He's back.
"The fans will appreciate that we're trying to do something different and the players will recognise they've got two guys who want football played."
And if the players don't, the real fitba' men will.
A perfect quote to herald the return of John Hughes. It's taken a while but here is, back in business at Livingston.
Good luck to them?
Hmmm.
John Hughes is a good bloke - not that the goodness of your blokeishness makes you a good manager - and his natural enthusiasm will only have increased during his time away from the game.
Enthusiasm, decency, jokes. Things I admire in a person but not necessarily qualifications I look for in a manager.
But this might be different.
Not only is Yogi back, he's back with a buddy.
Hughes as manager, John Collins as Director of Football.
The new Livingston blueprint.
Giving Hughes the job on his own?
That would get a giant "meh" from me.
Alone, I think, Hughes is another of the underwhelming Scottish managers picked from that never ending carousel, men given jobs because they're mates with the media and they're happy enough with our game's incestuousness.
But, heavens, I rate John Collins. I rate him more than a cup win and a premature - but principled - departure from Hibs merits. More than his subsequent coaching career merits.
There is something about Collins, something that Scottish football is poorer for not recognising.
John Collins as Director of Football?
That's an appointment I can get excited about. I've droned on about it before. About how it could work for Hibs. About how it never will work for Hibs because Collins burnt his bridges.
I've even been known to down a pint or four and suggest that Hibs struck on a half decent manager with Collins and just about a half decent manager with John Hughes.
What could they have achieved if only Hibs had joined the dots?
Livingston are about to find out.
I'm intrigued. And I've got a feeling it might just work.
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Showing posts with label Scottish managers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Scottish managers. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Sunday, November 06, 2011
SPL: Motherwell v Celtic
Agog today for the SPL's biggest game since the last big game.
Motherwell v Celtic.
If you'd said in July that third placed Celtic would need a November win to move ahead of second placed Motherwell on goal difference we probably wouldn't have believed you.
But such seismic events often only need the collision of one or two factors. In this case Motherwell have been consistently impressive and Celtic have been consistently incompetent.
By my reckoning Motherwell have used 17 players in the SPL this season. Six of them have played every minute of every game.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Celtic have used 25. Only one player has played every game.
Injuries, loss of form, tinkering, suspensions. Difficult to build momentum amid such upheaval. A dose of bad luck and a measure of bad judgement. Neil Lennon sees the problems but struggles to find solutions. That inevitably leads to questions about him and his coaching team.
Celtic could lose today and still - under Lennon or an as yet unidentified saviour - finish second. At a push - helped perhaps by shenanigans of a financial bent - they could lose today and win the title.
Life would be far easier for all at Celtic Park if those theories weren't put to the test.
Can they overcome McCall's miracle and assert their normal authority?
Maybe. Maybe not.
They were impressive in blitzing Hibs in the second half of their league cup clash at Easter Road.
But they were woeful in that first half in Edinburgh and hardly better over 90 minutes against Hibs in Glasgow.
They again overcame an early setback to dispatch Rennes in the Europa League on Thursday.
But these slow starts are unbecoming in a team of Celtic's ambition. They point to a side at odds with itself, uncomfortable in recognising what is expected of them.
And now I've fallen into the miserable trap of focusing on the Old Firm team and ignoring the achievement of Motherwell.
Motherwell aren't supposed to have played a third of their season and be in second place.
It's not how it works. So offensive is it to the normal way of things that we disregard their efforts and look instead at the failures of others.
That's the SPL way.
Consistency of selection, tight unit, good football and the confidence that comes from winning.
Spirit enough to snatch a win from 2-1 down inside the last 15 minutes to win away at Inverness last week.
Spirit enough to take 13 points from 15 since a 4-0 defeat to Celtic, a 3-0 loss to St Johnstone and league cup exit to Hibs suggested the wheels had come off.
They got their revenge against Hibs in one of the most one-sided 1-0 victories you will ever see. A performance of such dominance it suggested that, if nothing else, McCall has built a side well capable of rising above the flotsam and jetsam of the SPL.
And now a win today would open a six point gap between second and third that even Celtic's game in hand won't be able to bridge.
Champion's League chat at Fir Park is wildly premature. But it's fun. And they'll want the fun to continue for as long as possible.
Today gives Motherwell a chance to sustain the dream.
It says much about the fluctuating fortunes of these two sides that I'm finding this one impossible to call today.
The eight SPL teams in action yesterday have got through 81 managers between them since Alex Ferguson arrived at Manchester United.
How many will Motherwell and Celtic add to the total?
Motherwell
Now: Stuart McCall
Then: Tommy McLean
In between: Alex McLeish, Harri Kampman, Billy Davies, Eric Black, Terry Butcher, Maurice Malpas, Mark McGhee, Jim Gannon, Craig Brown
Total: 11
Celtic
Now: Neil Lennon
Then: David Hay
In between: Billy McNeil, Liam Brady, Lou Macari, Tommy Burns, Wim Jansen, Josef Venglos, John Barnes, Kenny Dalglish, Martin O'Neill, Gordon Strachan, Tony Mowbray
Total: 13
So, from the five SPL games played across Saturday and Sunday, the mathematical evidence tells us that:
One Sir Alex Ferguson equals 105 Scottish club managers.
Donate to the Scottish Football Blog Blogathon, 19 November 2011
Motherwell v Celtic.
If you'd said in July that third placed Celtic would need a November win to move ahead of second placed Motherwell on goal difference we probably wouldn't have believed you.
But such seismic events often only need the collision of one or two factors. In this case Motherwell have been consistently impressive and Celtic have been consistently incompetent.
By my reckoning Motherwell have used 17 players in the SPL this season. Six of them have played every minute of every game.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Celtic have used 25. Only one player has played every game.
Injuries, loss of form, tinkering, suspensions. Difficult to build momentum amid such upheaval. A dose of bad luck and a measure of bad judgement. Neil Lennon sees the problems but struggles to find solutions. That inevitably leads to questions about him and his coaching team.
Celtic could lose today and still - under Lennon or an as yet unidentified saviour - finish second. At a push - helped perhaps by shenanigans of a financial bent - they could lose today and win the title.
Life would be far easier for all at Celtic Park if those theories weren't put to the test.
Can they overcome McCall's miracle and assert their normal authority?
Maybe. Maybe not.
They were impressive in blitzing Hibs in the second half of their league cup clash at Easter Road.
But they were woeful in that first half in Edinburgh and hardly better over 90 minutes against Hibs in Glasgow.
They again overcame an early setback to dispatch Rennes in the Europa League on Thursday.
But these slow starts are unbecoming in a team of Celtic's ambition. They point to a side at odds with itself, uncomfortable in recognising what is expected of them.
And now I've fallen into the miserable trap of focusing on the Old Firm team and ignoring the achievement of Motherwell.
Motherwell aren't supposed to have played a third of their season and be in second place.
It's not how it works. So offensive is it to the normal way of things that we disregard their efforts and look instead at the failures of others.
That's the SPL way.
Consistency of selection, tight unit, good football and the confidence that comes from winning.
Spirit enough to snatch a win from 2-1 down inside the last 15 minutes to win away at Inverness last week.
Spirit enough to take 13 points from 15 since a 4-0 defeat to Celtic, a 3-0 loss to St Johnstone and league cup exit to Hibs suggested the wheels had come off.
They got their revenge against Hibs in one of the most one-sided 1-0 victories you will ever see. A performance of such dominance it suggested that, if nothing else, McCall has built a side well capable of rising above the flotsam and jetsam of the SPL.
And now a win today would open a six point gap between second and third that even Celtic's game in hand won't be able to bridge.
Champion's League chat at Fir Park is wildly premature. But it's fun. And they'll want the fun to continue for as long as possible.
Today gives Motherwell a chance to sustain the dream.
It says much about the fluctuating fortunes of these two sides that I'm finding this one impossible to call today.
How much is one Sir Alex Ferguson worth? Part Two
The eight SPL teams in action yesterday have got through 81 managers between them since Alex Ferguson arrived at Manchester United.
How many will Motherwell and Celtic add to the total?
Motherwell
Now: Stuart McCall
Then: Tommy McLean
In between: Alex McLeish, Harri Kampman, Billy Davies, Eric Black, Terry Butcher, Maurice Malpas, Mark McGhee, Jim Gannon, Craig Brown
Total: 11
Celtic
Now: Neil Lennon
Then: David Hay
In between: Billy McNeil, Liam Brady, Lou Macari, Tommy Burns, Wim Jansen, Josef Venglos, John Barnes, Kenny Dalglish, Martin O'Neill, Gordon Strachan, Tony Mowbray
Total: 13
So, from the five SPL games played across Saturday and Sunday, the mathematical evidence tells us that:
One Sir Alex Ferguson equals 105 Scottish club managers.
Donate to the Scottish Football Blog Blogathon, 19 November 2011
Monday, September 05, 2011
John Collins: Your Country Needs You
Beware, I suppose, expecting your heroes of yesteryear to still be giants today.
They often disappoint.
I used to think Ronnie Corbett was a comedy giant. Turns out he's a small man with an attitude problem.
Yet here I am in my thirties and I'm still in raptures about a guy I worshipped when I was eight and was thrilled by when I was 18.
Twice this summer I've seen him play. Bounce games, testimonials. But each time a vision, a skill, an ability to bring others into the game that I rarely see in Scottish football at the moment.
John Collins.
Obviously he's no use.
Crap at Hibs as manager. Upset the players by showing off his physique. Couldn't hack it when the club insisted that financial constraints couldn't be broken. Too arrogant.
Arrogance, of course, doesn't work in a manager. Brian Clough was humble. Jose Mourinho lacks that wee bit self confidence. Alex Ferguson wouldn't back himself in a two horse race.
Very Scottish, I think, to write Collins off for his arrogance.
Crap? Couldn't hack it?
Football men with the pedigree of Rob Jones and Rod Petrie seem to have formulated and disseminated that opinion.
So they must be right.
John Collins as Hibs manager was far from perfect. It's not a perfect club. But it ended far too prematurely for it to be considered the final word on his coaching career in Scotland.
Arrogant? Perhaps. Egotistical? Possibly.
Other countries try and deal with such problems in yesterday's heroes. Doesn't always work. But they try.
Not Scotland though. Jones and Chris Hogg thought Collins was a bit of a prick so we'll shut the door on him.
That makes sense, a real prioritising of considered opinion there.
Look at his talent, look at his career. Is there nobody in Scottish football who could benefit from his experience?
If the answer to that is "no" then I fear we're going about this football malarkey in entirely the wrong way.
They often disappoint.
I used to think Ronnie Corbett was a comedy giant. Turns out he's a small man with an attitude problem.
Yet here I am in my thirties and I'm still in raptures about a guy I worshipped when I was eight and was thrilled by when I was 18.
Twice this summer I've seen him play. Bounce games, testimonials. But each time a vision, a skill, an ability to bring others into the game that I rarely see in Scottish football at the moment.
John Collins.
Obviously he's no use.
Crap at Hibs as manager. Upset the players by showing off his physique. Couldn't hack it when the club insisted that financial constraints couldn't be broken. Too arrogant.
Arrogance, of course, doesn't work in a manager. Brian Clough was humble. Jose Mourinho lacks that wee bit self confidence. Alex Ferguson wouldn't back himself in a two horse race.
Very Scottish, I think, to write Collins off for his arrogance.
Crap? Couldn't hack it?
Football men with the pedigree of Rob Jones and Rod Petrie seem to have formulated and disseminated that opinion.
So they must be right.
John Collins as Hibs manager was far from perfect. It's not a perfect club. But it ended far too prematurely for it to be considered the final word on his coaching career in Scotland.
Arrogant? Perhaps. Egotistical? Possibly.
Other countries try and deal with such problems in yesterday's heroes. Doesn't always work. But they try.
Not Scotland though. Jones and Chris Hogg thought Collins was a bit of a prick so we'll shut the door on him.
That makes sense, a real prioritising of considered opinion there.
Look at his talent, look at his career. Is there nobody in Scottish football who could benefit from his experience?
If the answer to that is "no" then I fear we're going about this football malarkey in entirely the wrong way.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Know Your Employees
"Judge him over five seasons."
So says David Gold, co-owner of Birmingham City and paymaster of Alex McLeish. In a strong message of support for his manager Gold paid tribute to the man who he thinks will get City back to the top flight. That said, Gold thought he would keep them in the top flight so he might not be a great judge.
Some fans are grumbling that Steve Bruce would have kept Birmingham in the league if he had not been replaced by McLeish, who now has a two for two success rate in keeping struggling teams in the drop zone after inheriting them.
All conjecture of course, but as McLeish faces up to salvaging his oh-so deserved reputation in the most competitve league in Britain, the distant rumblings that Gold can hear are probably not the sound of Aston Villa and West Brom fans chuckling.
Rather it is likely to be the sound of McLeish dusting down his prime managerial tactic and searching hastily for the exit door.
So says David Gold, co-owner of Birmingham City and paymaster of Alex McLeish. In a strong message of support for his manager Gold paid tribute to the man who he thinks will get City back to the top flight. That said, Gold thought he would keep them in the top flight so he might not be a great judge.
Some fans are grumbling that Steve Bruce would have kept Birmingham in the league if he had not been replaced by McLeish, who now has a two for two success rate in keeping struggling teams in the drop zone after inheriting them.
All conjecture of course, but as McLeish faces up to salvaging his oh-so deserved reputation in the most competitve league in Britain, the distant rumblings that Gold can hear are probably not the sound of Aston Villa and West Brom fans chuckling.
Rather it is likely to be the sound of McLeish dusting down his prime managerial tactic and searching hastily for the exit door.
Friday, April 27, 2007
McCall over bar the shouting
Another season, another club, another departure.
Just what is wrong with Ian McCall?
His “amicable” split with Queen of the South marks the end of his sixth spell in management.
It is suggested that his next stop will be Partick Thistle. Which seems obvious enough because Thistle are a club crying out for a manager that seems to offer no stability whatsoever.
Clydebank (during which time they tried to move to Dublin), Airdrie (the last manager in their history), Morton (too expensive), Falkirk (jumped ship after 30 games), Dundee United (28 games won, 40 games lost) and Queen of the South (different ambitions from the board). Six clubs, six departures, no periods of stability.
Now, there is bad luck, there are misunderstandings and there are personality clashes.
But McCall seems to attract all three with unerring regularity.
Yet still he gets jobs. He’s underachieved as a manager as he underachieved as a player but a scary number of clubs seem to want his services.
Why?
Firstly, and it’s only my theory, McCall is a media darling. He lives in Glasgow’s West End which remains Scotland’s media centre. He’s the BBC’s main analyst despite having the incredible ability to make one pine for the commentary of Jock Brown.
But the media deem McCall a character: this relates to anecdotes from his playing days when he first defecated from a step ladder at Rangers (leading Graeme Souness to boot him out) and then defecated in player-manager Simon Stainrod’s shoe at Falkirk (what boot Stainrod kicked him out with is unclear).
Clearly this is a classy guy with a frightening level of sophistication.
Secondly, Scotland is a small country. That’s why the same actors appear in Take the High Road, Taggart and River City. And it’s why the same managers keep cropping up at different clubs. And, to short sighted club directors, McCall is attractive because of the high media profile that his moments of comedy excellence have so deservingly brought him.
So McCall keeps getting jobs and fans keep getting promised great things only to be awarded with mediocrity and abrupt departures.
But perhaps anyone hunting for new managers should study McCall’s comments yesterday: "The First Division is not easy, and will be even harder next year."
The challenge is never quite so appealing when you know the BBC will keep you in beer money.
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