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Mark Roberts


Hopeless Unbeliever
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Was sad to see him punted by Ayr tonight. Probably the single most important Jags player in my 20+ years watching Thistle, it doesn't bear thinking about where we might have been had Campbell not chanced upon him. I know there's not much room for sentimentality in football etc and we probably don't have the spaces anyway, but if he were to turn up at Firhill again one day I'd be very happy.

 

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since he is likely going to be kicking his heels for the foreseeable, would there be any merit in inviting him in for two or three days a week to work with our attacking midfielders and strikers?

 

he was no one trick pony on the pitch, and if he could pass on some of his tips on aspects of his play including movement, positioning and anticipation, it could be beneficial to us.

 

for instance, i've always thought as great as doolan is, someone like the hoor giving him pointers could only improve dools undoubted ability. well, now by unfortunate circumstances for marko, that could become reality if archie thinks the same?

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Was really surprised Mark ever became a manager as he never was thought about seriously as a club captain. That said he was extremely influential as a player from both his own performances and how he brought the best out of players playing in forward positions alongside him. Not sure where he goes from here in a football sense but I wish him the best of luck.

 

Tough one on Dale Keenan as well.

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I think a lot of guys with the talent that Roberts had struggle to pass on their skill to an inferior standard of player so I'm not terribly surprised to see him leave Ayr. A great character but never struck me as a manager. Along with Sid, from a technical point of view, he's one of the best players we've had in recent times and in my opinion, is undoubtedly the single most influential player we've had during my time watching Thistle.

 

He should always be made welcome at Firhill because without him, I don't think we'd have a team to support. If Archie thinks he can help with the attacking players, I'd be delighted to see him back.

 

Allez ze Hoor.

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since he is likely going to be kicking his heels for the foreseeable, would there be any merit in inviting him in for two or three days a week to work with our attacking midfielders and strikers? he was no one trick pony on the pitch, and if he could pass on some of his tips on aspects of his play including movement, positioning and anticipation, it could be beneficial to us. for instance, i've always thought as great as doolan is, someone like the hoor giving him pointers could only improve dools undoubted ability. well, now by unfortunate circumstances for marko, that could become reality if archie thinks the same?

 

It would be great if he could, because I sometimes feel our front line looks a wee bit static (last Saturday excepted) but are those things you can easily pass on?

 

Roberts' movement and passing seemed instinctive and I think that is possibly why he struggled as a manager with Ayr - he will have been expecting players to do things they simply didn't know they were supposed to.

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I see that Jeffries and McGlynn have also left their clubs. I would love Jeffries to take over at St Mirren!

 

It's the sacking season with clubs making changes before the transfer window opens. It's not the Christmas "present" that any manager wants. I hope that Roberts gets fixed up soon.

 

The BBC report suggests that Jeffries resigned voluntarily, possibly to retire from management. It's unlikely that he would even be considered for the Buddies' job. Hopefully Scully will continue to impress for the Pars.

 

McGlynn has left by "mutual consent" which suggests that he was pushed, or perhaps wanted, out. I'm surprised that Livi can afford to pay him off. Perhaps he was happy to take the money and go with admin hanging over the club.

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Jeffries will retire. McGlynn will struggle to get a good job given his failure at Livingston - may be a decent shout for Ayr however.

 

Danny Lennon would be a good shout for any of these job; not sure he'll want them but Dunfermline (if it doesn't just get handed to Potter/McCann) would be a decent project.

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I think a lot of guys with the talent that Roberts had struggle to pass on their skill to an inferior standard of player so I'm not terribly surprised to see him leave Ayr. A great character but never struck me as a manager. Along with Sid, from a technical point of view, he's one of the best players we've had in recent times and in my opinion, is undoubtedly the single most influential player we've had during my time watching Thistle.

 

He should always be made welcome at Firhill because without him, I don't think we'd have a team to support. If Archie thinks he can help with the attacking players, I'd be delighted to see him back.

 

Allez ze Hoor.

 

This exactly. This man single handedly saved our great club from oblivion. We certainly wouldn't have been delighting in beating ICT 4-0 or signing Frans or looking to top 6, if Mark Roberts hadn't pulled on the famous red n yellow in that playoff promotion season. It would have been all over.

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Roberts' movement and passing seemed instinctive and I think that is possibly why he struggled as a manager with Ayr - he will have been expecting players to do things they simply didn't know they were supposed to.

This reminds me of something I read or heard recently about Kenny Dalglish (maybe even on here?) He said he couldn't understand why the younger players weren't watching the shadows to get a feel for where the opposition were when he was in an attacking position. He thought everyone did this!
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This reminds me of something I read or heard recently about Kenny Dalglish (maybe even on here?)  He said he couldn't understand why the younger players weren't watching the shadows to get a feel for where the opposition were when he was in an attacking position.  He thought everyone did this!

 

I'm currently on a management training course and today saw a video where a basketball coach who had been a great player talked about a friend who came to watch him coach when he was younger. Afterwards his friend explained to him that all his shouting and going mental at his players wasn't going to help as he was expecting them to do exactly as he did as a player. He changed his coaching style and became the winningest coach in the NBA.

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I loved watching Mark Roberts playing for Thistle and as others have noted, some of his goals were a) sublime and B) crucial (the play offs).

 

While he wasn't a "Kenny Watson" figure glueing the team together, he was some light in very dark times.

 

The excellent Tell Him He's Pele website as ever put most mainstream outlets to shame with the depth of their articles. They have posted this rather stark assessment of Mark's time at Ayr United: http://www.tellhimhespele.com/the-boy-with-the-thorn-in-his-side/

 

I was a little surprised to hear him say he thought he had wasted his playing career. I suspect he meant in terms of never sustaining a place in the SPL.

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