Jump to content

 

 

The Manager and the team this season - an objective view.


Guest TravelingWilBEARy

Recommended Posts

Guest TravelingWilBEARy

I posted this on RM, I'd be interested in any thoughts about it on here too:-

 

There has been a lot of debate about the job Ally is doing, most of it understandably (this being a discussion forum) based on subjective opinions about the 'type' of football we are playing. Most of these debates seem to be argued by using extreme absolutes with helpful terms like 'shite', 'clueless', 'going nowhere', 'useless', etc, etc. Using subjective terms like those certainly makes for fiery and occasionally interesting discussion but I feel that the three major points that get lost in all this is the fact that we have clearly improved from the dross served up last year, that we are currently meeting objective expectations on the pitch and whether our manager will be the answer long term.

 

The last point remains to be seen and can only really be argued in the subjective, so I thought it would be interesting to look at the objective side to the first two points.

 

We are currently averaging 3 goals a game and have only conceded 8 whilst winning 20 games out of 21 in the league. We've played some good stuff in spells this season whilst scoring hatfuls of goals, we've also played poorly at times and struggled to break teams down whilst still winning the vast majority of them - I think it's safe to say that at the moment he and his squad of journeymen and free transfers are meeting any objective expectations you would wish to ask of them in the League.

 

As far as the cups go we have had one major disappointment in the League Cup after crashing out at the first hurdle. There are more encouraging signs in the other two cups however - we are in the final of the Ramsdens Cup and have a very winnable tie in the 5th Round of the Scottish Cup.

 

There has been a lot of debate about the players brought in. I think they way transfers are viewed are pretty archaic, people seem to look at them in terms buying players to bolster a squad. They should, in my opinion, be looked at in terms of buying wins. Especially when you consider the importance of 3 straight promotions whilst operating under a transfer embargo (I used to term 'buying' wins for conversational ease). We can all have opinions on how we look as a team in obtaining those but, again, these are just opinions.

 

I don't think anyone can dispute that Bell, Mohsni, Law and Daly are the spine of our team. All of whom were recruited in the summer and the stats for the games they have appeared in are pretty impressive. There has been a lot of claims (baseless) that players have 'regressed' under the current Manager and coaching team this season but, again, the stats don't really reflect this.

 

Bell has kept numerous clean sheets in 15 appearances for the club this season, our impressive defensive record bears that out. Mohsni, as part of that defensive line up, has also played a major role in that record whilst scoring 8 goals and making 5 assists from Central defence - very impressive. Nicky Law has had numerous man of the match awards whilst weighing in with 9 goals and 5 assists from the centre of midfield. Jon Daly has contributed 18 goals and 8 assists whilst continuing to be the focal point of our attack.

 

Two signings which receive the most ire on this board are those of Foster and Smith. Both have been derided as 'needless' and a 'waste of a wage'. The stats for those two are a lot less impressive but suggest that both have played their part this season. Foster has played 12 games and weighed in with 2 assists - of those 12 games we have won all 12. Smith has made 6 appearances and, once again, we have won all 6 games. Both were signed as back up and a combined total of 18 games by Janurary isn't too bad.

 

For what it's worth, I don't think the performances are good enough, especially for what I'm paying for a season ticket and getting to games. That said, I find the facts impossible to argue against and until someone can show me a measurable and objective target which this team is failing to achieve this season then I will stick with the view that we are currently meeting expectations.

 

McCoist has shown little so far to suggest he is a world beating manager, but he hasn't shown that he is a totally clueless fool either.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I think that's a very fair analysis.

 

Personally I'm reasonably happy with the bulk of our performances this season. We've played some good football, mixed it physically when required and are generally doing OK. Results - Forfar in the cup aside - have been excellent.

 

Can we improve? Absolutely and I'd like to see the manager be more eager to rotate players into his side.

 

Why have performances stagnated recently? I'd say a few players have started to look a bit jaded - Daly in particular while Law and Black; so impressive earlier in the season, haven't been as effective. Again, this is where I think the manager should look to freshen up the team where possible.

 

All in all, I think we've made some gentle progress this season but can understand why many fans remain unconvinced. Division One will prove a much more difficult test and I do worry that the management team may struggle to motivate the players well enough and on a consistent basis to make winning that league inevitable as opposed to just probable.

 

Can and must do better sums it up I feel.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Kinda lost interest when you said Daly was part of the spine of the team. The guys playing like he's hardly got a spine of his own.

 

Ally can never be judged against former managers, because it's doubtful he will ever receive the same financial backing as our previous managers. He's done the minimum required to get us out these leagues, but to be honest, your average forum poster wouldn't have done a much worse job. His record in cups is beyond awful, so that's a definite black mark against him. The jury's still out, and will probably remain so until he gets pumped for not winning the top division in two seasons.

 

His negative tactics away from home against utter shite, leave a lot to be desired also. Playing one up front against part-time players, especially when that one is fucking Daly, is shitebaggery of the highest order.

 

Edit, apologies for the language, but Daly being persisted with is really grinding my gears.

Link to post
Share on other sites

As far as I can see we have an inferior Walter Smith as Manager. Where Smith employed tactics to win in Europe, Ally does the same to win in Forfar.

 

From everyone back at corners to playing a central midfielder out wide, one up front to no substitutes before 70 mins.

 

It would be almost impossible NOT to win the Leagues last year and this, as Frankie says next year will be a lot tougher.

 

There is no excitement or freshness about us and will be mirrored by falling attendances till the end of the season.

Link to post
Share on other sites

There's just one part of the post I find strange and that is we're not playing well enough for the price of the ticket. But aren't we paying pretty much the same as the rest of the teams in the league, and less than the two leagues above?

 

If we're not getting value for money, how about the rest of Scottish football? Are they all more entertaining despite not winning all the time like us?

 

Would we be happy watching an Arsenal type team (who have won nothing for about a decade) but have to pay £62 - 123.50 + membership fee? Except without the TV (£70m+?) and sponsorship money, we would still only have a fraction of their income to spend on the squad.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Would we be happy watching an Arsenal type team (who have won nothing for about a decade) but have to pay £62 - 123.50 + membership fee? Except without the TV (£70m+?) and sponsorship money, we would still only have a fraction of their income to spend on the squad.

 

Aye, if the spivs didnae pocket it all

Link to post
Share on other sites

I find the facts impossible to argue against and until someone can show me a measurable and objective target which this team is failing to achieve this season then I will stick with the view that we are currently meeting expectations.

 

Your summary is indeed hard to argue with but aside from some landslide wins at Ibrox it's been very hard to watch most of the time and extremely cold, (though :cart: can't be blamed for the weather I guess) ; the immensely boring game against East Fife just about summing it up for me.

 

I don't agree that Foster was signed as back up. If he was signed as back up who was or is the first choice? You can't say Faure because he is not a RB. Foster is the only natural RB at the Club and has performed pretty well most of the time and your stats back up his value to the team. He is +12 in ice hockey terms, though that stat is diminished by the fact that we should win every game anyway.

 

Both Daly and Law have dropped a gear or two (some would say gone down to the level of the opposition) since the Autumn and perhaps the cold and boredom of disposing of these teams four times a season has got to them to.

Edited by BrahimHemdani
Link to post
Share on other sites

As far as I can see we have an inferior Walter Smith as Manager. Where Smith employed tactics to win in Europe, Ally does the same to win in Forfar.

 

From everyone back at corners ............ one up front to no substitutes before 70 mins.

 

It's easy to see :cart: as an inferior version of WS.

 

This thing about everyone back at corners drives many in the stand around me to near apoplexy. I well remember the sight of Jean-Claude Darcheville trying to get away with hiding on the centre spot as we defended a corner on one occasion only to be frantically waived back by Smith. You could almost hear him say, look boss I'm 32, playing on one leg and haven't lasted 90 mins in any game, please can I just stay up here to gather the kick out and hold up play.

 

I also remember the consternation in our defence faced with Barcelona leaving Messi, Henry, Gudjohnsen and Ronaldinho up front as they defended a corner and we had to keep 5 or 6 back. Yes , I know that we are not playing Barcleona these days but the same principle applies

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.


×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.