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View Full Version : Sorry it's Levein for me !



crewetollhibee
11-10-2011, 10:29 PM
Why should anybody else come in and clear up the mess he has created ? One point out of 12 against the two main contenders in our group ? Not good enough really is it ? Let's see if he has learned anything from this campaign, and hopefully put it to good use.

GreenPJ
11-10-2011, 10:53 PM
No just tell him to GTF.

I have no idea the purpose of the 4-5-1 tonight when all of the midfielders sit-off the opponents. The better the opponent the tighter you get surely ? The man has no clue and at half time being 2 downa and the Czech's 3 up you might have hoped that he would have put 2 up front but he waits until 63 mins before making a change.

For me Bannan was never fully fit so in a game you can't afford to lose and set up as if you would settle for a draw why play him. Morrison whilst I rate him did very little first half (as he had done in the Leich game) so why not have him as a sub and have a midfielder like Robson who will track and put in a tackle.

Levein is wholly responsible for us not having secured a play-off place and whilst there is no shame in losing to Spain in Spain again the tactics are devoid of ever obtaining the minimum result he thought he needed.

Get back to Utd or Leicster (or even better further affield).

crewetollhibee
11-10-2011, 11:03 PM
No just tell him to GTF.

I have no idea the purpose of the 4-5-1 tonight when all of the midfielders sit-off the opponents. The better the opponent the tighter you get surely ? The man has no clue and at half time being 2 downa and the Czech's 3 up you might have hoped that he would have put 2 up front but he waits until 63 mins before making a change.

For me Bannan was never fully fit so in a game you can't afford to lose and set up as if you would settle for a draw why play him. Morrison whilst I rate him did very little first half (as he had done in the Leich game) so why not have him as a sub and have a midfielder like Robson who will track and put in a tackle.

Levein is wholly responsible for us not having secured a play-off place and whilst there is no shame in losing to Spain in Spain again the tactics are devoid of ever obtaining the minimum result he thought he needed.

Get back to Utd or Leicster (or even better further affield). Agree with all of that, that's why I think he should be given a chance to clear the mess up. He will surely have learned lessons from this disaster, and better to have him correct HIS mistakes, than someone else, no ?

Sir David Gray
11-10-2011, 11:13 PM
Agree with all of that, that's why I think he should be given a chance to clear the mess up. He will surely have learned lessons from this disaster, and better to have him correct HIS mistakes, than someone else, no ?

I don't think he'll have learned anything. Throughout this qualifying campaign, I've found him quite arrogant, extremely defensive when faced with even the slightest bit of criticism and negative beyond belief in his tactics.

When you add all that up, together with the fact that he keeps being told by all the pundits in the media that he's doing a decent job and we're heading in the right direction, then I don't think that he'll take a drastically different approach when it comes to the World Cup campaign next year.

crewetollhibee
11-10-2011, 11:23 PM
Maybe it's me seeing mirror images of what's happening at ER, and that I think it would be better with the present incumbent trying to sort it out, rather than someone else clearing up behind him. Maybe Potter needs a BB beside him ?

Dunbar Hibee
11-10-2011, 11:28 PM
Until that anti Hibs twat gets to **** I could not care about the national squad. Supporting wee ratbags like Naismith and McGregor is hard enough but with him in charge its a no no. CLUB BEFORE COUNTRY.

crewetollhibee
11-10-2011, 11:38 PM
Until that anti Hibs twat gets to **** I could not care about the national squad. Supporting wee ratbags like Naismith and McGregor is hard enough but with him in charge its a no no. CLUB BEFORE COUNTRY. Yeah, you're right. I cant argue with that considered, adult and well thought out point of view. BTW, do you seriously think those in Madrid don't loathe Villa, Puyol, Xavi, Iniesta et al ? They do, they just rise above it. McGregor, Naismith, Hutton etc, are only OUR Iniesta's after all.

lapsedhibee
12-10-2011, 01:31 AM
Yeah, you're right. I cant argue with that considered, adult and well thought out point of view. BTW, do you seriously think those in Madrid don't loathe Villa, Puyol, Xavi, Iniesta et al ? They do, they just rise above it. McGregor, Naismith, Hutton etc, are only OUR Iniesta's after all.

Yep, I always think of Naismith and Iniesta as more or less the same. :agree: :crazy:

Skanko79
12-10-2011, 01:45 AM
Until that anti Hibs twat gets to **** I could not care about the national squad. Supporting wee ratbags like Naismith and McGregor is hard enough but with him in charge its a no no. CLUB BEFORE COUNTRY.

So if Sauzee got the job you would support them?

Zazu62
12-10-2011, 07:17 AM
He can shove the 4-5-1 up his arse and play Steven fletcher and Garry O'Connor up front in a 4-4-2

Kato
12-10-2011, 07:28 AM
Don't see the point of 4-5-1 against Spain, their whole set-up is designed to combat that line-up.

Didn't expect to see us get anything last night and we lost out on qualification due to earlier results.

He'll probably keep the job as the press or on his side now, if they were against him he'd be out. "We're improving" is a mantra we've heard a few times in the past when in fact we are treading water and will continue to do so with the current SFA/SPL/SFL set-up.

Let's see how he can mis-manage the next couple of years.

Jack
12-10-2011, 07:33 AM
I doubt he has the ability to ‘clear up his own mess’. We would just get another mess in another competition.

scott7_0(Prague)
12-10-2011, 07:43 AM
This sums up the idiot.


Levein added:

"If there was a missed opportunity, it was at Hampden Park against the Czech Republic.

"If there's a regret in this campaign, then it's that game."



He must have forgot about the disaster in Prague and the draw against the Liths

Phil MaGlass
12-10-2011, 07:57 AM
Ive said it once I´ll say it again, I despise the specky twat, dont like him at all, never backed him from the beginning of the campaign and could have strangled the arrogant ******** after the Czech debacle BUT, maybe I am the only one, I think I can see an improvement with the players he has brought in, theres a good team spirit, we will never be world beaters, but I do think he is the man for the next campaign. Never thought I would hear myself say that.

bingo70
12-10-2011, 08:00 AM
This sums up the idiot.



He must have forgot about the disaster in Prague and the draw against the Liths

It shows unbelievable arrogance to make such a balls up for that game and not even hold his hands up afterwards and admit his mistake, if he was to do so then i'd have a lot more time for him as we are improving, but it's things like this and his inability to take any form of criticism that has me worried and wanting shot of him.

Another thing that gets me just now in Scottish sport, not just football because it's the same in rugby and probably other sports, is there is a lack of people willing to criticise, the nations full of people wanting to slap each other on the back and say "oh well, we almost did it, maybe next time eh", what i'd give for a Roy Keane type figure to tear strips out the SFA and Levein for that decision to play with no forwards, although IMO that will probably be the reason the SFA never took Collins up on his offer to give his experience from his time in French football and have now gone for this Dutch guy that'll no doubt go for the softly softly approach trying not to ruffle any feathers in order to keep his cushty wee job that he can't be judged on for the next 5-10 years.

greenlex
12-10-2011, 08:23 AM
He is doing just fine. We will qualify for the next world cup and surely thats the goal .

Kato
12-10-2011, 08:29 AM
He is doing just fine. We will qualify for the next world cup and surely thats the goal .

I can't see where your optimism comes from.

We habitually do badly against smaller teams, teams around the same status as us and teams better than us.

Joe Baker II
12-10-2011, 08:34 AM
There are some reasons why one could argue Levein could go - we were seeded 3 and matched that but could still argue tolerating non-qualification means acceptance of failure, and off course Prague last year.

But it was Burley who was (mainly) responsible for creating a mess form a team that were looking quite decent under Smith/McLeish. Levein has to some extent cleared that up as illustrated by the relatively few call offs in recent games and for that reason should probably stay unless an obviously better candidate becomes available.

Whether he is anti-Hibs or not (I doubt it) is irrelevant.

Hibbyradge
12-10-2011, 08:40 AM
I don't like Levein and his refusal to admit that his decision not to play any strikers in a competitive game was wrong is hugely frustrating. However, the fact that he won't even discuss it speaks volumes.

I also think that he should swallow his pride and ask Steven Fletcher to come back into the squad. I understand that people have egos and he wants to be respected, but crucially, he is the manager and it's his job to do what's necessary to get our strongest team on the park.

If it only takes a phone call to improve the team, he should make it.

All that said, there are signs of improvement. The team are much better organised than in recent years and it does look like there is growing team spirit which is exactly what a team with our limited resources needs.

There was no doubt in my mind that he would continue as manager for the world cup campaign and I think it's the right decision.

And not just because of the lack of suitable replacement candidates.

johnrebus
12-10-2011, 08:52 AM
Levein should be out on his arse. Why?

1. Starting the campagne in a low key negative manner against the mighty Lithuania.
2. Selecting a team to play a match in Prague (that many Scots paid good money to travel to ) without a striker in the side.
3. Beating won of the worst side in the world with a 97th minute goal.
4. Crawling to Ferguson, asking him to come back.
5. His petty and immature dealing of the Fletcher situation, not to mention double standards re. the above.
6. Leaving out Gary O'Connor because of personal trouble, while picking Goodwillie who is in similar situation.
7. His personal appearance and unshaven look makes him look more like a Glasgow Jaikie than an international football manager.
8. His refusal to admit he might ever be wrong about anything.
9. His bad tempered and bad mannered way of dealing with any media question he does not like.
10. Because he is a Yam Fud.


:taxi

Jack
12-10-2011, 09:41 AM
Levein should be out on his arse. Why?

1. Starting the campagne in a low key negative manner against the mighty Lithuania.
2. Selecting a team to play a match in Prague (that many Scots paid good money to travel to ) without a striker in the side.
3. Beating won of the worst side in the world with a 97th minute goal.
4. Crawling to Ferguson, asking him to come back.
5. His petty and immature dealing of the Fletcher situation, not to mention double standards re. the above.
6. Leaving out Gary O'Connor because of personal trouble, while picking Goodwillie who is in similar situation.
7. His personal appearance and unshaven look makes him look more like a Glasgow Jaikie than an international football manager.
8. His refusal to admit he might ever be wrong about anything.
9. His bad tempered and bad mannered way of dealing with any media question he does not like.
10. Because he is a Yam Fud.


:taxi

I would agree with most of that.

I was quite optimistic when he took the job thinking that he would be like a breath of fresh air through in Glasgow. But in fact he’s not just become one of ‘them’ but a caricature of the very worst of what ‘they’ are. In that respect I suspect they think he’s doing a fantastic job and hence this mornings ‘he will carry on’ announcement.

I lived through the times when we qualified for just about everything. The Scots as a nation of football lovers were on a crest of a wave and that filtered down to club football. The turgid crap we are now witnessing at a national level, particularly during this campaign, despite having some decent players, isn't going to inspire anyone back to grounds around the country.

Its about time the diseased and unfit SFA got back into the gym and got itself back into shape.

Part/Time Supporter
12-10-2011, 09:45 AM
Levein should be out on his arse. Why?

1. Starting the campagne in a low key negative manner against the mighty Lithuania.
2. Selecting a team to play a match in Prague (that many Scots paid good money to travel to ) without a striker in the side.
3. Beating won of the worst side in the world with a 97th minute goal.
4. Crawling to Ferguson, asking him to come back.
5. His petty and immature dealing of the Fletcher situation, not to mention double standards re. the above.
6. Leaving out Gary O'Connor because of personal trouble, while picking Goodwillie who is in similar situation.
7. His personal appearance and unshaven look makes him look more like a Glasgow Jaikie than an international football manager.
8. His refusal to admit he might ever be wrong about anything.
9. His bad tempered and bad mannered way of dealing with any media question he does not like.
10. Because he is a Yam Fud.


He left out Goodwillie while he was subject to legal proceedings. Goodwillie was cleared in the summer, hence why his move went through. There's no inconsistency there.

I think most of your (serious) points relate to the few big mistakes he made in the first 10 months in the job. I think he's done a good job since then.

Jim44
12-10-2011, 09:46 AM
At very best the title of this thread should read - 'It's sorry Levein for me.'

Famous Fiver
12-10-2011, 09:51 AM
Apparently he said ' judge me on results'.

Taxi for Levein.

JimBHibees
12-10-2011, 01:52 PM
He made mistakes in the earlier games by being too defensive however I think the team individually and as a group has improved alot and in some of the games have passed the ball about well. Thought Mackail-Smith was excellent last night (much better than Miller for example) and should have got the goal his play deserved which was due to Goodwillie's selfishness.

Dashing Bob S
12-10-2011, 01:53 PM
Levein should be out on his arse. Why?

1. Starting the campagne in a low key negative manner against the mighty Lithuania.
2. Selecting a team to play a match in Prague (that many Scots paid good money to travel to ) without a striker in the side.
3. Beating won of the worst side in the world with a 97th minute goal.
4. Crawling to Ferguson, asking him to come back.
5. His petty and immature dealing of the Fletcher situation, not to mention double standards re. the above.
6. Leaving out Gary O'Connor because of personal trouble, while picking Goodwillie who is in similar situation.
7. His personal appearance and unshaven look makes him look more like a Glasgow Jaikie than an international football manager.
8. His refusal to admit he might ever be wrong about anything.
9. His bad tempered and bad mannered way of dealing with any media question he does not like.
10. Because he is a Yam Fud.


:taxi


You sold it to me on number 10 alone, but I quite enjoyed the sugar-coating of 1-9.

sesoim
12-10-2011, 02:55 PM
If Levein does stay, and unfortunately it's looking pretty likely now, what tactics will he play if his first game is away to the bottom seeds in the group, Wales? Will he play for a 0-0 again like in Lithuania? Will he go for a win, because frankly we probably would need to win there. Or would he go for a 4-6-0?

We'd have finished second easily with somebody like Walter Smith in charge. Are the SFA really prepared to throw away ANOTHER two years, and miss out on another World Cup in Brazil of all places, with this stubborn, petty, negative, biased, mediocre guy in charge? Unfortunately yes, they will.

Sir David Gray
12-10-2011, 03:46 PM
He left out Goodwillie while he was subject to legal proceedings. Goodwillie was cleared in the summer, hence why his move went through. There's no inconsistency there.

I think most of your (serious) points relate to the few big mistakes he made in the first 10 months in the job. I think he's done a good job since then.

I'm afraid that's wrong.

Not about the rape charge, I know that was dropped. However, David Goodwillie is still due to stand trial in a pretty serious assault case (he's accused of punching and kicking a man in the head and body) later this year and yet he's been cleared to play for Scotland in the past few matches.

Levein has been extremely inconsistent as far as that's concerned.

ronaldo7
12-10-2011, 08:38 PM
He is doing just fine. We will qualify for the next world cup and surely thats the goal .

Aye, we could score 3 or 4 on another day.:rolleyes:

poolman
12-10-2011, 08:52 PM
Why should anybody else come in and clear up the mess he has created ? One point out of 12 against the two main contenders in our group ? Not good enough really is it ? Let's see if he has learned anything from this campaign, and hopefully put it to good use.


I despair

.Sean.
13-10-2011, 09:24 AM
Davie Provan is bang on the money re the specky tramp in todays Sun.

bingo70
13-10-2011, 09:34 AM
Davie Provan is bang on the money re the specky tramp in todays Sun.

What's he saying?

scott7_0(Prague)
13-10-2011, 09:48 AM
What's he saying?


DEATH without dishonour.

Emblazoned on the shirt of a Scotland fan in Alicante it summed up Tuesday night perfectly.

Yeah, we were outclassed and outpassed, but there was no shame in this defeat.

We could have had Law, Souey, Baxter and Jinky in the team and it still wouldn't have mattered.

All we could ask of our boys was every ounce and they gave us that against Spain. The world champions moved this match to the Jose Rico Perez stadium, but the game wouldn't have looked out of place in the bullring.

In the Plaza de Toros the bull at least has a chance of getting lucky.

Craig Levein would have needed a bricklayer to get anything from Xavi and Co.

The little Barca maestro must have learned the game inside a telephone kiosk. Have you ever seen a football passed so slickly?

Levein was lucky he got a second-half reprieve from Spain coach Vicente del Bosque who gave his fringe players a run-out with the job done early.

Just as well. For the first half hour they looked on target for double figures.

So where now for Levein and Scotland after another failure?

Knowing the SFA, Levein will get a pat on the head and a clean slate for the next World cup campaign.

SFA president Campbell Ogilvie couldn't rock the boat in a force nine gale and chief executive Stewart Regan doesn't have the clout to carpet Levein.

Trust me, had Fabio Capello bombed as badly as Levein he'd be hanging from Tower Bridge by now.

Yet we're being told all is well. It's a young team. We're in transition, the building blocks are in place, blah blah.

These are the tired clichés of every struggling manager.

For the record, the average age of our team for the crunch Hampden game against the Czechs was 27. All of them from England's top flight or the Old Firm.

Arguably the best collection of players available to a Scotland coach in years.

So whatever way you look at our group, second place was well within reach. Yet after eight games, only nine goals and just 11 points, Scotland finished third.

To think George Burley was lampooned for finishing third on ten points in the last World Cup campaign.

Having described Scotland's progress as 'staggering' Levein has to explain why it wasn't good enough to secure a play-off place.

When asked that post-match question in Alicante, Levein said he could have done with more games to prepare for the campaign. That doesn't wash.

He was appointed in December 2009, a full nine months before the first Euro qualifier in Lithuania.

How much time did he need? He took a friendly against the Czech Republic the following March before knocking back the next available international friendly date in May. He still had an August bounce game in Sweden to get a team and shape in his head for the trip to Kaunas.

Instead, a 3-0 drubbing in which he promoted Dundee United's Garry Kenneth to the international stage saw the manager's bottle crash.

So instead of having a go in Lithuania we dug in to grind out a point.

That was followed by the striker-less shambles of Prague, without doubt THE blunder of the campaign.

Had Levein been bolder back then, Jan Rezek's swallow dive in the Hampden return wouldn't have mattered.

But it wasn't just the shape of the team Levein pondered over. He didn't recognise Charlie Adam's worth soon enough. Binned after the Sweden friendly, Adam didn't start any of the first four group games.

Liverpool's £7million signing had to wait until the Hampden visit of the Czechs for his first competitive start. Another huge mistake.

Then we had the Steven Fletcher stand-off.

Anyone who walks out on a Scotland manager should be banned for life, but Levein created the precedent where players can pick and choose which coach they turn up for.

When Kris Boyd spat the dummy at Burley that should have been the end of his Scotland career.

Instead, Levein welcomed him back with open arms. Now we have Fletcher and Levein in the huff like two school weans.

For God's sake grow up guys and sort it out for Scotland's good.

Levein will be asked to carry on and it's difficult to argue the toss against him.

Unless Walter Smith is ready for another run at it there are no obvious replacements.

On the evidence of Alicante his players are still going the extra yard for him and that's important.

What he needs is a thicker skin and a bin for his persecution complex.

Without any sharp-end managerial experience he was always going to find it tough, but that's the way it is when you are carrying the nation's hopes.

Now he has to get it right for the World Cup campaign when progress will be worthless without points.

Pitched in with Croatia, Serbia, Belgium, Wales and Macedonia this will be a dogfight, but it's a good draw and not mission impossible.




http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/3869364/If-England-had-bombed-as-badly-as-we-did-then-Fab-would-be-hanging-from-Tower-Bridge.html#ixzz1aeb4fg8X

easty
13-10-2011, 09:49 AM
Davie Provan is bang on the money re the specky tramp in todays Sun.

Beat me to it. I was going to post the same thing. Not often I agree with Provan.

snooky
13-10-2011, 07:17 PM
Beat me to it. I was going to post the same thing. Not often I agree with Provan.

In saying that Spain was "Death Without Dishonour" then surely the away game against the Czechs was "Death With Dishonour".
Utter submission and the most yellowbellied tactics ever adopted on a football park.
We'd have been better pulling out the competition altogether.
He should have been binned right there and then.

:grr::grr: :grr:


Craig Leavin?

scott7_0(Prague)
13-10-2011, 08:13 PM
In saying that Spain was "Death Without Dishonour" then surely the away game against the Czechs was "Death With Dishonour".
Utter submission and the most yellowbellied tactics ever adopted on a football park.
We'd have been better pulling out the competition altogether.
He should have been binned right there and then.

:grr::grr: :grr:


Craig Leavin?

two more decent articles.

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/football/scotland/2011/10/12/scotland-legend-jim-bett-we-missed-out-on-euro-2012-because-of-tactical-error-in-prague-86908-23483148/

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/football/scotland/2011/10/13/scotland-did-not-deserve-to-reach-euro-2012-says-hamilton-keeper-tomas-cerny-who-happens-to-be-a-czech-86908-23485530/