Aston Villa journalist Mat Kendrick has been sharing his thoughts on Villa manager Dean Smith and whether or not he is the right man to lead the club.
This comes after Kendrick co-hosted a recent episode of the Birmingham Mail’s Claret & Blue Podcast where he spoke about a number of topics concerning the Midlands club, including their recent 2-2 draw against West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League.
During the podcast, Kendrick was asked whether or not he feels that Smith should continue managing Villa or if they should be looking to replace him.
In response, Kendrick had this to say on the matter.
He said: “I’m very much ‘Dean Smith In’. I’m scared and frightened about what would happen with a change because most of any success and progress that we’ve had has been built on sensible decision-making, but do I want Dean Smith to make the same mistakes that he’s made with the way his team’s been set up, with the way he’s reluctant to bring substitutions on and the way he’s not been able to find a plan for Villa to play without Jack Grealish, not just this season, but in previous seasons?
“Of course, it’s a massive concern, but let’s get to the end of the season, let’s assess what we’ve done and then let’s look at what’s needed to move us forward then.”
Villa appointed Smith back in October 2018 alongside his current assistant coach John Terry. Since then, Smith has taken charge of 119 matches with the Villans, winning 46, drawing 24 and losing 46 in the process (per Transfermarkt).
TIF Thoughts on Mat Kendrick’s comments on Smith and his future with Villa…
Given how Villa only managed to pick up a point against West Brom in their latest league outing and have only managed to win one out of their seven previous league games, on top of the issues that Kendrick raised about Smith in the podcast, it’s easy to see why the question over his position at the club has been called into question.
Do you think Dean Smith is the right man to manage Villa?
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However, in our view, seeing as Smith managed to keep Villa in the Premier League last season by the skin of their teeth and had put them in a mid-table position so far in this campaign, this shows that Smith had made progress with this team and shouldn’t be in any danger of losing his job anytime soon – and this perhaps justifies Kendrick’s worries over his immediate future.
In other news: ‘Will depart in the summer’ – Journalist drops Aston Villa transfer claim