The Alfred Johansson Thread

[wellfan]

5 minutes ago, stv said:

That's exactly what the impromptu pitchside meeting looked like to me. I felt a bit embarrassed for the manager.

Trouble in paradise? Players losing faith in their manager. A manager who’s never actually done what he’s asking them to do. Perhaps that’s cynical, but that’s a possibility. 

[wellsince75]

A bit like having AI as a manager- he’s read all the text boooks , understand the theory but doesn’t have the experience of doing the role and suspect doesn’t have the ability to man manage .

He seems a decent enough bloke but he’s struggling .  Very similar to Hammell in that respect .

[couttsy]

Completely and utterly relieved to get out at 2-0, should have been far far more. 

My god we were so passive. To only commit 3 fouls at home against a team with 66% possession is a disgrace. McGregor could have played with his slippers on apart from 1 tackle that Hodge was carded for. We had to get closer and put some physical pressure on them. Playing through us with easy. 

Vogts can’t be seen again and we should not be starting games with SOD at centre half again. 

Next week we need to go back to basics and get our best players in their best position on the pitch. Would be great to see Priestman back, we’ve missed him massively.

I fear if we lose next week Alfred will lose the majority of the support and we’ll be heading into a relegation battle. 

[David]

1 hour ago, wellfan said:

Trouble in paradise? Players losing faith in their manager. A manager who’s never actually done what he’s asking them to do. Perhaps that’s cynical, but that’s a possibility. 

I'd probably believe the whole outdated "he's never played the game, so he doesn't have a clue" angle if our team was made up of "good honest laddies" who "run their socks off", but it isn't. It's made up of players who have been, for the most part, brought in because they understand the modern, progressive style of football we're looking to implement. They should be familiar with the type of coaching they're getting, and the modern analytical approach. And that includes a modern coach whose resume isn't built on playing for Luton Town, Bristol City, or any of the middling to lower-level clubs we have up here.

What we're going through is absolutely a process. We've lost a fair amount of our best players in the summer. We've had to replace them with new players, and unlike last year, when everything clicked and our purchases paid off big time mostly, we're not seeing as easy a transition this time around. 

It was always bound to happen, in my opinion. What we did last season is basically unsustainable for a club our size, but some fans are insisting on comparing the current team and manager to one of the best teams and managers we've probably ever seen at the club in modern times.

Remember back when Kettlewell was manager? And fans were saying that they simply expected a team on the park who can at least try to play some attacking football, give us something to be excited about, and look to challenge for top six? 

That's what we have. 

We were taken apart today by a team that has the resources and ability to bring players like Jota off the bench. Celtic were on their game, and could easily have taken four or five off us. If they play like that against the teams around us, they'll likely hand out a fair few hammerings. 

But at least we somewhat gave it a shot. I remember watching us under previous managers just sit back and hope to grab something. Today we at least had some flashes of football to watch, and a team that tried to do something. It didn't work out, but that's how it goes. 

In short, the football isn't anywhere near as eye-bleedingly bad as it has been, and we're still one of the better sides to watch in the league. I'm interested in seeing how the new players eventually settle in, see who makes the cut, see who really grasps the opportunity to replicate what others have done before them and win a big move, and see who will become a quiz question in 10 years time. 

At least watching Motherwell is enjoyable again. I'm liking how we're playing. Add in some decent results and we're all good.

 

[Motherwell Daft]

I said in an earlier post that he needs time, however we could be 2nd bottom next week..at what point to the board pull the pin after that? 

[David]

15 minutes ago, Motherwell Daft said:

I said in an earlier post that he needs time, however we could be 2nd bottom next week..at what point to the board pull the pin after that? 

Probably want to give the guy more than 10 games. But that's just me.

Going by your thinking we should expect to see McGlynn sent packing any day now.

[MJC]

Steve Clarke anyone? 
 

I don’t know if he would even be interested but I wouldn’t mind us asking the question should the situation arise.

Forget what he did/didn’t do with Scotland, he would make us hard to beat and competitive.

[AllyMax]

1 minute ago, MJC said:

Steve Clarke anyone? 
 

I don’t know if he would even be interested but I wouldn’t mind us asking the question should the situation arise.

Forget what he did/didn’t do with Scotland, he would make us hard to beat and competitive.

I was starting to find some sympathy/agreement with your views today......but that's just fucked it 🤣

[stv]

8 minutes ago, David said:

Probably want to give the guy more than 10 games. But that's just me.

Going by your thinking we should expect to see McGlynn sent packing any day now.

Mmmm his team are playing the wrong way. It's pretty obvious today . When Celtic had the ball they moved forwards as a team with the ball. We just stood or jogged expecting a backwards pass. He needs to get the team flowing fforwards.Still think they ain't listening to him.

[stv]

3 minutes ago, MJC said:

Steve Clarke anyone? 
 

I don’t know if he would even be interested but I wouldn’t mind us asking the question should the situation arise.

Forget what he did/didn’t do with Scotland, he would make us hard to beat and competitive.

And chase away the crowds

[MJC]

Just now, AllyMax said:

I was starting to find some sympathy/agreement with your views today......but that's just fucked it 🤣

Quite a few of our fans were against Craig Brown getting our job in 2009 based on what he did with Scotland. But he turned out alright in the end.

Sometimes pragmatic beats excitement/experiment.

[stv]

1 minute ago, MJC said:

Quite a few of our fans were against Craig Brown getting our job in 2009 based on what he did with Scotland. But he turned out alright in the end.

Sometimes pragmatic beats excitement/experiment.

Now you are just taking the piss

[MJC]

1 minute ago, stv said:

Now you are just taking the piss

Not atall. Brown was seen at the time as a safe pair of hands but completely unexciting type of appointment after Jim Gannon. Yet he steadied us and turned us from a shambles under Gannon into a formidable side which managed to qualify for Europe.

I’m not saying that Clarke would do the same if he was to be offered the job (and it’s all hypothetical of course because we have a manager and he isn’t even being considered as far as I know) but I tend to think he would make us a lot more effective and formidable as a team than Alfred Johansson.

[Big Stall]

18 minutes ago, MJC said:

Not atall. Brown was seen at the time as a safe pair of hands but completely unexciting type of appointment after Jim Gannon. Yet he steadied us and turned us from a shambles under Gannon into a formidable side which managed to qualify for Europe.

I’m not saying that Clarke would do the same if he was to be offered the job (and it’s all hypothetical of course because we have a manager and he isn’t even being considered as far as I know) but I tend to think he would make us a lot more effective and formidable as a team than Alfred Johansson.

So rip up the full club strategy 🤣🤣🤣

[David]

4 minutes ago, MJC said:

Not atall. Brown was seen at the time as a safe pair of hands but completely unexciting type of appointment after Jim Gannon. Yet he steadied us and turned us from a shambles under Gannon into a formidable side which managed to qualify for Europe.

I’m not saying that Clarke would do the same if he was to be offered the job (and it’s all hypothetical of course because we have a manager and he isn’t even being considered as far as I know) but I tend to think he would make us a lot more effective and formidable as a team than Alfred Johansson.

This is the same discussion fans had before we brought in Wimmer. 

Under Kettlewell, Alexander, and Robinson, we were usually pretty "effective and formidable." For the most part, though, the football was the typical turgid crap we see in Scotland at our level. A team full of honest laddies and guys who have no socks at the end of a game due to them having been "run off."

And our average crowd reflected that.  

A normal season for us is challenging for top six, and possibly pushing further if everything lands correctly. A cup run is a bonus that depends on luck and other factors. Would we rather finish, on average, 5th-9th while playing football that's exciting, with players who are easy on the eye and who are attracting attention from bigger clubs, or be "effective and formidable" as we have been many times in the pre-Wimmer era? 

I'll take what we have right now all day long. 

And the reason isn't just because we had a good season last year. It's because it affects everything at the club. Will we see these exciting players wanting to join the club if we're managed by a Clarke, Robinson or Kettlewell type? I doubt it. 

We'll be back to throwing lower English league freebies and loans against the wall and hoping something sticks. 

We're seemingly on course to have an absolutely average season this year. Even the posts on the forum indicate that. We're seeing the usual suspects looking for the manager to get bumped less than 10 games in, proclaiming impending doom and relegation, which will inevitably end up with us settling in around 8th or 9th after Christmas and either pushing for top six or losing steam and finishing 8th or 9th.

That's all par for the course when we have an average season. 

[MJC]

4 minutes ago, Big Stall said:

So rip up the full club strategy 🤣🤣🤣

If the strategy is going to get us relegated, yes.

[David]

1 minute ago, MJC said:

If the strategy is going to get us relegated, yes.

Virtually every season, you mention relegation as a certainty. And yet here we are, in our 42nd season in the top flight.

[MJC]

1 minute ago, David said:

Would we rather finish, on average, 5th-9th while playing football that's exciting, with players who are easy on the eye and who are attracting attention from bigger clubs

I'll take what we have right now all day long. 

And what do we have right now?

Because I don’t see anything that you mention in the above quote from us in this current team.

[Wellsince1976]

1 hour ago, David said:

I'd probably believe the whole outdated "he's never played the game, so he doesn't have a clue" angle if our team was made up of "good honest laddies" who "run their socks off", but it isn't. It's made up of players who have been, for the most part, brought in because they understand the modern, progressive style of football we're looking to implement. They should be familiar with the type of coaching they're getting, and the modern analytical approach. And that includes a modern coach whose resume isn't built on playing for Luton Town, Bristol City, or any of the middling to lower-level clubs we have up here.

What we're going through is absolutely a process. We've lost a fair amount of our best players in the summer. We've had to replace them with new players, and unlike last year, when everything clicked and our purchases paid off big time mostly, we're not seeing as easy a transition this time around. 

It was always bound to happen, in my opinion. What we did last season is basically unsustainable for a club our size, but some fans are insisting on comparing the current team and manager to one of the best teams and managers we've probably ever seen at the club in modern times.

Remember back when Kettlewell was manager? And fans were saying that they simply expected a team on the park who can at least try to play some attacking football, give us something to be excited about, and look to challenge for top six? 

That's what we have. 

We were taken apart today by a team that has the resources and ability to bring players like Jota off the bench. Celtic were on their game, and could easily have taken four or five off us. If they play like that against the teams around us, they'll likely hand out a fair few hammerings. 

But at least we somewhat gave it a shot. I remember watching us under previous managers just sit back and hope to grab something. Today we at least had some flashes of football to watch, and a team that tried to do something. It didn't work out, but that's how it goes. 

In short, the football isn't anywhere near as eye-bleedingly bad as it has been, and we're still one of the better sides to watch in the league. I'm interested in seeing how the new players eventually settle in, see who makes the cut, see who really grasps the opportunity to replicate what others have done before them and win a big move, and see who will become a quiz question in 10 years time. 

At least watching Motherwell is enjoyable again. I'm liking how we're playing. Add in some decent results and we're all good.

 

Hallelujah for a sensible post!

[Spiderpig]

9 minutes ago, David said:

Virtually every season, you mention relegation as a certainty. And yet here we are, in our 42nd season in the top flight.

Stop feeding the troll, its best practice never to argue with an idiot as they drag you down to their level then beat you with experience.

[FirParkCornerExile]

I'm as disappointed as anyone and as yet unconvinced by the manager or indeed most of the signings but people wanting the manager sacked 8 games into the season is absolutely laughable. 8 games for fuck sake !!! get a grip.

I listened to this same kind of talk when Pressley was 10 games in at Dundee.

[MJC]

1 minute ago, Spiderpig said:

Stop feeding the troll, it’s best practice never to argue with an idiot as they drag you down to their level then beat you with experience.

Ahh “don’t feed the troll”

In other words “you and I can’t argue with anything that has been put forward by that particular poster so let’s just slink away and try to dismiss it as trolling”

It’s a bit like “pant wetter” and “you’re behaving like Old Firm fans”.

I’m just here to discuss the club and the team. Point of the forum surely?

[Lobey_Dosser]

I said after the Dundee game that we’ll inevitably part ways with him in the not too distant future. Admittedly, I’ve not fancied him from day 1. Whilst articulate, there is no substance or conviction to what he says and he has the presence of a supply teacher. 

I understand that we are in transition, albeit with possibly our most expensively assembled squad this century, and I understand that others are far more patient than me. However, the alarm bells should be ringing for everyone today on multiple fronts. Alfred was brought in as a modern day head coach, what he delivered today on the back of three weeks preparation tells you all you need to know about his coaching ability. Secondly, we had two of our most exciting talents and biggest assets, both proven in the league, sitting on the bench at the expense of Willy Vogt. That simply can’t be right for a club our size and suggests that the reported fallouts with senior players at Rosenborg is repeating itself here. 

Last year we unquestionably had the best manager in the league. Nobody was going to fill the void left by Jens. As things stand however, we have appointed someone that is a strong contender for being the worst manager in the league. With the crowds falling and the feel good factor completely gone, the sooner the Chairman and Board can take responsibility for their poor appointment, the better. Until then, there will be little enjoyment to be had following Motherwell. 

[Prestwickwell]

We have to beat killie or he’s under real pressure for me regardless of how many games 

 

needs the right team selection & needs to show he can change it at the right times 

 

nobody wants to see a manager sacked or a player fail but sometimes u get a feeling that it’s just not quite right 

 

hopefully turn it round but the jury’s out 

[0Neils40yarder]

1 hour ago, David said:

Probably want to give the guy more than 10 games. But that's just me.

Going by your thinking we should expect to see McGlynn sent packing any day now.

There is 1 major difference between McGlynn and Alfred...one has a body of work behind him that would suggest he will sort it out, while the other does not