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Bloody hell, the poor guys just in the door, never managed a Super Well game yet, and in a few days before the ‘aura’ is supposed to appear, he can’t have been that bad managing Rosenberg for almost 2 years at 33 so give him a chance, actions speak louder than words as they say, the board took nearly 4 weeks to appoint a manager and we have to trust that their homework got an “A” and AJ can be successful for our wee club. He’s not Jens, so at least give the poor guy even 2 games until we make any assumption!

Very true. Brighton, who have a decent amount of success recently, just appointed a 31 year old manager, Andre Villas-Boas manged the Porto team that won the Europa League when he was 33. Kieran McKenna was 35 when he took over at Ipswich in League One and and won promotion to the EPL with them last season. I'm sure if you spend 10 minutes googling the ages of some of the other managers in Europe you'd find similar success stories.

He's been involved in management for the last 10 years missed out the playing career bit, . He's an experienced guy. Probly more experiance managing than JBA had. He plays an attacking style.

Not in a forward thinking footballing world. Age is nothing, the ideal is seen as a career path in nations who are way in front of our own. Ian Cathro at Hearts? Football has evolved, maybe the psyche of some fans should too. Suppose first impressions count, not sure how you conclude he hasn’t that aura about him from the clubs’ social media output. He was fairly open on not making wholesale changes so for me seemlessly transitioning hopefully building incrementally as is club board ethos which is very different to JBA arriving and having to put his stamp on things from the get go.

The fact that he is only 35 concerns me. That is extremely young in managerial terms and something that has failed in the past at other clubs, Ian Cather at Hearts being the obvious example. The ‘aura’ thing is on point too. Good managers have that air of authority about them, that bit that just makes players sit up and listen to them. It can’t be learned, you either have it or you don’t. JBA had it, just that “I am in charge, I am your leader” about him. AJ? I’m not seeing it yet.

I agree that's what it says on most websites, but the club official website said on Friday that they had yet to get official confirmation from UEFA and would communicate as soon as they had this. This normally happens the day after the draw. Just a little uncertainty for those who are looking to travel.

His English seemed pretty good to me. Askou played for Norwich and Millwall, so you would expect his English to be as fluent as it was, although I expect his swearing in English to have been pretty effective too. I get the impression Unai Emery's English is quite limited but it doesn't seem to affect his ability as a manager. Every manager is different and we'll just have to see how the dynamics work out. Does anyone know if the AJ has children? That can be a factor in a manager "settling down" successfully, although JBA's wife and children stayed at home and he did fine. 🤞🤞🤞

23 July at home and 30 July in The Faroes, if you can believe the BBC .

Have UEFA confirmed the order the legs are being played (don't know if I have missed that)....and if not why the delay ?

Hope he goes well , wasn’t really an awe inspiring first impression but maybe it’s a language thing.

JBA has an aura about him that all successful managers seem to possess. It’s something intangible that’s hard to define or explain, but you know it when you see it I didn’t see much of it in Wimmer, and I don’t see it in Johansson either. Does that mean he’s going to fail? No. We just have to wait and see.

A well balanced summary Star Sail. On the plus side, his sides play the right kind of football for us and that will aid continuity going forward. So, no great swings in style. AJ has got a good record of involvement with youth football and again that aligns with our ethos and business model. Also seems to have had a more stable career record than JBA. On the debit side, he hasn't played professional football but will that be a problem if we have no big egos at FP? His record at Rosenborg, a well respected European club, and Norways 2nd biggest wasn't great in that they didn't punch their weight; probably akin to Hearts or Aberdeen finishing mid table (again there may be good reasons for that as you outline). The big questionmark for me is his man management ability and like you I wasn't sure about his first meeting with the players. The other unknown element, to the fans at least, is Max Rogers. How will the two interact? He seemed to work well with JBA, who in fairness was a big personality. Certainly Max seems to be well respected but seems a bit unsure of himself in media interviews. Exciting times ahead.

I try not to be swayed by the club social media content but I’ve had the exact same first impressions with AJ and Wimmer. Jens meanwhile had me under his spell instantly with his clarity and authority.

Thanks for heads up on this. I listened to it on playback and there was a couple of interesting points: 1. Andy Holliday saying that Johansson was recommended to the club by JBA. 2. He had a couple of challenges with a few of the senior players at Rosenborg. It was highlighted how important it is that he makes a good first impression and establishes good relationships with the senior players particularly given that he does not have a playing background himself. 3. Andy Holliday commented on the lack of big egos in the Motherwell squad which will help the manager get the squad onside. 4. As STV mentioned Rosenborg lost some key players which impacted the team significantly. 5. Discussion on just how important the first impression is. Personal opinion this but I did not feel that his first meeting with the players was particularly impressive. I think one of JBA's strengths was how assured he always was. Very definite in his decision making. Johansson almost seemed to be convincing himself that he was happy to be here. On the one hand you can admire the openness and honesty of admitting that a move to Scotland required some serious thought between him and his wife but I am not sure that it benefits him to say it. Strangely I got the very same sense from Wimmer when we saw that picture of him and Koc looking miserable in the pouring rain at Dalziel Park and we know what happened there subsequently. JBA never gave off that vibe even if he himself knew that Motherwell was a temporary stop off to other things.

There's still a few players who are either surplus to requirements or likely to leave for substantial fees. In the former category we have Wilson, Stam and Hendry (out for months). The Ox seems to be in no man's land. Third choice, not a bad keeper but unlikely to command a decent fee. Paul McGinn is out for the long term and his future must be uncertain. The likes of Just, TJ, Watt may well attract interest. Will Luca Ross be loaned out? So, there's quite a few potential departures and uncertainties. Central defence and the striking department certainly need attention, but presumably Nick Daws has been beavering away in the background on moves since January. As it stands we're probably 4 players short of an "improved" starting 11, and 3 short of last season's best line up.

Hendry has been one of the biggest disappointments in years. A total dud of a signing. What a wasted wage. we need a number of players in so hopefully the backroom people are on it and Alfred has a couple of picks up his sleeve. I look forward to the first darkened video of a players shadow.

Hendry is out long term injured so you can take that one of your list

HB have sacked their manager.

The potential ins and outs i think may happen as the players are now back for pre-season Starting with the outs some were rumours early on last season so going from that this is what id take Callum Ward £1 million Polish league or english championship Tawanda maswanhise £3-£5 million Belgium or turkey Elijah just £2.5 + million solid world cup so far and plenty of eyes on him latest rumour is southampton Elliot watt £2-£3 million championship preferably Now to the less likely ones but still potential of losing them or id be happy to see them go Aston Oxborough £200k-750k feel he'd want more first team football and there's a few clubs down south that'd take him Ewan wilson not sure hes suited to the football we play now so probably either another loan or sold for 250k Ibrahim said £1.5 million would rather he didnt leave but there's not many players like him Luca ross - loan needs more game time Callum hendry £375k + Yeovil town interested and the new manager will probably have an idea of the kind of striker he likes Expect a few younger ones to go out on loan Understand most people not likely to agree but will do an incoming post later on tonight

Motherwell manager thread.

Its soul destroying watching Scotland get to tournaments now and its a non event its focused on the supporters than the team I am so bored with it all I am more invested watching King Eli and New Zealand see how they fair. I have watched every team in action now and we are 100 percent in the bottom 5 for negative tactics. Sad part is it will be the same squad going into next tournament unless they retire cause Clarke will have the mindset of lets go again boys. Hanley before Welsh aye Steve you couldn't pick yer nose its job for my pals.

And he got a four-year contract BEFORE the WC. You'd almost think the SFA were trying to destroy Scottish football and its reputation, innit? Mrs Dosser, after just about getting over losing "Lovely Jens", said we should have sacked Clarke and given JBA the Scotland job, given what he had achieved in transforming MFC with a squad without "star" players. Some hope! #DinosaurBlazers

Kevin Nicol a Scot managing in Norway for 10 year on sports sound at 5pm there with a good description of what our manager is ,has done and how he likes to play. Sounds very very promising . Left last job at Rosenburg because they sold some main players and weakened the team. All very positive stuff.

Totally agree. K Bowie and L Miller sitting back home and donkeys like Dykes and McLean on park. Clarke's a clown.

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