The Sea-gull
04-11-2013, 08:12 AM
.............is just about where I thought we would be after the season got under way. We are bang average at best and had Pat stayed I am very confident we would have finished the season either bottom of the top 6 or near the top of the bottom 6.
The old saying, "the league doesn't lie" really rings true right now. Assuming there is no major shock at Pittodrie tonight the league placings will be as follows:-
Celtic
Aberdeen
ICT
Motherwell
St Johnstone
Dundee Utd
Hibernian
Partick
Ross Co
Killie
St Mirren
Hearts
Now, I appreciate there are one or two teams who have played les games but however the results in these games go, the league table would not be dramatically affected. I think all the teams currently above us are better than us due to a combination of things. First XI, squad, managerially (I'm basing this on Pat) and team spirit. We have better squads than the teams below us so it is difficult to judge their managers and their team spirit but I would suggest that most of them have better managers than Pat (except maybe Gary Locke) and possibly have a better team spirit too.
For me, Pat was the worst manager in the league because he was making the worst use of his resources.
Why are the teams above us better than us?
Aberdeen brought in a better manager than the one we had who signed better players than we did, blended a better squad with more balance and the team spirit has been instilled as a result.
ICT carried on the good work of the last couple of years plus everything I have said about Aberdeen.
Motherwell, see Caley Thistle and Aberdeen.
St Johnstone, see all the above clubs.
Dundee United, see all the above clubs plus some cracking young players.
We're not far off these teams so how do we get to them and even above them and compete with them and just get a generally happier and more positive atmosphere from within and outside the club? It all starts by appointing the right manager so lets hope we do it.
So how do you go about getting the right man? For me you should always look at who is doing well in your league and who they have got. Any of the guys managing these teams would be a shout. Realistically we are of course for various reasons never likely to get a current Aberdeen manager or Dundee United manager so that is McInnes and McNamara out. I don't think Tomy Wright is anywhere near experienced or proven enough to consider so he is out.
For me that leaves McCall and Butcher. Either of them would be great for me. It might not work out of course but all you can do is appoint the man who seems right at the time. Appointing one of them would be the right choice on paper. For me of our recent appointments, Fenlon, Calderwood, Mixu, Collins and Mowbray were not the right choices on paper and it proved to be correct with only really Mowbray being a success. OK, Yogi and Williamson were more obvious choices and never worked but by and large we have gone for the leftfield style appointment and I think it has now (I have actually always thought this is the way to do it but especially the last two appointments) got to be a "safer bet".
People have sneered about McCall and Butcher but for me either of these two will always be better shouts than a Fenlon or a Calderwood. I'm sorry to single out Andy74 but you are one of the ones I can think of who has not been massively keen on McCall and Butcher in the past and you have passed slight reservations about them. I am sure their have been others who are not keen too. I share your concerns (I apologise if I have picked these up wrong) about Butcher where you say he might just work well at ICT as they are a small club, they don't play good football and a lot of it is based on team spirit. For me he has had a team playing above themselves, free scoring, winning games and having a fantastic spirit. They can win games by 3s and 4s and alos gind out 1-0s and hard fought draws in tough games. That will do for me.
Get the right man and things can change quickly. Look at Aberdeen, up until this season they have been just as bad as us. What has changed. Better players, a better team spirit and the fans are creating a buzz again. How did this change? It all started by appointing the right manager.
The old saying, "the league doesn't lie" really rings true right now. Assuming there is no major shock at Pittodrie tonight the league placings will be as follows:-
Celtic
Aberdeen
ICT
Motherwell
St Johnstone
Dundee Utd
Hibernian
Partick
Ross Co
Killie
St Mirren
Hearts
Now, I appreciate there are one or two teams who have played les games but however the results in these games go, the league table would not be dramatically affected. I think all the teams currently above us are better than us due to a combination of things. First XI, squad, managerially (I'm basing this on Pat) and team spirit. We have better squads than the teams below us so it is difficult to judge their managers and their team spirit but I would suggest that most of them have better managers than Pat (except maybe Gary Locke) and possibly have a better team spirit too.
For me, Pat was the worst manager in the league because he was making the worst use of his resources.
Why are the teams above us better than us?
Aberdeen brought in a better manager than the one we had who signed better players than we did, blended a better squad with more balance and the team spirit has been instilled as a result.
ICT carried on the good work of the last couple of years plus everything I have said about Aberdeen.
Motherwell, see Caley Thistle and Aberdeen.
St Johnstone, see all the above clubs.
Dundee United, see all the above clubs plus some cracking young players.
We're not far off these teams so how do we get to them and even above them and compete with them and just get a generally happier and more positive atmosphere from within and outside the club? It all starts by appointing the right manager so lets hope we do it.
So how do you go about getting the right man? For me you should always look at who is doing well in your league and who they have got. Any of the guys managing these teams would be a shout. Realistically we are of course for various reasons never likely to get a current Aberdeen manager or Dundee United manager so that is McInnes and McNamara out. I don't think Tomy Wright is anywhere near experienced or proven enough to consider so he is out.
For me that leaves McCall and Butcher. Either of them would be great for me. It might not work out of course but all you can do is appoint the man who seems right at the time. Appointing one of them would be the right choice on paper. For me of our recent appointments, Fenlon, Calderwood, Mixu, Collins and Mowbray were not the right choices on paper and it proved to be correct with only really Mowbray being a success. OK, Yogi and Williamson were more obvious choices and never worked but by and large we have gone for the leftfield style appointment and I think it has now (I have actually always thought this is the way to do it but especially the last two appointments) got to be a "safer bet".
People have sneered about McCall and Butcher but for me either of these two will always be better shouts than a Fenlon or a Calderwood. I'm sorry to single out Andy74 but you are one of the ones I can think of who has not been massively keen on McCall and Butcher in the past and you have passed slight reservations about them. I am sure their have been others who are not keen too. I share your concerns (I apologise if I have picked these up wrong) about Butcher where you say he might just work well at ICT as they are a small club, they don't play good football and a lot of it is based on team spirit. For me he has had a team playing above themselves, free scoring, winning games and having a fantastic spirit. They can win games by 3s and 4s and alos gind out 1-0s and hard fought draws in tough games. That will do for me.
Get the right man and things can change quickly. Look at Aberdeen, up until this season they have been just as bad as us. What has changed. Better players, a better team spirit and the fans are creating a buzz again. How did this change? It all started by appointing the right manager.