down-the-slope
14-01-2011, 07:02 PM
This is the real art of creating teams...where you bring together the individuals you have (or others you can bring in) to make a team that 'is more than the sum of the individuals'
It would be my view that so far the last 3 managers have failed to do that..and while we have had at times better individuals than other managers have had at their disposal, they have outdone us by creating a team...while too often we have performed well below the sum of the parts...
I am becoming more convinced that while there is some blame to be laid at the player...the majority falls to the manager.
I should also say that it if my belief that rarely do the best 11 individuals make the best team (I could use many..but take Man U - rarely does the 11 on the pitch constitute what most would see as the best 11 players available...thats because Fergie is a master of creating teams and blending different attributes to make it)
Collins and Mowbury did manage this to different extents (TM having better individuals to work with though)
Look at Aberdeen and think which players in November you would have swapped....maybe 2/3 ? they were a total mess. Enter Pa Broon & Archie...now these players have not had time to change as individuals...and yet the sum of the parts has improved significantly
So while its understandable given the current window that most threads are concerned with who may be coming or going, my view would be that creating a team first is more important than the transfer market...otherwise we could bring in good players whose contribution may not raise the sum of the parts.
Ask yourself this...when was the last time you saw a Hibs TEAM where 11 players were performing together to produce a performance that was greater than the sum of those individual. (i'm not talking about results)
TM often was critisiced for being less concerned with results compared with how the team performed (anyone remember 'we will win more than we will lose'?) I think he was someone who saw the bigger picture of getting 11 players to function beyond what they had as individuals (yes he always was looking for better individuals - but if you have not blended the individuals (resources) you have to the max...then surely you are underperforming.
Take Collins / Lewis Stevenson as an example of an individual who was not rated...but in a TEAM...he suddenly looked like a top level player..good management I would argue...
Why the long winded ramble (and no its not a way of digging at CC) ? Well its because the impression I get is a lot of people seem to be viewing how the season pans out as dependant on the comings and goings of 'the window'...where I see the ability to find a team and system that makes whatever individuals we have perform above that as the key...remember these castigated individuals beat Rangers 0-3 a few short weeks ago..it was no fluke, they deserved the win.
The level of individual we can 'afford' will be limited by finance and our (club / manager / board) ability to scout and attract them to the club (or the level of youngster we can 'grow') but if we can't blend this into the best team we can we will under acheive.....
It would be my view that so far the last 3 managers have failed to do that..and while we have had at times better individuals than other managers have had at their disposal, they have outdone us by creating a team...while too often we have performed well below the sum of the parts...
I am becoming more convinced that while there is some blame to be laid at the player...the majority falls to the manager.
I should also say that it if my belief that rarely do the best 11 individuals make the best team (I could use many..but take Man U - rarely does the 11 on the pitch constitute what most would see as the best 11 players available...thats because Fergie is a master of creating teams and blending different attributes to make it)
Collins and Mowbury did manage this to different extents (TM having better individuals to work with though)
Look at Aberdeen and think which players in November you would have swapped....maybe 2/3 ? they were a total mess. Enter Pa Broon & Archie...now these players have not had time to change as individuals...and yet the sum of the parts has improved significantly
So while its understandable given the current window that most threads are concerned with who may be coming or going, my view would be that creating a team first is more important than the transfer market...otherwise we could bring in good players whose contribution may not raise the sum of the parts.
Ask yourself this...when was the last time you saw a Hibs TEAM where 11 players were performing together to produce a performance that was greater than the sum of those individual. (i'm not talking about results)
TM often was critisiced for being less concerned with results compared with how the team performed (anyone remember 'we will win more than we will lose'?) I think he was someone who saw the bigger picture of getting 11 players to function beyond what they had as individuals (yes he always was looking for better individuals - but if you have not blended the individuals (resources) you have to the max...then surely you are underperforming.
Take Collins / Lewis Stevenson as an example of an individual who was not rated...but in a TEAM...he suddenly looked like a top level player..good management I would argue...
Why the long winded ramble (and no its not a way of digging at CC) ? Well its because the impression I get is a lot of people seem to be viewing how the season pans out as dependant on the comings and goings of 'the window'...where I see the ability to find a team and system that makes whatever individuals we have perform above that as the key...remember these castigated individuals beat Rangers 0-3 a few short weeks ago..it was no fluke, they deserved the win.
The level of individual we can 'afford' will be limited by finance and our (club / manager / board) ability to scout and attract them to the club (or the level of youngster we can 'grow') but if we can't blend this into the best team we can we will under acheive.....