It certainly hasn’t been the campaign that Dean Smith will have been hoping for.
The former Brentford manager had a big impact on the Villans when he made the switch from the Bees after 12 Championship matches last season. He won 20 out of 37 games in the division, taking the Midlands outfit to the Premier League via the play-offs.
Villa then prepared aggressively for the elite, spending over £100m in the summer as they looked to put a squad together to be competitive. However, they have failed to do anything of the sort in the top flight, instead dropping down to 19th in the table with just 10 fixtures left to save their top-tier status.
According to Football Insider, the Villa hierarchy may have already seen enough of Smith, and have lined up their replacement for him. They are reporting that John Terry could be the man to take over from the 48-year-old.
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You can certainly understand the thinking behind that potential decision from Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens. Terry, after all, has been Smith’s assistant manager this campaign, meaning that the players are at least familiar with him, and his immense success in the Premier League with Chelsea would surely mean he would demand respect from the players.
On the other hand, though, it could be a huge mistake from the owners. Terry may be a footballing legend, but he has proven nothing at a managerial level as of yet – this would be his first such job in the sport.
Parallels will be drawn with Frank Lampard, with whom Terry played at Chelsea for over a decade and who has had a good first campaign in the Premier League as manager of the Blues – they are fighting for the top four despite being hit with a transfer ban – but the difference between the 39-year-old and Lampard is that the latter got a year under his belt at Derby before making the move to Stamford Bridge. That, for a lot of people, wasn’t enough, but it was still better than nothing.
Also, Chelsea finished in third place last year and won the Europa League – you are talking about a side full of talent. Given Villa’s troubles this term, it is fair to assume that they do not have the same quality at their disposal. Smith may not be the man to take the team forward right now, but giving Terry the job would be to throw him to the sharks.
He may one day be the right man, but that time isn’t now. If they want to stay in the Premier League, someone with more experience is surely a must.
Meanwhile, this Villa star may not suit Smith’s system.
