Our New Manager

[fizoxy]

9 hours ago, Great Balls of Shire said:

Sounds like they mightve crossed paths if he was at Copenhagen .

Jens was at Copenhagen from Jan-Jun 2025. Johansson left Copenhagen in 2023.

[weeyin]

4 hours ago, FirParkCornerExile said:

Robinson knows league nearly got St Mirren relegated. Kettlewell knows league nearly got Killie relegated. Jim Goodwin knows league inside out & DU were pish. Id rather we tried something different than the Scottish "Merry Go Round " fuckers who change club every couple of years and achieve fuck all. 

100%

Also, from the "guys that know the game", Tommy Wright came in to save Kilmarnock and they were relegated, Stuart Kettlewell can in to save Ross County and they were relegated, Mark McGhee came in to save Dundee and they were relegated,, Terry Butcher came in to save Hibs and they were relegated etc. etc.

I'm delighted we have moved away from that and taking a different kind of risk.

[SteelmaninOZ]

7 hours ago, Ya Bezzer! said:

I'm not especially a fan of either Robinson or Goodwin but to be fair one won a major trophy and the other got Top 6 and European football after a promotion.

If Johansson achieves a trophy, Top 6 or European football he'll have done a good job.

We can all blether about the new appointment but ultimately the proof will be in the pudding.

That will be the bread and butter pudding then 😉

[mfc88]

11 hours ago, El Grew said:

There always seems to have been a mindset in British football that if somebody hasn’t played football or played at a high level, he won’t be any good as a manager - the show us your medals brigade. Well British football has been plagued for too long by ex-players who played at a high level and/or won medals but couldn’t run a bath. So let’s not condemn this guy before he’s started.

The way I look at that point is he's got to where he has despite not having the fame or influence of playing at a high level plus the doubters that come with that. Not many do that, so he surely has something about him.

Welcome to Fir Park 🙌

[Yassin]

If you take results out of it, I think Robinson sides have a high ceiling and low floor in terms of entertainment. Nobody will be able to tell me that seeing us run over the top of teams wasn't absolutely class, but when it went wrong it produced some of the most mindnumbing football I've ever watched. 

[wellfan]

With Robbo at Aberdeen, a spiteful old prick at Celtic, the aforementioned ‘Del’ at Rangers, the Invisible Man at Hearts, and Mr Vanilla at Hibs, we really shouldn’t have much to fear from that lot next season.

[weeyin]

37 minutes ago, Yassin said:

If you take results out of it, I think Robinson sides have a high ceiling and low floor in terms of entertainment. Nobody will be able to tell me that seeing us run over the top of teams wasn't absolutely class, but when it went wrong it produced some of the most mindnumbing football I've ever watched. 

You can enjoy beating Rangers in a semi final without enjoying the style of football. Give me a JBA Celtic domination any day of the week.

Much like I was glad Scotland beat Haiti, but found most of the football on display to be pretty turgid.

And if I never hear the tired old "have to earn the right to play football" again, I will be a happy man. A lazy justification that football playing sides laid to rest years ago.

[Great Balls of Shire]

18 hours ago, MJC said:

Oh right. 
 

I’ll say again, I just think Derek McInnes is a good manager. That’s it.

You got anymore anecdotes about Sir George Graham or anyone else who was involved with the SFA that was favouring Rangers 60 years ago and how that’s somehow relevant to what happens in the modern game?

No? Okay, let’s move on.

 

This thread is becoming about you again lad. Not totally your fault...this time.

I think McInnes is OK mgr but like you say ,  let's move on , it's about AJ now.

[0Neils40yarder]

3 hours ago, weeyin said:

You can enjoy beating Rangers in a semi final without enjoying the style of football. Give me a JBA Celtic domination any day of the week.

Much like I was glad Scotland beat Haiti, but found most of the football on display to be pretty turgid.

And if I never hear the tired old "have to earn the right to play football" again, I will be a happy man. A lazy justification that football playing sides laid to rest years ago.

Robbos team were industrial, aggressive, up-and-at-them...it wasn't sexy but I enjoyed watching it for completely different reasons that I enjoyed watching JBAs team

[weeyin]

26 minutes ago, 0Neils40yarder said:

Robbos team were industrial, aggressive, up-and-at-them...it wasn't sexy but I enjoyed watching it for completely different reasons that I enjoyed watching JBAs team

Plenty of people enjoy it, and I have no problem with that.

I've always preferred a keeping the ball on the deck style, and players with a pass in them, but it would be a boring game if every team played the same way or fans all had the same tastes.

[Lobey_Dosser]

Good luck to the new manager. He obviously has an incredibly hard act to follow but the foundations and budget should be there to give him the best possible chance of succeeding. 

interesting that discussions only commenced 10 days or so ago and the appointment was in the balance until earlier this week. I had hoped that behind the scenes we knew who our preferred choice was a few weeks ago. Maybe we did and that appointment didn’t come to fruition. 

Sounds like Alfred hasn’t watched videos of  us until this week so he’s going to do well to hit the ground running. Hopefully there are two or three signings for him to rubber stamp before we head to Denmark. 

[Kmcalpin]

2 hours ago, Lobey_Dosser said:

 interesting that discussions only commenced 10 days or so ago and the appointment was in the balance until earlier this week. I had hoped that behind the scenes we knew who our preferred choice was a few weeks ago. Maybe we did and that appointment didn’t come to fruition. 

Sounds like Alfred hasn’t watched videos of  us until this week so he’s going to do well to hit the ground running. Hopefully there are two or three signings for him to rubber stamp before we head to Denmark. 

Very interesting.

There are rumours from reliable sources  that JBA had informed the Board quite a few weeks/months ago that he was moving on at the end of the season. Now if they are indeed true, it seems odd that we took so long to make an appointment. Like you I'm beginning to suspect that our preferred choice didn't come to fruition.

Anyway, good luck to AJ.  

[Jonesy]

Jens wasn't our preferred choice last summer either so if that is the case this time I wouldn't get too bothered about it.

[wellfan]

At least our new manager isn’t Steve Clarke. 

[weeyin]

3 hours ago, wellfan said:

At least our new manager isn’t Steve Clarke. 

He's an absolute dinosaur.

[stv]

1 hour ago, weeyin said:

He's an absolute dinosaur.

StevusClarkius of the genus shittytacticus.

[SteelmaninOZ]

51 minutes ago, stv said:

StevusClarkius of the genus shittytacticus.

Bigus Dickus more like 

[robsterwood]

23 minutes ago, SteelmaninOZ said:

Bigus Dickus more like 

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

[stv]

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.

[Happy Dosser]

4 minutes ago, robsterwood said:

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

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

[Spit_It_Out]

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.

[stv]

Motherwell manager thread. 

[star sail]

15 hours ago, stv said:

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.

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.

[Lobey_Dosser]

15 minutes ago, star sail said:

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.

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. 

[Kmcalpin]

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.