Jump to content

Messy messy


Bronson

Recommended Posts

Hot this from a source witjin the club.

Straight after the Killie game  there were people within ICT who wanted Foran to go. He was using the same tactics, unable to change the team & had no plan B. It was like players were not responding to him. One player was very critical of the defensive tactics - zonal marking. It's the man who scores the goals, not the space/area. We had changed from man marking under Hughes to zonal marking under Foran. Goals & the manor of them, same problems every week, points the finger of where the main problem lay. Foran refused the change this tactic. Once heads to down & confidence goes it's hard to get back.

Players, coaches & board members raised this same concern with Foran but he stuck to it.

Some senior players had been approached by a director about how they felt about taking over the team in the event of Forans sacking. My source told me the players refused to discuss this, as although many weren't happy - Foran was a friend & team mate & wouldn't stab him in the back. My source told me one of the players told Foran of this discussion and co-incendently one of the directors then resigned.

After Dundee sacked Hartley, i was told that Foran had been summoned to meet the board. My source told me he thought Foran could be sacked but suspected the club has no money to do this. He also told me that what Foran needed was an older head to hold his hand.... I was told this BEFORE Malpas was confirmed so it shows how good my source was.

Both top team goalies were carrying injuries... but Foran ignored advice & signed Ainier - why? Not signing a goalie & playing 2 guys carrying knocks cost ICT many points.

It's no coincidence that ICT picked up after Malpas came in. Is that Forans or the board's fault for not acting sooner?

Foran talks about bad apples??? Who are they? My source is direct from the dressing room. He told me there is a dressing full of bad apples because very few players liked Forans style, tactics & methods. 

He couldn't change games. He didn't listen to advice until Malpas came in. These players spoke out about all these issues - not because they're bad apples but because they care about the club. Yes, loan players didn't perform but how could they? The whole team were struggling & didn't agree with much of Forans set up. There was no leadership & players started doing things they thought we're best. 

Perhaps, in the words of my source... the only bad apple is the person staring back at Foran when he looks in the mirror.

2 young loan players mentioned on the radio on Saturday hated Foran & wanted back to their clubs but Foran refused because the clubs wanted the finances of the loan agreement honoured - regardless of they stayed or not. Fon Williams is the other. He was injured & being forced to play because Esson wasn't ready. He was prepared to take a pay off & walk from his contract.

Greg Tansey felt really let down by Foran & the club. 

He told the club about going to Aberdeen to discuss the pre contract. Aberdeen informed ICT & everything was conducted above board.

Tansey had a holiday booked which over-run when his contract expired. As is common, he signed the pre-contact. This is a pre dated & signed contract which can't get registered until the date. 

Many players are on holiday in situations like this. That is why they pose for photos in their new clubs colours when they sign the pre contract. 

Aberdeens press department released that photo off their own back without consent from anybody, least of all Tansey. 

Aberdeen gave a formal apology for that to Tansey & Inverness. Tansey & many of his team mates felt very let down by Foran & the board of Inverness because although they knew Tansey had done nothing to instigate this, they happily stood by & watched him face the wrath of the fans. Tansey felt they did this to deflect the pressure on themselves.

That's why Tansey gave "That interview". Players had no chief & were doing things in a way they knew weren't working. Tansey gave his all for the club, even when off form he still gave 100% effort. The club hung him out to dry when they knew fine well he was completely innocent.

That's why he said what he said in that interview.

Interesting.

Edited by Bronson
Spelling
  • Agree 7
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've taken a bit of a pasting elsewhere for suggesting that RF might be through the worst of it and could be worth persevering with ... but this apparent insider stuff, on top of everything else and KC now gone, must make it difficult for him to stay. Death by a thousand cuts as the saying goes. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

fascinating. thanks, Bronson. It has the ring of truth about it, and explains a lot of things that have had most of us baffled. In my view it makes his situation untenable, and even if it costs us money we can ill afford, we would be better to make a clean break and start anew with none of this resentment and bad feeling. Very sad, really, that it came to this, and only underlines how unnecessary it all was, given that we could have saved our season without the stubborn mule refusing to listen to wiser heads. I feel for the players, put in a really difficult position, but who of them will want to stay if this carries on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interesting but reading for me hints at player reluctance to embrace change. Maybe some truth in bad apples quote from RF? Remember an Alex McLeish interview when he complained about being up against lots of players in his zone. Jock Stein answer something like - only one player can head the ball make sure it's you. Sometimes players get to much credit for being able to work things out for themselves and thinking they know best rather than doing what they're telt.  Players thinking they know better is a bad recipe. Looks like the club may need more than a management reboot on the playing side. Director plotting with players, if true, is the sort of amatuerish nonsense you get in the Highland league. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I doubt that any of the apples were bad and that they simply objected to RF's style of (mis)management. If you are blind to constructive criticism then you are not cut out for management no matter what your line of business.

A competent manager also recognises when his position becomes untenable. Richie constantly claims to have the club and it's interests at heart. No doubt whatsoever that he once did but him continuing to cling onto the role in now in the interests of one person only.

Edited by Kingsmills
  • Agree 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Though Bronson's account is not verifiable, it all seems to add up in terms of what we were able to see on the pitch. It was common knowledge that Fon Williams had to play a couple (or more games) while carrying an injury (Hamilton at home rings a bell). That said, his inability to cover the near post all season (including in that game) could not be put down to an injury!

Zonal marking always strikes me as a recipe for disaster unless your communication is absolutely perfect....ours wasn't! As for the bad apples issue, I'm afraid that is a manager's lot: the task is to mould a group of individuals privelaged by a talent for football, into a team that operates like a well-oiled machine. Every team will have its wide-boys, load-mouths and sometimes deranged individuals, but the good man-manager will harness all fo these characters and get the best out of them (or indeed, punt them). RF failed spectacularly in this task, instead turning reasonably good individuals into a terrible team. He was a rabbit in the headlights for most of the season and I have no doubt that he refused to take advice from any of the minions, many of whom he had played beside. Only when MM joined the team did he take any advice, but too late! Bad apples are no excuse for a manager - he recruited them, he failed to manage or discipline them and he didn't get rid of them, so there is only one person to blame.

 

 

Edited by PerfICT
  • Agree 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2017-5-22 at 11:56 PM, Bronson said:

Hot this from a source witjin the club.

Straight after the Killie game  there were people within ICT who wanted Foran to go. He was using the same tactics, unable to change the team & had no plan B. It was like players were not responding to him. One player was very critical of the defensive tactics - zonal marking. It's the man who scores the goals, not the space/area. We had changed from man marking under Hughes to zonal marking under Foran. Goals & the manor of them, same problems every week, points the finger of where the main problem lay. Foran refused the change this tactic. Once heads to down & confidence goes it's hard to get back.

Players, coaches & board members raised this same concern with Foran but he stuck to it.

Some senior players had been approached by a director about how they felt about taking over the team in the event of Forans sacking. My source told me the players refused to discuss this, as although many weren't happy - Foran was a friend & team mate & wouldn't stab him in the back. My source told me one of the players told Foran of this discussion and co-incendently one of the directors then resigned.

After Dundee sacked Hartley, i was told that Foran had been summoned to meet the board. My source told me he thought Foran could be sacked but suspected the club has no money to do this. He also told me that what Foran needed was an older head to hold his hand.... I was told this BEFORE Malpas was confirmed so it shows how good my source was.

Both top team goalies were carrying injuries... but Foran ignored advice & signed Ainier - why? Not signing a goalie & playing 2 guys carrying knocks cost ICT many points.

It's no coincidence that ICT picked up after Malpas came in. Is that Forans or the board's fault for not acting sooner?

Foran talks about bad apples??? Who are they? My source is direct from the dressing room. He told me there is a dressing full of bad apples because very few players liked Forans style, tactics & methods. 

He couldn't change games. He didn't listen to advice until Malpas came in. These players spoke out about all these issues - not because they're bad apples but because they care about the club. Yes, loan players didn't perform but how could they? The whole team were struggling & didn't agree with much of Forans set up. There was no leadership & players started doing things they thought we're best. 

Perhaps, in the words of my source... the only bad apple is the person staring back at Foran when he looks in the mirror.

2 young loan players mentioned on the radio on Saturday hated Foran & wanted back to their clubs but Foran refused because the clubs wanted the finances of the loan agreement honoured - regardless of they stayed or not. Fon Williams is the other. He was injured & being forced to play because Esson wasn't ready. He was prepared to take a pay off & walk from his contract.

Greg Tansey felt really let down by Foran & the club. 

He told the club about going to Aberdeen to discuss the pre contract. Aberdeen informed ICT & everything was conducted above board.

Tansey had a holiday booked which over-run when his contract expired. As is common, he signed the pre-contact. This is a pre dated & signed contract which can't get registered until the date. 

Many players are on holiday in situations like this. That is why they pose for photos in their new clubs colours when they sign the pre contract. 

Aberdeens press department released that photo off their own back without consent from anybody, least of all Tansey. 

Aberdeen gave a formal apology for that to Tansey & Inverness. Tansey & many of his team mates felt very let down by Foran & the board of Inverness because although they knew Tansey had done nothing to instigate this, they happily stood by & watched him face the wrath of the fans. Tansey felt they did this to deflect the pressure on themselves.

That's why Tansey gave "That interview". Players had no chief & were doing things in a way they knew weren't working. Tansey gave his all for the club, even when off form he still gave 100% effort. The club hung him out to dry when they knew fine well he was completely innocent.

That's why he said what he said in that interview.

Interesting.

Very interesting..it all makes sense..I wasn't all that happy with Tansey after the Motherwell game for the interview but if all this is true, I can understand why. Tansey wasn't at his best this season (although, towards the end, I wouldn't fault him at all), but maybe not entirely down to him? 

Like another poster, was wondering whether RF could stay, with a bit more experienced backup, but thought after the 'bad apples' interview that he HAD to go - this reinforces that feeling, big time! We had a half decent squad, which shouldn't have finished bottom & we woulnd't have with a decent gaffer!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If this is true, then the board are as culpable as RF in this and they should hang their head in shame for going behind RF's back to speak to the players. To me, this shows a total lack of understanding of how football works. Incidentally, I have been told the director resigned because he thought Foran needed help from an experienced person but the rest of the board disagreed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. : Terms of Use : Guidelines : Privacy Policy