You're the manager, what do you do?

[+MrCaleyjag]

So we haven't had the season so far that most of us would have hoped for, we haven't built from last season's success, we all are less than impressed with at least one thing at the club, we are all entitled to our opinions and we are all more than quailified to pass judgement on those running our club (he says tongue in cheek) but lets break it down and ask - what would you do if you were the manager?

I've sat and read almost every post for a long time and hardly passed comment and where everyone seems to have an opinion on what we should do, has anyone truly sat back and thought 'if we did do what we are suggesting how would we do it or if I were in that position what would I do'?

So for everyone that thinks we should get rid of JH or thinks the board should be performing better or thinks the recruitment policy is poor or has a belief that RF is capable of stepping up to the plate and becoming our next manager, let me ask the question - what would you do or rather how would you do the job?

Forget about saying we should do this, lets all answer on how you would do it - it's easy to sit back and say what we should do but do you actually know how you would do it? All armchair fans/football manager style pundits step forward, this could make for a very good discussion.

 You're the manager:

- what formation and style of play do you implement and why? Would it work with our current squad? Would you mould your style of play to what your squad can perform to or do make your squad mould to fit your style of play?

- how big a squad do you have and what is the breakdown of this squad in numbers for each position?

- do you build the team around one player?

- do you promote from within and bring youth through? Are you in a position to do so or is it forced upon you for a number of reasons?

- where do you recruit from? Who are your contacts? Can you afford who you are looking for? Do you build around a necleus of players and supplement with loan signings then recruit slowly to bolster already recruited talent that you can keep?

- who do you bring in on the playing staff? Specifically of all those players who you would be able to attract name some you would bring in.

- what training techniques do you install? Who do you bring in as your backroom team or do you stick with who we have? Do you run the training yourself and have your coaches oversee it or do you let them have free-rein to work within your perameters? Or do you have a mix of both?

- how many backroom staff do you have? What coaching techniques would you want them to have? How many roles can they coach in?

- what do you concentrate most on, cups or the league? Why? Do you have a preference or can you afford to concentrate on all?

- how do you juggle your budget? Do you focus on signing free transfers and use any money you have on wages or do you try and buy with the little money you have one or two players on a smaller wage?

- do you insist on having the running of everything football related or do you ask for help in the form of a Director of Football?

- do you ask for more input on less football related matters? Do you insist on being involved in deciding the budgets and what would  be the main focus on your budgets?

- for youth teams/development league level, do you oversee this yourself or bring in a team to focus on this and have them coach their way with their tactics/formations or do you insist they stick to your style of play and tactics in the hope it helps younger players step up quicker/easier and integrate better?

- do you rotate your youth between first team and youth training to help development? Do you have first team players mentor youth players on football and/or non-football related matters?

- at what point do you decide who you want to keep at the club and when do you initiate contract talks? Do you decide early and set out your stall with very little scope to diverse and change or do you let things progress and see what happens?

 

Now I'm no manager, nor am I at all in any way qualified to answer any of the above questions but I'm sure above are only a very few number of questions and scenarios which a football manager has to answer and deal with on a daily basis. Equally I would say it is harder to manage a club at out level with the budgets and constraints that we have than it is to manage at a higher level with a bigger budget.

Yes I'm not happy with how this season has gone, I'm at times not happy with our style of play with no substance or penetration, I'm not happy with the quality of some of the players we have and the level they are at, I'm not happy with our lack of investment from the Christie sale, I'm not happy with our recruitment policy, I'm not happy with the way we deal with players going out of contract, I'm not happy with losing players on free transfers to other SPFL clubs, the list can go on but I am still in the camp that believes JH should be given another season to show us what he can do.

Go on answer the above then pass comment on what we should do because it's all to easy to pass comment on what we should do without looking at it from the other side.

I think sometimes we all need to take a reality check, evalute where we are as a club, be realistic about what we can achieve and how quickly we can acheive it and stop jumping on the band-wagon just because it isn't quite going how we want it to.

Would we be having all these discussions had it not been for last seasons success?

[lightwelter]

I'd certainly be making sure players who are out of contract in the summer were signing contracts before January. It will be a travesty if we lose Polworth - a local young player who has came through the academy and is yet to fufill his potential at the club - on a free. Same goes for Raven, we are unlikely to replace him with a better right back so what's the rationale in not signing him up for longer. All in all, are contract policy needs to change. 

Second, I'd play Miles Storey up front, not on the wing. I don't think he's too keen to remain at the club and I believe that part of the reason may be that he's being played out of position. 

In terms of the youth academy, it's easier said than done to bring players into the first team. John Hughes will watcIh them at training, and if they're not ready for the step up then there's no point in playing them. In answer to one of your other questions, I'm sure youth players get the chance to train with the first team from time to time. If not then they should. 

Finally, when scouting players, we should be looking in Scotland as well as down south. Our recruitment policy in the last 10 years has actually been really successful when you consider almost every one of our players comes from the lower leagues in England. However, judging by the post the other day showing some of the players being released in the SPL, we need to look closer to home as there is some real quality players being let go all over the place. 

[Charles Bannerman]

1 hour ago, MrCaleyjag said:

Now I'm no manager, nor am I at all in any way qualified to answer any of the above questions but I'm sure above are only a very few number of questions and scenarios which a football manager has to answer and deal with on a daily basis.

It's genuinely refreshing to see a comment like this from a football fan, which comes in welcome contrast with the alarming number of people who always seem to know far better than the manager does. I have never yet understood how all these managers have jobs while the obviously superior talents of these pitch side experts, who seemingly instantly spot the mistakes managers are constantly making, have mysteriously gone unnoticed and unrewarded.

[PerfICT]

1. Abandon possession football - we don't have the players to carry it off, it's boring for the fans and is risky at the back. Be quicker in transition and deploy pace and width. Only Barcelona have the players to go as narrow as we are.

2. As indicated in previous post: Be more pro-active with regard to contracts. By January it is too late to start offering contracts to players you want to keep - their minds will have started to wander. Make the necessary offers early and start looking to replace those not wanting to stay immediately. Return to offering longer contracts to give valuable players security and ensure a fee if they move.

3. Have 3 or 4 genuine strikers on the books. Stop recruiting midfielders and then trying to squeeze them into defensive or striking roles.

4. Assuming he doesn't have a terminal injury, sign David Raven and get Meekings back into central defence.

5. Stop sucking up to Celtic and Hibs in the media - it's unsavoury. Stop giving these mediocre teams too much respect: They're remarkably poor this season.

 

I think that just about covers it.

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Get pisshed, go on holiday and ask for more money.

[Huisdean]

5 hours ago, PerfICT said:

1. Abandon possession football - we don't have the players to carry it off, it's boring for the fans and is risky at the back. Be quicker in transition and deploy pace and width. Only Barcelona have the players to go as narrow as we are.

2. As indicated in previous post: Be more pro-active with regard to contracts. By January it is too late to start offering contracts to players you want to keep - their minds will have started to wander. Make the necessary offers early and start looking to replace those not wanting to stay immediately. Return to offering longer contracts to give valuable players security and ensure a fee if they move.

3. Have 3 or 4 genuine strikers on the books. Stop recruiting midfielders and then trying to squeeze them into defensive or striking roles.

4. Assuming he doesn't have a terminal injury, sign David Raven and get Meekings back into central defence.

5. Stop sucking up to Celtic and Hibs in the media - it's unsavoury. Stop giving these mediocre teams too much respect: They're remarkably poor this season.

 

I think that just about covers it.

Agree mostly with the above but possession football has to be the way to go albeit adapted for the players you have at your disposal. Remember that without possession of the ball, the game is much harder. Secondly, I don't think a club our size can ever hope to have 3/4 strikers on our books. At best 2 with a plan B to utilise other players if short up front. If you have 3/4, you will end up with 2 being, at best average, as if they were any good, they would not be sitting on the bench.

[ICTRoughi]

What formation and style of play do you implement and why? Would it work with our current squad? Would you mould your style of play to what your squad can perform to or do make your squad mould to fit your style of play? : 

Formation that I would use is a very attacking 4-3-3 and the style of play would be most possession based however would ensure that the ball was in the opposition's half rather than our own. I would suggest that early stages given Yogi's style of play the transition shouldn't be to difficult to adapt. If I was installed as manager then I would keep current style of play until end of the season and then build a squad to fit around a squad of players. 

How big a squad do you have and what is the breakdown of this squad in numbers for each position?

Not very large squad but equally not a slim squad too. The focus should always be to bring in quality over quantity to have a good squad of players. Breakdown on our budget: 2 GKs, 2 RB, 3 CB, 2 LB, 4 CM, 4 Attackers = Squad of 17. 

Do you build the team around one player?

No, no team should be built around one player. 

Do you promote from within and bring youth through? Are you in a position to do so or is it forced upon you for a number of reasons?

For obvious reasons promoting youths should be the way forward in such cases as Ryan Christie and Liam Polworth. The other side of the coin is that younger players aren't ready for the bigger stage. If Youth Coaches highly recommend a youth player and I watched him and thought would make a difference, certainly would have no qualms in using. 

Where do you recruit from? Who are your contacts? Can you afford who you are looking for? Do you build around a necleus of players and supplement with loan signings then recruit slowly to bolster already recruited talent that you can keep?

Mostly British based players  through the english leagues but one thing at Caley Thistle I would suggest is to try and invest in a scouting network, since Terry Butchers' departure, the lack of preparation when it comes to signing has stuck out like a sore thumb. My contacts, well like I say, would rely on a scouting team should the board got one in place. The type of players that I would be looking for would be promising players that are possibly peaked their level in that league and looking for the next step of their careers. In recent seasons, players have definitely been able to showcase their talent and secure some decent moves. For me it would be all about signing the right player whether that be from the out of contract market to the loan market. Loan players then have the opportunity to then develop their own game for their parent club or help their chances with a permanent contract with us. I noticed Liam Henderson of Hibs bossed our game at the TCS a few weeks back and he's only an 18 year old boy, definitely worth taking an example of that. 

 Who do you bring in on the playing staff? Specifically of all those players who you would be able to attract name some you would bring in?

It's difficult to pinpoint exactly who would join the club. My first port of call would be to sort out the squad, streamline it and rid of players who wouldn't fit in my plans - Build from scratch and get the right replacements in. The area I would start at would be the out of contract players as they will always be first in demand given the fact there's no transfer fee. Me personally, would look at Faissal El Bahktaoui of Dunfermline as an example would sign him up pronto. I would also look at the loan market from various youth academies wether that may be Celtic, Aberdeen, Rangers - there would be some gems in there!

What training techniques do you install? Who do you bring in as your backroom team or do you stick with who we have? Do you run the training yourself and have your coaches oversee it or do you let them have free-rein to work within your perameters? Or do you have a mix of both?

Ideally I would firstly like to start the pre season with most of the squad I want signed up however I would start fitness based. Given the break of 4 weeks is a long time for a football player, fitness levels need to be top especially using possession and high tempo football. My backroom staff would include: Me as manager, Assistant: Scott Kellacher, First Team Coach: Richie Foran, Under 20: Duncan Shearer. I would have a mix of both myself and also other coaches to be involved. Their input in training would be just as important as the manager because an egotistical manager won't get very far. 

What do you concentrate most on, cups or the league? Why? Do you have a preference or can you afford to concentrate on all?

Taking into account of our finances and also our capabilities. I would say the we should always aim for Top 6 however would settle for 7th/8th. Positions like 10th/11th/ and obviously 12th would make my job untenable. The minimum requirement for the Caley Thistle job is to ensure that we remain in the premier division each season. 

How do you juggle your budget? Do you focus on signing free transfers and use any money you have on wages or do you try and buy with the little money you have one or two players on a smaller wage?

Depending on the budget allocated for transfers, ideally yes I would utilise both free transfers and loans. Should a player become available within the budget who would greatly improve our team then I wouldn't hesitate in signing. Need to keep in our morals of 'live within our means'

Do you insist on having the running of everything football related or do you ask for help in the form of a Director of Football?

Depends on two facts how my experience in the game is and wether the club could afford it. If I can manage solo, I would but wouldn't begrudge getting help if needed. 

Do you ask for more input on less football related matters? Do you insist on being involved in deciding the budgets and what would  be the main focus on your budgets?

As Football Manager, I would expect to have input in what money should be available to the playing staff and transfer, however I would be fully accommodating the fact that finances will be what it is unless we achieve success on a consistent basis to get the higher revenue into the coffers. 

Youth teams/development league level, do you oversee this yourself or bring in a team to focus on this and have them coach their way with their tactics/formations or do you insist they stick to your style of play and tactics in the hope it helps younger players step up quicker/easier and integrate better?

I would put my trust in the coaching team to help nourish the younger guys to get them ready for the step up with regards to training and matches.I would be watching the games and would give coaches input should they need them during games. Ideally the tactics and formations used in the first team should be used at the development league to make the transition between the teams much easier. 

Do you rotate your youth between first team and youth training to help development? Do you have first team players mentor youth players on football and/or non-football related matters?

Definitely, should a youth player be recommended and impresses me in the development league then they would then be training with the first team with a view to be playing in the first team. Its imperative that a youth player is welcomed in the team so that he's not alienated and prone to not playing to his potential. 

At what point do you decide who you want to keep at the club and when do you initiate contract talks? Do you decide early and set out your stall with very little scope to diverse and change or do you let things progress and see what happens?

I would do it in two stages, if a player is out of contract for the following season and I wanted him to be in the squad for the following season then I would give him a deadline of signing with the club by the 31st of December. Should the player reject the offer, the offer would then be withdrawn and then would seek for the replacement early doors, so that we as a club are not being left with a gaping hole in the team (Graeme Shinnie and Marley Watkins this season) 

 

 

 

Edited April 9, 2016 by ICTRoughi

[Alex MacLeod]

12 minutes ago, ICTRoughi said:

 How big a squad do you have and what is the breakdown of this squad in numbers for each position?

Not very large squad but equally not a slim squad too. The focus should always be to bring in quality over quantity to have a good squad of players. Breakdown on our budget: 2 GKs, 2 RB, 3 CB, 2 LB, 4 CM, 4 Attackers = Squad of 17. 

 

 

 

 

 

A squad of 17? Thank christ we had more than 17 this season or we'd have been forfeiting the majority of our games. Personally I think 22/24 is a decent number 

[ICTRoughi]

21 minutes ago, Alex MacLeod said:

A squad of 17? Thank christ we had more than 17 this season or we'd have been forfeiting the majority of our games. Personally I think 22/24 is a decent number 

17 would be excluding youth players.

[Alex MacLeod]

6 minutes ago, ICTRoughi said:

17 would be excluding youth players.

Yes but assuming the injury list of this season can you really expect to be playing youth players twice a week which is what would have happened?

[ICTRoughi]

10 minutes ago, Alex MacLeod said:

Yes but assuming the injury list of this season can you really expect to be playing youth players twice a week which is what would have happened?

Injuries are difficult to judge but what's the point in having a big squad and wasting wages to ensure we have many squad players that hardly feature 

[Alex MacLeod]

21 hours ago, ICTRoughi said:

Injuries are difficult to judge but what's the point in having a big squad and wasting wages to ensure we have many squad players that hardly feature 

I dont think 22-24 is a big squad. Apart from the injury thing I think it drives players to work hard and win their place in the team on match day. Without competition for places the work-rate could suffer.

[CELTIC1CALEY3]

Let's be positive. Within the UK we have a modest budget, a hard core of supporters, and despite all the set backs this year, we have nearly survived in the top league in Scotland once again. We reached the Quarter Final of the Scottish Cup. We actually have some very talented players at our disposal and this year have at times played some great football. After the highs of last season that is not a bad season providing we avoid the play offs and do not fall into the Butcher trap - exercised here and in Hibernian - we are nearly there.

Realistically we do not know why we do not have more players signed up for next year. Balancing the budgets must be an issue especially after paying out for a range of operations, treatments and rehabilitation for players this year. That was a cost we would not have budgetted for at the start of the season.

Going forward, next year will be an almighty challenge. We have done very well against top six sides this year and may not be so lucky next year if Rangers and Hibernian both come up. Dundee United has been a source of points in the last two seasons - 10 last year - with Killie and Hamilton difficult opponents and sometimes underestimated. 

These are the challenges our Board and management have certainly had to contend with amongst other key issues. 

 

 

[TheCommissioner]

I haven't had much time to think about this so I may come back a bit later with a more in-depth plan.

The only thing that comes to mind would be to play a formation of 4-3-3, playing wing-backs allowing players like Storey a lot more freedom to move about up top. Midfield will be compressed in a diamond formation making use of a CAM like Andrew Shinnie or Vincent, which we have missed this season as I feel one of the most important players on the pitch is one who can connect midfield up to the strikers without necessarily needing the width. I would keep with possession football with more emphasis on getting the ball right in front of the opposition defenders. The aim would be to hold the ball there until either a striker breaks the line up or a winger makes space to fire it in to the box.  The good old slice and dice. 

[Laurence]

I suppose being a manager of a football team in a highly competitive football league is just like running any business

First of all you have to have a viable business plan

It means identifying your long term goals

You need to talk to your business section  identify how to manage the financial side of the club

Look at your non playing side , sort out how it can be improved

1)  What do the fans want , what is their minimum requirement  ( I suspect avoiding relegation ) ?

2 )  Make sure your youth system is as good as you can make it. Non playing staff are vital in this role, you should be able to leave it to them.

3)  Make sure the players contracts are as good as you can afford  ( taking into account injuries )

3 ) My opinion is we have been paying too many players who have long term injuries . Get them off the books if you can

4)  Adopt a playing style that is not difficult for free transfer players to understand,  Change the style every now and then so opponents do not get familiar with it , Fans also like to see a bit of aggression in the game. I speak as a former Wimbledon fan, A team know as the crazy gang, the fans loved it.

5) It is not easy being a manager, but you have to keep a smile on your face , you have to be able to take a bunch of rejects on, and  install  a sense of belonging and teamwork , look no further than Leicester City  see how the manger there has galvanised a bunch of no hopers into a viable unit

6) John Hughes as great enthusiasm,, but he really needs to be more flexible in his approach and his tactics.  In a Division of only 12 clubs anything can happen, There is little room for complacency, just look at the demise of Dundee United .

7) Look at what has gone wrong at Dundee United , and Kilmarnock, and  make sure at best we don't make the same mistakes

8) Sure we will lose the best players , when their contracts , expire, so the club has to know about this and make sure , the next man in can do a job. I am a great follower of the NFL, and their great slogan  is " The next man up " , has to step in and do the job

9) Complacency has to be avoided, I have seen many relegations and promotions in teams I have followed since 1949,  Most of the problems have been caused with a lack of

forward planning

10) All I can say to ICT is good luck you will sure need it.

[+MrCaleyjag]

On 09 April 2016 at 0:17 PM, Charles Bannerman said:

It's genuinely refreshing to see a comment like this from a football fan, which comes in welcome contrast with the alarming number of people who always seem to know far better than the manager does. I have never yet understood how all these managers have jobs while the obviously superior talents of these pitch side experts, who seemingly instantly spot the mistakes managers are constantly making, have mysteriously gone unnoticed and unrewarded.

That's exactly the sort of response I was looking for and not as a away to big myself up, the thread was meant to be thought provoking and almost a two fingers up at those who have been calling for JH's head but without any real forward thinking on any real understanding of the task involved.

It's interesting to see how few replies this has had compared to other threads especially those calling for change or ones pointing out where we've went wrong, it makes for a much better and compelling argument in my opinion if you can back up your thoughts.

[+MrCaleyjag]

On 09 April 2016 at 0:19 PM, PerfICT said:

1. Abandon possession football - we don't have the players to carry it off, it's boring for the fans and is risky at the back. Be quicker in transition and deploy pace and width. Only Barcelona have the players to go as narrow as we are.

2. As indicated in previous post: Be more pro-active with regard to contracts. By January it is too late to start offering contracts to players you want to keep - their minds will have started to wander. Make the necessary offers early and start looking to replace those not wanting to stay immediately. Return to offering longer contracts to give valuable players security and ensure a fee if they move.

3. Have 3 or 4 genuine strikers on the books. Stop recruiting midfielders and then trying to squeeze them into defensive or striking roles.

4. Assuming he doesn't have a terminal injury, sign David Raven and get Meekings back into central defence.

5. Stop sucking up to Celtic and Hibs in the media - it's unsavoury. Stop giving these mediocre teams too much respect: They're remarkably poor this season.

 

I think that just about covers it.

I couldn't agree with you any more on the point highlighted above, I don't think we have any need to do so nor do we have anything to fear from any team in Scotland. It's almost derogatory towards our own players/squad - certainly needs to be handled differently in the media and drop the Mr nice guy attitude towards the likes of Celtic, Rangers and Hibs that has been shown in the past.

[ictchris]

Sign a massive target man.

Sign several pacey wingers, play alongside target man.

Hit constant long balls, diagonals, crosses to target man.

Get pacey wingers to hoover up all the loose takings.

Win title.

Accept universal acclaim, leave Caley to manage Real Madrid.  Steal Cristiano Ronaldo's bird.

 

[AlexJones]

1) Appoint Pele Paterson as talent scout.

2) Appoint Craig Brewster as fitness coach.

3) ???

4) Profit.

Edited April 11, 2016 by AlexJones

[PerfICT]

It's quite interesting to see how many replies above suggest that the manager should be involved in the business side of the club. For me, that's for the Chairman and the Board: balancing the books, marketing, youth development etc is not the responsibility of the pitch-side manager. That said, the manager must be in close contact with the Chairman to discuss budget for the coming season and on-field playing staff strategy. With budget and strategy in mind, it is the manager's job to find players, with the help of scouts and contacts, to assemble a squad that will achieve an agreed target. For us next year, the target should be no more than achieving 10th in the league (at least at the outset). The manager's responsibility is to convince existing key players to remain and to recruit wisely around that core to achieve that goal: Where possible, that should include bringing through youth players with the necessary aptitude. Do not underestimate very good man-management in that process - perhaps more important than tactical awareness. He also needs to be able to have excellent negotiating skills to get the best possible budget from the Chairman ( without bankrupting the club!) Leave the business to the Board - they need to carry the can if they either under-invest, resulting in relegation, or over-invest, resulting in administration. A tight line to navigate!