Simple question, would you offer Dodds a contract extension if it was your decision?

Dodds has failed in the league this season. No excuses for finishing 6th in probably the weakest Championship since we were relegated. 

The Scottish Cup run has been 3 good performances, Livingston was special, Killie, helped by them being poor, Falkirk, another good performance. Don't forget we squeezed past Stirling Albion and Queens Park beat us.

Report card over whole season : 

D minus. Time for change. 

Edited May 5, 20233 yr by Duke of Inverness

Do I think he will get an extension? Yes 

Do I think he should? No 

Just not good enough over the season 

It's time for a big shakeup! Dodds, Wilson, Kellacher and Esson all must go. Let a young ambitious manager come in with his own backroom staff. 

The yoyo on this thread based on the last month is hilarious. Dodds is a fraud, his tactics for 2 seasons are basic, we are tepid and negative with a long ball to short guys in desperation. Successive mid season collapses with excuses every time and dressing room issues.

Injuries has been this years get out, but the line ups changed yet we never changed tactics or shape to compensate.

Over the next few wks I expect apathy to reduce and fans reflect with the golden egg of a cup final being enough to appease so this lame duck gets another season or more.

The problem is that getting rid of Dodds before the Cup Final would be suicidal.  Heaven knows it will be difficult enough to keep morale up when the players must be fearful of a hammering in the most public arena that there is.  Getting rid of Dodds would kill any chances of the team being up for it.

But if you don't, then there's only 6 weeks between the cup final and the first competitive match of next season.  Not a lot of time for wholesale changes...

If the players don't know each other well enough, and can't lift their game for a Scottish Cup final then having Dodds tickle their balls isn't going to make a bit of difference.  It's not as if he's a tactical mastermind who we'd expect to change anything to throw the opposition off come the day.

Get him gone and let someone like Ryan Esson take the team to the final.  Absolutely nothing to lose.

1 hour ago, STFU said:

If the players don't know each other well enough, and can't lift their game for a Scottish Cup final then having Dodds tickle their balls isn't going to make a bit of difference. 

I was expecting someone to say that.   Did they lift their game for last night's crucial match, then?

I have lost count of the number of times over the past couple of seasons that I have said that surely the seasoned professionals on the pitch can see when things are not going well - eg when they are playing hoofball all the time - and that they should try something different, regardless of what the manager has said.  But it never happens.

Conclusions - they can't think for themselves, they don't know each other that well, and there certainly isn't a leader amongst them.   I am going off now to look up the record score in a cup final, because I really do fear for what might happen.

Edited May 6, 20233 yr by snorbens_caleyman

11 hours ago, Bobby said:

It's time for a big shakeup! Dodds, Wilson, Kellacher and Esson all must go. Let a young ambitious manager come in with his own backroom staff. 

Why is everyone wanting rid of Esson? Doing a fantastic job with the U18s and as goalie coach. Ridiculous suggestion 

 

1 hour ago, STFU said:

Get him gone and let someone like Ryan Esson take the team to the final.  Absolutely nothing to lose.

Good grief!

51 minutes ago, snorbens_caleyman said:

I was expecting someone to say that.   Did they lift their game for last night's crucial match, then?

I have lost count of the number of times over the past couple of seasons that I have said that surely the seasoned professionals on the pitch can see when things are not going well - eg when they are playing hoofball all the time - and that they should try something different, regardless of what the manager has said.  But it never happens.

Conclusions - they can't think for themselves, they don't know each other that well, and there certainly isn't a leader amongst them.   I am going off now to look up the record score in a cup final, because I really do fear for what might happen.

Ask Ridgers, Samuels and Doran what happens when players dare stand up to/don't do what's asked for by Dodds 🤷‍♂️

50 minutes ago, old caley girl said:

Why is everyone wanting rid of Esson? Doing a fantastic job with the U18s and as goalie coach. Ridiculous suggestion 

 

Also one of the most qualified coaches in the UK.  We're lucky to have him at the club.

45 minutes ago, Yngwie said:

Good grief!

As opposed to bad grief?

14 hours ago, Bobby said:

It's time for a big shakeup! Dodds, Wilson, Kellacher and Esson all must go. Let a young ambitious manager come in with his own backroom staff. 

Agree with first three but not Esson. He is doing a fantastic job with the under 18s. 

If Dodds and his coaching staff are in place next season, then I don’t see us achieving Premiership status as being realistic. To keep them in place, is to repeat the previous seasons mistakes and shortsightedness. If that is all that we can afford, then cut some staff, save some money and achieve the same result. Over to you board members !!!!!!

29 minutes ago, CaleyCiuin said:

If Dodds and his coaching staff are in place next season, then I don’t see us achieving Premiership status as being realistic. To keep them in place, is to repeat the previous seasons mistakes and shortsightedness. If that is all that we can afford, then cut some staff, save some money and achieve the same result. Over to you board members !!!!!!

The board members are talking about engaging with fans again and keeping them onside so with that in mind the only option they have is to listen to us and sack the management team and either get Ryan Esson in long term (which I would be OK with) or get in a competent manager that will get us out this league but the problem is, who is available that fits that criteria!?

3 times in 20 years a manager has got more points than Dodds in a season. This season was his best points total since we were relegated. 

10 hours ago, snorbens_caleyman said:

I was expecting someone to say that.   Did they lift their game for last night's crucial match, then?

I have lost count of the number of times over the past couple of seasons that I have said that surely the seasoned professionals on the pitch can see when things are not going well - eg when they are playing hoofball all the time - and that they should try something different, regardless of what the manager has said.  But it never happens.

Conclusions - they can't think for themselves, they don't know each other that well, and there certainly isn't a leader amongst them.   I am going off now to look up the record score in a cup final, because I really do fear for what might happen.

I too harbour concern about what the score will be having attended Friday night’s performance and the fallout. 

My reasons

The team let everyone involved and supporting the team not to mention themselves down. 

Leadership - There was something more deeper than just a bad day at the office for most of the team. It was clear we didn’t have a player / figurehead that could stand up and bring the team together and lead them when needed. From the goalkeeper, defence, midfield and attack they all stayed within their own ‘zone’. Thinking back it became clear to me that had been the pattern for pretty much every home game this season. 

This leads me to wonder who is going to marshal the team when things get tough on the day of the final? 
 

Tactics/Style of play - I have seen two styles of play this season from our team.

1) The stock or standard pattern of play-safe, pedestrian square-passing from the goalkeeper-defenders-midfield where playing backward is the plan A. Boring to watch and a disaster waiting to happen. 
Hump high balls continuously at a bantamweight tiny striker!!

2) Fast slick passing down the wings inter-passing between the midfield and striker, inevitably creating a chance on goal.
 

Unfortunately (2) was the exception and a bit part of our season. Style (1) will just bring wave upon wave of attack from the opposition.

Substitutes - I have to raise the manager and his ability to interpret the match and his team’s performance and make timely changes that can influence (positively) the match. 
There has been a lot of words written on this forum about injuries to players and whether B Dodds is good or bad as a manager. 
I can only make my opinion on what I see at the home games as a season ticket holder. Over the piece I have to come down on the side that their has been games where the manager’s uncertainty or lack of vision has cost us points due to either poor timing or players selected when changing them. 
 

Rightly or wrongly I am of the opinion B Dodds expects his players to hack out results without any serious thought on how to counter the oppositions match play. It doesn’t inspire me and I can’t imagine the players get much from the dugout when they are looking for guidance. 
 

So, when we walk out at the cup final we are up against a team that most certainly will have more skilful players, with 4 or 5 patterns of play that they can change at any time of the game. A manager that insists on his players move with speed in a controlled way and strikers that would not be out of place in the English premiership. Throw in a giant loud support, and a month of no games now for ICT it will call on everyone of ICT players and Management to be on top of their game.  
 

Friday night’s performance and attitude against Ayr on one of the biggest games of the season makes it more difficult for me to think this was a one-off.
 

Hope I’m wrong!!!
 

 

Edited May 6, 20233 yr by big cherly
Typos

8 hours ago, STFU said:

Also one of the most qualified coaches in the UK.  We're lucky to have him at the club.

What absolute nonsense! You are renowned for posting absolute b———s but this takes the biscuit.

 

26 minutes ago, razor said:

What absolute nonsense! You are renowned for posting absolute b———s but this takes the biscuit.

 

Yip no idea where that statement has come from 😂. He has the required A licence which is needed to coach at that level. 

I’m worried about what candidates we will realistically get if we do make a change. It will be hard to attract anyone with a track record given our well documented finances.

An option is former players who remain in the area and have picked up some experience: some sort of combination of Tremarco, Warren and Esson, for example, but that comes with risks.

Thinking about our six years back in the Championship, we’ve made the play offs twice, and we were on course for them in the curtailed season when Covid hit.

Whether we like it it not, we’ve become a mid table Championship team, with some years better than others. This season an unexpected cup run has meant it has turned out better than most of the last six.

We should have done better, despite our injuries, and the long run without a win and the Ridgers debacle were both avoidable in my opinion.

I think it will come down to whether Dodds wants another season or not. I suspect he may call it a day but if he wants to stay on I’m sure he will get a new contract.

Where does Robbo fit in going forward? Will he leave at the end of the season? Could he want to step back in as Manager?

With only 6 weeks between the final and the first group game, we need to be planning now and not leaving it until the close season.

More questions than answers this year!

Edited May 6, 20233 yr by Robert

2 hours ago, razor said:

What absolute nonsense! You are renowned for posting absolute b———s but this takes the biscuit.

 

 

1 hour ago, Bobby said:

Yip no idea where that statement has come from 😂. He has the required A licence which is needed to coach at that level. 

Not sure where it can be looked up, but he also has a GK/Coaching qualification that only a handful of people in the UK have.

I can't see the Board not offering Dodds a new contract unless there are circumstances we are not aware of.  I would be opposed to a contract of more than a year though as his record is decidedly mixed.  It is true that we have had a bad run of injuries but Dodds does rather overplay that in order to deflect blame from himself.  Before Friday's game he was saying that apart from Sutherland and Walsh, he had a full squad to pick from.  One must therefore assume that the 11 he put out on the park were what he considered to be the best 11 in the squad.  However, with the exception of Carson for Deas, we had the same starting line up for the 2 woeful defeats at the hands of Hamilton in February.  On the other hand, when we thrashed Cove 6-1  on January 2nd, there were 5 in the starting line up who didn't start on Friday night.  There is more to our poorer performances than just guys on the injury list.

For me the key factor is our ability to hold onto our better players and the ability to recruit new talent.  We have never been great at retaining our better players, but that is understandable as players who excel here will always get offers elsewhere which our Board can't match.  But we have generally been good on the recruitment side and in recent years it is Robbo who has been the key man here.  He has always had an excellent network of contacts.  Whatever the the Board decide, it will be vital that we have somebody in the club who can identify and persuade promising young players of the calibre of Delaney, Deas, Henderson, Shaw and Samuels to come to Inverness.  Unless we can maintain that ability, the only way we will be able to get out of the Championship is through the back door.  Without good recruitment it will take a much more astute coach than Dodds to keep us in the Championship.

 

 

If Dodds is offered a new contract he will stay as he lives in the area and there are no other clubs going to offer him anything else.

10 hours ago, STFU said:

 

Not sure where it can be looked up, but he also has a GK/Coaching qualification that only a handful of people in the UK have.

But does he have his gold Blue Peter badge?

2 hours ago, Satan said:

But does he have his gold Blue Peter badge?

2 of them 👍