jaf Posted February 22, 2015 Report Share Posted February 22, 2015 Mrs jaf and I missed the game yesterday as we were at a miserable game in England. Sounds horrific though. I would definitely keep Archie. I think his objectives for the season were to keep us up. And looking at the table you would say he is doing an ok job in that regard. However, recent performances have been terrible in lots of different ways. Rather than lambast Archie for this, I think he needs some help - From us From the board (re McMillan) And most of all from some of the players It's time to all pull together and stave off relegation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleeding Gums Murphy Posted February 22, 2015 Report Share Posted February 22, 2015 Mrs jaf and I missed the game yesterday as we were at a miserable game in England. Sounds horrific though. I would definitely keep Archie. I think his objectives for the season were to keep us up. And looking at the table you would say he is doing an ok job in that regard. However, recent performances have been terrible in lots of different ways. Rather than lambast Archie for this, I think he needs some help - From us From the board (re McMillan) And most of all from some of the players It's time to all pull together and stave off relegation. Jaf, I'm not the guy's biggest fan (some will say that's an understatement) but even yesterday he looked as though he'd chucked it. Osman misplaced his umpteenth pass of the game right in front of the dugout this time and their wasn't even so much a flicker of disappointment. No outstretched arms, no turning away, no I strictions or encouragement shouted. He just stood there with his arms folded. Either he's devoid of ideas or not got the stomach either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cup Posted February 22, 2015 Report Share Posted February 22, 2015 Jaf, I'm not the guy's biggest fan (some will say that's an understatement) but even yesterday he looked as though he'd chucked it. Osman misplaced his umpteenth pass of the game right in front of the dugout this time and their wasn't even so much a flicker of disappointment. No outstretched arms, no turning away, no I strictions or encouragement shouted. He just stood there with his arms folded. Either he's devoid of ideas or not got the stomach either. He spent a fair amount of the game sat in the dugout as well. Is that an admission that he has no control over the players? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyMac Posted February 22, 2015 Report Share Posted February 22, 2015 After much thought, I don't think alot of the players are trying and should be shown the door. However, as Archie has brought most of these players to our club, it's therefore a problem of his own making and for this reason alone, he should be also be shown the door. Win, loose or draw it's all part of the game, but if the players you sign are unwilling to play for you, there can only ever be one outcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Nixon Posted February 22, 2015 Report Share Posted February 22, 2015 Win, loose or draw it's all part of the game, but if the players you sign are unwilling to play for you, there can only ever be one outcome. So, should the players decide who the next manager will be then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyMac Posted February 22, 2015 Report Share Posted February 22, 2015 So, should the players decide who the next manager will be then? They shoud all be shown the door, the players that don't want to play and the manager that signed them. No one is bigger than the club. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Nixon Posted February 22, 2015 Report Share Posted February 22, 2015 They shoud all be shown the door, the players that don't want to play and the manager that signed them. No one is bigger than the club. Clean slate in the Championship next season then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cup Posted February 22, 2015 Report Share Posted February 22, 2015 What if we get rid of the players and bring in 10 more and they decide they don't want to play for Archibald either? Do we get rid of them as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyMac Posted February 22, 2015 Report Share Posted February 22, 2015 (edited) Clean slate in the Championship next season then? Who Knows Tricky, who knows where we are going? All you ask for is for players to try their best, someone has to take responsibility and IMO the buck stops with the manager. Edited February 22, 2015 by AndyMac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sick in the basin Posted February 22, 2015 Report Share Posted February 22, 2015 Neither a fan boy or a knicker wetter but clearly something not right. Even after we scored yesterday it hardly raised a smile from the majority of the team. On balance the biggest thing I'd hold against Archie is the ability to rouse the team in numerous "must win" games since promotion. Other than Tynecastle at the end of the season we've lost countless points from winnable positions where a sub would have killed the game. This season alone look at the 12 points shipped to St M, Ross and Mwell never mind a shameful cup performance v ICT where we could have had a great run this season Even last game of last season cost us £100k in prize money. Osman and Bannigan have both been brutal for months yet constantly picked - and both are unbelievably negative/backwards/sideways. We also look unfit as a team - were second to just about every 50/50 and we allowed their RB to run 80 yards to score yday despite 3 guys trying to catch never mind tackle him. The calls for Lawless I don't buy - decent first 2-3 months but form dropped markedly since then. As for his tweet - another prima donna who can do one. For me the biggest challenge is who would come in now and improve things - it appears we lack discipline and maybe a more experienced head is called for? If Archie does go I dont see any point in Shaggy getting the gig until end of the season as surely he's just as culpable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyprusjag Posted February 22, 2015 Report Share Posted February 22, 2015 Don't want see Archie go but I do wonder if he's able to mix his managerial style - arm round the shoulder for some guys and kick up the arse for others? His TV interviews always strike me as "rabbit caught in headlight" style ,lacking confidence and maybe that translates to the players. How does he come across in "real" life? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjptfc Posted February 22, 2015 Report Share Posted February 22, 2015 When McNamara left I admit I didn't want Archie to get the job. I thought it was an easy option taken by the club. Delighted to be proved wrong though with the way we won the Championship. (I wanted Hartley at the time as I thought he had earned his shot - but that's irrelevant). I was loving the football we were playing at the start of last season. The movement and passing was a joy to watch and Archie must take credit for that. However, he has repeatedly shown an inability to kill games off at vital times. He has shown to be naive on several occasions I feel. Now there seems to be a real doubt over his man-management. He clearly has some real ability, but also some deficiencies which could cost us. Therefore, I hope he can turn it round in the next few games or I think his time is limited. As much as he has talent as a manager, he also has weaknesses which could get us relegated. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Brent Posted February 22, 2015 Report Share Posted February 22, 2015 The fitness issue is one I have been wondering about. Eccelston was quoted saying that he was surprised by the intensity of the training at Kilmarnock compared with us Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sivad Posted February 22, 2015 Report Share Posted February 22, 2015 Fitness does indeed appear to be a problem. The repeated loss of late goals is one symptom. Yesterday we had a situation where the home team scored to get back to 1-2 against the team at the bottom of the league. Normally this would be the scenario for the away team to drop deeper in defence, and the home team to pile on the pressure in search of an equaliser. Instead, what we saw was the away team totally dominating the match for the final 20 minutes, scored once and could have had more, while the home team defended desperately to keep the score down. Extra training this week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cup Posted February 22, 2015 Report Share Posted February 22, 2015 The fitness issue is one I have been wondering about. Eccelston was quoted saying that he was surprised by the intensity of the training at Kilmarnock compared with us Is anyone surprised? If it was any other club AA would have been gone already. We're ran like a lower league outfit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Armand2 Posted February 22, 2015 Report Share Posted February 22, 2015 I'm not yet at the stage where I agree with the notion that Archie should be dismissed but it's becoming more difficult to defend his team by the week. His tactical inflexibility is at a stage where is can be considered sheer incompetence, in my opinion. People will point to the fact that we switched to a 4-4-2 yesterday (although for most of the time, it looked more like a 4-4-1-1 verging on the same tired old 4-2-3-1) but that is most certainly the exception to the rule. I seem to recall the manager suggesting in pre-season that the reason for the inflexibility last season was because he never had enough time to work with the players on an alternative. What's the reason now? We play the exact same system installed by McNamara with very little variation and it's exceedingly easy to negate - sit high on our full-backs and we're onto plums. There's also this fallacy that we play exciting, free-flowing football, a myth perpetuated by our own fans at times, but the style is far more reminiscent of McCall's flawed, often impotent system rather than anything on view in the Championship season. We constantly hear of luck from the manager, and our lack of it, but that only serves to absolve the players of responsibilities towards their own level of performance. Our players appear to be told on a regular basis that the only thing that prevented them from a favourable result was luck - hence they continue to contribute the same level of effort/performance in the belief that factors out with their control are to blame for poor results. Take yesterday's opening goal for example. Some may look at that and say it was unlucky. It wasn't; it was a catalogue of individual errors that culminated in a goal. The errors in no particular order - the team adopting zonal marking apart from our centre halves who follow their man into wide positions which deserts any defensive shape; Osman and Booth's misplaced passes; three players appealing for handball and stopping play; Seaborne still not back in position and therefore getting in the way of an attempted clearance; O'Donnell daydreaming as usual and losing his man. No luck about it. However, yesterday was concerning for reasons apart from the result; to me, that didn't look like a team. It appeared that there were guys playing for themselves and who didn't fancy the fight that County were offering. Additionally, Lawless' tweet however ill-advised it may have been doesn't point to a harmonious dressing room. I'm not going to jump to conclusions and suggest the manager has "lost the dressing room" but there is certainly mounting evidence that something isn't quite right. Indeed, despite our inconsistency affecting us beforehand, this lull can be traced directly back to when McMillan dropped out the picture. Some clarification on the matter is long overdue, not least because he is arguably our best player and certainly our most adept defensively. What this team needs is a leader on the pitch, a guy who leads by example, a guy who will hold a defensive line and tell his fellow players where to go, a guy who will tell a petulant wee fud like Gary Fraser to stop taking swings at goal from 30 yards, a guy who will play until the final whistle and who won't accept defeat. A guy like Alan Archibald ironically. And that's why, despite all of the above, he still has my support because I'm still hopeful he can instil the qualities he possessed as a player into those who pull on the jersey today. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Col Posted February 22, 2015 Report Share Posted February 22, 2015 No passion in the dugout, no passion in the post match interview. And blaming a bobbly pitch (again) is poor. The pressures on. But no point in sacking the guy now. If it was going to be done, it needed to be done a month ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cup Posted February 22, 2015 Report Share Posted February 22, 2015 No passion in the dugout, no passion in the post match interview. And blaming a bobbly pitch (again) is poor. The pressures on. But no point in sacking the guy now. If it was going to be done, it needed to be done a month ago. The season can still be salvaged but the board need to act now. On recent form if they wait a few more weeks the other teams will have caught up. It's too late at that point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarencegarter Posted February 23, 2015 Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 I see Pressley has left Coventry. Weather or not we could afford him is another matter but I would like to see him in. At least he has a rough idea about being a manager. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cup Posted February 23, 2015 Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 Interesting. SP speaks highly of us. As far as I know he recommended us to Seabourne when he had other options. Actually scrap that then. I hope he never works again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graemei Posted February 23, 2015 Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 Agree with a lot of people on here saying something is not right, effort and fight from the players (with a few exceptions) is no longer there and the performances as well around the same time. Reasons for AA to step down really are mounting up now. If dressing room unrest is true, then add that to the other issues and I think he is finished to be honest, i'm not sure how many managers have come back from something like that. For months going back before the Hamilton game it was starting to feel like the team had been found out, now it really does seem to be the case. We were so predictable for so long, all it would take is for other managers to sit with their players and watch the games over again and see our tactics don't really change that much and the formation pretty much never changes. For this to happen and for AA not to try and change it, does concern me given he has had time to try a different approach and a transfer window to bring in the players to do so. Something that infuriates me week after week is the delivery of the ball into the box, it's truly terrible. Do we practice this in training? Does anyone else think this every week or is it just me. It also seems a lot of the time when we have the option to hit the byline we don't bother and instead go for another ineffective cross. So frustrating man. For me the team lacks a midfield general, a ball winner, who can pick out a decent forward pass and dictate our play. We just don't have this just now. Sacking the manager isn't always the answer and I hope he turns it around. For me that doesn't necessarily mean immediate wins, but things certainly need to change and we need to play better at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La Scimmia Rossa Posted April 13, 2015 Report Share Posted April 13, 2015 (edited) I love this thread. By forum standards it has to contain the most drivel ever written. Witless nonsense. My personal favourite is "He spent a fair amount of the game sat in the dugout as well. Is that an admission that he has no control over the players?" Edited April 13, 2015 by La Scimmia Rossa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Hosie Posted April 13, 2015 Report Share Posted April 13, 2015 I love this thread. By forum standards it has to contain the most drivel ever written. Witless nonsense. My personal favourite is "He spent a fair amount of the game sat in the dugout as well. Is that an admission that he has no control over the players?" Not convinced that you have raised the standard any. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jag Posted April 13, 2015 Report Share Posted April 13, 2015 Not convinced that you have raised the standard any. Seconded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La Scimmia Rossa Posted April 13, 2015 Report Share Posted April 13, 2015 Thanks Tom. I'll leave that to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.