Some members of the Aston Villa squad grew frustrated by now-departed manager Dean Smith with The Athletic reporting a lack of game time was a bone of contention among a frustrated few.
While it would be unfair to suggest Smith lost the trust of players on the fringes of his squad, the former Brentford boss had his favourites.
Emi Martinez, Matty Cash, Matt Targett, Douglas Luiz, John McGinn and Ollie Watkins were nailed-on starters when fit. The same can probably be said of centre-halves Ezri Konsa and Tyrone Mings, even if the latter was unceremoniously dropped for the recent 4-1 battering by West Ham.
According to The Athletic, while most were disappointed to see Smith go – a dismal first-half minute performance in the 1-0 defeat at Southampton proving the final nail in his coffin – that feeling wasn’t reciprocated by everyone at Villa Park.
Who will replace Dean Smith as Aston Villa manager?
Morgan Sanson’s frustrations certainly boiled over following the 3-1 loss at Arsenal, booting an unfortunate crate of water bottles in a fit of rage after being left on the bench.
Then again, considering injuries had restricted the Frenchman to just three Premier League starts in ten months, you could hardly blame Smith for leaving Sanson out of his XI for a trip to one of the division’s most in-form sides.
It’s not as though Sanson has set the world alight when he has played either. The midfielder has struggled to cope with the pace and intensity of the English top flight in a manner reminiscent of Donny van de Beek at Manchester United.
The Athletic recently suggested Smith’s reluctance to throw Carney Chukwuemeka in at the deep end may explain why the teenager has yet to sign a new contract as some of Europe’s big-hitters circle the Holte End like vultures around a carcass.
It remains to be seen whether Smith’s replacement, be that Steven Gerrard, Roberto Martinez, Thomas Frank, Kasper Hjulmand or an as-yet unknown candidate, is willing to hand 18-year-old Chukwuemeka a bigger role in the first-team picture.
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