Johnson signed a new contract yesterday​

HeggyHandshake wrote:

Johnson signed a new contract yesterday​

 
Noticed that. Tbh, it was just a name off the top of my head. Certainly done well there tho.

Whoever it is, I really think we have to avoid 'flavour of the month' candidates. It's a terrible strategy for hiring managers.  Most managers will go on a decent run at some stage in their career. It's highly unlikely that they've suddenly developed the managerial Midas touch though. It's usually a more mundane explanation like chance or circumstance.

It's not a policy that has served us well in the past either. McCall and Brewster immediately spring to mind. I think both McKinnon and McIntyre fall into that camp. Just because both of them have done a decent job (and no more) at their current clubs, I don't think it necessarily follows that they'd bring the required level of success to United. They might, but I wouldn't favour them solely because of their recent records.

I think what we desperately need is a personality, a character, an aura, to not only have a vision for the club from top to bottom, but to have the ability, drive and intelligence to implement it. On that score I'd rule out the two names I've already mentioned. Levein did it here. He also did it at Hearts. I highly doubt he'd return. But it's something like that we need.

Until recently, I've had the same opinion as Silver re former players, ie. it doesn't work. Clearly, our experience indicates that it doesn't. But, thinking about it recently, having that previous link does enable you to attract candidates who wouldn't ordinarily be interested. Badger, for instance, almost certainly wouldn't take a job with any of the other bottom six clubs if it was them in 12th place. Because it's United though, he'd more likely be interested.

I'm not wholly advocating him but he'd be an imaginative appointment. He's obviously learnt the game down south. And I believe he's a hard bastard as well. Which I think is a must.

Trap_6 wrote:

Whoever it is, I really think we have to avoid 'flavour of the month' candidates. It's a terrible strategy for hiring managers. Most managers will go on a decent run at some stage in their career. It's highly unlikely that they've suddenly developed the managerial Midas touch though. It's usually a more mundane explanation like chance or circumstance.

It's not a policy that has served us well in the past either. McCall and Brewster immediately spring to mind. I think both McKinnon and McIntyre fall into that camp. Just because both of them have done a decent job (and no more) at their current clubs, I don't think it necessarily follows that they'd bring the required level of success to United. They might, but I wouldn't favour them solely because of their recent records.

I think what we desperately need is a personality, a character, an aura, to not only have a vision for the club from top to bottom, but to have the ability, drive and intelligence to implement it. On that score I'd rule out the two names I've already mentioned. Levein did it here. He also did it at Hearts. I highly doubt he'd return. But it's something like that we need.

Until recently, I've had the same opinion as Silver re former players, ie. it doesn't work. Clearly, our experience indicates that it doesn't. But, thinking about it recently, having that previous link does enable you to attract candidates who wouldn't ordinarily be interested. Badger, for instance, almost certainly wouldn't take a job with any of the other bottom six clubs if it was them in 12th place. Because it's United though, he'd more likely be interested.

I'm not wholly advocating him but he'd be an imaginative appointment. He's obviously learnt the game down south. And I believe he's a hard bastard as well. Which I think is a must.

Good post and i agree with that word for word.

I hear a lot of Utd fans touting Ray McKinnon for the job and i'm not sure why tbh.Is it just because he played for us and is a Utd fan from Dundee?Yes,he has done a reasonable job at Raith (and Brechin previously) but as T6 said just about every Manager has a time when they have their team/s playing well.It's can you sustain that consistency over 2,3,4 years?If he is still doing well at Raith in say 2 years time then yes perhaps he would then be able to be considered a realistic candidate for the Utd job.

Apart from anything else the most consistent boss at that level (Championship) by far over the past 2 or 3 years has been Peter Houston in terms of resources of club and infrastucture etc etc.But again that would be going back over old ground.

I really am not a fan of re-employing ex-players (or Managers for that matter).Kirkwood,Sturrock,Heggy,Brewster,and now Mixu...none of them have set the heather alight as Gaffer (putting it mildly).

Apart from anything else i feel we need someone with a bit of gravitas.Someone who you find as T6 said has an 'aura' about them and has the support hanging off of their every word in interviews and has the support united in their respect and admiration for the man.Like wee Jim and Levein were afforded.

Cast the net wide and find someone with the hunger,intelligence and that fierce burning ambition a good Manager needs to succeed.Please no more lazy or boring choices of Managers just because they once played for Utd or have had half a good season at a Partick Thistle or someone similiar.
 

PatReilly wrote:

Very much agree with the sentiments of T6 also, especially the concern of ex-players taking over.

Tbh, I'm stumped where we go, on the footballing side, from here. The last two appointments as head coach/manager have been failures, although I expected Mixu to be stronger. In fact apart from Levein and then almost by mistake Houston, the last success was possibly Tommy McLean (briefly) appointed nearly twenty years ago, and his two year reign ended in rancour. 

As a club we get in wrong more often than right.

Don't think we are in the minority there, Pat. Most clubs are in the same boat. Wasn't JMac the longest serving manager in the league for a while?

I'm struggling to come up with names though. I like the thought of Andy Webster, we know he had a massive influence on the cup winning team. Would be a huge risk but who isn't?


 

Trap_6 wrote:

He'd definitely bring with him a reputation and a persona. I also really like what I hear about his assistant, Austin McPhee. One of this new generation of coaches who are students of the game rather than ex- pros. Also an Arab.

If it isn't to us, I'd like to see us go after McPhee. Probably not as manager, but I think he'd bring a lot as coach/assistant.

 
No he really wouldn't.  Nowhere near the standard we should be looking at.

TheShed wrote:

Trap_6 wrote:

He'd definitely bring with him a reputation and a persona. I also really like what I hear about his assistant, Austin McPhee. One of this new generation of coaches who are students of the game rather than ex- pros. Also an Arab.

If it isn't to us, I'd like to see us go after McPhee. Probably not as manager, but I think he'd bring a lot as coach/assistant.

 
No he really wouldn't. Nowhere near the standard we should be looking at.

I'd never heard of this guy but he seems to have something to offer. Maybe not as Manager but we need to find an edge somehow. I like this quote from a bbc interview with him;
""Unless you're a Barcelona, a Real Madrid, or a Manchester United, where you can quite simply have your own playing identity because you know your players are better than the opponent, there is an element there you can disregard the opponent," he said.
"I know from conversations with Jonny Evans, Alex Ferguson - apart from the Champions League - didn't pay any attention to the opponent.

"He filled the players with belief that 'Manchester United play this way and we are better'. At the biggest clubs in the world, you can play this way.

"St Mirren are clearly not one of them and Michael learned from speaking to players and other managers about my work."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/34587238
 

Trap_6 wrote:

TheShed wrote:

Trap_6 wrote:

He'd definitely bring with him a reputation and a persona. I also really like what I hear about his assistant, Austin McPhee. One of this new generation of coaches who are students of the game rather than ex- pros. Also an Arab.

If it isn't to us, I'd like to see us go after McPhee. Probably not as manager, but I think he'd bring a lot as coach/assistant.

 
No he really wouldn't. Nowhere near the standard we should be looking at.

Really? Like I say, I don't really know all that much about him. I heard one interview with him on BBC Scotland which, to be honest, was more him talking about his career to date. A pretty rapid upward trajectory and he spoke well.

Why don't you rate him?
 

 
Cos I've seen his training, he's nowhere near good enough.  We need experience that can get the best out of the limited squad we're gonna have, he's so far from that it's scary.

Don't know if we could get them but Mcintyre and Dodds have done fantastic things at Ross County on sweetie money.....

Could be wrong but I'm sure Sieb22 is pals with the Northern Ireland boy.

Tek wrote:

Could be wrong but I'm sure Sieb22 is pals with the Northern Ireland boy.

 
Snap! Must have been writing my message when you posted this 

Sieb22 wrote:

SlatefordArab wrote:

TheShed wrote:

 
Cos I've seen his training, he's nowhere near good enough. We need experience that can get the best out of the limited squad we're gonna have, he's so far from that it's scary.

Not saying you are wrong shed, I know nothing about the guy to be honest, but he is part of a management team that will be at the Euros in the summer after taking NI to their first tourny in 30 years, so surely he must have something about him?

 
I'm sure some of the Ceres Arabs guys and some guys on here already know that me and Austin were friends at school. We used to go to the games together and play football together after school. Nicest guy you could ever meet, haven't spoken to him for a few years but very proud of what he has achieved so far.

I can't speak for him personally, but he has a lot going on with his football academies AM Soccer that he would probably prefer to stay as part of the back room team for this moment in time. Just pure speculation though.

One of the last times that I saw him was when I organised a team to play against John Holt United team for charity. I played first half in goals and made a great point blank double save from Jocky Scott who was fizzing. Played outfield the 2nd half as did Hamish McAlpine and he came up to me to tell me what a great save that was, even though we got humped 9-4 I was on cloud 9. Hamish. Austin scored a hat-trick in that game also

​If you get the chance, ask him why he stopped sending his decent kids at AM Soccer to Dundee United and started sending them to Fife Elite??
 

Last edited by HeggyHandshake (29/4/2016 7:23 pm)