Tekel Towers » Tommy McLean

Tek · 10/10/2018 10:51 pm

Was thinking a bit about his era as Manager earlier today.

Now, i hold my hands up i was one of the supporters at Fir Park that day that chanted 'Tommy, Tommy get to fuck', but in my defence i was just a daft, reactionary 19 year old lad at the time.

With the benefit of hindsight (and looking at how much a disaster the Luggy era was) do you think we were a bit hasty in sacking Wee Tommy? How do you think things would have played out in 98/99 if the BoD had kept him and backed him with the money we gave to Luggy to spend?

Mass Debates · 10/10/2018 10:58 pm

You look back to that squad and the likes of Kjell, Wee Erik and Lars who were brought in during his time. What could we do with boys like that now

Tek · 10/10/2018 11:20 pm

Mass Debates wrote:
You look back to that squad and the likes of Kjell, Wee Erik and Lars who were brought in during his time. What could we do with boys like that now

See the start of that season i went too two games where Roger Boli was brilliant.

2-1 away (friendly) win at Love Street v St.Mirren (Boli+ Olofsson)

And first game of season (2-0 defeat at Killie) where Boli had not one but 2 perfectly good goals chalked off in the first 20 minutes.

I often wonder if those had stood if he would have done well for us. Him and Kjell seemed to link up so well in those 2 games.

MockChop · 10/10/2018 11:29 pm

The 96/97 season. We’d just been promoted.

1 point from first 6 games. McLean comes in.
4 points from last 5 games. (last 2 games were against the Old Firm)

Finished 20 off the top, 15 off second.

You do wonder, if McLean was in from the off. And we didn’t just run out of steam at the end...?

MockChop · 10/10/2018 11:33 pm

I’m not for one second saying we’d have won that league.

But we could have had a right go in a memorable three horse race, a shout for 2nd.

Very tight / dull Scottish semi v Killie settled by one goal in 180 mins. A final v Falkirk awaiting.

So close, but ultimately so far from a very very memorable season.

Tek · 10/10/2018 11:34 pm

MockChop wrote:
The 96/97 season. We’d just been promoted.

1 point from first 6 games. McLean comes in.
4 points from last 5 games. (last 2 games were against the Old Firm)

Finished 20 off the top, 15 off second.

You do wonder, if McLean was in from the off. And we didn’t just run out of steam at the end...?

We would have won the Scottish that season too if we had turned up at either of those games v Killie.

Team just hit a wall (physically or mentally?).

That we never won anything with Kjell+Erik in the team was a shame. Also froze in the Coca Cola Cup Final when we had been playing really well in the weeks before.

kiwiarab · 11/10/2018 9:17 am

Interesting post. I loved the tommy mclean 96-97 run and the good spell before the coca cola cup final, a team with a game plan, who all knew their jobs and were good footballers. Also full of characters.

As much as i loved that team, i think by the time he got sacked tommy had reached "sick boy theory" where he no longer had it anymore. Pressley and Perry leaving, plus Malpas getting closer to retirement, and being replaced by Mark McNally and Darren Paterson, loads of crap foreign signings like Tonny Mols, and it seemed like the whole club lost their ethos and we needed a change

minor point - the 2-1 friendly at love st, I was there and I think Joe Miller scored a penalty after Boli was fouled, before Kjell scored a last minute winner. Your point is totally correct though, if either of those goals against killie had counted we could have been off to a flyer for once, or if gordon marshall had been sent off for a handball outside the box which was the rule back then

Last edited by kiwiarab (11/10/2018 9:29 am)

SlatefordArab · 11/10/2018 9:31 am

That unbeaten run in 96/97 produced so many great performances in. The SC quarter final against Motherwell at Tannadice in particular springs to mind.

The performances against Killie in the Semi were such a let down.

That second season felt like a massive hang-over from the previous year with only a few good performances in-between lots of mediocrity. Pumping Aberdeen 5-0 at Tannadice was by far the best performance of that season (been taken down by YouTube unfortunately).

The Scottish Cup tie at Tannadice when Erik scored the OG to win the game for Celtic after being up all night for the birth of his child also stands out in my memory - always mind going mental when Kjell scored that second goal:

Just didn't get going at the start of the following season and came as no surprise when Tommy was punted.

11/10/2018 11:22 am

This is a good recollection. I had a saying at the time after watching us once he got going - 'How the fuck have Motherwell not won the European Cup?'
He was that good. What happened I don't know.
The Killie semi at Easter Rd. Our Aussie overseas player had just arrived for the start of the cricket season & we took him for his baptism (they all become Arabs) saying 'wait till you see this lot', rubbing my hands. We were shite, as flat as a pancake, played out, I don't know. I left Easter Rd that night just shaking my head.
I would put Tommy McLean's good times at Tannadice at least up there with his brother.

lifesanocean · 11/10/2018 6:05 pm

We were outstanding in that game against Motherwell in the cup. I was at the first Killie semi. We just never turned up. If I remember rightly, Pressley was injured or suspended and it seemed to affect us a bit because we changed our shape. Killie came out to stop us playing. There was a punch up on our bus after the game. I never went to the replay.

Best performance was Aberdeen 4-0 on New Years Day. Robbie Winters was unplayable that day. Best chant was " She's black and blue," to the tune of Three Lions versus Oldco. LOL

Last edited by lifesanocean (11/10/2018 6:06 pm)

SlatefordArab · 12/10/2018 9:35 am

lifesanocean wrote:
We were outstanding in that game against Motherwell in the cup. I was at the first Killie semi. We just never turned up. If I remember rightly, Pressley was injured or suspended and it seemed to affect us a bit because we changed our shape. Killie came out to stop us playing. There was a punch up on our bus after the game. I never went to the replay.

Best performance was Aberdeen 4-0 on New Years Day. Robbie Winters was unplayable that day. Best chant was " She's black and blue," to the tune of Three Lions versus Oldco. LOL

Thon game against Aberdeen was brilliant - New Years Day as I remember. Nicky Walker slipping on his arse for the first goal.

Tek · 12/10/2018 10:01 am

SlatefordArab wrote:
That unbeaten run in 96/97 produced so many great performances in. The SC quarter final against Motherwell at Tannadice in particular springs to mind.

The performances against Killie in the Semi were such a let down.

That second season felt like a massive hang-over from the previous year with only a few good performances in-between lots of mediocrity. Pumping Aberdeen 5-0 at Tannadice was by far the best performance of that season (been taken down by YouTube unfortunately).

The Scottish Cup tie at Tannadice when Erik scored the OG to win the game for Celtic after being up all night for the birth of his child also stands out in my memory - always mind going mental when Kjell scored that second goal:

Just didn't get going at the start of the following season and came as no surprise when Tommy was punted.

That was the game that the day before Andy McLaren turned up to training reeking of drink and wee Tommy said the size of his fine would depend on his performance the next day.

He tore them apart. Good management imo.

The 'Well cup game that is.

Last edited by Tek (12/10/2018 10:02 am)

lifesanocean · 12/10/2018 10:52 am

SlatefordArab wrote:
lifesanocean wrote:
We were outstanding in that game against Motherwell in the cup. I was at the first Killie semi. We just never turned up. If I remember rightly, Pressley was injured or suspended and it seemed to affect us a bit because we changed our shape. Killie came out to stop us playing. There was a punch up on our bus after the game. I never went to the replay.

Best performance was Aberdeen 4-0 on New Years Day. Robbie Winters was unplayable that day. Best chant was " She's black and blue," to the tune of Three Lions versus Oldco. LOL
Thon game against Aberdeen was brilliant - New Years Day as I remember. Nicky Walker slipping on his arse for the first goal.

https://youtu.be/SIXSWE2NihQ

SlatefordArab · 12/10/2018 1:18 pm

How well do we think that 95/96 team would to today in the top flight? Olofsson, Winters, McLaren all at the top of their game, frightening pace on all three of them. McKinnon, Zetturlund, Bowman in midfield, skill and strength. Erik, Malpas, Pressley at the back, solid as anything. McSwegan to come off the bench.

RRDH · 12/10/2018 4:37 pm

deleted, posted something about the following year. like a tit.

Last edited by RRDH (12/10/2018 4:42 pm)

12/10/2018 8:56 pm

Tek wrote:
Was thinking a bit about his era as Manager earlier today.

Now, i hold my hands up i was one of the supporters at Fir Park that day that chanted 'Tommy, Tommy get to fuck', but in my defence i was just a daft, reactionary 19 year old lad at the time.

With the benefit of hindsight (and looking at how much a disaster the Luggy era was) do you think we were a bit hasty in sacking Wee Tommy? How do you think things would have played out in 98/99 if the BoD had kept him and backed him with the money we gave to Luggy to spend?

To be fair that for park game must have been one of the worst football games I've ever had the misfortune to witness - it was like a competition to see which team could be the most shit...

Tek · 12/10/2018 9:59 pm

scarpia wrote:
Tek wrote:
Was thinking a bit about his era as Manager earlier today.

Now, i hold my hands up i was one of the supporters at Fir Park that day that chanted 'Tommy, Tommy get to fuck', but in my defence i was just a daft, reactionary 19 year old lad at the time.

With the benefit of hindsight (and looking at how much a disaster the Luggy era was) do you think we were a bit hasty in sacking Wee Tommy? How do you think things would have played out in 98/99 if the BoD had kept him and backed him with the money we gave to Luggy to spend?

To be fair that for park game must have been one of the worst football games I've ever had the misfortune to witness - it was like a competition to see which team could be the most shit...

It was truly awful mate.

Think the fans seen things had been heading South for months and just snapped that day, i know i did.

Remember it was a sell-out crowd cos it was only £1 to get in that day. Felt like both teams served up an utter shitfest to a big crowd on a Sunny day.

Swing_kinker · 15/10/2018 2:19 am

Tek wrote:
Mass Debates wrote:
You look back to that squad and the likes of Kjell, Wee Erik and Lars who were brought in during his time. What could we do with boys like that now
See the start of that season i went too two games where Roger Boli was brilliant.

2-1 away (friendly) win at Love Street v St.Mirren (Boli+ Olofsson)

And first game of season (2-0 defeat at Killie) where Boli had not one but 2 perfectly good goals chalked off in the first 20 minutes.

I often wonder if those had stood if he would have done well for us. Him and Kjell seemed to link up so well in those 2 games.

If I recall, one of those goals was a peach of an overhead kick. Never thought he got a chance. Same with Tchami when he came a while later...and Beto Naveda and Attangana. Felt they needed time to get used to the Scottish game but it was a conveyer belt of folk getting three games then punted for a few years. Loved Tommy's reign, it was when I first started going to games without parental supervision and that first season was just outstanding. Remember wee Eric's mum (some family member anyway) sitting with our group and him telling my brother and mates to look after her ha.

Last edited by Swing_kinker (15/10/2018 2:33 am)