First of can i express best of wishes to Robbo and Scott at this trying time for both of them.

 

however a bit of pre match discussion, who is likely to be the interim? i would assume whoever it is, is likely to be there for the next 8 weeks until the end of the season. like others have said, i assumed all youth training is postponed at present and i would be quite happy with barry and ryan covering, with assistance from charlie. does ross tokely still take an ict youth side??

 

whoever it is has to be able to work with barry and ryan. i wouldn't be so keen on a pele return but yes to donald park. from gardiner's statement yesterday i would have said kettlewell met the criteria and i wouldn't be against that but i would have thought that could have been a pretty instant appointment if going to happen. from listening to managers who have left jobs this season, dealing with covid protocols seems quite a big factor, so appointing someone with covid protocol experience maybe quite beneficial, then stephen robinson might be an idea, especially as he seems to know our squads quite well as he has raided it plenty in previous years. looking at contacts gardiner has it would likely be someone with hearts, dundee or rangers past or stuart mccall might be in the frame. i don't think there is anyone likely from his spurs days.

if you want to go leftfield then why not mark hughes and mark bowen. been out of the game for a while now but keen to get back in. a wee 8 week sabbatical to the highlands may get them roaded for a bigger gig elsewhere in the summer. we could of course just go for eddie howe but that might upset the celtic fans more than they already are!!!

 

any other likely suspects??? 

What kind of fans do we have ? It’s embarrassing reading some of the comments on here . A man is willing to give up a steady position to help us in our hour of need and this is how we thank him . I know the majority of fans will appreciate what he is doing and get behind him .I just hope he’s not reading these nasty negative comments and wants to put his coat on and head back down the road ......WHY IS ADMIN ALLOWING IT ?

19 minutes ago, izzy said:

WHY IS ADMIN ALLOWING IT ?

Because there's nothing offensive or abusive? Because it's a platform for fans' views? Are you implying that we should censor everything that isn't posted by Happy Clappers?

McCann wouldn't have been my first choice but he has graciously stepped in to help us out - for that alone we should all be very grateful. He will be putting himself in the managerial shop window so will be wanting to present a professional approach to those watching. He has experience, is knowledgeable, and knows the Scottish game. We wanted somebody to tick the boxes and he does all of that. Life is tough for all of us, not least the senior staff members, even some players. If we keep battering people down we will get what we deserve ... nothing! It's not about happy clapping - it's about getting behind our team, you know the one we all (supposedly) support. We either go backwards and face possible relegation, part-time football, or worse! Or we all dig in and get behind the club and encourage ... and move things forward!

Edited February 24, 20215 yr by Jockdoonsouth
Typo

To Admin,You may class me a happy clapper although I’m quite possibly the furthest from one that you are ever likely to meet .Actually sarcasm is the lowest form of wit ! I am well aware what the forum is for and that was the reason for my comment .... My feelings are the man has kindly given up a comfortable life in the middle of a pandemic to help us .His feet aren’t in the door and the comments on here are quite disrespectful . I apologise if anyone is offended by my comment but under the circumstances people really need to think how hurtful these comments can be all round . I’ve made my point I will not be commenting further on this but just to wish Neil and the team well and Condolences to John and family and look forward to him coming back feeling much better .when able to do so .

Edited February 24, 20215 yr by izzy

I am delighted to see Neil McCann coming in to help us out. Things can only get better. 

Given the position with Robbo and Kells, the club clearly sees that we need someone in, probably for the rest of the season but possibly longer, who knows.

As it is not a permanent job, I think it is remarkable we have attracted anyone who had ongoing work elsewhere, so it implies that McCann sees this as an opportunity to prove himself and secure a managerial role somewhere.

The club is in a difficult place right now, so I believe we should all be getting behind the club and McCann, regardless of how we view his appointment. At the very least, he deserves the next month or so to show what he can do before anyone judges him.

We have two hard games against Dundee and Hearts in the next week, then the dreaded Alloa away, so we need to accept that we may not get an immediate “bounce” from this.

We also seem short of players again due to injuries, with six missing out last night. That doesn’t help.

This whole episode should remind us all that there are more important things than football. 

Edited February 24, 20215 yr by Robert

I'm happy with this appointment. It's like a typical ICT signing, a guy who has faltered a bit elsewhere and comes in with a bit of a point to prove. He's got a very good knowledge of Scottish football and seems to have a bit of authority about him. Really looking forward to see how this goes. 

2 hours ago, izzy said:

To Admin,You may class me a happy clapper although I’m quite possibly the furthest from one that you are ever likely to meet .Actually sarcasm is the lowest form of wit ! I am well aware what the forum is for and that was the reason for my comment .... My feelings are the man has kindly given up a comfortable life in the middle of a pandemic to help us .His feet aren’t in the door and the comments on here are quite disrespectful . I apologise if anyone is offended by my comment but under the circumstances people really need to think how hurtful these comments can be all round . I’ve made my point I will not be commenting further on this but just to wish Neil and the team well and Condolences to John and family and look forward to him coming back feeling much better .when able to do so .

As Mantis has said, and contrary to popular belief from some, we dont censor comments on here, nor do we remove said comments unless they cross the line. You may find them disrespectful, and others may agree or disagree with those comments, but they are opinions of people who are entitled to voice their opinion whether you, I or anyone else agrees with it or not. Also, no-one has actually used the reporting mechanism that triggers a moderator discussion on a specific topic or post. In a situation like this, the typical course of action is to allow the rest of our audience to (respectfully) disagree with these posters and foster a discussion on the subject! Thats the prime purpose of a(n open) forum. It is also likely that should he indeed be a success that those same comments are paraded back to the naysayers later ...

For what it's worth, my own opinion is that we should give the guy a chance. His previous managerial record is not exactly stellar with Dunfermline or with Dundee but we are neither of these clubs and something magical happens if someone, player or staff, is a good fit for our club. He has clearly stepped into the breach to help out our club in our, and our manager's time of need, giving up potentially lucrative media earnings, and for that he should have earned our 100% support from the get-go. If he can steady the ship and win a few points while Robbo is gone then its job done in these most strange times and difficult circumstances. If not, then the naysayers can say 'I told you so'.

As I was entering his details into the managerial stats this morning I got to thinking, it seems like we have an ever-growing connection with Hearts these days... Obviously, there is the Robbo connection, the virtual ticketing for this week and the appreciation from Hearts fans of our stance during the reconstruction debate last year, and now a former Hearts hero stepping into the breach to give another Hearts hero time to recover and recharge his batteries ....  

 

 

 

Well said . Someone  has stepped in to help us out and hopefully  gain some more experience  by doing so. I wish him well and thank him for coming .

He comes across very well here, very aware of the sensitivity of the situation and its reassuring to hear that he didn't want to do anything until he could speak to Robbo first.  A little moral integrity doesn't do any harm.  Best of luck to him and let's hope he can drag us into the (right) play offs.

He has a very soft and soothing voice though I suspect it won't be like that in the dressing room. I don't think he's a particularly inspired appointment but he's better than some of the other names that were rumoured. Hopefully we get a good performance on Friday and just take things from there.

He wasn't one that I would have thought about coming in to cover but after hearing that interview and with him knowing the CEO and Robbo it does make sense and he is keen to come here to help out.  Good luck to Neil and the team, lets hope for a good start on Friday night.

as an interim appointment it has to be someone the ceo and robbo are happy with. i didnt expect him either with his tv commitments so fair play to him. i assume barry didnt want the job. to me it seems a logical appointment and someone who is likely to want to attack and knows scottish football. if kettlewell is still in the area then i would have thought that the most logical. some "fans" need to waken up, give the guy a chance. we struggle to get players to come here to play for us, most of the strikers we have had have received dogs abuse.

Comes across well and is basically doing this as a favour to two friends (Scot Gardiner and Robbo). At pains to explain he is not interested in Robbo's job, just wants to keep the seat warm, and that he only took it on after speaking to Robbo. For me that interview pretty much ticks all the boxes in terms of doing things right and having the right attitude about it .... lets hope now that he can get a few points on the board. With Kells gone for now and Robbo obviously having a hard time of it recently - having mentioned mental health issues and now a bereavement - perhaps the eye was indeed off the ball and what we saw as bad performances were precipitated by this turmoil. If Robbo can focus on himself, and Scott can get better soon while NM steadies the ship and works with Barry and Ryan to get some decent result then its a win for all concerned 🙂

  

really hope Robbo is doing ok. I normally think of myself as a ‘soldier on nothing will get me down’ kind of person but these last few months have been awful. By the sounds of it Robbo had it much worse than most of us. 
I think this is a great appointment. Although the guys who were there (barry and ESS) could easily have taken the club along,  just think of the ‘new manager bounce’ that helps so many teams. 
Everyone  knows Neil, Neil knows the scottish game inside out. Can you imagine the kick it’s going to give the players - they’ve got to prove themselves again to a man that is known not to enjoy the company of ‘slackers’. I’m excited. 
 

 

Get interim.

interesting and fitting that his first two fixtures are Hearts and Dundee ! 

31 minutes ago, Scotty said:

interesting and fitting that his first two fixtures are Hearts and Dundee ! 

Yes it would be brilliant for him and us if we could get 6 points from these games!

On 2/23/2021 at 6:24 PM, Jockdoonsouth said:

Personally, I would love to see Barry, Ryan & Charlie. Then give one of our senior players like Aaron a bit of hands on experience, particularly as he is injured.

On what basis ? Barry although a great player has no credentials what so ever in a managerial capacity -stints at  Elgin & Wick are testimony to this. One loanee even described him as clueless !!!

This is what fans expect and want. Clear information to explain decisions. Obviously not the day to day things but the big stuff or the stuff that impacts directly onto the fans. Fans can be an understanding bunch if kept informed. Fans can speculate wildly and become easily frustrated (particularly alongside poor results) when not informed/brushed aside.

 

As an aside. Iain Auld made a big difference to the commentary on Tues. The bare minimum we should be given is someone who knows out players and the game. Not a dig at Bannerman who I'm sure is doing his best but the club should have realised they messed up the appointment and should have supported him much sooner (better late than never I guess). It seems a crescendo of complaints may have forced an issue which was glaringly obvious from the get go.

 

 

59 minutes ago, Stirling Observer said:

As an aside. Iain Auld made a big difference to the commentary on Tues. The bare minimum we should be given is someone who knows out players and the game. Not a dig at Bannerman who I'm sure is doing his best but the club should have realised they messed up the appointment and should have supported him much sooner (better late than never I guess). It seems a crescendo of complaints may have forced an issue which was glaringly obvious from the get go.

Going OT here but I am sure I wasn't the only one who noticed the two switch roles for the second half.

Edited February 25, 20215 yr by RiG

8 hours ago, Caledonianfc1885 said:

On what basis ? Barry although a great player has no credentials what so ever in a managerial capacity -stints at  Elgin & Wick are testimony to this. One loanee even described him as clueless !!!

Well I don't know if you noticed but he has been working with Robbo for quite some time. He has experience at Elgin and Wick. Experience both good and bad is valid. Robbo has had successes and failures but look at the manager he is for us. He has the shared experience of Ryan and Charlie to draw upon. When you listen to him in interviews after games he is usually spot on in his assessment. I rate him and see his potential. Our club is great at bringing the best out of people who have been thrown on the scrap heap. We do it for players so why not for managerial staff? Or shall we say they are crap? Be all doom and gloom? Sometimes I think certain people on this forum want the club to fail because it suits their stupid 25 year old agenda's that they can't let go of.

Scot Gardiner with the rationale behind the recent decisions.