lambie Posted April 21, 2013 Report Share Posted April 21, 2013 Gordie, if you are truly wondering why McCall left, I will suggest this: glug, glug, glug...hic.... I am sensing a smidgen of revisionism regarding him. Sure he signed some decent/key/great players, but I am sure anyone with the resources within a full time job could do much the same. However, getting them to play their to their potential and make them fit into a team takes talent, ability, skill and sometimes genius. Things that were in Jackie Macs and now in Archie's CV, but not ever in McCall's repetoire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibble Posted April 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2013 Gordie, if you are truly wondering why McCall left, I will suggest this: glug, glug, glug...hic.... I am sensing a smidgen of revisionism regarding him. Sure he signed some decent/key/great players, but I am sure anyone with the resources within a full time job could do much the same. However, getting them to play their to their potential and make them fit into a team takes talent, ability, skill and sometimes genius. Things that were in Jackie Macs and now in Archie's CV, but not ever in McCall's repetoire. I think this is harsh - McCall did finish second in the league one year. My main point was that he can spot a player and he always said it would take him 5 years to get us promotion. Having said that I was not a great fan of his style of playing the game and don't believe he would have got as much out of this group of players as McNamara or archie 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 John Lambie Posted April 21, 2013 Report Share Posted April 21, 2013 (edited) McCall started the ball rolling with youth development & the signing of key players who without we probably would not be where we are now. Would he have done what Jackie started & Archie finished? I don't think so but it doesn't mean we shouldn't acknowledge the key role he played in getting the ball rolling which has ultimately got us back into the SPL. Edited April 22, 2013 by 1 John Lambie 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinny Posted April 22, 2013 Report Share Posted April 22, 2013 McCall started the ball rolling with youth development & the signing of key players who without we probably would not be where we are now. Would he have done what Jackie started & Archie finished? I don't think so but it doesn't mean we shouldn't acknowledge the key role he played in getting the ball rolling which has ultimately got us back not the SPL. This. When McCall came in we had no youth team worth mentioning and a first team full of duds, none of whom were suitable for a promotion charge. Jackie and Archie both inherited full squads that just needed tweaking to make them what they are now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen1876 Posted April 24, 2013 Report Share Posted April 24, 2013 One thing I am surprised no one has mentioned about McCall was his eye for a coach. He kicked off with John Henry, who got a lucrative move down south. He gave Hinchy coaching duties and he seems to be very well thought of by anyone who has trained with him. He got Archie and Sid involved in the coaching and he specifically earmarked McNamara for a player coach role. Pretty impressive stuff really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uberteeb Posted April 24, 2013 Report Share Posted April 24, 2013 Surely scouts must have played a significant role in these signings? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagfox Posted April 24, 2013 Report Share Posted April 24, 2013 Surely scouts must have played a significant role in these signings? I'm sure Bobby Dinnie was involved in the scouting of Erskine and Doolan. McCall started the ball rolling but personal issues dimmed his effectiveness and the club has progressed since, imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddy Thistle Posted April 24, 2013 Report Share Posted April 24, 2013 McCall is a parasite. He did sign these players and he was well rewarded with his percentage of their sale price. I wonder why he left? Anyone any ideas? Nah this not the time and place. Celebration time Was told that McNamara , signed a couple of players on the promise that if he went to a bigger club then he would take them with him when their contract was up , Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Bunny Posted April 24, 2013 Report Share Posted April 24, 2013 Was told that McNamara , signed a couple of players on the promise that if he went to a bigger club then he would take them with him when their contract was up , Sounds like pub talk with nothing behind it. If it was true, what if the United job hadn't turned up or he'd blown it and got sacked by us? Where was the big club then? Players would be taking a big risk. Especially when you remember we were nowhere near being favourites at the start of the season - outside long shot at best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackpool Jags Posted April 24, 2013 Report Share Posted April 24, 2013 Might've been mentioned earlier in the thread, but I'm sure McCall turned up on day one of his tenure with only 6(?) registered players. Also worth taking into account what he was up against with the then board: had his playing budget slashed year-on-year, on the back of the crippling severance payment given to Campbell in addition to spectacular boardroom financial ineptitude. On the whole, and despite some grim performances by the team, periodically, he definitely left Thistle in a much better state than the one he inherited. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian_mac Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 Might've been mentioned earlier in the thread, but I'm sure McCall turned up on day one of his tenure with only 6(?) registered players. Also worth taking into account what he was up against with the then board: had his playing budget slashed year-on-year, on the back of the crippling severance payment given to Campbell in addition to spectacular boardroom financial ineptitude. On the whole, and despite some grim performances by the team, periodically, he definitely left Thistle in a much better state than the one he inherited. That's the thing for me. Given the state of the club at the time, if McCall had made an arse of things then I'm not sure we would have a club today. For example, he saw something in Harkins and Twaddle and took a chance on them. These are guys that were down on their luck and might not have played at a decent level ever again. We ended up getting over £200k for these guys combined. Now as most people know now, had we not got that £200k when we did, we would have been in serious trouble with the tax man and were possibly facing a winding up order. The fact that we didn't is down to McCall selling on players he brought in himself. So anyone that doesn't think McCall did a decent job needs to think again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cup Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 McCall did a great job. Erskine, Doolan, Balatoni (on loan), Fox, Paton were all also signed by McCall. He also gave Bannigan a chance. In fact we've had 3 good managers in a row. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThickAsThieves Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 Was told that McNamara , signed a couple of players on the promise that if he went to a bigger club then he would take them with him when their contract was up , Well the two players he's signed for Dundee Utd were already at the club (ie. not signed by him) so I'd imagine that's rubbish. I'm another one that's happy with the job McCall did. I think he went at the right time, but he certainly improved us, no question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trotter Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 Well the two players he's signed for Dundee Utd were already at the club (ie. not signed by him) so I'd imagine that's rubbish. I'm another one that's happy with the job McCall did. I think he went at the right time, but he certainly improved us, no question. For a change, we've actually been lucky with managerial changes over the past few years- in my time could say from Peter Cormack leaving & every time Lambie left but could be here all day. After the appointments of Collins, Britton/Whyte & Campbell in quick succession McCall came in, gave the club stability & re established a youth system. He also embarked on a 5 year plan which, although he never saw it through to its fruition, he certainly left the groundwork in place for McNamara to take over. McNamara also went at the right time for me for as we all know, he'd run out of ideas on how to play & win away from home. Step forward Archie & his coaching team.... McCall deserves credit though for starting it all off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagfox Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 It felt like The Bunnet was here for a 1,000 years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Bunny Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 It felt like The Bunnet was here for a 1,000 years I was about to say something along these lines Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 It felt like The Bunnet was here for a 1,000 years Less than 2 years, but in Fife that equates to 1,000 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Endell Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 It felt like The Bunnet was here for a 1,000 years Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Bunnet. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 Christ almighty, I even went out and bought a black bunnet each for me and my brother to herald in this new era. Needless to say, they are almost unused, and we are open to offers....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Bunny Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 Christ almighty, I even went out and bought a black bunnet each for me and my brother to herald in this new era. Needless to say, they are almost unused, and we are open to offers....... You could join the Maquis.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rid Skwerr Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 Christ almighty, I even went out and bought a black bunnet each for me and my brother to herald in this new era. Needless to say, they are almost unused, and we are open to offers....... Me too - quite a fetching Rocha John Rocha (WTF is THAT all about?) number from Debenhams. Rarely seen the light of day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted April 26, 2013 Report Share Posted April 26, 2013 Me too - quite a fetching Rocha John Rocha (WTF is THAT all about?) number from Debenhams. Rarely seen the light of day. The very same. Was struggling to remember the name last night, but that's it. Also from Debenhams. Not my most inspired purchase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wee jim Posted April 27, 2013 Report Share Posted April 27, 2013 Graham Spiers interviews Ian McCall in the Herald this morning. Maybe it’s just me but it looks helava like he’s positioning himself for a return to Firhill if it doesn’t work out for Archie. Well hopefully he’s got a very very long wait. Actually McCall is looking great. What a change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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