Absolute master stroke by Webber

[Ken Hairy 3,772]

44 minutes ago, lake district canary said:

It isn't a fantastic appointment, or a master stroke, or any other superlative until it is seen as successful in terms of results. I'll get positive about getting behind him and supporting what he tries to do, but if he doesn't get results, it is the opposite of a master stroke, so lets just see what happens, eh? 

Who's broken Lakey??? 

[Alex Moss 2,165]

23 minutes ago, Coneys Knee said:

Please give me some links for some positive research, because I just did a bit of reading about his entire management career and to say I’m underwhelmed is the understatement of the year. I wasn’t happy before hand but I’m even less so now. I wish I hadn’t bothered.

Personally I think Farke’s achievements are overall superior to Smiths. Especially when you consider the bucket load of money he’s had at his disposal recently and the fact that he’s underachieved at a club the size of Villa , given their expectations comparative to ours.

So yeah, please sell this to me cos I am as deflated as I’ve ever been in all my years as a city fan.

Villa’s real expectations actually only ‘began’ 11 games ago.

Buendia, Bailey, Watkins, Ings, Martinez etc all unavailable between themselves for large parts of those 11 games. 

I still think the first season in particular he properly polished a turd with the squad at his disposal at the time (Grealish aside), and staying up was very much an achievement. I had them to come down 100%, so it shows the little I know (or indeed don’t).

I predict Gerrard will do pretty well at Villa, but Howe at Newcastle will crash and burn under the expectancy that will already be building despite them not having the squad to do it just yet. Ranieri is having a rough time already at Watford, and Brentford’s star appears to be falling under Frank. Without even factoring in Burnley, Leeds etc, I think we have a great chance to stay up in my opinion.

[lake district canary 4,531]

13 minutes ago, Monty13 said:

Do you not find it the slightest bit ironic that you are happy to spout hope and endorse ridiculous possibilities like we can beat anyone and finishing top four. To keep hoping and faith despite the results. Then demand that we need to see the results before believing in Webber and this new manager?

I mean I agree with other you, it’s only a master stroke if he does well. It’s not like you to be so practical and rational though rather than ridiculously optimistic.

if you have been paying attention, I very rarely state anything uber-positive except to say that anything is possible, including top four or whatever.  Anything is possible, good or bad and that is the same whoever the manager is. Farke had a bit of magic about him and I believed he could turn it round, but it was by no means certain he would.  So my views are not as uber-positive as some people seem to think - but some people's views are serially pessimistic.

In this case, after the emotions of this week,  Smith will do, but it isn't particularly inspiring, after what we've seen over the last four and a half years in terms of squad development and fantastic young players and long periods of brilliant football. Smith has it all to do.

[Monty13 2,234]

20 minutes ago, duke63 said:

I can see why we want to appoint him from watching that.

He comes across well, good lessons he’s talking about just general leadership and management.

[City 2nd 191]

57 minutes ago, lake district canary said:

It isn't a fantastic appointment, or a master stroke, or any other superlative until it is seen as successful in terms of results. I'll get positive about getting behind him and supporting what he tries to do, but if he doesn't get results, it is the opposite of a master stroke, so lets just see what happens, eh? 

Just like Farke was successful in terms of EPL results.! 
ehy don’t you just crawl back under your stone!

[Indy 3,300]

It is what it is, is he really an upgrade, is his number two better than we had given what Aarons, Godfrey, Lewis, Cantwell, Buendia, Omobamdele have become? I don’t think we had a bad set up at all.

So we go with a manager sacked by a rival with a dubious record of keeping Villa up, let’s not forget that they should have been relegated as that ball had clearly crossed the line! So must be a lucky manager!

I can’t say it excites me, but he’s not here to do that, he’s here to keep us up and if he fails we’ve not lost anything this season, keep us up and it’ll be a great change. Time will tell, I’ll wait to see where we are in 5 games time, as I’m not sure he’ll be given much time by our fans to settle if we lose all 5….

Edited November 13, 2021 by Indy

[TIL 1010 4,748]

26 minutes ago, Disco Dales Jockstrap said:

...will you start booing?

OTBC

Do people actually boo whilst watching the game on their tellybox ?

[ricardo 7,395]

Masterstroke, oh dear.

I would characterise it is more or less losing out in a game of musical chairs.

[Yorkshire Canary 118]

1 hour ago, Yobocop said:

If (and we’re still talking in ifs as nothing has been confirmed) Dean Smith is appointed this is nothing short of a master stroke by Stuart Webber 

▶️ Kept Villa in the premier league for two season - yes he spent £100+ in first season but this was enforced due to out of contract players etc, we’ve spent £60m and we’re much better set 

▶️ Will develop the younger players we have at the club, look at Jack Grealish, whilst he had that raw talent there was something not quite right with his temperament, sound familiar? He will be the best out of not only Cantwell but also the likes of Tzolis and in the short term Gilmour 

▶️ Able to operate the 4-3-3 system successfully something I felt our recruitment was leaning towards in the summer 

▶️ Villa fans are gutted to lose him (maybe because he was one of their own) and he is well respected amongst the wider football audience, not only for keeping Villa up but also the work he did at Walsall and Brentford - Smith will also have a point to prove now 

▶️ Craig Shakespeare - a well respected and fantastic number two, who was part of the Leicester coaching team who won the Premier league not so long ago 

Most I know will get behind the new manager but hopefully the minority’s voice will be drowned out. 

I get it; it’s not the most inspiring name (if his name was Deanos Smithaldo you’d all be falling over yourselves)  but you cannot ignore the facts and Smiths experience, this is a fantastic appointment , well done NCFC 

 

My initial thoughts were quite negative, though on reflection i have become much more positive. He has shown he can win games in the PL which alas Farke did all too rarely. He has also had a grounding at lower league level which i think is important and had success in the championship. Farke was a top championship manager but way out of his depth in the top flight. If we had kept him the relegation was a certainty imo now it is still probable but perhaps with a **** of hope, but time will tell

[Gibbo 131]

Smith is by no means a poor manager, he's achieved a fair amount in his career so far.  However, he's only just stepped out of the frying pan at Villa... how fresh is he going to be after just going through the mill.

[hogesar 9,674]

46 minutes ago, Coneys Knee said:

Please give me some links for some positive research, because I just did a bit of reading about his entire management career and to say I’m underwhelmed is the understatement of the year. I wasn’t happy before hand but I’m even less so now. I wish I hadn’t bothered.

Personally I think Farke’s achievements are overall superior to Smiths. Especially when you consider the bucket load of money he’s had at his disposal recently and the fact that he’s underachieved at a club the size of Villa , given their expectations comparative to ours.

So yeah, please sell this to me cos I am as deflated as I’ve ever been in all my years as a city fan.

I would say coming into a severely underperforming Villa, 14th in the Championship,  delivering promotion the same season, keeping them in the prem first season, finishing 11th in the prem and a cup final are all decent irrespective of finances - there's plenty of examples of good managers who have struggled with even more money. 

Laid good foundations at Brentford,  got them challenging for playoffs and built most of the team that you're seeing now in the prem.

Kept Walsall up and on their budget of being bottom half league 2 had them over achieving in league one.

[Mullet 293]

1 hour ago, Yobocop said:

If (and we’re still talking in ifs as nothing has been confirmed) Dean Smith is appointed this is nothing short of a master stroke by Stuart Webber 

▶️ Kept Villa in the premier league for two season - yes he spent £100+ in first season but this was enforced due to out of contract players etc, we’ve spent £60m and we’re much better set 

▶️ Will develop the younger players we have at the club, look at Jack Grealish, whilst he had that raw talent there was something not quite right with his temperament, sound familiar? He will be the best out of not only Cantwell but also the likes of Tzolis and in the short term Gilmour 

▶️ Able to operate the 4-3-3 system successfully something I felt our recruitment was leaning towards in the summer 

▶️ Villa fans are gutted to lose him (maybe because he was one of their own) and he is well respected amongst the wider football audience, not only for keeping Villa up but also the work he did at Walsall and Brentford - Smith will also have a point to prove now 

▶️ Craig Shakespeare - a well respected and fantastic number two, who was part of the Leicester coaching team who won the Premier league not so long ago 

Most I know will get behind the new manager but hopefully the minority’s voice will be drowned out. 

I get it; it’s not the most inspiring name (if his name was Deanos Smithaldo you’d all be falling over yourselves)  but you cannot ignore the facts and Smiths experience, this is a fantastic appointment , well done NCFC 

 

Only time will tell but I'm excited about it

[kenfoggo 247]

I am waiting to see what happens.Has he been offered the position? Has he accepted that position? He looks as if he could do a job at Norwich, nothing spectacular it would seem, but a journeyman work ethic.

[Kathy 733]

59 minutes ago, nutty nigel said:

Can never get enough Smiths.....

Heaven know everyone's miserable now...

[GenerationA47 752]

2 minutes ago, Kathy said:

Heaven know everyone's miserable now...

Beat me to it Kathy! Someone had to (even if not true)

[Disco Dales Jockstrap 1,891]

5 minutes ago, Kathy said:

Heaven know everyone's miserable now...

 

2 minutes ago, GenerationA47 said:

Beat me to it Kathy! Someone had to (even if not true)

To be fair, I do hear Dean Smith is quite a Charming Man.

OTBC

[canarybubbles 1,915]

This thread is so sycophantic that I actually looked at the history of some of the less familiar posters to check they weren't paid shills who had joined the site yesterday. Apparently not. We really do believe Webber is a genius for giving Villa Emi Buendia and giving us Dean Smith in return.

[Creedence Clearwater Couto 1,273]

2 hours ago, Yobocop said:

If (and we’re still talking in ifs as nothing has been confirmed) Dean Smith is appointed this is nothing short of a master stroke by Stuart Webber 

▶️ Kept Villa in the premier league for two season - yes he spent £100+ in first season but this was enforced due to out of contract players etc, we’ve spent £60m and we’re much better set 

▶️ Will develop the younger players we have at the club, look at Jack Grealish, whilst he had that raw talent there was something not quite right with his temperament, sound familiar? He will be the best out of not only Cantwell but also the likes of Tzolis and in the short term Gilmour 

▶️ Able to operate the 4-3-3 system successfully something I felt our recruitment was leaning towards in the summer 

▶️ Villa fans are gutted to lose him (maybe because he was one of their own) and he is well respected amongst the wider football audience, not only for keeping Villa up but also the work he did at Walsall and Brentford - Smith will also have a point to prove now 

▶️ Craig Shakespeare - a well respected and fantastic number two, who was part of the Leicester coaching team who won the Premier league not so long ago 

Most I know will get behind the new manager but hopefully the minority’s voice will be drowned out. 

I get it; it’s not the most inspiring name (if his name was Deanos Smithaldo you’d all be falling over yourselves)  but you cannot ignore the facts and Smiths experience, this is a fantastic appointment , well done NCFC 

 

Ask most Bee's fans and they'll tell you he inherited what Warburton started, made a struggle of it, and things improved when Frank took over. There were times during his Brentford tenure that Bee's fans were questioning his position. 

He should've taken Villa up with the resources available, and kept them there for the same reason! He's bang average, and has a whiff of losers mentality about him. 

Edited November 13, 2021 by Creedence Clearwater Couto

[Dixie Deehan 3]

1 hour ago, Indy said:

It is what it is, is he really an upgrade, is his number two better than we had given what Aarons, Godfrey, Lewis, Cantwell, Buendia, Omobamdele have become? I don’t think we had a bad set up at all.

So we go with a manager sacked by a rival with a dubious record of keeping Villa up, let’s not forget that they should have been relegated as that ball had clearly crossed the line! So must be a lucky manager!

I can’t say it excites me, but he’s not here to do that, he’s here to keep us up and if he fails we’ve not lost anything this season, keep us up and it’ll be a great change. Time will tell, I’ll wait to see where we are in 5 games time, as I’m not sure he’ll be given much time by our fans to settle if we lose all 5….

Smith is most likely here to get immediate promotion next season - staying up this season would be an absolute bonus....

[Unhinged Canary 375]

1 hour ago, TIL 1010 said:

Do people actually boo whilst watching the game on their tellybox ?

I boo at the wireless.

[Creedence Clearwater Couto 1,273]

55 minutes ago, hogesar said:

I would say coming into a severely underperforming Villa, 14th in the Championship,  delivering promotion the same season, keeping them in the prem first season, finishing 11th in the prem and a cup final are all decent irrespective of finances - there's plenty of examples of good managers who have struggled with even more money. 

Laid good foundations at Brentford,  got them challenging for playoffs and built most of the team that you're seeing now in the prem.

Kept Walsall up and on their budget of being bottom half league 2 had them over achieving in league one.

Not if you ask Bees fans. Warburton did, or actually Matthew Benham and the behind the scenes set up. As I've pointed out, his position was questioned several times at Brentford. They didn't rate him in the same way as Warburton, or Frank. 

[repman 635]

If we are to stay up this season Farke had to go, he was insistent on not playing some of our better players, plus had failed once before and didn't look to have got a better grasp on things this time around. If we went down this year and came back up under Farke a third time, would anyone have faith it'd be different than the 2 times before? I suspect the answer for most would be no, therefore making the change now is sensible. Whether Smith is an upgrade I'm not sure. The way he fixed Villa's defence when the lockdown ended 2 seasons ago, which led to them just staying up, was impressive. We are hardly in an attractive position for a manager, so maybe Smith is the best we could do.

[Indy 3,300]

11 minutes ago, Dixie Deehan said:

Smith is most likely here to get immediate promotion next season - staying up this season would be an absolute bonus....

Not what Webber said, he wanted someone who had the best chance of keeping us up, if you want someone to get us up you keep a two time Championship winning coach.

[hogesar 9,674]

6 minutes ago, Creedence Clearwater Couto said:

Not if you ask Bees fans. Warburton did, or actually Matthew Benham and the behind the scenes set up. As I've pointed out, his position was questioned several times at Brentford. They didn't rate him in the same way as Warburton, or Frank. 

Its important to look at threads on their forum whilst Smith was still there. Their fans in general started to rewrite history as soon as DS left them for Villa. After that he was nothing special,  before that they were considerably more complimentary.

[Indy 3,300]

2 minutes ago, hogesar said:

Its important to look at threads on their forum whilst Smith was still there. Their fans in general started to rewrite history as soon as DS left them for Villa. After that he was nothing special,  before that they were considerably more complimentary.

Bit like us with Lambert……😉

[Creedence Clearwater Couto 1,273]

6 minutes ago, hogesar said:

Its important to look at threads on their forum whilst Smith was still there. Their fans in general started to rewrite history as soon as DS left them for Villa. After that he was nothing special,  before that they were considerably more complimentary.

I know a Brentford fan very well. Ok its not a huge sample size, one supporter! But he's part of the supporters trust and good mates with Billy the Bee who does all there fanzine stuff. Dean Smith very much split supporters opinion whilst Brentford manager, this isn't revisionist or rewriting history.

Edited November 13, 2021 by Creedence Clearwater Couto

[PurpleCanary 5,562]

1 hour ago, Kathy said:

Heaven know everyone's miserable now...

This is some hip pop culture reference, isn't it?🤩

[Commonsense 624]

55 minutes ago, canarybubbles said:

This thread is so sycophantic that I actually looked at the history of some of the less familiar posters to check they weren't paid shills who had joined the site yesterday. Apparently not. We really do believe Webber is a genius for giving Villa Emi Buendia and giving us Dean Smith in return.

I presume we didn’t pay £30 million plus for Smith ?

[Highland Canary 76]

We’re finishing 20th regardless of coach. A downgrade on Farke but at least Smith has experience of escaping the chumps.

[horsefly 4,300]

2 hours ago, Virtual reality said:

That’s fine but we’re inheriting his losing mentality now. He’s coming in on the back of 5 straight defeats and getting sacked, and then going into games with us that we must win. That’s a hell of a personal turnaround to expect and clearly Villa didn’t think he was capable of it 

The truth is, of course, that everything we say at this stage about his potential impact is pure speculation. However, if one looks at the Villa fan sites I would suggest the majority of fans DID believe he would turn things round; it's the super rich owner that has got impatient at not seeing an instant return on his investment. His record is very good and in many ways fits our profile very well. I'm certainly happier with this appointment than the fly-by-night Lampard who wants success handed on a plate just because he is the "great" Lampard. Perhaps he "turned us down" because we refused to rename ourselves "Lampard's Norwich City".

As for those who argue that he was clearly not our first choice when we sacked Farke, well he was still at Villa at that point. Only an idiot would refuse to consider a candidate who arrives on the market at a later date, and it seems he gave a mightily impressive interview. It just might be that Lampard realised Smith proved a far better candidate himself, and that Webber has indeed bagged his first choice candidate after all the interviews have taken place.