A section of Aston Villa fans on Twitter are drooling over the potential transformation of outcast Scott Hogan now that Dean Smith has been hired at Villa Park.
Hogan, 26, was firing on all cylinders at Brentford before he joined Villa in January 2017, however his poor form in the West Midlands saw him cast out to the fringes of the squad by Steve Bruce and he has failed to make a single appearance so far this season.
Some Villa fans now believe that the Ireland international will return to his old form at Griffin Park under Smith’s leadership there, with one saying that it could be the striker’s “rebirth”.
This is Futbol has rounded up some of the best tweets below:
Be a massive season now for Bree, Lansbury, Hogan. Hopefully see them shine now. #avfc
— Sean Jones (@JoNeSy2020) October 11, 2018
We can now unleash Scott Hogan and let him tear this league up #avfc
— Tom (@TomRutherford17) October 11, 2018
Hogan when he found out we were getting Dean Smith #PassToHogan #AVFC pic.twitter.com/ch3eVvN6Zj
— C-rayf (@ViIIaFC) October 11, 2018
Really hope Hogan can find his shooting boots now Dean Smith is in charge #avfc
— HomeOfTheVilla (@TheVillaHome) October 11, 2018
Hopefully Scott Hogan can get back firing under Smith, I’d love to see him and Tammy form a partnership up front with Jack and Bolasie feeding them #avfc
— LC (@LGC56) October 11, 2018
We are all going to see the rebirth of Hogan, Lansbury and Bree #avfc
— AV News (@AstonVillanewss) October 11, 2018
Hopefully Dean Smith can make Hogan into the world beater he was before at Brentford #avfc #DeanSmith
— Jamie Ford (@JamieBenFord2) October 11, 2018
I'm hoping he can get Scott Hogan back in the team and scoring again. 21 goals in 27 games whilst both at Brentford is something I wouldn't mind seeing at #avfc. When did we last have a prolific old fashion centre forward? #vtid #utv
— Sam (@BeardyConnected) October 11, 2018
OPINION
Hogan has not been an amazing signing for Villa with just 10 goals in 54 appearances across all competitions. It doesn’t seem too terrible, but when you consider the fact that Bruce spent £12million on him and he has netted 21 in 36 outings for Brentford, it is very disappointing. Will Smith be able to get him back to that form? Villa fans are certainly excited about the idea of that happening but it is more likely that Smith would use Tammy Abraham and Jonathan Kodjia ahead of him playing up front. Smith usually plays with one striker up front on his own and has had great success with Neal Maupay in the role at Brentford this season. There is no reason to think that he would change that at Villa, so fans should maybe dial back their hopes about Hogan because he is clearly not going to be the main man under Smith’s leadership.