weeyin

Another reason we need a new face in as manager. When you hit these patches it's more about confidence than anything else. A new gaffer with no baggage or history with the current season is needed to inject a fresh approach. There's plenty of good arguments that we need to strengthen the squad, but the core of this team should have enough to be a middling Premiership team.

If nothing else, we've put the "new manager bounce" myth to bed. I said in the other thread I wasn't a fan of promoting the assistant to the manager's job in an underperforming team because they were part of the original problem. Nothing here today changes that opinion.

Have we played the same defence in consecutive games this season? It seems like every week the back 4 are different and struggle to form any sort of cohesive unit.

Back to the old pattern. Watt missing a good early chance followed by giving away a soft goal. Keeper deciding to wait until the ball was in the net before diving.

It's not great quality for me, but neither is the video at the moment.

The cynic in me just thinks it's the "make a few changes just to show there's a new gaffer" strategy that's been adopted with the team selection.

TBF, I don't think Robinson got rid of Ainsworth. He rejected the new deal that the club offered.

Agree with that. When teams go stagnant, as unfair as it may be, the assistant has to take part of the blame. It's rare that a number two succeeds when a gaffer is sacked/resigns due to poor performances. Assuming there is at least an average level of talent in the squad, a lot of the problems often lie in the psychology of a losing streak. As a result, an outsider with a new attitude and fresh ideas can make a positive difference that an insider cannot. Of course, if Las does take over, I hope he has massive success.

Saw Randolph started for West Ham today (and kept a clean sheet).

McInnes has always been a big fan of Campbell, but given their claims of Covid-19 restrictions costing them £1 million per month, they'll need to be breaking transfer records for Ferguson. As far as career development is concerned, I never quite see the point of players moving to rivals in the same league. Playing the same teams (except us instead of Aberdeen) doesn't make much sense to me. And if it's a financial decision, I'm sure the money on offer down south is as good, and you get the change of scenery.

McCall and Black are available.

No disrespect to Las, but Ross has much more management experience and one of the reasons he said he came back to Scotland was to take on another management position.

If you ever work it out, you'll make a fortune. It happens in leagues across the world where even the same core squad with the same manager will do well one season and crash the next. Once the rot sets in it's difficult to turn it around as a lot of it is psychological. In the same way, when you are on a roll, and can't stop winning.

It's more the "entertainment" aspect I was referring to. Games at the Cannabis Oil Money Laundering Naan Bread stadium tend to be like going to the dentist. Even if you're happy with the result, the process can be painful.

I'm a fan of Strachan and love listening to him dissecting games. His approach is very technical though, and I don't think we have the kind of players that respond to that,

Just when you think 2020 was a scunner, 2021 comes along with Accies away.

You can snip out the rest of what I wrote to try and change its meaning, but it's still there for everyone who can read. Or are you claiming Malpas and Baraclough were good appointments and Gary Holt is worth a shout? Or maybe you think hiring a new manager in the middle of a season is not a risk?

I'm guessing we are going to be late to the transfer window party now until we tie down a new gaffer. That's also going to make punting the dead wood a bit more difficult as new managers tend to want to assess what they have before making drastic changes. (Unless someone from the club takes over until end of season).

Well Robbo's critics will be delighted. Just be careful what you wish for, because there are many unique challenges at Fir Park that will require a skill set not found in many potential applicants. Could easily end up with a Malpas or Baraclough again. Or worse, a Gary Holt.

Fisher had scored 51 league goals in 10 years, and about 40 of those were League Two level (or Conference) and below. We didn't exactly waste his ability; he just didn't arrive with much.

If the stories are true about Lang being recalled by Wigan in January, we might not see him again (after today, at least - he might make a subs appearance). Happy to see Cole get a start, though.

Stewart is one of those players that seems to "always score" but when you look at his stats only has 34 league goals to his name since his professional debut in 2016. And 12 of those were for Albion Rovers in League One, and another 7 for Alloa in League One.

How did Cadden benefit? The great thing about the MLS is they are required to publish salaries every year. Cadden is currently on $56,520 (about £42k). When players are loaned out, they generally don't get any extra money - just that the club taking the loanee pays a part of the salary. Oxford got half a season from him then, when they wanted to keep him, couldn't afford the fee Columbus were demanding. So Cadden is back at Columbus on a salary that can't be much more (if it is more) than he was on a Fir Park. If Cadden's manager/agent is on commission, he won't have much of a cut from the zero transfer fee, the (lack of, so far) development fee or a percentage of Cadden's salary. If this was a sophisticated sting, then sitting on the bench in Columbus in the middle of winter on a college kid's wages doesn't exactly make Mr Cadden a mastermind.

I know. Imagine being out of contract and needing a job - then having the temerity to take a job with the only employer that offered him one. What a sting. If the MLS are trying to pull a fast one with FIFA that must be Cadden's fault. In the meantime, people on here still fawn over Terry Butcher and don't bat an eyelid over the fact that he lied about going to Australia "for a holiday" in the middle of the season before mysteriously taking over at Sydney with 2 years left on his contract at Fir Park. Now *that* was a "sting". (I don't blame him for that, btw, any more than I blame Cadden for taking a job elsewhere). The season Cadden signed for Columbus was the first season the MLS participated in FIFA's development fee scheme. It's not Cadden's fault the MLS tried to pull a fast one with an attempt to categorize all their top tier teams in the lowest tier for compensation, and as far as I know, it's still something that is still being reviewed.

If all he continues to contribute is more assists, that will do for me.