It'll be interesting to see how quickly he can improve your defence, as I mentioned in our first PL season I felt like he was a bit naïve on this and it took him a while to get it sorted. He doesn't have the luxury of a lock down (hopefully) to step back and take stock so that something to keep an eye on. Maybe his experiences with us have made him more aware on this point, it'll also depend on what personnel he has available. I expect he'll work with your team mainly on out of possession drills without the ball for the next couple of days to tighten things up.
Reading this, the problems he had with you are similar to those we've been having. https://www.coachesvoice.com/cv/dean-smith-norwich-aston-villa-brentford/ He's been studying videos of our recent games, so it'll be interesting to see how we adjust against Southampton. Your comment on "out of possession drills" seems apt and will be welcomed if he can make a difference there.
‘Cut down the goals conceded and increase the goals scored’ It’s not rocket science, but achieving it will be a minor miracle.
Interesting BBC article from last May when Smith was riding high at Villa: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48379195 Edit: Here's another good read in the EDP from David Hannant: https://www.edp24.co.uk/sport/norwich-city/david-hannant-ncfc-column-1711-8496322
We can hope! I always felt DF was a bit too stubborn with his persistence in zonal marking, it certainly did not appear to be doing us any favours, not even in the Championship (quite often)
Smith had the squad doing special training on defending and attacking set pieces so fingers crossed for tomorrow.
I doubt if there is any professional team in the world that purely employs zonal marking at set pieces. Any more than there is a professional team that purely marks man to man. All teams use a combination of the two -- for good reasons, including the attributes and skill sets of their own players and those of the opposition. If a Lilliputian IX is facing a team of Gullivers, does anyone really think they will fare better employing man to man marking rather than zonal?
I think there was some ‘player power’ in the dressing room which eventually led to DF leaving. If DS has both Gilmour and/or Cantwell playing at some stage it may demonstrate that this is a prerequisite stance by SW et al.
judging by some of the players he's trained, and how they 'play' I suspect that attacking practice consisted mainly of rolling on the floor clutching a leg/face and screaming.
It might be controversial, but I'm absolutely in favour of us being a dirtier team than we are now. If Dowell (for example) dives three times a game, gets booked for it every game, but wins us 5 penalties over the season, why shouldn't we do it? It's a clear net gain. Feels like every other team in the league has someone capable of buying set pieces, why shouldn't we? And there's more than just diving as a way to earn set pieces. **** like this from Kane for example: It's dangerous, dirty and should be banned. But it isn't, he buys a foul 80% of the time, earning numerous free kicks and penalties. And the few times he does get called for it, it's a defensive free kick, and maybe a yellow card. If Kane is allowed to get away with it, teach Pukki to do it. He's not winning headers anyway. Holt was great at buying fouls, at one point he was the most fouled player in the division. It was a trivial way for the Lambert/Hughton teams to "get out of jail". Punt the ball vaguely in Holt's proximity, and he'd win perhaps 1 in 3 knockdowns, and get a free kick from 1 in 5. And that free kick would create an attacking opportunity. It's not the way I want football to be played, I don't like it at all. But football isn't a level playing field, we have numerous factors stacked against us, why should we take a moral stance on diving when most other teams aren't? Until the way the game is officiated is changed to make it harder to get away with, we should play the game as it's currently officiated, not to an imagined ideal of football that doesn't reflect reality.
Totally agree on Kane, taking someone's legs away when they're jumping is potentially crippling. And there's buying fouls cheaply, and there's falling over in agony clutching the wrong leg/face trying to get someone sent off. but yeah, if it keeps you in the premiership you won't give a **** (and nor would I)
Shakespeare could be a big factor as he's done a lot in his own right and he gives Smith a dynamic means of bouncing ideas and formations off. I wonder whether Farke had that with Eddie Reimer, who seemed more of an assistant in the old style, doing what the Coach asked him to do. I really thought Webber would go back to Germany for another up and coming young coach, or perhaps someone like Knutsen. Instead we have an enthusiastic, experienced Head Coach and assistant who are ready to hit the ground running. Let's hope that gets off to a good start today.
This could easily be total bollocks, but equally it’s not entirely unbelievable given the way things panned out https://www.footballinsider247.com/...y-arranged-before-his-last-aston-villa-match/
Yes, I read that but wasn't very convinced. If that was true the appointment would have happened far more quickly without all of the Lampard intrigues. It would be uncharacteristically unprofessional of Webber to do that.
Possibly. Or it just takes time to finalise the paperwork and it was essential for responsible management of the club that multiple candidates were at least considered even if they weren’t primary choice?
For me it was that Webber and Adams went to Birmingham to see Smith before he left for America. It's possible, but I'm still not convinced.