wee toon red

What are we going to say to CAS? "Please sir, this is unfair. We want 50% of the tickets even though we can't sell them all"? We'd rightly be laughed out of the place.

A fairer mechanism for selling, ie section by section up to a deadline and if not sold out the other team get them, is the ideal but to suggest we go greetin to CAS about it is fanciful. If "we" as a club want to make a point then it should start with being able to show demand is there in the first place, which it demonstably isn't. The SFA aren't going to have seats that could've been sold lying empty if they can possibly help it and it's very difficult to blame them for that.

The news must be right if we’re getting pronunciation lessons! Hopefully the media style guides will be equally well informed

When you didn't have enough competent refs to run the games up here pre-VAR then it stands to reason that needing more of them to use this system just results in more incompetent people being involved. A joke.

Surely the only appropriate way this should’ve been handled was “sorry ref, the system is down so go with your on-field call”? That fact that it wasn’t just beggars belief.

https://www.afc.co.uk/2024/04/10/club-statement-video-assistant-referees/
 

If what the club are saying here is true - that the tech failed but the VAR got involved to overturn an on-field decision using guesswork - then the system and its implementation in Scotland at least is done. There can’t be any coming back from that.

Bringing this back from the dead…

Found myself at QOS v Kelty this afternoon so paid close attention to our boy Alfie. First impression: we don’t need to worry about him being physically ready, he’s a well-built lad for someone who doesn’t turn 18 until next week.

Played on the right side of Kelty’s attack which limited the number of clear cut chances he got but he was always keen to take possession and have a go at his man. He had a couple of half chances on the angle but didn’t trouble the keeper, which I’m sure he’d have liked to have done.

It looked like he was an integral part of Kelty’s team and was fully involved in the celebrations of their goals and at full time so he really seems to have embraced the move and all that comes with it.

Whether he’s ready for top flight football (he said confidently) next season is hard to say based on 90 minutes but it’ll be a good decision for the new manager to have to make. Pretty sure that hanging about our struggling team looking for minutes here and there this year wouldn’t have done him much good so thumbs up to all concerned with the move.

1 hour ago, Panda said:

It's not a poor turnout, 7,000 is actually a huge away support all things considered.

There's not a club in Scotland who would sell that in our position (both geographically and in football terms). Hearts sold less than 10,000 tickets for a cup semi-final in their own city v Inverness.

I haven't bought a ticket, not because I think we'll get beat, but because the club is a fucking shit show at the moment. "All just excuses", if you say so, but I don't need to blindly follow the club anywhere, especially when I've shelled out for plenty games this season. It's that attitude that's allowed the club to have such disdain for the support the past few months because they think we'll all turn up regardless.

I'll buy a ticket if from now until then they sort their shit out. I have my doubts.

1 hour ago, RicoS321 said:

It's forty fucking quid. I've had my football ruined by VAR for a long time, and I refuse to pay forty quid to have a goal disallowed or a pen given (for or against) for something I don't even get to witness. If you design football so it's better to watch on TV, then that's what people will do given the opportunity. That's what I'll be telling the club too. 

Everyone's entitled to make their decisions as they see fit. I'm not going either because I've got another big event on that weekend that's been booked since December. However, I think this is evidence that we don't have the fanbase that we - as in the wider suppport - like to think we have. Fewer than half the number of fans that turned out on Saturday for a league game going to a semi final is poor, whatever the reasons may be, and is all the "justification" anyone needs to deny us half the stadium next time we want it. It also proves the club were correct not to do a Hearts and buy all the tickets up front.

It's an undeniably poor turnout from us and seriously harms our case for a 50/50 split ever again. "We're crap. Celtic always beat us. We don't have a manager. I hate Cormack. It's too far". All just excuses - none of which applied when we took 40,000 to Parkhead because the glory hunters in our support expected us to win and didn't want to miss it - which will be seized upon for our next semi final or even the final if we get there.

I'll add this though: the club could maybe be doing a bit more to push it. There's no direct link to the tickets on the website home page and when you do manage to navigate your way to the tickets section of the site, it isn't even the top option.

Jimmy Stuart Baxter Thelin II

7 hours ago, Kowalski said:

 

The most Hibs thing ever. Love how it hits the first grounded guy again on its way back

Anyway, another good result under Leven and we’ve now won three of our last four.

1 hour ago, Kowalski said:

Playing 1 up front against the mighty Ross County. Getting what we deserve so far. 

It’s understandable if you’ve blanked most of this season from your memory but we played two up front for the majority of the last 12 months and it didn’t exactly end well.

46 minutes ago, Panda said:

But that's not what has happened. The club aren't simply "taking their time". 

They had five months last season to pinpoint targets. They've put an interim in place this year and made little move to get their new man while Warnock was setting the place on fire. They have began interviews two weeks after their interim fucked off because he was dismayed at what was going on behind the scenes.

 

Aye but have they though, or is that another assumption?

Nobody in the media - social or otherwise - seems to have a clue about what’s happening or where we are yet, as usual, there are folk all over the place getting worked up into a frenzy.

Much better to take however long is necessary to get the right guy than to rush into something to appease the fans. In an ideal world, the technical director or whatever we’re calling it should be coming in first or at least at the same time, having had an input into the manager.

The team will be - relatively - fine with Leven in the short term as over the last few games we’ve been much better defensively so will hopefully pick up enough points to keep county and the rest of them at bay.

Jimmy Thelin is this generation's Stuart Baxter.

17 minutes ago, OxfordDon said:

Well, guess I got my answer.  Wonder when the decision was made.

He seemed to say “we” when he talked about the team but “they” was used for cormack and burrows. With context it kinda made sense.

This has got echoes of the season hubs went down with butcher.

Will he want to play in the championship next season though?

Don't know if this is a summer or winter transfer but Gueye is away on loan to Kristiansund in Norway. The wording of the club statement seems quite specific about seeing him "back next season" but maybe they're just being nice.

1 hour ago, OrlandoDon said:

Last night was an interesting one. As someone who has coached for 30 years, and admittedly not at a professional level, you always believe when you take on a team you can benefit and teach players. Players get a clean slate and have the opportunity to prove themselves. I have to think that warnock believes he can get the best out of our players and while something may not have worked for a rookie manager like Robson, a seasoned pro like warnock believes he can do better. 
I think it showed last night that warnock doesn’t really know our players and obviously how can he really? He’s learning quickly that morris is shite for example. The reality is that he doesn’t have the time to experiment or we are sucked into a relegation battle and I suppose he has to trust the judgment of leven/Gunn who can tell him when and why we’ve been piss this season. It really is a crash course 4 month season for warnock and ever point matters.

have to assume that last night was the end of a back 3?

He was asked exactly that at the end of his red tv (I think) interview. His answer was “we’ll wait and see on Saturday” but it was clear from his expression that he’s learned that particular lesson.

3-3, Duk again. 40 mins to go.

1 hour ago, Jute said:

Tomasson won league twice with Malmo and 44% of his games at Blackburn (above Warnock’s average 40% win ratio) so would have been worth considering but given he is allegedly getting the Swedish international gig next I suspect that ship has sailed. 
 

https://www.skysports.com/amp/football/news/11676/13067307/blackburn-rovers-john-eustace-expected-to-take-over-as-manager-after-jon-dahl-tomasson-exit

Warnock is the darling of the English talk shows and soccer Saturday so hardly unfashionable. I just do not get the benefit of brining him him does. 

If he takes us up the league and ideally into Europe then there’s your benefit. We weren’t getting that with Robson and to try and repeat that process by giving Leven the gig as caretaker would actually be madness.

The board - rightly or wrongly, we’ll know in a couple of months - feel Warnock is our best bet to achieve what we can from the rest of the season while they review the whole setup. We don’t know who else was interested so can’t judge whether he’s the man for the job until we see some results. That doesn’t seem like an outrageous way to go about things after the last three appointments to me.

Warnock always seemed a wanker a few years ago but there are plenty examples of people in football who are wankers until they’re your wanker so I’m happy to see how the guy does before rushing to judgement.

4 hours ago, RicoS321 said:

He's a joke figure down South, a John Hughes. However, because we're in pathetic thrall to everything English fitba, he's massive celebrity news up here, it's cringey as fuck. He's deemed old school and obnoxious. There's a lot not to like about the guy. I specifically don't like the fact that he goes against everything we strategised (supposedly) for the last three years and is a huge step backwards in that regard, possibly even risking alienating players and staff that we might want here next year. However, I realised that with the consultant bollocks, our strategy wasn't actually a strategy at all, simply a bunch of words on a presentation, so I don't think Warnock will be upsetting much. I liked his opening interview and his thoughts about the game. I wasn't particularly enamoured by the time it took to make changes and the changes made against the Hun. I can completely see why people don't like him, but I'm happy enough for the short time that remains. I find his appointment shows a complete lack of competence by our board. It reminds me of the scene in Elf (the overplayed Christmas film) where the publisher asks his crack team of writers for new ideas and they suggest hiring another writer, who'll have better ideas. That is, of course, nothing to do with Warnock.

I don’t think he is a joke figure and he certainly isn’t John Hughes. Hughes can’t get a gig in football now whereas warnock’s still going at 75 so it’s unfair to suggest there’s any similarity.

In general though, is it fair to say you’ve got concerns about the process and what it says about the club in general more so than Warnock specifically?

There are a couple of other posters who I’d say go beyond that level of concern into what comes across as a visceral hatred of the guy and I’m genuinely wondering where that comes from. Is it because he might be a bit brexity? The alleged (irrelevant) Hun links? Something else?

9 hours ago, Madbadteacher said:

Fuck me! A bunch of pessimistic, psychiatrists and mind readers on here.

Am I delighted by NW, no.

Do I think it’s a publicity exercise or puss take, no.

Do I think Warnock will take it seriously, yes.

Do I think he’ll pick our best team (once he gets a chance to figure that out) yes.

Do I think he has the capability to have a plan B, C, or D during games, yes.

 

He’s a better chance for us finishing higher up the league than Barry, and if he puts his boot up Cormack’s arse (nothing to lose, no need to be a yes man) maybe that’s the best part of this appointment.

I trust him to be professional (regardless of how he presents to the weejia) and do his best with us.

 

Not a happy clapper by any means, but I’m not pissing in my nappy either!

Excellent post. I’m honestly unclear as to what specifically about Warnock has got a couple on here quite so angry.

Been out and about with the kids most of the day so catching up now.

What’s this about a review of the whole club using “elite performance consultants”?

10 hours ago, tlg1903 said:

That Clarke would leave Scotland for Aberdeen is nonsensical and I can't believe it's a. odds that short and b.  that anyone would be dense enough to bet on it. 

Lennon though They must know this will go down like a lead balloon if it happens. I'm starting to wonder if the whole warnock thing was a red herring from the start and purely to make lennon seem more appealing.  He isn't exactly popular within the Aberdeen support but, then, neither was Brown and I don't remember anyone sitting down in the Aberdeen end when he scored at mordor. 

The biggest problem I would suggest with appointing lennon is that he inevitably falls out with everyone within a few years.  To be fair some of his teams have played some decent football, hibs in particular were fun to watch when he was in charge. Would that be enough to appease a relatively hostile from the off support should he come in and start getting crowds off their feet? Perhaps...... but only temporarily though and he would be turned on quickly at the first wobble. 

 

What an absolute mess. 

Agree on Clarke. Never happening, even if he left the national team he wouldn’t end up here.

No mess yet tho, the Lennon stuff is media and bookie speculation so not worth worrying about.