David Longwell Interview

[Bart Simpson]

The style of play thing was what got me as well. Langfields aimless kicks to short forwards have been nothing short of laughable. He did mention Danny Lennon and how it was more his style so clearly Murray never quite got round to imprinting his philosophy at this level.

As for the kids that miss out, where do you want them to go? How do the more exceptional talents show their game without having teammates and opposition to outclass for lack of a better word.

Bring back Danny!!!

[tstewart]

Get along to SMP on Monday Night for Youth Cup tie v Rangers 7pm kickoff. I am sure you will see a St Mirren side to smile about, playing passing footballer in an open & attacking manner. Should be an exciting game against a Rangers Academy who are getting massive amount of media praise and attention for playing in a style the young Saints have done for years.

[Bud the Baker]

St Mirren are very lucky to have David Longwell. A top bloke and a credit to himself and St Mirren.

How long can we hold onto him? After Brian Caldwell leaving it would not surprise me to see David move onto a bigger club in the near future. :-(

An inspiring chap, full of positivity and you can see why the U20's are doing so well under his stewardship.

Watching that video makes you realise why we all love our club. The last few years watching us has been pretty brutal. Hopefully we can turn the corner under the next manager. :-)

I was wondering the same thing but from a different perspective - if he's really such a well regarded coach he should be able to get a better gig rather than be stranded on the Crazy Train that Saints currently are.

[div]

A very good coach, a big asset to the club and a very nice lad to boot.

We are lucky to have DL at Ralston, hopefully the new manager and him will click. It's clear that only Lennon really connected the dots with the Academy as the first team under Gus, Craig and Murray played in a way that was completely alien to the philosophy that DL is championing in that video.

No point in schooling the kids to play a certain way from a very yong age and then throwing them into the first team and suddenly telling them to hoof it up the park at every opportunity.

[Drew]

A very good coach, a big asset to the club and a very nice lad to boot.

We are lucky to have DL at Ralston, hopefully the new manager and him will click. It's clear that only Lennon really connected the dots with the Academy as the first team under Gus, Craig and Murray played in a way that was completely alien to the philosophy that DL is championing in that video.

No point in schooling the kids to play a certain way from a very yong age and then throwing them into the first team and suddenly telling them to hoof it up the park at every opportunity.

Ah, but what about the (admittedly brief) period when he shared the dug-out with Teale?

In fairness, I liked what Longwell had to say (black boots....yay!). He comes across very well, but what he is doing is a fair bit removed from the rigours of the taking the first team, and all that comes with that.

[div]

Ah, but what about the (admittedly brief) period when he shared the dug-out with Teale?

In fairness, I liked what Longwell had to say (black boots....yay!). He comes across very well, but what he is doing is a fair bit removed from the rigours of the taking the first team, and all that comes with that.

I think Teale & Longwell inheriited an absolute car crash of a squad, and it was always going to be very difficult for them to turn that round in the top flight where every mistake can be punished.

The sale of McLean at the last minute on deadline day fairly f**ked them over too, losing our best player and our top scorer with no scope to replace him.

This time round is a wee bit different. The league isn't quite as tough, and our squad, on paper anyway, looks decent if a bit imbalanced.Any manager worth his salt should be able to keep us up fairly easily.

[BuddieinEK]

I think Teale & Longwell inheriited an absolute car crash of a squad, and it was always going to be very difficult for them to turn that round in the top flight where every mistake can be punished.

The sale of McLean at the last minute on deadline day fairly f**ked them over too, losing our best player and our top scorer with no scope to replace him.

This time round is a wee bit different. The league isn't quite as tough, and our squad, on paper anyway, looks decent if a bit imbalanced.Any manager worth his salt should be able to keep us up fairly easily.

I still think that had Teale been given a chance to get rid of any dressing room trouble makers and bring in his own players we would be at the opposite end of the league.

We expected too much too soon in almost impossible circumstances.

[div]

I still think that had Teale been given a chance to get rid of any dressing room trouble makers and bring in his own players we would be at the opposite end of the league.

We expected too much too soon in almost impossible circumstances.

Possibly, it's really difficult to say. We played really well in a few games under Teale, Dundee Away, County Away and Kilmarnock at home being the most notable but we were also absolutely awful at home to County and away at Motherwell when push came to shove and we badly needed something.

We lost those two games 8-0 on aggregate and that sealed his fate.

I know Teale and Longwell had worked ridiculous hours in January to try and improve the squad but found it virtually impossible to attract players given what we had to offer. I also know they had a number of targets ready to come in the summer if they had got the gig permanently.

We'll never know what might have happened but it's hard to imagine they would have made more of a mess of it than Murray did.

[Bud the Baker]

I think Teale & Longwell inheriited an absolute car crash of a squad, and it was always going to be very difficult for them to turn that round in the top flight where every mistake can be punished.

The sale of McLean at the last minute on deadline day fairly f**ked them over too, losing our best player and our top scorer with no scope to replace him.

This time round is a wee bit different. The league isn't quite as tough, and our squad, on paper anyway, looks decent if a bit imbalanced.Any manager worth his salt should be able to keep us up fairly easily.

Surely GT was somewhat responsible for that - I suggested at the time of his appointment that Craig was just an interim choice and was not at all surprised when GT was promoted to the top job, although no doubt the BoD hoped that the succession would happen under happier circumstances.

[kevo_smfc]

Possibly, it's really difficult to say. We played really well in a few games under Teale, Dundee Away, County Away and Kilmarnock at home being the most notable but we were also absolutely awful at home to County and away at Motherwell when push came to shove and we badly needed something.

We lost those two games 8-0 on aggregate and that sealed his fate.

I know Teale and Longwell had worked ridiculous hours in January to try and improve the squad but found it virtually impossible to attract players given what we had to offer. I also know they had a number of targets ready to come in the summer if they had got the gig permanently.

We'll never know what might have happened but it's hard to imagine they would have made more of a mess of it than Murray did.

I genuinely think Teale's assessment of the squad would have been better than that of Murrays.

Having spent a few years playing in that team, then having a view of things from another perspective from the dugout, i think he had a better idea of weaknesses and strengths in the team which he was going to rectify over the course of pre-season.

I agree its looking on hindsight and asking yourself, 'what if' for Teale having a pre-season to sort us out.

The new manager should be more than capable of keeping us up with this current squad with adding a few bodies and moving a couple on.

[Sonny]

Teale still had a one year playing contract with us. I would have given him the gig for at least another six months to see how things were doing instead of appointing Murray. Teale knew the setup, knew the Academy players ( he brought Mallan into the team) and had experience of managing full-time which Murray hadn't. The players he brought in were not great but better than he let go so an improvement. But we will never know now.

[Bud the Baker]

Teale still had a one year playing contract with us. I would have given him the gig for at least another six months to see how things were doing instead of appointing Murray. Teale knew the setup, knew the Academy players ( he brought Mallan into the team) and had experience of managing full-time which Murray hadn't. The players he brought in were not great but better than he let go so an improvement. But we will never know now.

Given his age and lack of games in 2013/14 surely that contract has to be viewed as a terrible decision again that's not with hindsight, although perhaps I should let it go - no point in refighting yesterday's battles.

[div]

Surely GT was somewhat responsible for that - I suggested at the time of his appointment that Craig was just an interim choice and was not at all surprised when GT was promoted to the top job, although no doubt the BoD hoped that the succession would happen under happier circumstances.

Absolutely. Teale and Goodwin were part of that management team so cannot be excluded from all blame.