sparrow 1,414]

3 minutes ago, Ken Hairy said:

That's the damming part for me, Villa aren't or rather shouldn't be a relegation rival the fact that they've turned into one since Terry left leaves me feeling massively worried about the rest of this season now. 

Smith without Terry smacks of Lambert without Culverhouse. 

You weren't worried about the rest of the season before?

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,749]

Dean Smith and Craig Shakespeare is a safe enough pair of hands

Smith could then do a lot worse than get his ex Sheff Weds team mate Grant Holt onto the coaching team for a bit of inside knowlege.

'If' he comes , he obviously wants the job and thats a big plus where others might possibly think we're a lost cause 

Another bonus is that he's straight back on the horse, without being out of the game for any length of time....he could have easily wanted to take a bit of time out

All of the preperation and dossiers and work he would have on premier league opposition can be immediately transferred

...he'll be motivated, he'll want to show Villa they were wrong

Its maybe not what we were expecting but it could have been a lot worse than this.

[Robert N. LiM 4,338]

1 minute ago, Kenny Foggo said:

Or they wanted Knutsen and his club wanted compensation and we wouldn't pay it... who knows. Time to get behind the new guy.

Quite. No one on here knows. And yes, let's get behind him.

[Terminally Yellow 2,448]

7 minutes ago, Graham Paddons Beard said:

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

Please do enlighten me as to who the top two choices are? Because as I see it three candidates have always been on the shortlist but Dean is reportedly the only person offered the job.

[Branston Pickle 3,656]

1 minute ago, Feedthewolf said:

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).

Thing is, Knutsen was my original choice - but would have been a massive gamble, and as it went in I decided/realised that was the ‘romantic’ rather than ‘sensible’ choice.  

Imo far better to get a guy with shed loads of experience, who knows the game inside out in this country, has managed at all levels and is soneone we’d have never managed to get up until last weekend. He’s not a glamorous name to our fans, but I’m sure will win them round. The ridiculous media circus around FL meant that to me he’d have been a bad appointment.

[Wings of a Sparrow 1,414]

Who did people honestly think we would be able to attract, who's available?

I'm right behind the new man. 

[hogesar 9,658]

3 minutes ago, Kenny Foggo said:

Or they wanted Knutsen and his club wanted compensation and we wouldn't pay it... who knows. Time to get behind the new guy.

Compensation for a manager at a club in Norway would be absolutely minimal, not even vaguely close to Farkes pay off so wouldn't be an issue.

[Virtual reality 707]

Pathetic and desperate appointment. Comes in on the back of a 5 game losing run and lost his ‘dream’ job. 

Edited November 13, 2021 by Virtual reality

[Monty13 2,231]

19 minutes ago, keelansgrandad said:

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.

Well his record at this level is considerably better, that’s probably the main reason he’s coming and Farkes gone.

[PurpleCanary 5,557]

1 minute ago, Terminally Yellow said:

Please do enlighten me as to who the top two choices are? Because as I see it three candidates have always been on the shortlist but Dean is reportedly the only person offered the job.

I think it is credible that Knutsen was the first choice but wouldn't budge over the end of season thing. No evidence that Lampard was second. He may well have approached us to inquire about the job rather than the other way round.

[Robert N. LiM 4,338]

2 minutes ago, Mario Harper****e said:

Warburton got the Playoffs the season before him and he got them three mid table finishes before leaving for Villa after which Frank got them to the playoffs again.

Fair enough. Didn't know that. From my limited knowledge he seems to have pros and cons. But so would any coach. Happy to get behind him.

[Olano 100]

8 minutes ago, Feedthewolf said:

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).

Knutsen from 1 of january is much beter then this.

I have seen 90 prosent og Glimts games the last 4 years.

 

This is the hardest day for me as a Norwich supporter in the 30 years I have supporter the club. This is a huge mistake

[Fiery Zac 1,066]

The reactions here are very amusing, but I simply don’t understand all the scepticism.

Clearly a better choice than Lampard having got a team promoted from the championship and then kept them in the PL.

Clearly a better choice than KK, at least for this season. We are trying to stay in the PL - a league Smith has worked in for the last 2 years and kept a team in. KK has never managed in the PL or even at anywhere near the same level. Going with KK would have been admitting we’re  probably going down and planning for the longer term.

So what he wasn’t originally first choice. When he became available, maybe to Webber he immediately became first choice as is clearly better than KK and Lampard.

Very impressive football at Brentford and laid the foundations for what they have achieved in getting to the PL.

Villa fans I speak to say he’s been really unlucky with injuries and having to transform the squad with so many new players. Consensus is he should have been given more time.

Highly thought of for a while so arguably something of a coup to get him in.

PL experience and survival experience is key for an immediate change in our results. Decent appointment for me.

[Robert N. LiM 4,338]

1 minute ago, PurpleCanary said:

No evidence that Lampard was second

Lampard's media cronies announcing that he'd turned the job down rather reminded me of him retiring from international football long after it was clear he wasn't going to be picked again.

[cambridgeshire canary 6,715]

1 minute ago, Olano said:

Knutsen from 1 of january is much beter then this.

I have seen 90 prosent og Glimts games the last 4 years.

 

This is the hardest day for me as a Norwich supporter in the 30 years I have supporter the club. This is a huge mistake

'This is the hardest day for me as a Norwich supporter in the 30 years'

 

You forgetting our 6-1 loss to Colchester on the League one opening fixture?

[Graham Paddons Beard 2,431]

5 minutes ago, Terminally Yellow said:

Please do enlighten me as to who the top two choices are? Because as I see it three candidates have always been on the shortlist but Dean is reportedly the only person offered the job.

Let’s not bother . 

[Robert N. LiM 4,338]

Just now, Fiery Zac said:

The reactions here are very amusing, but I simply don’t understand all the scepticism.

Clearly a better choice than Lampard having got a team promoted from the championship and then kept them in the PL.

Clearly a better choice than KK, at least for this season. We are trying to stay in the PL - a league Smith has worked in for the last 2 years and kept a team in. KK has never managed in the PL or even at anywhere near the same level. Going with KK would have been admitting we’re  probably going down and planning for the longer term.

So what he wasn’t originally first choice. When he became available, maybe to Webber he immediately became first choice as is clearly better than KK and Lampard.

Very impressive football at Brentford and laid the foundations for what they have achieved in getting to the PL.

Villa fans I speak to say he’s been really unlucky with injuries and having to transform the squad with so many new players. Consensus is he should have been given more time.

Highly thought of for a while so arguably something of a coup to get him in.

PL experience and survival experience is key for an immediate change in our results. Decent appointment for me.

Out of likes but completely agree with this.

[SkegbyCanary 0]

A better fit than Lampard for me. Smith wasn't an option last Saturday night. On Sunday he was and may be the club then took the opportunity to interview him.....

[Robert N. LiM 4,338]

2 minutes ago, Olano said:

Knutsen from 1 of january is much beter then this

Obviously bow to your knowledge of Knutsen, and I would have been excited by that appointment, but there's a strong chance we'd have been all but relegated by Jan 1 if we'd waited for him.

[Graham Paddons Beard 2,431]

3 minutes ago, PurpleCanary said:

I think it is credible that Knutsen was the first choice but wouldn't budge over the end of season thing. No evidence that Lampard was second. He may well have approached us to inquire about the job rather than the other way round.

I suspect that other European managers were sounded out - such as Farve. I stick to the idea that Webber has a type and some others were spoken to.

Of course we will never know . So it’s time to go and stroll into the fine city for a coffee.