Dean Smith lived the dream as an Aston Villa supporter but after three years of promotion back to the Premier League, he was relieved of his duties.
Jack Grealish, the homegrown captain and the man Villa relied upon most joined Manchester City at £100m and Smith’s task to reinvent the club was always likely to be difficult.
With Five straight defeats, the Aston Villa board acted and relieved Dean Smith off his duties despite supporters loving him.
Additionally, one among other reasons behind Smith’s departure was a longer-term malaise. His side lost 18 Premier League games in 2020. A run that stretched back to the second half of last season when Grealish was at the club.
But the England international was out with a shin injury in March and April and only played in five of the losses.
Currently, a look at the data shows how much the 26-year-old’s creativity has been missed. Also, it shows how Villa has struggled to replace the attacking output.
Last season, Smith’s side created 2.1 big chances per game in the Premier League. This season the points have dropped to 1.2.
Their chances conversion rate has shrunk from 43% to 38.5% and it appears getting the ball into the box has become more of a real problem. Shots from inside the area are down to an average of 9.1 per game to 6.9 despite two main strikers being on the pitch. With that said, Watkins has found himself out wide at times.
Buendia is the most natural replacement for Grealish. But, he is failing to match the former captain’s creative output from 2020-21.
While Grealish was averaging 2.1 shots per game, the Argentine has managed 1.3. As such, Grealish completed 2.7 of 4.5 attempted dribbles per 90 minutes while Buendia has completed 1.7 of 206 so far.
In terms of chances, including assists, Grealish created 3.3 per game, 0.8 more than Buendia.
With that, it is said that Dean Smith’s fate might have been sealed by Jack Grealish’s sale to Manchester City.