Jimmy Thelin

[BigAl]

1 hour ago, Nordicus said:

TBF    He is attempting to employ McInnes tactics 

Threaten to leave , in return for unwarranted pay raises

 

Genuinely not aware of any pay rise for Thelin.

Apologies if I have missed this but when did it happen 

[Elgindon]

6 minutes ago, BigAl said:

Genuinely not aware of any pay rise for Thelin.

Apologies if I have missed this but when did it happen 

Think he's just assumed so....

[Nordicus]

6 minutes ago, Elgindon said:

Think he's just assumed so....

no I was just being flippant

I said already I think he (genuinely) doesn't want to be here

[tlg1903]

I think the January window could be the make or break of Thelin as Afc manager.  It will be just as important to move the right players on as well as bring the right players in but if we do that I don't think we are that far away from a good team.  

[BigAl]

1 hour ago, Nordicus said:

no I was just being flippant

I said already I think he (genuinely) doesn't want to be here

Fair enough mate 

[BigAl]

34 minutes ago, tlg1903 said:

I think the January window could be the make or break of Thelin as Afc manager.  It will be just as important to move the right players on as well as bring the right players in but if we do that I don't think we are that far away from a good team.  

Exactly what we need TLG, a dose of positivity  

[Goldie03]

18 minutes ago, BigAl said:

Exactly what we need TLG, a dose of positivity  

TLG is my fav on here for always being glass 3/4 full 

[The.Moog]

So I think its fair to say we’re pretty much all on the fence with Thelin currently.

I agree with most comments made above.

We have not progressed at all in his time. At best we’ve flatlined.

None of us have any idea what he’s trying to do. There is no identity and style to this team. Too many square pegs in round holes. Jensen is a prime example, he’s an absolute liability at LWB, offers nothing and is a complete bottleneck, yet when he switched to RWB yesterday he was so much better and more effective. That’s on Thelin, not Jensen. Trouble is we need to be developing young Lobban in there so there’s not really a place for Jensen.

The inverted wingers has just not worked, end of. He’ll stick with it regardless though which for me is a massive red flag.

The boy at Motherwell is a really bad look for JT. He’s offering everything in terms of identity, playing style and maximising player potential that JT simply is not - on an absolute pittance of a budget.

While loyalty is an admirable thing, I can’t help thinking Dave’s commitment to JT is as much driven by his desire to not be seen as having appointed another dud as any genuine belief in his talents.

The recruitment has been a disaster last couple of windows. We’ve downgraded all over the place. Painful as it is to say, the diets this summer have been a really bad look for us on that front. How much this is on Thelin is debatable of course. Lets see what the penguin pincher brings to the party on that front. Mowbray being back, given his track record doesn’t hurt either.

Agree January is massive, both for recruitment and playing style as well as results. At the moment I’m far from confident we’ll see the desired progress though…

[Ajja]

The square pegs is a big problem. His system is dependant on WBs but we don’t actually have any. We have a collection of converted left and right sided midfielders or CBs into FBs.  Lobban has done well but I’m not sure he is a WB. Our wide attacking players are easily defended as they always cut into traffic. We were arguably better when we had next to useless haddies like Morris as at least he would take the ball to the goal line and cut it back into  areas of danger where Nisbet could do what he does. All our attacking play is into congested channels or on the edge of the box. We are toothless as a result. 
Very little bite or dig in midfield means we struggle to win ball, maintain any posession or build from a platform. Teams overrun us easily in that area. If we get the gaps right between middle and back we are hard to beat but utterly inept up front, if we get the gaps further up right we start to look dangerous but wide open at the back. We seem to fluctuate between these two set ups in game. 

[tlg1903]

4 hours ago, Goldie03 said:

TLG is my fav on here for always being glass 3/4 full 

My colleague found this quite amusing, let's just say I'm known for being a little more cynical in work.  Kind of you to say though

[Panda]

4 hours ago, The.Moog said:

 

While loyalty is an admirable thing, I can’t help thinking Dave’s commitment to JT is as much driven by his desire to not be seen as having appointed another dud as any genuine belief in his talents.

 

My theory is that Cormack wants the whole back room structure sorted; coaching, academy. Basically a whole DNA - pathway to first team, pathway for coaches to step up too.

This whole "three year project" is more about Thelin leaving a legacy on the club, an imprint. 

That's why he has backed Thelin a hell of a lot more than Glass, Goodwin or Robson because they weren't offering that. And I think results wise, Thelin winning the cup and banking £6m+ from Europe, that was probably ahead of schedule - the club likely were aiming for that in his second or third season.

It would also explain why Thelin doesn't feel the need to throw in Bilalovic and Kjartansson. I think he's quite happy to develop these guys and have the next manager enjoy the fruits of his labour.

Like I said, just a theory. If he gets sacked next week, someone delete this.

Edited Monday at 21:05 by Panda

[manc_don]

It would make sense of why he’s not had any of his attempts at resigning accepted (along with teeth’s need for not having appointed another failure). Guess we’ll never know.

[tlg1903]

3 hours ago, manc_don said:

It would make sense of why he’s not had any of his attempts at resigning accepted (along with teeth’s need for not having appointed another failure). Guess we’ll never know.

I can see why it's feasible but I'm just not convinced Cormack would want a manager that isn't committed.  My guess/hope if there is anything to this? After Athens Thelin has said words to the effect of  'if you want me to go I would rather resign than be fired'. Not exactly offering to quit but letting it be known he won't stay if he's not wanted. It's not unreasonable to speculate that could Chinese whispers within the club that he offered to quit 2bf. 

 

Regardless, this is water under the bridge now you would think with the rise in the table and the arrival of Lutz. Going forward it's a big 40 odd days for Thelin with run of tricky, but winnable, and equally loseable, fixtures going into the new year. Assuming we get through that relatively successfully then he really needs a strong window. Personally, I would say he only needs 3 starting capable players in the door to transform the team.  The arrival of the contacts book of LP gives me  hope that could happen. The right outs will be just as important as well given we stocked up for a 4231 but have ended up with a back 3.  

 

I think it's worth mentioning that it was about this sort of stage in Thelins Elfsborg career that they started to  click and put together results.    Swedish journalists told us you need to give Thelin 2 years before you really see what one of his teams is all about so it would make sense that the second half of this season will see the most improvement in the team if that stands.  "Can history repeat itself?" is the question that we are about to find out in the next few months basically. 

 

[TheDonbytheDee]

6 hours ago, tlg1903 said:

I can see why it's feasible but I'm just not convinced Cormack would want a manager that isn't committed.  My guess/hope if there is anything to this? After Athens Thelin has said words to the effect of  'if you want me to go I would rather resign than be fired'. Not exactly offering to quit but letting it be known he won't stay if he's not wanted. It's not unreasonable to speculate that could Chinese whispers within the club that he offered to quit 2bf. 

 

I could see Dave keeping a manager who doesn't want to be here, due to his enormous ego not wanting to have gotten another appointment wrong.

 

 

[RicoS321]

10 minutes ago, TheDonbytheDee said:

I could see Dave keeping a manager who doesn't want to be here, due to his enormous ego not wanting to have gotten another appointment wrong.

 

 

Stephen Glass is still kept in his basement.

[manc_don]

6 hours ago, tlg1903 said:

I can see why it's feasible but I'm just not convinced Cormack would want a manager that isn't committed.  My guess/hope if there is anything to this? After Athens Thelin has said words to the effect of  'if you want me to go I would rather resign than be fired'. Not exactly offering to quit but letting it be known he won't stay if he's not wanted. It's not unreasonable to speculate that could Chinese whispers within the club that he offered to quit 2bf. 

 

Regardless, this is water under the bridge now you would think with the rise in the table and the arrival of Lutz. Going forward it's a big 40 odd days for Thelin with run of tricky, but winnable, and equally loseable, fixtures going into the new year. Assuming we get through that relatively successfully then he really needs a strong window. Personally, I would say he only needs 3 starting capable players in the door to transform the team.  The arrival of the contacts book of LP gives me  hope that could happen. The right outs will be just as important as well given we stocked up for a 4231 but have ended up with a back 3.  

 

I think it's worth mentioning that it was about this sort of stage in Thelins Elfsborg career that they started to  click and put together results.    Swedish journalists told us you need to give Thelin 2 years before you really see what one of his teams is all about so it would make sense that the second half of this season will see the most improvement in the team if that stands.  "Can history repeat itself?" is the question that we are about to find out in the next few months basically. 

 

I really hope you are right mate, it’s generally been a painful 18 months thus far so any glimmers of hope I will absolutely latch onto as I can’t see him going anywhere.

[wee toon red]

If the last 18 months, which included an enthralling unbeaten run at the start of last season and a first scottish cup win since 19-fucking-90 just seven months ago is “painful”, then what word are we using for the 24-odd years that came before?!

It’s been a weird 18 months, at times a frustrating 18 months, but attendances are up, the connection between the club and fans feels stronger than ever and - I repeat - we’ve won the Scottish Cup for the first time in 25 years. I’m certainly not feeling any pain.

[Ajja]

Even better than that, it was 35 years

Edited Wednesday at 15:38 by Ajja

[wee toon red]

That’s how pain-free my Christmas Eve has been

[Kowalski]

I don’t trust Jimmy with another transfer window, some of his signings have been absolute dog shit - Milanovic is a huge disappointment but a few others have done fuck all. 
 

The football on display is poor and we are so predictable to play against. I don’t know where we go but I’m fast running out of patience. 

[OrlandoDon]

25 minutes ago, Kowalski said:

I don’t trust Jimmy with another transfer window, some of his signings have been absolute dog shit - Milanovic is a huge disappointment but a few others have done fuck all. 
 

The football on display is poor and we are so predictable to play against. I don’t know where we go but I’m fast running out of patience. 

There’s two factor, shit signings to date and shit level/style of play. Do you see enough from this current team to suggest Thelin will get the most out of this group and new signings will add to the quality? Doesn’t matter who we sign if the coach cannot get the best out of the group. I don’t see how signings make us significantly better under the same coaching, methods, and style.

[RicoS321]

9 hours ago, Kowalski said:

I don’t trust Jimmy with another transfer window, some of his signings have been absolute dog shit - Milanovic is a huge disappointment but a few others have done fuck all. 
 

The football on display is poor and we are so predictable to play against. I don’t know where we go but I’m fast running out of patience. 

We shouldn't be trusting Jimmy, or any other manager, with another transfer window. There's no chance Thelin signed Milanovic, he'll be a product of our scouting system, which is the way it should be. To date, he's been given very poor value for money from that system, which is hopefully something Pfannenstiel will help address. Milanovic is an interesting case in point. He's clearly a decent footballer who a scout would take a look at and would understandably decide was worth a look at. He clearly has some great attributes. The issue is the transition from that league to ours. It turns out that being very strong down under doesn't transfer to the SPFL, it's that shade below, and without game time he won't develop (I think he'd benefit from six months at someone like Livi). We had a similar situation with McGarry, and we should have used the data from his signing as a guage to measure Milanovic. That's how it's supposed to work, but maybe it just needs more data! Similarly, any signings JT is making off his own back from Scandinavia need to go through that system so that we have something to compare league to league for future signings. Thelin will have run his known targets dry in that part of the world I expect, and might be more likely to look to players he's seen in the SPFL. 

At present, we're not getting a better return from our expensive European based signings than McInnes was picking up players from down south. We're definitely not getting a better return than those he picked up from the SPFL, although his good ones were either really obvious or his mate's son (when actually having to dig around we got shite like Morris, Quinn, Tansey, Storey and so on). 

As we all pointed out, the balance of signings was ridiculous, with a million project players and some old guys. That stems from the fucking awful decision not to have the sporting director position filled at the time JT was hired (or as soon as McInnes left as we all suggested). He needed someone experienced in the building reviewing age profiles, balance of positions etc and perhaps vetoing certain targets. I can imagine it's very difficult to maintain a view of the macro strategy when you're stuck in the weeds of the micro level looking at videos of players and so on - we see it a lot, with even the Tims forgetting that they might need a striker at some point. Pfannenstiel can hopefully provide the high level view to ensure we stay on strategy and in balance, he shouldn't be there to provide his favourite contacts or any of the other stuff I've heard suggested. Thelin suffered a little because he didn't come into the job with a good set of targets with SPFL experience (McInnes immediately had Robson and Flood, Brown had McGinn, Hayes etc, Goodwin had fucking Anthony fucking Stewart for some bizarre reason), and his Scandi lads just haven't made the transition with any great degree of success. That's where a sporting director would hopefully have directed a portion of signings to this country to help bed him in. 

Whilst I'd say that we are only a midfielder and perhaps a winger away from having something that might work for the next six months, I have little faith in our structure, with Pfannenstiel just in the door, to be able to make those two important signings. 

[TheDonbytheDee]

 

I'm of the opinion that not all the issues we have on the pitch is down to the players.

The markets we are looking in is always going to throw up more misses than hits, but we need a manager to utilise what he is given to work with better and be more flexible with his tactics.

 

[RicoS321]

22 minutes ago, TheDonbytheDee said:

 

I'm of the opinion that not all the issues we have on the pitch is down to the players.

The markets we are looking in is always going to throw up more misses than hits, but we need a manager to utilise what he is given to work with better and be more flexible with his tactics.

 

Well, aye, but then we're possibly back to square one and should have kept McInnes. The entire point of the "three year project" was to allow the manager time to bed in his system, or variant thereof, and give us some "identity" and whatever else. That means we need recruitment to match the manager's requirements, and that hasn't happened. Although Polvara, Palaversa, Ambrose etc should have been shown the door prior to the season beginning given we knew they couldn't meet the requirements (maybe Polvara could have stayed for utility). I don't think it's a coincidence that Glass, Goodwin and Robson (see McInnes' 3-4-3 too) all had systems that were kept in place for too long when everyone could see they weren't working (Robson when he didn't replace Ramadani in his system for example). The instruction from above is that we develop a system and get really good at doing it to the point that we have an "Aberdeen way" from youth to first team. Seems like utter pish to me, but again I don't think it's a coincidence that pragmatism has essentially been binned since Cormack took over

[Jute]

4 minutes ago, RicoS321 said:

Well, aye, but then we're possibly back to square one and should have kept McInnes. The entire point of the "three year project" was to allow the manager time to bed in his system, or variant thereof, and give us some "identity" and whatever else. That means we need recruitment to match the manager's requirements, and that hasn't happened. Although Polvara, Palaversa, Ambrose etc should have been shown the door prior to the season beginning given we knew they couldn't meet the requirements (maybe Polvara could have stayed for utility). I don't think it's a coincidence that Glass, Goodwin and Robson (see McInnes' 3-4-3 too) all had systems that were kept in place for too long when everyone could see they weren't working (Robson when he didn't replace Ramadani in his system for example). The instruction from above is that we develop a system and get really good at doing it to the point that we have an "Aberdeen way" from youth to first team. Seems like utter pish to me, but again I don't think it's a coincidence that pragmatism has essentially been binned since Cormack took over

Thanks for posting that just before I posted a very similar one. Failure of the recruitment team to bring in players that suit the system the coach is implementing is baffling. Maybe the recruitment team got too focused on player trading model rather than bringing  in players who actually who fit system coach is trying to implement.