Shaun Maloney

[Pagan Hibernia]

https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/sport/football/hibs/sacked-hibs-gaffer-opens-up-on-lessons-learned-in-brutally-short-easter-road-stint-4686945?r=6328

[McD]

https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/sport/football/hibs/sacked-hibs-gaffer-opens-up-on-lessons-learned-in-brutally-short-easter-road-stint-4686945?r=6328



Is it just me, or does he keep telling the reader that he knew what needed to be done? But ultimately he either didn’t know, or didn’t do it

[Lago]

Is it just me, or does he keep telling the reader that he knew what needed to be done? But ultimately he either didn’t know, or didn’t do it
My reading is he didn't have the players with Martin and Kevin unavailable, only nice things to say about Hibs.

[JohnM1875]

My reading is he didn't have the players with Martin and Kevin unavailable, only nice things to say about Hibs.

Agreed. He’s only ever had nice things to say since leaving. Really hope he goes on to have a good managerial career.

Thinking back to the utter dross he had at his disposal, bad times and a tough ask for a managers first job. Which is vital we continue to get quality players in and back SDG.

[McD]

My reading is he didn't have the players with Martin and Kevin unavailable, only nice things to say about Hibs.



Oh he wasn’t negative at all, and in fairness, it would be hard to blame him if he was, even though I thought he was poor.


In regards to Martin and Kevin, he himself said in the article that injuries can happen at any time

[Lago]

:aok:
Agreed. He’s only ever had nice things to say since leaving. Really hope he goes on to have a good managerial career.

Thinking back to the utter dross he had at his disposal, bad times and a tough ask for a managers first job. Which is vital we continue to get quality players in and back SDG.

[ian cruise]

Is it just me, or does he keep telling the reader that he knew what needed to be done? But ultimately he either didn’t know, or didn’t do it

I read it as he knew what was needed, but on reflection he hadn't learned how to solve that problem with the resources available. He's learned from the experience now.

I see why you picked up on the parts where he knew what was going wrong, however I think it was a little more on that. Suspect he and many of our recent managers would have had a good crack at not repeating previous seasons errors and thought they would have a window or two to bring in players to do a long term fix, but it's not how it works here (or most SPFL clubs). Top 6 is minimum requirement as it costs a club so much to miss out.

[cameronw-hfc]

Maloney is one I don't hold anything against in hindsight. Looking back, the team he had available was absolutely terrible. Thought he was crap at the time, now I lean more towards it being the wrong time.

He's done alright at Wigan since going there.

[ian cruise]

Maloney is one I don't hold anything against in hindsight. Looking back, the team he had available was absolutely terrible. Thought he was crap at the time, now I lean more towards it being the wrong time.

He's done alright at Wigan since going there.

With the exception of Lee Johnson I think all the managers we've had since Lennon would have improved with more time. I didn't have anything against Lee Johnson but I think what we saw is what you get. Some terrible results, some mental games, some brilliant wins, overall mid table position.

Montgomery, Maloney settled poorly but it's impossible to know whether they could have turned it around had they been given time to build the project they thought they were being allowed to build. Unfortunately in the modern game you just don't get that time, they should have been savvy enough to realise that even if they were told otherwise in interviews (i don't know if they had been or not).

It's been debated to death, but I thought Ross had done enough to deserve the opportunity to turn us around. He would always face the same predicament though, fans didn't enjoy the football so any poor run and the detractors are out in force. Same with McInnes at Aberdeen (and same will happen at Killie if he's there long enough) and same is happening with many managers in the international scene. I was in London at the weekend and the general apathy around the Euros and England was surprising.

That said, I'm far more positive about Gray that I was about the others. Something just feels right about the appointment.

[Smartie]

Funnily enough, of all our recent managers Maloney was the one I saw least in.

The football was grim, the set up of the team was plain weird and I felt like I was gaslighting myself as I just couldn’t see what we were trying to achieve, assuming it was probably obvious to fitba fowk.

With hindsight, the squad of players he was given to work with was grotesquely substandard, but a bit like Monty I didn’t see anything from him to suggest he deserved more time.

He might go on to do ok elsewhere and I wouldn’t really be grudging him too much if we became an anecdote where he ended up learning a lot on his way to becoming a good manager.

[matty_f]

Maloney is one I don't hold anything against in hindsight. Looking back, the team he had available was absolutely terrible. Thought he was crap at the time, now I lean more towards it being the wrong time.

He's done alright at Wigan since going there.

He’s a class act of a guy, really wanted him to do well at Hibs (as I’m sure we all did).

[ekhibee]

Funnily enough, of all our recent managers Maloney was the one I saw least in.

The football was grim, the set up of the team was plain weird and I felt like I was gaslighting myself as I just couldn’t see what we were trying to achieve, assuming it was probably obvious to fitba fowk.

With hindsight, the squad of players he was given to work with was grotesquely substandard, but a bit like Monty I didn’t see anything from him to suggest he deserved more time.

He might go on to do ok elsewhere and I wouldn’t really be grudging him too much if we became an anecdote where he ended up learning a lot on his way to becoming a good manager.

So you think he had a crap team to work with but you would still have got rid of him? That's what it looks like you are saying anyway.

[Smartie]

So you think he had a crap team to work with but you would still have got rid of him? That's what it looks like you are saying anyway.

I just thought the football under him was terrible. I hated the “every man back to defend at corners” thing, just like I hated it years ago under Miller.

The set up of the team just looked weird. Players running into strange areas where they didn’t look like they could receive a pass - just plain weird.

Did we not go weeks without mustering a shot on goal?

Having appointed him, you feel like you’re needing to back him but if you were looking at the football we played - it was abject and there was nothing there to suggest he only needed to bring his own players (again, like Monty).

Iirc - we looked better straight away under Gray straight after he departed.

If there was one post-Ross manager I’d be inclined to stick up for it would be Johnson over Monty and Maloney.

[MWHIBBIES]

Maloney had some bad lucky with injuries but we weren't good. It was stupid of him to take his first job mid season and get a useless fud like Caldwell in to assist him.

[Trinity Hibee]

Maloney is one I don't hold anything against in hindsight. Looking back, the team he had available was absolutely terrible. Thought he was crap at the time, now I lean more towards it being the wrong time.

He's done alright at Wigan since going there.

Completely agree

[GreenCastle]

Maloney was trying to get us to play like Belgium with players who were no where near the level.

Lee Johnson - another inconsistent manager who you never knew which team would turn up.

Monty and Sergio again tried to get us playing a way that didn’t suit.

All 3 had imbalanced squads but also failed to address key issues and get back to basics.

All seemed decent enough people but have set us back and now the mess is having to be cleaned up. That’s not saying it was just their fault as recruitment and what was going on above them also an issue.

[.Sean.]

Maloney had some bad lucky with injuries but we weren't good. It was stupid of him to take his first job mid season and get a useless fud like Caldwell in to assist him.
I think the Caldwell aspect really went against him, it definitely did for me. That is one torn faced rat that should never ever have been back at the club.

[The Modfather]

Felt sorry for Maloney & Montgomery. Rookie managers parachuted into struggling teams mid season and tasked with fixing years of mismanagement in a single January window. Any manager sacked without at least a pre season and a summer window can feel rightly aggrieved.

[CallumLaidlaw]

Felt sorry for Maloney & Montgomery. Rookie managers parachuted into struggling teams mid season and tasked with fixing years of mismanagement in a single January window. Any manager sacked without at least a pre season and a summer window can feel rightly aggrieved.

So do you think we were wrong to sack them?


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[Musselbound]

A lot of what Maloney says in that interview makes sense. He always comes across as humble and respectful.

I'll be in a minority here but I thought both Maloney and Johnson should have been given more time.

[The Modfather]

So do you think we were wrong to sack them?


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I think we were wrong to appoint rookie managers if we weren’t going to give them a fair crack at the whip at properly addressing fundamental problems that long pre dated them. I’d probably not have appointed either of them at the times we did, but having done so I think it was only fair to have given them the following season to see if there was any progress to cling on to in the mid-long term.

[CallumLaidlaw]

I think we were wrong to appoint rookie managers if we weren’t going to give them a fair crack at the whip at properly addressing fundamental problems that long pre dated them. I’d probably not have appointed either of them at the times we did, but having done so I think it was only fair to have given them the following season to see if there was any progress to cling on to in the mid-long term.

I agree we shouldn’t have appointed Maloney. It was wild tbh.
Montgomery was generally viewed as a shrewd appointment. He had coached for years and had experience managing a first team and playing in big games. While he wasn’t given a lot of time, he was given tools in January (unlike Maloney) that should’ve had us comfortably finish top 6. He seemed far too stubborn with his philosophy. Sounds like SDG has learnt from these guys in that you need to be able to adapt.


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[The Modfather]

I agree we shouldn’t have appointed Maloney. It was wild tbh.
Montgomery was generally viewed as a shrewd appointment. He had coached for years and had experience managing a first team and playing in big games. While he wasn’t given a lot of time, he was given tools in January (unlike Maloney) that should’ve had us comfortably finish top 6. He seemed far too stubborn with his philosophy. Sounds like SDG has learnt from these guys in that you need to be able to adapt.


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I can’t make much, if any, defence for Montgomery. However he could justifiably point to the fact he didn’t get the benefit of a Sporting director, Technical director etc which we now have and recruitment which looks more sensible and methodical as a result.

Montgomery inherited a defence to choose from Marshall, Wollacot, Hanlon, Fish, Rocky & Harbottle, and a midfield from Newell, Campbell, Jeggo, JDH, Delfierre & Henderson. It’s a bad hand when a rookie manager needs to sign a new spine of a team in January just to survive until the summer where meaningful changes can be made.

Could a more experienced manager have got more out of last seasons squad? Probably. Was it a woeful squad to inherit? Definitely. It’s telling that from last seasons spine I listed I don’t think many people would select any of them as part of next seasons spine.

[Since452]

I'd file Maloney and Montgomery together in the best forgotten folder. Grim was an understatement. Looks like he's learned from it though to be fair.

[easty]

I hated watching Hibs under Maloney, but looking back at it, that was the worst collection of players we’ve had for years. I dunno if I would’ve enjoyed it under any manager.

[easty]

I'd file Maloney and Montgomery together in the best forgotten folder. Grim was an understatement. Looks like he's learned from it though to be fair.

I reckon Maloney would’ve got more out of Monty’s squad. I don’t think I’d say the same if you reversed it.

[J-C]

They've all got their problems , Maloney wanted passing pretty football with pish players and thought Henderson was the answer, Monty thought 442 was the way to go with midfielders unable to play it and thought Triantis would be our defensive hero. Johnson was an arrogant tosser who thought it would be great fun to tackle one of our midfielders in training and almost broke his ankle. They all had faults, everyone does but in football they're more highlighted.

[Springbank]

The key mistake a rookie manager often makes (see John Collins, see Shaun Maloney) is their choice of assistant.

Caldwell was a disastrous no2 (Imo)

If Maloney had had a better, more experienced no2, to connect with the dressing room, I think he'd have benefitted

For an example, see the impact that Taff and Doolan had when Stubbs was at ER

That choice of backroom team effectively tied Shaun's hands from the get go (imo)

[Since452]

I hated watching Hibs under Maloney, but looking back at it, that was the worst collection of players we’ve had for years. I dunno if I would’ve enjoyed it under any manager.

Tend to agree. Jasper ffs :rolleyes:

[Northernhibee]

Tend to agree. Jasper ffs :rolleyes:

His free kick at the end of the semi final summed him up. Our last chance and he basically gently passed it into the keepers arms.

[Since452]

His free kick at the end of the semi final summed him up. Our last chance and he basically gently passed it into the keepers arms.

His performance at Dens Park stands out to me as well.

[GreenNWhiteArmy]

His first and last games were arguably the only games we saw glimpses of playing a decent style or tempo. And you can argue whether it was the players digging in for pride in that semi or not

Any decent side needs a goalscorer that can bail them out when playing poorly. We had Mueller and Jasper. Realistically, anybody was going to struggle in that environment. Never mind a rookie. That's the start of the experiment era and he really needed far greater support, particularly in the January window to recruit wisely because there's success stories from signing strikers mid season

No hard feelings but equally not overly fussed how he gets on

[Paulie Walnuts]

I reckon Maloney would’ve got more out of Monty’s squad. I don’t think I’d say the same if you reversed it.

There’s little doubt in my mind that Montgomery would have got the Maloney squad relegated and like you, I reckon Maloney (and pretty much any other manager) would have got more out Montgomerys squad.

[Eyrie]

We played well in Maloney's first two games before the winter break but after it the football was atrocious. He didn't deserve any longer than he got.

I'm glad he's learnt from the mistakes he made with us. I just wish he'd made them elsewhere.