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Thompson For Manager? Time To Up Your Medication, Gents.


Kemp

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It's not surprising to see this place go in to meltdown after the weekend's result but some people really are seriously losing the plot, particularly that section of forum users who now seem to have completely flipped; the rabid foaming at the mouth anti Danny Lennon brigade.

Case in point is the group clamouring for Steven Thompson to be appointed manager, a decision that were it to be taken this week would surely be one of the most illogical and disastrous in the history of our fine club (I won't even consider the Kenny Shiels for manager collective as nothing more than a wind-up).

I will agree that Danny is looking likely to be out of a job soon unless he turns the league form around quickly (or wins the cup again...) and he must carry the can for not going in to the season completely prepared but why are the players getting off scot free here? And above all, why are some of you calling for two of them to be made manager and assistant manager?

It looks to me like Danny Lennon has fallen victim to "player power" and some the senior players have f**ked him over. The situations with Guy and Imrie tell their own story. Yet, if the problem with the team is that the players are not motivated ("he has lost the dressing room") why would you want Thompson and Teale to take over the team? They are on the park now and we are "soft" and there are guys like Harkins not bothering to pick up players from corners and Jim Goodwin, club captain, barely showing up. Davidg posted on another thread that Thompson refused to come off the bench in a game at the end of last season. It's up to him to back that quite serious allegation up, but if true then it paints a very sad picture of what goes on behind the scenes at St Mirren Park.

Graham Spiers said on the radio yesterday that the St Mirren support, like no other support in Scotland, have had it for their current manager since the day he started. And he is correct.

I think the reason that often this forum falls in to squabble between the "knicker wetters" and "happy clappers" is that many of us are not happy clappers but just feel deeply uncomfortable with the anonymity afforded to users of this forum being abused to launch a sustained, non-stop attack on one man. One poster uses so many aliases I believe he uses some to support Danny and others to berate him on a non stop basis. Another enjoys berating the manager so much that his calls for "wee clueless" to f**k off don't even change depending on who is in charge, Gus and Danny have enjoyed the same abuse and same nickname. Some posts from those like to claim to be in the know are now just "Bye Dan", "Thompson will be in charge now" etc Pretty poor stuff in my opinion....and I find it difficult to read all that directed at one man while the board, chairman and senior players, some of whom really have taken the piss I suspect, are still all lauded as heros.

The annoying thing is these guys have kept up such a sustained campaign of pish talking that most of what they say is now believed. Due to that, many of you now seem to be football luddites calling for a return to the long ball game (last used to any effect by Norway around 1994) or convinced that Danny having led Cowdenbeath to succesive promotions, got us to our ever finish in 25 years while playing some very attractive football, and won us the league cup is "tactially clueless". Even though in that very League Cup final he switched the shape of the team around and we went from 1-0 down to 3-1 up.

I've never seen St Mirren play as good football as we did at the start of Lennon's 2nd season, I recall us ripping Dundee Utd apart at Tannadice until wee Nigel got sent off and it was sensational. The victories of Rangers, Celtic, Hearts and Aberdeen we have enjoyed in recent seasons were great & accomponied with great football. I really hoped we would get better at that style of attacking play and the under 20s and all youth levels would learn to play the same style. It's that approach that Scottish football needs.

So it is sad for me to see that it now seems to be the end of the line for Danny Lennon. I don't believe he is leaving because of a stubborn commitment to playing passing football, or due a lack of tactical awareness, I believe he is going to go because the players do not want to play for him anymore.

And so I ask again, if there has been a collapse of moral and motivation in the dressing room, how could any of you possibly not hold the senior players at

this club just as accountable as the manager, and why on earth would you want to see one of them take over as manager?

I agree I don't want Thompson to take over. The second season was really good and Danny had us motoring but I actually think the loss of Nigel was quite a turning point. The wee fellow was dynamite and I for one really enjoyed watching him. We were exciting and going to ibrox and playing them off the pitch showed that. I do not know what's went wrong and I suspect Danny doesn't either but if he has no budget then tell us then maybe we can turn the heat elsewhere?? It is a shambolic start to the season and I can't believe the lack of replacements for those who have gone. If this is the end which I don't think it is then who do we go for ? Craig brown would do a fantastic job for us and I know he would take it . But it's being disrespectful to suggest that as Danny is still in charge. I feel that he needs two wins this week tho to have any hope

Edited by norrie82
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Hardly a rant was it? Pretty thoughtful analysis imo.

Totally agree. I thought Div's post was very well constructed, as was the OP by Kemp. All-in-all, this is one of the better threads currently on the boards, with very little vitriol around. Trolls apart, we all actually want the same thing - a team that can give us moderate success - but we see different reasons for why we don't currently have that, and different solutions that might bring it about.

I just hope we can continue to debate it sensibly, without the usualy bile spewing that has spoiled so many other threads.

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Looking at some posts together Danny looks like a condemned man before the ICT game....He talks of reduced budgets ....The squad is the poorest in numbers and quality for many years. Div comes on here with a very uncharacteristic rant at Lennon. Anyone else think he is in with the BOD in deflecting the blame?........No comment is noted from CS losing his license and being unable to commute to Paisley.

CS losing his licence doesn't really cut it as he has a longer commute to training now than he did when he played with us...think this one was down to the principle of been offered a shite wage....

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Hardly a rant was it? Pretty thoughtful analysis imo.

Numbers yes, quality not so sure. We stayed up before playing John Potter for a whole season FFS.

Not a rant in the usual way but strange why he would fire in to Danny in this way.....Not normal from Him?.....would you agree?.....My point is the board give money and Danny spends it?...is that right?.......Now he says Samson was let go due to money as he was a pauper in player terms but can't say how much he was on.......My point is Danny should be sacked now if he had the resources to keep Samson but didn't!.....I don't believe he did and that's down to the board and Samson losing his license.

CS losing his licence doesn't really cut it as he has a longer commute to training now than he did when he played with us...think this one was down to the principle of been offered a shite wage....

He stays in Ayr!

Edited by reborn saint
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I don't think Lennon you'd go yet but I'm amazed that nobody has spoken about Tommy Craig in all of this?

Also everyone is talking about a totally inexperienced manager taking over like thommo without even considering that Craig could take over and if not we still need to pay him off.

It's as if he doesn't exist to some of our fans!

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But I don't think we should even be talking about "once Danny has left" because as it stands he is our boss and he has brought us the best football in decades and a national trophy not to mention our highest league position in 25 years so I think some of our fans need to give him a bit more respect and wait until all the transfer activity has concluded.

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I don't think Lennon you'd go yet but I'm amazed that nobody has spoken about Tommy Craig in all of this?

Also everyone is talking about a totally inexperienced manager taking over like thommo without even considering that Craig could take over and if not we still need to pay him off.

It's as if he doesn't exist to some of our fans!

Do you think Tommy would fancy the managers job?

I don't.

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My thoughts on this subject from another thread...

A lot of talk of Thompson for new manager but that doesn't fill me with any confidence.

I don't think he's the type we need as things stand. No managerial experience and he's well and truly one of the lads. I don't see how that would work turning to be their boss.

He's not really set a great example for respect of the manager either. Refusing to come off the bench at the end of last season.

I like Danny but have had a sneaky feeling for months that the senior players take the absolute c**t down there. He seems to have lost the respect of these guys IMO and its amazing what power the players have in these situations.

No way back for Danny IMO without clearing out pretty much everyone and starting again and we all know that can't happen. Only one outcome for me but the players need to take a good look at themselves IMO.

The senior players have been taking the piss for longer than a year, we've just been lucky that other teams were more shite than us. Danny doesn't help himself with a weak management style though, have you ever heard him do a terry butcher style rant at a poor performance? I thought Tommy Craig was brought in so he could guide DL with his experience in the game? if anything he has been more decisive in the dressing room than some of the players....

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Something must have changed during the off season as surely the club not just Danny (because the board must have sanctioned the decision's) would never have payed off all those player if sufficient numbers of replacements were not coming in. It appears Danny is being hung out to dry on this issue. I don't believe Danny is Wenger-esque and handles all the transfer details alone.

Evidently in May plans were afoot for a squad overhaul, yet no early deals happened and few after. Something was/is wrong behind the scenes and disrupted our transfer business.

On the pitch, we lack the pace we had at the start of the 11/12 season. Whilst Teale has been brilliant for 18 months we have no other viable threat on the other side. We need a Hasselbaink or Goncalves type to balance the team, as opponents just double up on Gary and we are stuck.

If we get that pace on the left, then not only will we be able to play central midfielders in their best position, but it will also strengthen the options on the bench as 1 or 2 quality midfielder will be on it.

Defensively we need a change. Cornell I feel will be fine, but is a young keeper behind a shaky defence. McGregor did fine as an emergency stop gap last week, but a right back he is not. If he is fit then he plays centre half. Get Van Zanten or Robertson at right back.

Central defence is a mess, and has been for some time. During our 6 defeats in a row last season Danny could have chosen to make either Mair or McAusland out as the fall guy as both were as bad as each other. He chose Mair and replaced him with Goodwin. For me that means we can't go back to a Mair/McAusland partnership. Now the McAusland/Goodwin partnership has become I feel also untenable. I think we now need to try McGregor alongside Goodwin/Mair/ McAusland. My choice would be McGregor and Goodwin.

Constructive posts like mine and others in this thread are well within reason, but the personal attacks on a man who has done nothing but speak and act positively whilst employed by our club have been disgusting and gone on far too long.

However I hope he can turn the season round, the 2 strikers mentioned from France and Estonia would be a step in the right direction.

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Not a rant in the usual way but strange why he would fire in to Danny in this way.....Not normal from Him?.....would you agree?.....My point is the board give money and Danny spends it?...is that right?.......Now he says Samson was let go due to money as he was a pauper in player terms but can't say how much he was on.......My point is Danny should be sacked now if he had the resources to keep Samson but didn't!.....I don't believe he did and that's down to the board and Samson losing his license.

He stays in Ayr!

They train at west of Scotland science park.

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some people should be careful for what they wish

ANYONE coming in to manage our club will have less money to work with than the present as it will take hard cash to unseat the current team. that has to come from somewhere and it will be the staff budget. That will hit our league placing even harder

I truly think DL can turn it around given some time and 2 good players to add to the squad, but I think the roar of disapproval will become deafening which is a shame. our club and it's fans do not reward success very well and we are true to form. Contrast the support that Hibs are getting from their fans to the behaviour of the so-called Paisley faithful.

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I have lost faith all faith in DL. The results this year have been abysmal, the football we have been watching is getting worse and then there is the lack of signings.

Surely the club could have done more to keep Craig Samson, a key player who won us a cup and a Scotland squad regular. The decision to let him go was a poor one.

Graham Carey, a player with undoubted talent, scores goal of the season and gets released. The rumour is that Carey had a poor attitude - but I would ask why he had a poor attitude, maybe the player felt he wasn't getting a fair chance to show what he could do in his best position - I don't think he got a fair chance.

The way I see it is the balance of the current squad is all wrong. Teams should play with partnerships. Right back and right mid, left back and left mid, two central defenders work together etc.. this is what good teams are based on.

Too many players in the team are guaranteed starts every week, DLs lack of transfer dealings has caused players to get too comfortable in my opinion. New signings give a freshness to the squad, players lift their game when there's a new arrival.

As for a new manager if DL was to go, maybe Ian Murray would be a likely candidate. It won't be Jimmy Calderwood as he won't work with the current board. Paul Hartley would be a good shout as well but I think Hartley could win us the treble and he'd still be detested!! The outside bet would be John Potter - you don't have to be a great player to be a great manager. Potter was a great leader when he was with us and seems to have done not a bad job in managing Dunfermlines under 20s.

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I think It's clear to everyone that our squad is the BIG problem....we need 3 players pronto.......no manager can keep us up with the choice available. Players WILL come in and then we can judge.....Steven Thompson WILL be our next manager...there is no doubt about that!

I like Thommo, but I really hope he is NOT our next manager. He has no experience, and we've no idea as to whether he'd be any good anyway. Bad as things are at the moment, we'd be off our heads to promote an untried first timer who, according to some, is part of the current problem.

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This is all being played very cleverly by our board to deflect blame from themselves. There is nothing in Danny's precious seasons that match up to this pre season activity or lack of it.

Danny has been the most pro active manager we've had in years ,he always pinpointed his targets early and even had guy training with us from the jan before he signed.

The board don't want to spend any more money and will cut corners wherever they can. They've looked at this season and thought we won a cup which will keep the fans sweet and hearts are already down (aye right!) so we'll not bother giving Danny any more funds for quality players.

As someone else said, Danny has been hung out to dry and as usual all our support fall for it!

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I surrender...last post about his driving ban......The reason I know about it is a coach at our club told me it was part of the reason he left but I'll leave it there and won't mention it again.

He will probably, and easily, get a lift from Kilmarnock to Bearsden/Maryhill Road to train with Kilmarnock.

Not so easy to get to Ralston if no other Saint's player lives in Kilmarnock.

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some people should be careful for what they wish

ANYONE coming in to manage our club will have less money to work with than the present as it will take hard cash to unseat the current team. that has to come from somewhere and it will be the staff budget. That will hit our league placing even harder

I truly think DL can turn it around given some time and 2 good players to add to the squad, but I think the roar of disapproval will become deafening which is a shame. our club and it's fans do not reward success very well and we are true to form. Contrast the support that Hibs are getting from their fans to the behaviour of the so-called Paisley faithful.

These hibs fans;

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23799513

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Also worth remembering that if Gus MacPherson was still St Mirren manager then John McGinn wouldn't be near our first team,

An interesting point to make.

Stephen McGinn was actually going to be freed by the St. Mirren youth set up and it was Gus Macpherson who himself stepped in and offered McGinn a contract. He then put him in the first team. John McGinn came to St. Mirren because he brother was here and joined the club when Gus Macpherson was manager.

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The outside bet would be John Potter - you don't have to be a great player to be a great manager. Potter was a great leader when he was with us and seems to have done not a bad job in managing Dunfermlines under 20s.

If DL does go, (though I would love it if he could turn things around and prove us all wrong), then what about Hugh Murray? He's just been loaned out to Dumbarton - surely a sign that his playing days are over - and would be given a warm welcome and, hopefully, every opportunity to take us forward.

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An interesting point to make.

Stephen McGinn was actually going to be freed by the St. Mirren youth set up and it was Gus Macpherson who himself stepped in and offered McGinn a contract. He then put him in the first team. John McGinn came to St. Mirren because he brother was here and joined the club when Gus Macpherson was manager.

MacPherson would never have given John McGinn a genuine opportunity. I know this how? I discussed it with a senior McGinn family member. The same family member who, even back then when John was perhaps 16, confirmed that he was regarded as the better player out of the brothers. Danny's approach to the youth players has been a breath of fresh air at the club.

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My thoughts on this subject from another thread...

 

 

A lot of talk of Thompson for new manager but that doesn't fill me with any confidence.

I don't think he's the type we need as things stand. No managerial experience and he's well and truly one of the lads. I don't see how that would work turning to be their boss.

He's not really set a great example for respect of the manager either. Refusing to come off the bench at the end of last season.

I like Danny but have had a sneaky feeling for months that the senior players take the absolute c**t down there. He seems to have lost the respect of these guys IMO and its amazing what power the players have in these situations.

No way back for Danny IMO without clearing out pretty much everyone and starting again and we all know that can't happen. Only one outcome for me but the players need to take a good look at themselves IMO.

I was talking about the respect thing yesterday, I wonder if there is any fear/respect from the snr players towards DL and TC. DL needs to be strong enough to manage these guys but he no doubt worries about about how to deal with fans favourites.

I remember a story (not sure if true or not) about Basher having Gus pinned up against the dressing room wall, Basher hardly played again and was released. Gus was prepared to upset the fans and let the club legends like Basher and Ricky Gillies go, I'm not sure Danny would be confident enough to try to question Thommo or other senior players in fear of upsetting them. He could probably do with a real no nonsense number 2, in the Andy Millen mould to instill the fear/respect on these guys.

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This is all being played very cleverly by our board to deflect blame from themselves. There is nothing in Danny's precious seasons that match up to this pre season activity or lack of it.

Danny has been the most pro active manager we've had in years ,he always pinpointed his targets early and even had guy training with us from the jan before he signed.

The board don't want to spend any more money and will cut corners wherever they can. They've looked at this season and thought we won a cup which will keep the fans sweet and hearts are already down (aye right!) so we'll not bother giving Danny any more funds for quality players.

As someone else said, Danny has been hung out to dry and as usual all our support fall for it!

I increasingly believe this to be true.

I also think some players are happy to see the manager left twisting in the wind. It is all becoming a bit unsavoury.

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