Rousseau

I actually see him being a useful forward in the 4-4-2 diamond -- playing a role similar to Windass.

I suspect the board did take it seriously, and may well still be taking McLaren seriously. However I suspect his wage demands are well above what we'd be looking to pay and he's currently working at Maccabi Tel Aviv so there will be compensation to pay. He's 56, he's never managed or played in Scotland, he has no previous connection with Rangers, he's had as many failures as successes in his career and indeed hasn't had any genuine success since his time at Twente which ended in 2010. A seven year losing streak does tarnish his reputation somewhat. I agree he seems to be well regarded in footballing circles but he's a gamble, a bigger gamble that McInnes and arguably a bigger gamble than Tommy Wright too. So I can see why the board are reticent. It's their money we're spending after all, if it was mine I'm not sure I'd be gambling it on Steve McLaren to turn our fortunes around.

Fascinating how we perceive things. McClaren -- who is by all accounts a 'better' coach than McInnes and most certainly Wright -- is perhaps a gamble. However, I don't understand how he can be spoken less of than Wright. He's just better: better coach, worked at a higher level, has experience of working with winners etc. The only down side is the dry spell, which does appear to be a long one. Is he the answer? I don't know. But if it's a choice between McClaren or Wright, that's no choice at all.

Edit: Actually, after checking, that dry spell appears to be 3 years, only 2 of which he was actually managing (he's currently in a consultancy role). It's still a significant dry spell, but you could argue it's not as bad as it is perceived to be.

No thanks. But I guess that is where we are.

 

And yet you would rethink your ST over McLaren ??? I would rethink my ST over Wright more than I would McLaren !

I don't think it was compo who posted that comment, but you're right. McClaren may have his detractors but there's no doubt there's a decent coach there. In what world is Tommy Wright considered a better coach than McClaren, looking at their careers? I don't get it?

Moreover, If Allen is recommending him then surely we must take it seriously? That's his job to know these things.

When I see the Tommy Wright "rumours"...

you certainly don't like him

 

If I was at a club at the bottom of the league he is THE man I would want, Swansea are bottom trying to play good football with Clement and it certainly didn't work did it.

The main thing now for them is to survive and he certainly has the pedigree to do that IMO.

I really don't, to be honest.

Swansea are unique in the sense they have a club philosophy that has done well for them -- that's why they always had another man lined up that could take over seamlessly, Rodgers, Martinez, Laudrup etc. Pulis is really not that man. Any other club, I'd say, Yes, Pulis would have a good chance of keeping them up. With Swansea, I don't see it.

Pulis will be a cert for Swansea now after Clement just got sacked. Im quite glad about that, Pulis style of football is terrible.

On SSN Swansea say they are "not considering Tony Pulis as a candidate". Even Swansea don't want him!

You do need good players to play good football , you can't expect players just to change style and all of them to be good at it. You just say foreign but don't have any names or why they would work. I respect your opinion but don't agree with it.

I think They are the perfect example of how wrong your first point is. A manager with a modern style can transform a team. I'm not saying they are all good players, but I believe a manager would transform the team.

Yes, I do get annoyed when people say manager X, Y or Z is not right, without any examples to the contrary. To be honest, I don't know. But, I'm not willing to throw my lot in with any old name, that happens to have done a job at another club with very different circumstances. I think Preud'homme would've been a good shout, but I don't know if he's a viable option. Anderlecht destroyed Them in the most recent game -- after they had changed managers -- and I don't think Belgian football is that far ahead of us, in terms of the league -- perhaps their players are better. The Scandanavian managers are quite progressive. I believe there are better options out there than a free British manager.

Fair enough; we can agree to disagree.

Happy Birthday!

Unless we get more funds and sign better quality we need to firstly defend better so that would be a priority for me. I see stoke are struggling and linked to him again so I'm sure that would be his preference to us anyway.

 

I would prefer someone British, someone who makes their teams hard to beat then we can build from there if we can get in better quality players once we get more investment, but when will that be.

 

We don't have the quality to consistently play a good style of football and mix it physical wise which is needed up here and I don't think a foreign manager would sort that out for us.

A "good style of football" doesn't mean we are open to the point of suicide. A good style of football can be the German way of the high press, whereby they concede few because they are aggressive and score more in the process. Being defensive -- although it is important -- does not win you games. Pulis' win% barely gets over 40%; that's not good enough for us.

Moreover, we don't need more quality -- although I'll take it! -- to play better, winning, football; we need a manager/coach that can implement a modern style. Being tough to beat is not enough.

It doesn't have to be either/or, Defend or Attack.

Desperate, a manager who has had a good career at the top level in England?

 

Who would you like and why?

It wasn't aimed at you, as I saw his name doing the rounds on Twitter.

He knows how to defend, I'll give him that, but he hasn't got a scooby how to win and play football. Four Centre-halfs and one in midfield? No thanks.

It has to be a foreign manager for me; but one that knows how to win. Not sure how realistic that is, though.

The names get more desperate every time I log on. Tony Pulis?

We should be scooping up the cream of the crop at this level. I see the influence of the DoF in this strategy, if the article is to be believed -- not a guarantee.

Over the course of the season there is no misfortune whatsoever. We are where we deserve to be.

That was my point -- perhaps poorly articulated. There is always an element of misfortune at the time, but it happens too often to us, suggesting we're the cause of it.

I'm not disputing that, but Alston and Cummings scored their first goals of the season, hit and hope, no worldies, just hit and hope and some of those you score, usually on a Sunday afternoon.

There is an element of misfortune, but it happens too often against us.

Oh well, I'll make an early start on the GPL scores; shouldn't take long...

Looks like a 4-3-3, the way it is written out in a following tweet.

[tweet]942031807742119936[/tweet]

He'll pull a Marvin and play through it...

Stupid Yellow cards is a good topic to discuss, but there is no need to single out Windass.

He's a left sided player though. His current form is superb & there's no way he'd get left out.

 

That goal against Hibz was as good as you'll see anywhere.

I don't think he is a left-sided player, naturally. He's been better through the middle. We are short on the left.

I agree he doesn't deserve to be left out.

I don't recall him being booked? When was it?

Great pressing at the start, but I'm still annoyed he didn't slide in Windass!!

Holt's first touch is superb, and his ability to pass forward is vital for us. We've actually got three players that can pass well now, in Jack, McCrorie and Holt.

Left winger??? Don't you think Windass has been doing rather well of late ??

He's not been playing Left Wing, though. Actually, we don't even have a Left Winger in this diamond formation!

What we need is a good strong half back and two good full backs

I wouldn't say no, but I actually think our defence is passable at present. I think our most pressing needs are more options up front and especially in midfield.