Jack Ross Report Card - 1 Year in

[basehibby]

I haven't noticed any other threads on this but Jack Ross passed his 1st anniversary as Hibs Manager on 15th November - congratulations Jack! So seems like a good time to look back and take stock.

His league record last season was an encouraging 7-4-7 (WDL) - taking a side flirting with the relegation spots into a comfortable mid-table position. He's built on that this season making us harder to beat it seems with 7-5-3 the record so far.

In Cup competitions despite the recent misery of losing to Hearts at Hamden (FFS!) in the cold light of day his record is decent so far - having got us through to Hamdump for the semi in the first place and cruised out of the LC Groups so far.

On the transfer front the signs are positive with Nisbet, Murphy, McGinn and Gogic in particular having slotted into their roles to make us a stronger side and hopes high that Magennis might have a similar impact.

In terms of style and tactics opinions seem a bit split among the fans right now but for me we are definitely playing a more attractive and winning brand of football than when Ross took up the reins a year ago.

On the whole I would give him a B+ so far - would have been a solid A but for some disappointing results against the Yams and the sheep.

[Steve20]

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I haven't noticed any other threads on this but Jack Ross passed his 1st anniversary as Hibs Manager on 15th November - congratulations Jack! So seems like a good time to look back and take stock.

His league record last season was an encouraging 7-4-7 (WDL) - taking a side flirting with the relegation spots into a comfortable mid-table position. He's built on that this season making us harder to beat it seems with 7-5-3 the record so far.

In Cup competitions despite the recent misery of losing to Hearts at Hamden (FFS!) in the cold light of day his record is decent so far - having got us through to Hamdump for the semi in the first place and cruised out of the LC Groups so far.

On the transfer front the signs are positive with Nisbet, Murphy, McGinn and Gogic in particular having slotted into their roles to make us a stronger side and hopes high that Magennis might have a similar impact.

In terms of style and tactics opinions seem a bit split among the fans right now but for me we are definitely playing a more attractive and winning brand of football than when Ross took up the reins a year ago.

On the whole I would give him a B+ so far - would have been a solid A but for some disappointing results against the Yams and the sheep.

We really need to get that sort of mentality pushed aside. Losing as many games as winning is not encouraging. We're meant to be one of the biggest clubs in the country. We should be winning the majority of our games.

[Gatecrasher]

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We really need to get that sort of mentality pushed aside. Losing as many games as winning is not encouraging. We're meant to be one of the biggest clubs in the country. We should be winning the majority of our games.

compared to the start of the season we had it is.

[MWHIBBIES]

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compared to the start of the season we had it is.

Dunno about that. We lost to ross county, hearts and livi in that run. Dreadful defeats.

[Kaff]

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I haven't noticed any other threads on this but Jack Ross passed his 1st anniversary as Hibs Manager on 15th November - congratulations Jack! So seems like a good time to look back and take stock.

His league record last season was an encouraging 7-4-7 (WDL) - taking a side flirting with the relegation spots into a comfortable mid-table position. He's built on that this season making us harder to beat it seems with 7-5-3 the record so far.

In Cup competitions despite the recent misery of losing to Hearts at Hamden (FFS!) in the cold light of day his record is decent so far - having got us through to Hamdump for the semi in the first place and cruised out of the LC Groups so far.

On the transfer front the signs are positive with Nisbet, Murphy, McGinn and Gogic in particular having slotted into their roles to make us a stronger side and hopes high that Magennis might have a similar impact.

In terms of style and tactics opinions seem a bit split among the fans right now but for me we are definitely playing a more attractive and winning brand of football than when Ross took up the reins a year ago.

On the whole I would give him a B+ so far - would have been a solid A but for some disappointing results against the Yams and the sheep.

Good summary.
I'm 100% in support of Jack but also want to avoid the Derek MacInnes route of success where he just puts together a team of spoilers with the odd flair player chucked in.
Having the players is important but also need to come up with a fluid style of exciting football. It came easily to Mowbray, Collins and Stubbs no matter if they were classed as their own squad or what they inherited, Jack's issue so far for me is the stifled form of Scott Allan and Martin Boyle, he doesn't seem able to get things moving dynamically and make the most of talent at his disposal.

All said though, we're sitting in 4th having played well in patches and from where Heckingbottom had us then that's great improvement and much better to develop a better style from this position of strength, he has said it himself but next 4 games are very important for this season and losing 4th spot from where we were would be a major failing.
Hopefully here for a good while and we can build on a solid start.

[Key West]

A very good start from Jack Ross, he’s still trying to find the balance between producing a team which is entertaining and pretty solid defensively, from a statistical point of view being 4th and having a bit of daylight between us and our rivals as well as being on the coat tails of Aberdeen is encouraging.

I hope he recruits a centre back in January to supplement Porteous and Hanlon where we are very thin on the ground.

I think he will be boosted by players returning to the form they are capable of.

I would rather be in our position with some of our failings and weaknesses than the rest of the teams who sit currently lower in the table or be in the championship.

[Lancs Harp]

Odd as it may seem after a year Im still making my mind up about Jack. A 7-5-3 record is no less than I would expect, we do seem harder to beat but we do lack a bit of flair creativity and dynamism, We are work in progress but then when are we not? We have solved some issues for instance the forward line looking a little more cohesive and the post 2016 issue of replacing our aging fullbacks/wingbacks but we are still struggling to find the balance and answers in midfield.

A steady averageish C+ from me.

[Gatecrasher]

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Dunno about that. We lost to ross county, hearts and livi in that run. Dreadful defeats.

We were relegation fodder before he took over.

[Northernhibee]

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We were relegation fodder before he took over.

Also Livi were excellent last season.

[The Modfather]

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We really need to get that sort of mentality pushed aside. Losing as many games as winning is not encouraging. We're meant to be one of the biggest clubs in the country. We should be winning the majority of our games.

In isolation, yes. However that stat is in the context of what he inherited and the fact we weren’t far off being pulled into the relegation battle when he arrived.

I think he has done a good job so far, but with much room from improvement. I just hope he isn’t stuck on playing two in the middle of the park (at least until he signs two players capable of those specific roles) as that’s what did it for Mixu and his insistence on a diamond IMO. He’s built a platform to kick on, but kicking on is possibly harder than the good work he’s done so far.

[NORTHERNHIBBY]

I think that our expectations have also gone up since he came in and that's fair IMO given the way that he has been backed within the context of tyhe league and our competitors. The leagcy that he has from the Sunderland days, is too many draws and not making the big games count. He will know that is an easy comparison to point to.

[hibsbollah]

7.5/10.
B+.

A solid, acceptable start.

[jeffers]

Not convinced by him and not enjoying watching his team play. Certainly not suggesting we get rid of him, but I don’t think he’s a great manager or one we will worry about being poached by a bigger club.

[Pretty Boy]

I'd probably grade him around a B. Steady progress whilst not really being spectacular.

He has us on course for a 4th place finish. If he does better than that by a place then he's arguably overachieved, worse and he's underachieved.

[Greenbeard]

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A very good start from Jack Ross, he’s still trying to find the balance between producing a team which is entertaining and pretty solid defensively, from a statistical point of view being 4th and having a bit of daylight between us and our rivals as well as being on the coat tails of Aberdeen is encouraging.

I hope he recruits a centre back in January to supplement Porteous and Hanlon where we are very thin on the ground.

I think he will be boosted by players returning to the form they are capable of.

I would rather be in our position with some of our failings and weaknesses than the rest of the teams who sit currently lower in the table or be in the championship.

Don't disagree but when SPM was signed he was touted as cover for central defence was he not? If we see him there while Hanlon is out (latest?) and he does ok then I'd rather we were looking for an young adventurous right back before another central defender.

[Up The Bracket]

C for me, last season he got us out a relegation battle but ultimately failed by finishing in the bottom 6.

This season we are where we should be but the football is brutal to watch at times, derby results being a major blot on his copybook, hopefully it improves but I’m not totally convinced that it will.

4th place isn’t to be sniffed at but I really haven’t enjoyed watching my team very often under his stewardship.

[The Spaceman]

Solid B+ from me.

He has undoubtedly improved us and I like that he is moving us away from a "quick turnover" model into a longer-term "prospects" model so that we can build a stable and consistent team. He comes across well, is very likeable and has an excellent knowledge/experience base from both the Scottish and English league systems.

Two wins from the recent games against Celtic, Hearts and Aberdeen would have had him sitting on an A-. Fine margins in this game.

No doubt in my mind though that he is the man to take us forward as a long-term project. Aberdeen have had a colossal period over the past 10 years to build a tough old team to shift, it will not just happen over night for us. People need to accept that. 4th this season is a good result.

[hibsbollah]

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Solid B+ from me.

He has undoubtedly improved us and I like that he is moving us away from a "quick turnover" model into a longer-term "prospects" model so that we can build a stable and consistent team. He comes across well, is very likeable and has an excellent knowledge/experience base from both the Scottish and English league systems.

Two wins from the recent games against Celtic, Hearts and Aberdeen would have had him sitting on an A-. Fine margins in this game.

No doubt in my mind though that he is the man to take us forward as a long-term project. Aberdeen have had a colossal period over the past 10 years to build a tough old team to shift, it will not just happen over night for us. People need to accept that. 4th this season is a good result.

I always thought A- and B+ were the same thing

[calumhibee1]

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I'd probably grade him around a B. Steady progress whilst not really being spectacular.

He has us on course for a 4th place finish. If he does better than that by a place then he's arguably overachieved, worse and he's underachieved.

Pretty much how I see it.

Solid but unspectacular and doing enough. He’s close to doing a very good job - a win in the semi final would probably have nudged him up to a B+ and probably into the very good job bracket for me - but he’s also close to underachieving with recent results, especially the semi final, dragging him down towards that.

Hopefully we can put a run together over the next month or two. In a league where we are by a mile the fourth biggest spenders and we’ve also managed to splash a bit of cash whilst everyone else is toiling then 4th is the absolute minimum we should be expecting.

[Sammy7nil]

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I'd probably grade him around a B. Steady progress whilst not really being spectacular.

He has us on course for a 4th place finish. If he does better than that by a place then he's arguably overachieved, worse and he's underachieved.

Agree with this, fourth is good however it should be the minimum we expect in a league without Hearts where clubs are struggling financially. Anything less would be a major disappointment.

I like Jack talking and he seems a good guy I hope he goes on to achieve great things here but he has a way to go yet.

[MWHIBBIES]

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We were relegation fodder before he took over.

I don't think we were ever really in any danger of going down. Team was far too good.

[Jones28]

6.5/10 for me. Some poor results, some excellent results and definitely more good than bad, including the lesser spotted wins against Aberdeen and at Tynecastle. For some losing to Hearts is unforgivable but I the sem final was unfortunate. The loss in the league last season is more disappointing but his record against the old firm this season is more than acceptable.

Recruitment has been good, especially given the circumstances. Would like to see more from the recruitment department in January and I think he will want to move some on and bring one or two in. I can see Hallberg, Mallan, S McGinn and maybe McGregor and SDG moving off the books, with jobs for the latter 2 when circumstances allow.

[B.H.F.C]

Solid, unspectacular.

Fourth place would be an improvement so couldn’t argue. It’s also minimum requirement this year. Do something in one of the cups to make up for that semi final.

[Scottie]

'Could do better' like my old report cards used to say.

We are exactly where I expect us to be in the league with the finances JR has been given. Too many draws and bad results in the big games. Unfortunately I don't see JR as the man to take us to the next level, I hope I'm wrong but only time will tell.

[Keith_M]

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We really need to get that sort of mentality pushed aside. Losing as many games as winning is not encouraging. We're meant to be one of the biggest clubs in the country. We should be winning the majority of our games.

Last season under Heckingbottom, our league record was W1-D6-L4... Under Ross, it was W7-D4-L7.

It's not exactly great but I think the point was that at least it was an improvement, and with basically the same players.

We then started this season with W6-D3-L2, from our first round of games. giving us 21 points. That's the highest amount we've achieved since the premier league was switched to it's current format of 38 games with the top/bottom six split (even more than Lennon achieved in our first year after promotion).

So yes, we're getting there.

[Leitherhibs]

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I don't think we were ever really in any danger of going down. Team was far too good.

Lol. Many, many Hearts fans said the same last season. We would've been relegated under PH IMO.

[J-C]

Improved Heccky's team but tbh that wasn't hard.

Decent start this season with performances a bit all over the place, I wish he'd pick a formation and stick to it, this 442 352 451 433 every game. I'll give him a C.

[H18S NX]

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I haven't noticed any other threads on this but Jack Ross passed his 1st anniversary as Hibs Manager on 15th November - congratulations Jack! So seems like a good time to look back and take stock.

His league record last season was an encouraging 7-4-7 (WDL) - taking a side flirting with the relegation spots into a comfortable mid-table position. He's built on that this season making us harder to beat it seems with 7-5-3 the record so far.

In Cup competitions despite the recent misery of losing to Hearts at Hamden (FFS!) in the cold light of day his record is decent so far - having got us through to Hamdump for the semi in the first place and cruised out of the LC Groups so far.

On the transfer front the signs are positive with Nisbet, Murphy, McGinn and Gogic in particular having slotted into their roles to make us a stronger side and hopes high that Magennis might have a similar impact.

In terms of style and tactics opinions seem a bit split among the fans right now but for me we are definitely playing a more attractive and winning brand of football than when Ross took up the reins a year ago.

On the whole I would give him a B+ so far - would have been a solid A but for some disappointing results against the Yams and the sheep.

...Cannot agree with that m8,I'd give him "C".

[wookie70]

B- for me. He is doing the job he needs to be doing but it is fairly uninspiring stuff and we are failing in games we shouldn't, particularly that semi final. We definitely got the bounce when he arrived but to me the biggest impact was Boyle's return and Doidge starting to hit a barn door. Both those things may have happened without a change of manager. Signings are promising which is a plus but we don't have a style of play and are very inconsistent in performance. No doubt he is getting pass marks and I think the team isn't far away from clicking but we do need a fit Magennis or a signing or two

[Keith_M]

To put the A, B and C into context, what's the available marks?

e.g. is it A-E? Or A-Z?