"Jobs for the boys"

[Yngwie]

I recall quite a few angry "jobs for the boys" complaints on this forum directed at Brewster for bringing in players he had worked with previously at other clubs, most recently when Byrne joined.

Butcher has so far demonstrated a much greater obsession with previous colleagues, all of whose careers have ground to a halt since he last worked with them (Malpas, Foran, Kerr). And yet there is not a cheap from the fans.

Why not?

[4ize]

I recall quite a few angry "jobs for the boys" complaints on this forum directed at Brewster for bringing in players he had worked with previously at other clubs, most recently when Byrne joined.

Butcher has so far demonstrated a much greater obsession with previous colleagues, all of whose careers have ground to a halt since he last worked with them (Malpas, Foran, Kerr). And yet there is not a cheap from the fans.

Why not?

Well, Malpas because it was obviously something which worked well when they were together at Motherwell, so you can't really complain about that (yet) - for the others, I don't know, maybe because the shine is still on the new man whereas most folk were disillusioned with Brew. You know as well as I do that Butcher can sign his Auntie Ethel and as long as she scores a few goals people will be happy.

[CELTIC1CALEY3]

The guy has a job to do digging us out of the hole created by Brewster so we are concentrating on 110% support. If it goes pear shaped you'll see a change.

The heading should read 'Jobs for the Boys and Girls' because Mrs Butcher and Mrs Malpass have been asked to move to the fresh Highland air too. Their contribution to our recovery plans are vital too.

[Harry Chibber]

I recall quite a few angry "jobs for the boys" complaints on this forum directed at Brewster for bringing in players he had worked with previously at other clubs, most recently when Byrne joined.

Butcher has so far demonstrated a much greater obsession with previous colleagues, all of whose careers have ground to a halt since he last worked with them (Malpas, Foran, Kerr). And yet there is not a cheap from the fans.

Why not?

Malpas, fair enough but I think any manager always prefers to have their own assistant and most of the time he is someone that he has previously worked with.

I think timing has been a big issue (help the homeless), he has had less than a week to make some signings that will give a positive effect on the team and he knows what to expect from Foran & Kerr. I actually think he has snapped up a bargain in Foran, as he was one of the best players in the SPL before he left

Kerr is my least favourite signing because he has a rep as a trouble maker but I'm sure Tokely will hammer that out of him

[CaleyD]

I didn't really expect much more from Butcher considering the fact he had less than a week to try and bring in some players. He didn't exactly have time to go scouting players he knew little or nothing about. What he achieves in the summer transfer window when we could potentially lose 7+ players will be the time to judge him on his signing ability.

[Johnboy]

I recall quite a few angry "jobs for the boys" complaints on this forum directed at Brewster for bringing in players he had worked with previously at other clubs, most recently when Byrne joined.

Butcher has so far demonstrated a much greater obsession with previous colleagues, all of whose careers have ground to a halt since he last worked with them (Malpas, Foran, Kerr). And yet there is not a cheap from the fans.

Why not?

Managers are paid to take decisions regards bringing in players. In cases where they have worked with certain players in the past, they are in the best position to judge whether :

(a) a player will play to his capabilities, put in a decent shift, both on and off the field...

{b} fit in and get on well with his team-mates.

The whole history of the game is littered with instances where a player, or players, just cannot perform under certain styles of management, but give them a move, and the transformation can be dramatic.

Hopefully dramatic transformations will be the the order of the day with the new TB signings! Time will tell...

Edited February 3, 2009 by Johnboy

[Yngwie]

Fully agree Johnboy...but many people were not taking that view when it was Brewster.

[Alex MacLeod]

I dont see it as jobs for the boys. I think he's looked at our shortfalls and tried, with what he knows, to fill the gaps. Both Foran and Kerr are good footballers. They have a lot of experience, can coach and cajole our younger players and can compliment the Brewster signings.

Most managers go for players they know, either as part of a previous team or from part of an opposing team. Look at the players on the books of some of the top managers down south.

[SMEE]

I think the difference is....brewsters actions were that of a desperate man, and he wasnt adressing the true deficiencies in the team. And he had burned his bridges with the majority of the fans by that time. Hence why people were getting on his back.

[FourFourTwo]

Totally disagree.

For me, the 'Jobs for the Boys' problem at ICT has been in the staffing side, never in the playing side. Im quite happy to see Managers bring in players they have worked with in the past. He, and MM know their strengths/weaknesses etc, TB has brought in 3 players to fill gaps that we have in the squad, these are not meaningless signings because they are mates! Would you rather he signed boys he had not seen play.

'Jobs for the Boys' relates to GB, CC, JD, DS, MN (guess tha names) etc etc etc but that's another matter altogether!!!!

Edited February 3, 2009 by FourFourTwo

[Alex MacLeod]

Totally disagree.

For me, the 'Jobs for the Boys' problem at ICT has been in the staffing side, never in the playing side. Im quite happy to see Managers bring in players they have worked with in the past. He, and MM know their strengths/weaknesses etc, TB has brought in 3 players to fill gaps that we have in the squad, these are not meaningless signings because they are mates! Would you rather he signed boys he had not seen play.

'Jobs for the Boys' relates to GB, CC, JD, DS, MN (guess tha names) etc etc etc but that's another matter altogether!!!!

Graeme Bennett and Charlie Christie are doing jobs that they've done very well since this club was formed. Yes people question Graemes role, whether or not its needed, but he does it without salary. Last year the board, ratified by the shareholders, agreed to pay him an amount in respect of his years of out of pocket expenses. Charlie is paid to bring money into the club.

I assume JD is John Docherty an excellent coach. DS.....if David Sutherland then he doesn't have a job at the club he just owns most of it. If Duncan Shearer well I think the youth record may well have something to do with his abilities.

Cant think who MN is.

Yes it it could be seen as jobs for the boys but they are all capable people. They all know the club and they all have this club at heart.

[Jay_7]

Graeme Bennett and Charlie Christie are doing jobs that they've done very well since this club was formed. Yes people question Graemes role, whether or not its needed, but he does it without salary. Last year the board, ratified by the shareholders, agreed to pay him an amount in respect of his years of out of pocket expenses. Charlie is paid to bring money into the club.

I assume JD is John Docherty an excellent coach. DS.....if David Sutherland then he doesn't have a job at the club he just owns most of it. If Duncan Shearer well I think the youth record may well have something to do with his abilities.

Cant think who MN is.

Yes it it could be seen as jobs for the boys but they are all capable people. They all know the club and they all have this club at heart.

*Sigh*

He's certainly not doing it out of the goodness of his heart.

[Scotty]

Lets not go down the route that GB is not paid Alex. He has drawn an emolument for at least the last couple of seasons in the region of 40K. I personally dont grudge him that because if you put the gripes from some aside about the effectiveness of what he actually does, it cannot be argued that he doesnt spend a lot of time on ICT business and this presumably affects his income from his "real job". Both he and the other directors have in the past worked for free (or for the odd 'perk') so now that the administrative requirements of the club have to be in line with UEFA and more work is required, its only fitting that he is paid.

As for CC - his case is different. He effectively became our first "full-time" player when he signed for the club and was given the Centenary Club role in addition to playing duties. As a member of the Centenary Club, it is my personal opinion that he has done this job well both as the "face" of the Centenary Club and also as an effective officer of that post over many years. You might call it "jobs for the boys" that he was allowed to return to that post after giving up the manager's job, but he is good at it and surely you want someone who has proved to be good at the job doing it.

I dont know how good a coach the Doc is but presumably he must be decent as he has now worked under a fair few managers and any one of them could have changed their backroom team root and branch if they wanted to.

In DS's case, apart from the most recent episode where he showed too much loyalty to a failing manager, I don't have a huge issue. He is our major shareholder and his word carries a lot of weight, especially with the makeup of the board. He has done tremendous things for the club - both seen and also behind the scenes. However, I was disappointed that he and AS couldnt make it work as I thought they could have formed a tremendous partnership. DS's fiscal prudence along with AS's vision of the future could have made things interesting and pleasurable. Instead we got a lot of politics, a fair bit of posturing, and a p****** match that DS ultimately won. It did no-one, and certainly not the club any good. I am also disappointed that he chose to publicly criticise the fans for verbalising their concerns about Brewster. The fans were proved right in the end and whilst I don't agree that we need to "sack the board" as suggested on another thread, a little humility in admitting that maybe the fans were right would not go amiss.

[INSIDERS]

M.N. Could be Mike Noble maybe, looks after the referees etc, fine chap also.

[Guest GotheTshirt]

M.N. Could be Mike Noble maybe, looks after the referees etc, fine chap also.

For which he doesn't get paid...

[Alex MacLeod]

At the end of the day I prefer to see those with the club at heart doing the work and I hope maybe there could be a job for another 'boy' who tokk this club to his heart. He's only on a short term contract at QoS

[Johnboy]

M.N. Could be Mike Noble maybe, looks after the referees etc, fine chap also.

For which he doesn't get paid...

Thanks for clarifying that, Mike..

[Renegade]

I thought MN was Marius Niculae.

[RiG]

Hard to disagree with Yngwie. When Byrne was signed the signing was slated as we have seen him to be not very good and his isn't held in high regard by previous clubs.

Now that Kerr has been signed and it would appear he is slated by both Hibs and Motherwell fans a lot of our supporters don't seem to mind what they think.

I actually keep forgetting we had signed Byrne simply because I always joked about us ever signing him. I simply don't want to believe it

[Govan Jaggie]

Is it not only 2 players that signed having played with Brew before? Proctor and Byrne? I dont see that as jobs for the boys in the first place, 2 out of 7 or 8 signing? i dont think it is jobs for the boys but he clearly signed 2 players who were not rated at the clubs from which they came. Proctor was slated at UTD and Byrne, well who has not slated him, but he will be given a chance I am sure.

The jobs for the boys at ICT as always been backroom and has happened since day one. If you face fitted with Dougie M, you were in ( my family included I guess) but it was a board that did work hard but was never going to take us to the SPL. Then under David S, it was certainly if your face fits and they certainly enjoyed (enjoy) the pampering at Ibrox and Celtic Park. Sadly it has always been the case that some of the lesser "boys" have had to much of a say in matters at the club!

Edited February 4, 2009 by Govan Jaggie

[Alex MacLeod]

You forgot McGuire GJ

[Govan Jaggie]

You forgot McGuire GJ

Easliy done!

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Is the bottom line no that Butcher had barely a week to fill some holes - He simply had to go for players that he knew would follow him - to Inverness - but also players who had performed for him before.

I also feel that Brews buys were brought on by "panic" and the fact that the fans had challenged the Board.

Brew didnt always follow this logic but it was how he played them and how he treated them that was flawed not how they responded to him.