The Inevitable Happened

Dean Smith was very nearly the ideal manager at Villa Park. His credentials of being a Villa fan from boyhood clearly endeared him to the supporters' hearts, especially after gaining promotion within one season, and a record 10 wins in succession being achieved in the process.

Since then there have been highs and lows! Getting to the League Cup Final in the first season back in the Premiership was a highlight, but that was quickly followed by a terrible defeat to Leicester that soon had relegation looming. Though it was unrequired, the COVID break gave Smith and his team some time to re-assess matters and gradually Villa eased themselves to safety. But it was a near-run thing, with the return of Grealish from injury probably being the event that tilted the course of events in Villa's favour.

Then, last season started so well (and who can forget the 7-2 mauling of Liverpool?!) but the season slid away and though Villa were, in the end, the 'best of the rest' by a mile, it was short of being a satisfactory ending to the season.

Various things have worked against Smith, in particular substantial injuries to players who might have made a difference, and VAR didn't exactly endear itself to the club in its first major season of operation. But other clubs, too, were affected by that. And then along came the summer of 2021 and the departure not only of the club's primary playing asset, Grealish, but also two significant members of the coaching staff, Terry and Kelly.

The owners dug deep and spent a fortune in bringing in what they considered to be quality players, but even as I write they had not settled in and the Villa were struggling to find a winning pattern. In fact, Villa ended up by losing badly and five defeats in a row ended the Smith era.

Injuries and absences, in general, could again be blamed for some of it, but it was also a case of some strange decisions being made by Smith, such as dropping skipper Mings on the day when a host of other team changes were also made and when central defensive leadership was so important. And then the last match of Smith's career when he had three centre-forwards on the pitch at the same time, but no creative player good enough to supply chances through a firm Saints defence. The option of bringing on winger P-B did not seem to occur to Smith, yet P-B has shown that he has the ability to provide a spark and certainly worry a defence.

The final crunch was possibly that Smith no longer had Jack Grealish as the ace up his sleeve to dramatically change a game.

Quite a few supporters would have liked to give Smith more time, but that was perhaps out of warm feelings for the manager more than anything. But football has never been much about the sentiment on the pitch. The Villa bosses in the pre-WW1 days were frequently ruthless, and hence why the club was so successful! It's the same with life I suppose. The total team approach is down to the manager (or head coach), and he couldn't seem to work it out properly.

We have, right now, a gap of less than 2 weeks to appoint a new manager and let him warm his managerial seat. But who will it be, I wonder, with Gerrard and Martinez being touted as the two most likely.

Gerrard for me is an unknown quantity, as Scottish football is not (obviously) the same as English football, as well as the fact that he would be seen as improving his c.v. to eventually take over at Liverpool. In other words, Villa Park would be seen just as a stepping stone in his career with the inference that Liverpool is bigger and more important than Villa. We can't have that!

I would have no difficulty in settling for Martinez with his substantial Premiership experience as well as (now) international management experience with Belgium. It's possible, though, that he would need a good defensive coach to work with him.

Whoever arrives, it must surely be a manager who has shown clear vision and ability - Klopp-like perhaps - to get Villa back 'up there' in the higher placings with enterprising football.

ITV!