Is ‘playing for the manager’ enough?

[Unseen work]

Im reading and hearing alot about the players are playing for Gray.

Firstly, I’m unsure how much is for him and how much is for personal pride?

Secondly, does it even matter?

Yeah it’s great the players like him and want to do well, but they’re simply not. So what’s it coming down to? Individual errors? Sure. Poor coaching? Poor subs?

Our stats are now

14 league games
1 win
7 defeats
6 draws
15 goals scored
25 goals conceded

We have had about 6 must win games in a row. We’ve not won any of them

Players scoring a couple of goals towards the end of the game to get a point doesn’t change anything for me.

1 point at home to Aberdeen routinely you would probably think it’s alright. Same with the 1 point away to Ross county midweek.

We’re not in a routine position, we need wins. The longer we go on and think “that’s a not bad point” the closer it will take us to relegation.

[HappyAsHellas]

Sadly our manager is clueless so it doesn't really matter who they're playing for at the moment.

[Murphys Touch]

We got batter most of that second half…..by a tactical change from Aberdeen

Fight and bravery is not last minute goals. Character and fighting for the manager is football people talk. Professionals don’t like losing…they get bonuses for not losing

Your stats sum it up

[Pretty Boy]

It might be enough to keep us up and right now that is the aim.

We lack quality across the park, I don't think anyone is really going to argue otherwise. We have players who can turn it on sporadically but when it comes to consistent performance levels we are severely lacking. In that situation the minimum you need is desire and heart and tonight we saw that and got a point as a reward.

Most of this squad won't be here next year so right now if they play for the boss and that is enough to get us to 9th or 10th then it's enough.

[hibee_girl]

Of course it matters.

You could see tonight they are playing for him.

If they weren’t there’s no way we would have fought back twice. We would above collapsed after Aberdeen’s 2nd.

[Murphys Touch]

Of course it matters.

You could see tonight they are playing for him.

If they weren’t there’s no way we would have fought back twice. We would above collapsed after Aberdeen’s 2nd.

We did - 30 yard screamers isn’t showing fight. It was our only shot after Aberdeen went 2-1 up….

And if it is was…then once in 4 months is ****ing brutal

[Unseen work]

Of course it matters.

You could see tonight they are playing for him.

If they weren’t there’s no way we would have fought back twice. We would above collapsed after Aberdeen’s 2nd.

But for how long do we stick with a manager because the players like him and are playing for him?

Caddens is a wonder goal, we then concede extremely softly again minutes later. We then chuck Rocky up top and it paid off

Even if we beat Motherwell on Saturday there is no guarantee we’ll be off the bottom of the table. We’d be level on points with killie who have a game in hand

We’ll be hoping Aberdeen beat hearts

[hibee_girl]

But for how long do we stick with a manager because the players like him and are playing for him?

Caddens is a wonder goal, we then concede extremely softly again minutes later. We then chuck Rocky up top and it paid off

Even if we beat Motherwell on Saturday there is no guarantee we’ll be off the bottom of the table. We’d be level on points with killie who have a game in hand

We’ll be hoping Aberdeen beat hearts

I’m not saying we stick with Gray because the players like him.

But we’ve all seen players chuck it for certain mangers before. These players are fighting for Gray, which granted is the minimum they should be doing.

[Murphys Touch]

I’m not saying we stick with Gray because the players like him.

But we’ve all seen players chuck it for certain mangers before. These players are fighting for Gray, which granted is the minimum they should be doing.

Genuine question - were they on Saturday away at Dundee

[hibee_girl]

Genuine question - were they on Saturday away at Dundee

I didn’t see that game so I’ve no idea :greengrin

[HappyAsHellas]

I think we fought back twice because the likes of Rocky and N Cadden kept driving on - which affects everyone around them. I'm delighted we showed some spirit tonight but again the bizarre substitutions and selections just show how much trouble we're in do not bode well for the future. On the bright side, if Aberdeen are really second best in this league then we have nothing to fear.

[hibee_girl]

I think we fought back twice because the likes of Rocky and N Cadden kept driving on - which affects everyone around them. I'm delighted we showed some spirit tonight but again the bizarre substitutions and selections just show how much trouble we're in do not bode well for the future. On the bright side, if Aberdeen are really second best in this league then we have nothing to fear.

Which subs were bizarre tonight?

[HarpOnHibee]

We did - 30 yard screamers isn’t showing fight.

And if it is was…then once in 4 months is ****ing brutal

The goal came from a good bit of fortune with the deflection and we didn't create a whole lot beyond that in the first half, but if Newell hadn't taken the shot on, the deflection wouldn't have happened and there would have been no goal. Second half I thought we came out pretty strong. This opened us up a bit more and allowed Aberdeen to get in our faces as well. The team put plenty into this game, but what ultimately cost us were goals that once again, were entirely avoidable and down to individual errors.

Does it matter that players are playing for the manager, the team, the badge, the fans.... etc? Of course it matters. But in terms of winning games and getting results, it can only go so far as long as we keep conceding such poor goals.

[TrinityHFC]

Were most of you in the group that stayed away tonight?

I think the atmosphere was really supportive and appreciative this evening which often comes when you are down to more of the hardcore.

We lack a bit of quality and confidence but it is very clear the players care. I thought overall we were the better team against a club that most people thought have got everything right recently.

[Murphys Touch]

Were most of you in the group that stayed away tonight?

I think the atmosphere was really supportive and appreciative this evening which often comes when you are down to more of the hardcore.

We lack a bit of quality and confidence but it is very clear the players care. I thought overall we were the better team against a club that most people thought have got everything right recently.
1 win in 14

[JohnM1875]

Which subs were bizarre tonight?

Campbell getting a single second for us is a strange decision. Just on the pitch and get's out paced by a player who'd played 60+ minutes, gives away a corner then the keeper has a shocker. 2-1 Aberdeen.

Gave away a goal against Motherwell by being awful as well.

[JohnM1875]

Were most of you in the group that stayed away tonight?

I think the atmosphere was really supportive and appreciative this evening which often comes when you are down to more of the hardcore.

We lack a bit of quality and confidence but it is very clear the players care. I thought overall we were the better team against a club that most people thought have got everything right recently.

Crowd was good tonight. I think a lot of that is probably down to the team actually playing well in the most part. Draw was the absolute least we deserved.


If we had a keeper we're probably top six or at least close to.

[hibee_girl]

Campbell getting a single second for us is a strange decision. Just on the pitch and get's out paced by a player who'd played 60+ minutes, gives away a corner then the keeper has a shocker. 2-1 Aberdeen.

Gave away a goal against Motherwell by being awful as well.

I’ll accept the Campbell sub wasn’t the best but I also understand why he was put on.

The other subs made sense tonight. The only thing I was surprised at was Miler wasn’t taken off.

[hibee_girl]

Were most of you in the group that stayed away tonight?

I think the atmosphere was really supportive and appreciative this evening which often comes when you are down to more of the hardcore.

We lack a bit of quality and confidence but it is very clear the players care. I thought overall we were the better team against a club that most people thought have got everything right recently.

The atmosphere was really positive tonight. It was really telling that the place didn’t empty after Aberdeen’s 2nd.

[Unseen work]

Were most of you in the group that stayed away tonight?

I think the atmosphere was really supportive and appreciative this evening which often comes when you are down to more of the hardcore.

We lack a bit of quality and confidence but it is very clear the players care. I thought overall we were the better team against a club that most people thought have got everything right recently.

That’s not the point though.

The players showing fight etc and fans being behind them is brilliant.

But is that enough? Or do we need someone new in who is a better coach who will get us wins and grind it out?

We seem to be plodding along at the moment constantly making excuses for ourselves and happy to take a point now and again

We lost 4-1 to Dundee a couple of days ago. 4-1 to Dundee.

Where was the fight there?

[TrinityHFC]

That’s not the point though.

The players showing fight etc and fans being behind them is brilliant.

But is that enough? Or do we need someone new in who is a better coach who will get us wins and grind it out?

We seem to be plodding along at the moment constantly making excuses for ourselves and happy to take a point now and again

We lost 4-1 to Dundee a couple of days ago. 4-1 to Dundee.

Where was the fight there?

The players were being questioned and also whether they were behind the manager. It is clear they do care and they are behind him.

We’ve got lots of things to address but if we are going to be in a fight then I don’t think the players are ducking that.

Is it all a team needs? Of course not but I think it is the main thing we can take from tonight, especially against a team that has been flying whilst we are clearly short of confidence and luck.

[Keepthefaith]

Were most of you in the group that stayed away tonight?

I think the atmosphere was really supportive and appreciative this evening which often comes when you are down to more of the hardcore.

We lack a bit of quality and confidence but it is very clear the players care. I thought overall we were the better team against a club that most people thought have got everything right recently.

well said. and I agree with the others - the hardcore fans were there tonight and the backing throughout was positive to the team. for those that weren't there, the team were roundly applauded off and rightly so, as much to appreciate the effort and resilience in the face of everything that has gone wrong this season.

giving praise in isolation doesn't mean pretending everything is rosy. but given the **** we've endured so far, I'm ok at celebrating a last gasp draw against the team second in the league. my hope is we build from it, but I'm not pretending we're suddenly world beaters or that Gray is definitely the right man, more that I think with the right work in the window we have enough to save ourselves.

[Boyle89]

Campbell getting a single second for us is a strange decision. Just on the pitch and get's out paced by a player who'd played 60+ minutes, gives away a corner then the keeper has a shocker. 2-1 Aberdeen.

Gave away a goal against Motherwell by being awful as well.

This was actually unbelievable. I think another manager might have subbed him off again after that goal. 30s on the pitch and gave up. Ridiculous. My mind might be playing tricks, but I don't think he passed him on to another defender, he just stopped running.

[B.H.F.C]

We did - 30 yard screamers isn’t showing fight. It was our only shot after Aberdeen went 2-1 up….

And if it is was…then once in 4 months is ****ing brutal

We also hit the post just after they went 2-1 up. We hit the post at the start of the second half, had a couple of other chances and actually scored two goals.

I don’t think everything has magically sorted itself but to say we got battered most of the second half is ridiculous.

[GreenPJ]

In answer to the question - No. Whilst it was right to drop Bursik they must have known how rough Smith was. It should have been Boric. I also am struggling to understand why Rudi or Dylan are not getting game time. Josh is showing nothing just now and Kwon looked like he had lead in his boots.

Myko is also not delivering. His physique is not really causing issues for opponent defenders. Whilst I thought we probably deserved to win the game there were still a lot of questionable selections and tactics. It has been said a million times but why we never leave someone up when the opposition have a corner drives me mad.

[B.H.F.C]

That’s not the point though.

The players showing fight etc and fans being behind them is brilliant.

But is that enough? Or do we need someone new in who is a better coach who will get us wins and grind it out?

We seem to be plodding along at the moment constantly making excuses for ourselves and happy to take a point now and again

We lost 4-1 to Dundee a couple of days ago. 4-1 to Dundee.

Where was the fight there?

It’s definitely not enough. It can’t just go on indefinitely. We have to win on Saturday. Say that every week but I think it’s even more important with a visit to Parkhead to follow, a game we’ll almost definitely lose.

The manner of the performance did feel a bit different tonight though. Who knows, maybe the players were happy that he’d finally changed the shape.

[NC1875]

Remember Grays non negotiables ? It’s taken him about 20 games to get the players to show them. And when they do, they’re celebrating a draw like a win.

Embarassing.

[supermcginn]

[QUOTE=JohnM1875;7828777]Campbell getting a single second for us is a strange decision. Just on the pitch and get's out paced by a player who'd played 60+ minutes, gives away a corner then the keeper has a shocker. 2-1 Aberdeen.

Gave away a goal against Motherwell by being awful as well.[/QUOTE

He also had a huge part to play in both goals we lost at tannadice, the first one was one bad enough but the second one he didn't track his man and was just walking about. He is rotten and lazy.

[Shrekko]

I’ll accept the Campbell sub wasn’t the best but I also understand why he was put on.



Campbell put on to provide these mythical qualities everyone insists he brings to the table - energy, work-rate, attacking threat. Only problem is he provides none of them and has zero football awareness.

Gray keeps going to the same well with the same results.

[DIXIHIBS]

Remember Grays non negotiables ? It’s taken him about 20 games to get the players to show them. And when they do, they’re celebrating a draw like a win.

Embarassing.

That's unfair. The players were celebrating a 96th equaliser along with every fan still there. Every team who equalises that late...celebrates.