Lambies Lost Doo Posted March 6 Report Share Posted March 6 I get sad seeing Doolan thread as I still love that guy so suggesting we start a new thread? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elevenone Posted March 6 Report Share Posted March 6 Graham til at least https://ptfc.co.uk/ptfc-news/club-update-football-appointments/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert's Ghost Posted March 6 Report Share Posted March 6 Graham's been fine so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandy Posted March 6 Report Share Posted March 6 Graham is not the solution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotty Posted March 6 Report Share Posted March 6 4 minutes ago, sandy said: Graham is not the solution. He is until an alternative is appointed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy McD Posted March 6 Report Share Posted March 6 I don't get the need to recruit a sporting director, we have survived 150 years without one, it's another wage which could be used on a player.. Great that BBG has got the Gig at least till the end of march.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Third Lanark Posted March 6 Report Share Posted March 6 1 hour ago, Albert's Ghost said: Graham's been fine so far. The players have looked fitter and a bit more interested although I wouldn’t say 2 points out of 6 is anything great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert's Ghost Posted March 6 Report Share Posted March 6 33 minutes ago, Third Lanark said: The players have looked fitter and a bit more interested although I wouldn’t say 2 points out of 6 is anything great First bit very true. 2nd bit - 2 mistakes, very costly, a bit unlucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dl1971 Posted March 6 Report Share Posted March 6 Only sensible decision that could be made. Graham could be in the right place at right time. Can't deny he is a hard worker on and off the park. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Third Lanark Posted March 6 Report Share Posted March 6 2 hours ago, Albert's Ghost said: First bit very true. 2nd bit - 2 mistakes, very costly, a bit unlucky. 2nd bit is true as well whether it’s mistakes it’s still at the end of the day just 2 points. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lambies Lost Doo Posted March 6 Author Report Share Posted March 6 Don't forget Mark Wilson! Graham/Wilson have made interesting and positive changed in their first 2 games. Airdrie - they pushed 2 midfielders (Crawford & Stanway) up higher to support the lone CF. For me it was clear watching from the stand there was a big gap between midfield & forward areas. I'm terrible with formations but an online report said it was 4-1-4-1 with Bannigan sitting in front of defence. Livingston - they took on the big boys to stop us being bullied by the West Lothian news. 3 central players in midfield. Bannigan, Crawford, Martin. McBeth carry ball out from a back 3 with Chalmers in a free role. 3-5-2-1 Different formations. Better performances but no wins yet. They both speak well in front of the tv cameras. I'm not saying give them the job but I've been positively surprised by their approach and tactics so looking forward to next game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted March 6 Report Share Posted March 6 (edited) 4 hours ago, Albert's Ghost said: First bit very true. 2nd bit - 2 mistakes, very costly, a bit unlucky. Quite a few of our lost points under Doolan were due to mistakes by individual players: defenders, midfielders, and forwards. Edited March 6 by Jaggernaut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenski Posted March 7 Report Share Posted March 7 On 3/6/2025 at 5:53 PM, Third Lanark said: The players have looked fitter and a bit more interested although I wouldn’t say 2 points out of 6 is anything great Looked fitter, but can't be significantly so given limited time. Suspect this more to do with tactics, formation and just possibly attitude/effort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lady-isobel-barnett Posted March 7 Report Share Posted March 7 Not that sure myself but it was thought by some the team ran out of steam not long after the hour mark last Saturday. No doubt we had upped our game before that but I find it hard to believe we've all of a sudden got super fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
partickthedog Posted March 7 Report Share Posted March 7 2 hours ago, lady-isobel-barnett said: Not that sure myself but it was thought by some the team ran out of steam not long after the hour mark last Saturday. No doubt we had upped our game before that but I find it hard to believe we've all of a sudden got super fit. I am not surprised that the team ran out of steam on the hour mark last Saturday after the hard shift they put in against Livingston the night before. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exiledjag Posted March 8 Report Share Posted March 8 5 hours ago, lady-isobel-barnett said: Not that sure myself but it was thought by some the team ran out of steam not long after the hour mark last Saturday. No doubt we had upped our game before that but I find it hard to believe we've all of a sudden got super fit. I agree that we certainly haven't got super fit and i doubt we will be this season. Therefore I think what posters are saying is that the players are getting fitter. The fact that we, in the Airdrie and Livingston games: 1. Failed to continue to dominate in the second half, and 2. Not only lost the equalising goal but were also under the kosh late in both games suggests to me (and looked to me) that we lacked staying power or if you prefer, fitness. I have no doubt that in the time between the Livingston game and our next game, about 10 days, the new management team will focus the training on increasing physical fitness. Graham and Wilson can't however do pre-season training that should have been done in June/July, in March. As Graham has already said the need to increase training and therefore fitness is a balance in terms of not exhausting the players to the point where they are too tired to play actual games. IMO I think we are still in 4th place only because results in other games have gone our way. We have difficult games coming up which we need to win but I regret to say I haven't yet seen much that suggests we can win. If we can achieve a fitness level that enables us to play play for at least 75/80 mins against the current 60mins approx then we might avoid defeat or even win. Roll on next season when a fit Jags will romp the league. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenziejag Posted March 8 Report Share Posted March 8 On 3/6/2025 at 5:18 PM, Jimmy McD said: I don't get the need to recruit a sporting director, we have survived 150 years without one, it's another wage which could be used on a player.. Great that BBG has got the Gig at least till the end of march.. People probably said that when we moved from picking the team by committee to first appointing a manager. It’s a different structure. The Sporting Director spends his time finding recruiting and the coach coaches. It seems to be the modern way. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotty Posted March 8 Report Share Posted March 8 On 3/6/2025 at 5:18 PM, Jimmy McD said: I don't get the need to recruit a sporting director, we have survived 150 years without one, it's another wage which could be used on a player.. Great that BBG has got the Gig at least till the end of march.. It was reported that McCall left the training to his two assistant managers so I would guess that they were responsible for team selection too. Was this not a defacto sporting director? What I'd like to know is if a team goes on a poor run is it the coach or the director who gets sacked? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted March 8 Report Share Posted March 8 22 minutes ago, scotty said: What I'd like to know is if a team goes on a poor run is it the coach or the director who gets sacked? That's kind of my worry. The manager/coach has the results and performance on the field as measures of his or her performance. What criteria are used to evaluate a sporting director's performance, and how long would he or she be allowed to keep their position if there is no improvement, or worse, a serious slump? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fifexile Posted March 8 Report Share Posted March 8 34 minutes ago, Jaggernaut said: That's kind of my worry. The manager/coach has the results and performance on the field as measures of his or her performance. What criteria are used to evaluate a sporting director's performance, and how long would he or she be allowed to keep their position if there is no improvement, or worse, a serious slump? Interesting point. I'd expect the Sporting Director to have his or her 'deliverables' same as any one else at the club. Planning, scouting and signing players within the club's budget and other parameters (manager's wish list, age, experience, potential sell on, location) for the 1st team and academy. Ideally the academy would be close to self funding so we would need to sell on a Fitzpatrick every season (fee reported as £350k) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Dastardly Posted March 8 Report Share Posted March 8 32 minutes ago, Jaggernaut said: That's kind of my worry. The manager/coach has the results and performance on the field as measures of his or her performance. What criteria are used to evaluate a sporting director's performance, and how long would he or she be allowed to keep their position if there is no improvement, or worse, a serious slump? The Sporting director reports to the board. So they decide on his performance goals and results The manager reports to the sporting director, so they decide on their performance goals and results. So, on field is not going as well as planned. The board have heard rumblings from the fans and ask the SD what he is doing about it. He suggests a change of manager and therefore takes action to keep his job. But the SD can only do that so often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ancipital Posted March 8 Report Share Posted March 8 It's not a direct comparison obviously, but this model is roughly similar to what happens in the NFL, where a General Manager has responsibility for signings so would be similar to our sporting director, and a head coach for tactics and in game coaching. 7 NFL teams sacked their head coach either during or at the end of the season that finished last month. Of those, 3 have also sacked the GM so just under half of those teams are ripping the whole thing up and starting again rather than just appointing a new head coach. Admittedly easier when there's no threat of relegation but still shows it's not necessarily a long term appointment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarciaBlaine Posted March 8 Report Share Posted March 8 One thing that hasn't changed under Graham/Wilson is our inability to put teams to bed after a strong first half. It's been a hallmark of Thistle teams for years and years, at least back to Archie's post-promotion tenure. That in turn gives the opposition something to shoot for in the second half, putting us on the back foot and feeding into some of the assessments of the squad's fitness, in my opinion. The combination of a lack of ideas, a clear territiorial disadvantage and an eager opposing side who have a tangible opportunity to get something out of the game, is contributing to the impression of tiredness. If a new SD or manager can get us more than a vulnerable 1-0 lead after a great first 45, that'll be real progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAG1970 Posted March 8 Report Share Posted March 8 4 hours ago, MarciaBlaine said: One thing that hasn't changed under Graham/Wilson is our inability to put teams to bed after a strong first half. It's been a hallmark of Thistle teams for years and years, at least back to Archie's post-promotion tenure. That in turn gives the opposition something to shoot for in the second half, putting us on the back foot and feeding into some of the assessments of the squad's fitness, in my opinion. The combination of a lack of ideas, a clear territiorial disadvantage and an eager opposing side who have a tangible opportunity to get something out of the game, is contributing to the impression of tiredness. If a new SD or manager can get us more than a vulnerable 1-0 lead after a great first 45, that'll be real progress. I wonder if this is partly a confidence issue. The squad know they have under performed this season and so nervousness kicks in late in games, some players adopt a safety first attitude whilst others partly melt under the pressure and make mistakes. Add to that your other points about an apparent general lack of fitness amongst some to deliver a full 90 mins, some poor decisions in the final third, and a lack of ideas to vary our play. It’s been an unfortunate cocktail that leaves us struggling well behind the top 3 and increasingly looking over our shoulder. With QP away and Ayr on Saturday then Raith and Morton after that, we need to see an improvement if we want to hold onto fourth. Perhaps some signs in the first 60mins against Livingston we were on the right track but we need to build on that quickly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordanhill Jag Posted March 8 Report Share Posted March 8 9 hours ago, scotty said: It was reported that McCall left the training to his two assistant managers so I would guess that they were responsible for team selection too. Was this not a defacto sporting director? What I'd like to know is if a team goes on a poor run is it the coach or the director who gets sacked? Complete nonsense McCall picked the team - most managers don't take training - they watch how players perform during it ref who gets the blame if we don't perform - its a good point Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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