“My Heart Says Sack, But My Brain Says Stick” – The Question All Villa Fans Are Asking Themselves

Usually in these scenarios, my heart says sack the manager but my brain says stick with them to avoid any knee-jerk reactions, but this time it’s the other way around.

Writer: david-avfc

I really like Dean, he’s been tremendous for us, but looking at the recent performances it just doesn’t look like the players, nor the manager, look comfortable with what they are trying to achieve on the pitch. Unfortunate with injuries yes, and a turbulent summer, but looking at where we are, I am not sure if Dean knows his best team, his best formation or how to get the best out of the players he has at his disposal – and his decision making is becoming erratic as he is starting to chase results.

I don’t get the sense that he knows how to turn it around – I hope I am wrong, but every decision seems to have backfired or has failed to improve things (formation changes, line up changes, substitutions). Even if players return (Ings, Traore, Sanson) I only see it as compounding the issue of not know who to play or how to fit them together.

I think the loss of Grealish is not just damaging to the team, but also damaging to Dean himself, as he’s spent years building up the team around him, and now he’s scrambling around for answered without him. A new manager simply wouldn’t have the burden of having to cope with losing Grealish as they would never have had him in the first place and would be better able to come in with a fresh set of eyes to work things out.

Vital Villa’s Dean Smith Forum Thread

I wanted us to win last night and to begin the turnaround under Smith. Unfortunately the first half was just abysmal and more of the same from the last three or four weeks. We’ve sleep walked into this crisis by preserving with the wrong tactics until all confidence has drained out. The second half was better but it wasn’t enough, we still ultimately lost, failed to score and really didn’t look like scoring either.

It’s completely different chasing a game from behind with nothing to lose anyway. If the owners keep Smith on for another couple of games, he’ll have my support, but if he gets the sack over the international break then I don’t think there will be any complaints from the majority of fans.