Aston Villa were simply not good enough during their 3-0 loss against Watford on Saturday.
Individual errors heavily contributed to two of Watford’s goals, while they had nine fewer shots in total throughout the game.
What will add even more frustration for Villa following this result is that a point would have been enough to take them above West Ham United on goal difference and out of the relegation zone.
It turns out that Dean Smith’s comments after the game didn’t help to ease that feeling.
The manager’s calls for his players to step up their game in regard to work rate and winning their individual battles only worried fans more, if anything.
One fan even mockingly said “that’s what I was told when I played at Under 11s level”, indicating just how obvious it is that the players need to do this.
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It can be suggested that these digs are aimed at the players, as well as Smith.
However, there was one criticism that was solely aimed at Smith, as some fans suggested that he is beginning to sound like Steve Bruce.
The manager, now at Newcastle United, was at the Villa Park helm from October 2016 to October 2018, averaging 1.6 points per game.
His dismissal came after just four Championship wins from 13 games in 2018/19, before Smith came in and turned things around, leading the club to the Premier League via the play-offs.
If these fans are to be believed, he is now beginning to become similar to the man that he succeeded.
In other news, Villa fans were fuming with Smith for a specific decision made before the Watford game.