Brewster

[Caley Stan]

Inteview with Brew

It seems that Charles Bannerman has decided that 100 games was a long enough honeymoon period, and has finally started asking some challenging questions. I don?t know which enlightened ICT supporter Charles was talking to on Saturday night but thanks to him for allowing us to hear Brew respond to the following charges:

1. We don?t have a goalscorer in our squad.

2. We look right up for games against bigger teams but appear flat against the smaller ones.

These two points could form the basis for an attack on Brewster?s stewardship if they are expanded slightly:

1. Brew has made some very strange decisions regarding personnel and tactics during both spells in charge.

2. Team spirit and motivation sometimes appear lacking in Brewster?s teams.

Such criticism should be balanced with recognition of his achievements:

1. The squad is extremely fit.

2. We?ve always been comfortably clear of the relegation zone during Brewster?s tenure.

And here?s one that could go either way:

Brew seems to believe in giving youth a chance. This is without doubt the best policy for a club of our size IF it?s done properly (i.e. easing youngsters alongside more experienced players rather than depending on them).

My personal opinion is that ICT have done well under the stewardship of Craig Brewster, but that a lot of that is down to the solid foundations that were in place before he arrived (a settled playing squad with a great spirit and stable finances off the park). I still have concerns about how Brew would cope with the pressure of a relegation dogfight.

[ictchris]

Good post.

[Scarlet Pimple]

He gets a pass mark from me

And oh, by the way, it will not be easy to find a replacement who will be a hotshot and achieve FAR better results in the present framework I think.

[Alex MacLeod]

I don?t know which enlightened ICT supporter Charles was talking to on Saturday night

Cant say for saturday night but he refused a drink from me on friday night.

[The Mantis]

2. We?ve always been comfortably clear of the relegation zone during Brewster?s tenure.

Hate to sound like a Jonah but we're only 3 points off the bottom with Motherwell coming up followed by Rangers.

[martinskye]

2. We've always been comfortably clear of the relegation zone during Brewster's tenure.

Hate to sound like a Jonah but we're only 3 points off the bottom with Motherwell coming up followed by Rangers.

But we're only 10 games in

[RossP]

... something which won't go unoticed by Brewster i'm sure. Everyone is taking points off everyone this year, and if we had a bit more rub of the green against St Mirren and Hamilton we could've been between 4 and 6 points better off.

I'm really hoping we take 3 points against Motherwell, as it will set us up quite well for the 2nd of 3 fixture rounds (assuming we get beat at Ipox).

I have a feeling Hamilton could start to drop off the pace if they continue to drop points, as their form has really dipped after some early promise. Although i'm still hoping that Kilmarnock collapse, as I had ?30 on them at the start of season to get relegated at 14-1...

[Alex MacLeod]

Yep! and only three of fifth place. Same position as Motherwell.

[martinskye]

I'm quietely confident, we haven't we've been close in games we deserved to get something off/win.

[RossP]

Am I right in saying we haven't been beaten by more than one goal in any match this season?

And the games we did win, 2 out of the three we won by 2 goals.

[Alex MacLeod]

correct

[PullMyFinger]

correct

Well actually he was correct, but..........

[Kingsmills]

That record of not losing by more than a single goal might well noit survive beyond Saturday.

[+Gringo]

Our squad may be fitter under Craig's managment but fittness doesn't seem to be getting us points on the board. It also doesn't matter if we lose by the odd goal or whether we lose by 6 goals it equals the same points - zero.

[Kingsmills]

Only important if goal difference becomes an issue in the relagation battle at the end of the season. I, for one, would prefer to avoid that scenario altogether.

[caley100]

But at the end of the season and we are involved in a relegation battle, goal difference may well become a factor.

Anyway, I am becoming more and more dissillusioned with the use of subs and missuse of young players by Brewster, saturdays starting choice was poor, with the wind and conditions as they were Woods should not have started, he has no pace nor ball control. Barrowman and Rooney were the obvious choice.

At 1-1 he puts on Vigurs for Rooney.... utter madness.

If there was any players we needed to give us back the game it was Barry, its although Brew decided that 1-1 was acceptable and filled the midfield.

[PompeyCT]

Honestly who could we get that is better? a 7500 seater stadium and 1 point off relegation, were not gonna attract Mourinho or Rikjaard. Brewster is decent and id be inclined to want him to stay, for stability's sake at least!

[Jay_7]

Honestly who could we get that is better? a 7500 seater stadium and 1 point off relegation, were not gonna attract Mourinho or Rikjaard. Brewster is decent and id be inclined to want him to stay, for stability's sake at least!

The fact is, Brewster is not a manager. He is a fitness coach. When Park was in the dugout beside him, our team put on a performance that was at least watchable. It's no coincidence that since he has left, our form has been dysmal. Similarly, Thomson is not an assistant manager. Thomson is a youth coach.

It's like playing a striker as a goalkeeper! So to answer your question directly, I honestly believe that anyone with reasonable experience as a manager would be better than our management team at the moment.

So that begs the question, what attribute of Brewster do you associate with stability? Under Brew, we have had a very turbulent experience! He drove Rankin away, he then told Park to get lost, he offered Wyness a contract then withdrew the offer before Wyness had an opportunity to even pick up a pen! How many fall-outs has he had with Black now?

Now after 100 or so games, how many times has he not taken responsibility for a loss? It's never his fault though is it? After Saturdays performance, we sit one point away from relegation but because we only ever lose by the odd goal that makes relegation OK does it?

We need action from our Board of Directors and we need action NOW

[Council Juice]

So because Brewster focusses alot of attention on the fitness aspect of football using modern techniques (like Yogi at Falkirk) it makes him just a fitness coach and not a manager. This despite other managers saying he'd make a good manager.

And because Malky Thompson was a youth coach he cant then progress to the 1st team despite having been coaching for around 10-12 years now?

Park asked to leave for family and location reasons. Nothing official has ever been said different from either side.

Whether they got on is irrelevant.

Wyness wasnt performing. Brewster was going to give him a contract then decided to challenge him to earn it. He didnt.

He hadnt scored in something like 4 months at the time. Hardly prolific.

Black was an immature *** at times and probably got away with too much under CC. Brew brought him into line and he's probably playing as well as he ever has. Dont forget he became a 1st team regular under Brewster.

His one mistake was Rankin. But we can all make mistakes.

Im no Brewster super fan. I just look at the facts and fail to see how much he's done wrong.

Maybe Brewster felt we needed more balance in the middle with Vigurs when taking Rooney off. I personally would have taken Wood off if either, but im not a coach.

A managers tactics are genious if they come off, baffling if we lose.

[caley100]

Mcghees subs won him the game, Brews subs lost us the game.

[PompeyCT]

Yeah but thats one game, as i say im inclined to support Brewster. I know hes not the perfect manager but who honestly can Caley get that is better?

[Jay_7]

So because Brewster focusses alot of attention on the fitness aspect of football using modern techniques (like Yogi at Falkirk) it makes him just a fitness coach and not a manager. This despite other managers saying he'd make a good manager.

And because Malky Thompson was a youth coach he cant then progress to the 1st team despite having been coaching for around 10-12 years now?

Park asked to leave for family and location reasons. Nothing official has ever been said different from either side.

Whether they got on is irrelevant.

Wyness wasnt performing. Brewster was going to give him a contract then decided to challenge him to earn it. He didnt.

He hadnt scored in something like 4 months at the time. Hardly prolific.

Black was an immature *** at times and probably got away with too much under CC. Brew brought him into line and he's probably playing as well as he ever has. Dont forget he became a 1st team regular under Brewster.

His one mistake was Rankin. But we can all make mistakes.

Im no Brewster super fan. I just look at the facts and fail to see how much he's done wrong.

Maybe Brewster felt we needed more balance in the middle with Vigurs when taking Rooney off. I personally would have taken Wood off if either, but im not a coach.

A managers tactics are genious if they come off, baffling if we lose.

I'm looking at the facts and fail to see how my facts can differ so much from yours.

Brewster is a fitness coach - he does this well. Brewster is not a manager. It was not Brewsters decisions that won us games before, it was Parks. Since Park has left, Brewsters decsion making has been laid open for all to see.

Thomson was a successful youth coach at Rangers. Since then he has been unsuccessfully masquerading as an assistant manager. If he was successful (like Park was) that success would be noticable on the field.

If you believe the spin around Park leaving then that's up to you.

Wyness was not the worst player on the park against Falkirk(?) when his contract offer was withdrawn. Brewster made a scapegoat of Wyness over a very poor team display indeed. Part of the reason Wyness hadn't scored in four months at the time was due to injury.

[CaleyD]

Brewster is such a great and highly thought of Manager that after he screwed everything up at Dundee Utd everyone was chasing after him to give him a job, but he decided to sit it out at Aberdeen as a player until the dream job of coming back to ICT became available!!!!

The club made a big deal of holding on to Park when CC stepped down, and that in itself spoke volumes about just how much faith they had in Brewster. We could all see it, I believe that our BoD at that time could even see it, but the decision was, IMO, made over and above that in true "jobs for the boys" fashion.

The job was going to be Brewsters, and those who had made that decision were going to make sure that he had people around him that made him look good. Everything seemed to be going fine until Donald Park (for whatever reason, it don't matter) moved on.

At the Fans Forum before Brewster was officially appointed, I raised the concern as to why the club were so hell bent on maintaining the services of Park. It was as clear as the nose on your face that it was because he would be the "brains" of the partnership....and I don't think I would be too far off the mark in saying that had Park been willing to take the Managers job then Brewster would have become his assistant.....and on that basis I think we would have welcomed him more because of what he brings in regards to fitness coaching etc.

Brewster comes across as a decent enough bloke, and it annoys me to hear people say that he shafted us to go to Dundee Utd. There's never been anything official, but I know for fact that Brewster made sure that ICT were well compensated for his departure, even though he had no contract....so much so that he would have refused to go had Thomson not stumped up the cash that HE (Brewster) had said ICT should be getting. So please, if we're going to criticise the guy, let's keep it to our opinions on the job he is doing/has done and not get caught up in slandering him for stuff that just isn't true.

As a person, he seems decent. As a fitness coach, we're lucky to have him. As a manager, he frustrates the hell out of me and I don't rate him.

Who do we replace him with? Off the top of my head....Robbo. He's a more than competent Manager, and a man who always wore his heart on his sleeve and I think he'd instil some passion back into the squad. I'd also like to see CC in there as his assistant, because there's nobody who knows more about what makes this club, team and fans tic than he does.

We're trying to go down a road we can't afford and which, IMO won't work for us. We don't have the finances to be buying in "talent" and we need to get back to what got us where we are....grit, fight, determination and passion - those are attributes you can't buy, but we always had them in abundance.

Some might argue that it's a step backwards.....but I'd rather we took a step backwards to get us on the right path again, than continue down the road we're on.

[Alex MacLeod]

I wonder would Charlie take the top job now that Savage isn't pulling strings.

[Pele_Is_God]

Robbo is not a better manager than Brewster IMO.