While some think it was time and some don’t, there’s been a near unanimous outpouring of affection, respect, admiration, and gratitude for Dean Smith in the wake of his sudden departure from the club he loved. Not a common thing. It’s right and good to see.
But what comes next is probably a bigger call than hiring Smith in the first place.
The reporting and rumors have been varied, from Dean’s safe to he’ll be gone if Villa lose tonight. We’ve seen the departures of John Terry and Richard O’Kelly blamed. We’ve heard (repeatedly) that Smith doesn’t know how to win without Grealish. That Villa have no identity. We’ve perhaps more to the point heard about the inadequacies of Villa’s midfield, the formations employed, or the players selected. Why we brought in Danny Ings instead of a midfield destroyer.
Regardless of what’s been said and whoever might be right or wrong, it feels like a very big moment.
Smith returns to his favored 4-2-3-1 with Ollie Watkins leading the charge as what appears to be a mix of illness and injury sees Danny Ings and Morgan Sanson absent from the bench, and Tyrone Mings on it. Oh, and Leon Bailey finally gets his first start.
The international break felt like a lifetime, but they always do. Sadly, that wasn’t enough to see Bailey fully fit, and of course Traoré picked up a quad injury himself with Burkina Faso. So, it’s 3-5-2 again for visiting Wolves, which will probably send some into a frenzy.
In December of 2009, just shy of 12 years ago, Villa beat United 1-0 at Old Trafford. Since then, they’ve managed just four draws. In the previous decade? Three draws. One win in the last 45. Not a lot to hang your hat on. Probabilistically, though, that’s a reason for optimism.
