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McPherson sacked


TRVMP

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5 hours ago, TONofmemories said:

The shortlist as i seen in a whatsapp group (credibility questionable, but not really given its Morton. In no order:

  • Dougie Imrie
  • Darren Young 
  • Joe McGlaughlin
  • Brian Reid 
  • Kevin Rutkiewicz

Uninspiring, but from that i'd take the gamble on Imrie. Hypocritical/Ironic as we don't need gambles but he intrigues me.

 

Not a terribly inspiring list. Does McLaughlin have any managerial experience? I die a left field choice but probably better than the rest, for the banter at least.

"Any nation given the opportunity to regain its national sovereignty and which then rejects it is so far beneath contempt that it is hard to put words to it."

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Ithat's the shortlist - and I think there's a strong chance it's just guesswork with some publicly linked names then a couple of ex-players thrown in - then it would be Imrie for me with Young as second choice.

McLaughlin is 61 and has never been a manager, outwith his spell as our caretaker in 2004. He does have a coaching pedigree and has been part of a massive turnaround which escaped relegation before as Kevin Harper's assistant at Albion Rovers, while working as a Scottish scout for English clubs should give him contacts and a knowledge of players. However, when you've gone that long without making the step up, there's a feeling that like Brian Rice being a manager isn't necessarily something you ever really wanted to do. I know he wanted the job when McInally got it, but if that was a career path he'd been committed to surely he'd have taken a job at a lower level since.

Reid has had two shots at this division before and got relegated twice. He has since gone to smaller and smaller clubs ending up at the bottom end of League Two for a reason. He should be nowhere near it.

Rutkiewicz simply punched Stirling's weight, never overacheiving while being prone to massive swings in form, not unlike Stevie Crawford's Dunfermline. In the end he rage quit after one of those poor runs of form, six without a win and four defeats in a row, the last of those defeats to a Cowdenbeath side who had been 12 without a win themselves. That had some Stirling fans calling for his sacking.

I've said that I think a wholly necessary task for this manager is to rid the squad of their "plucky little Morton, the whole world's out to get us" attitude. If they continue to believe it's the fans' fault and how could they possibly be expected to do any better, they'll never take responsibility for the mess they're in and never turn it round. With that in mind, look at Rutkiewicz's statement when Stirling announced his resignation. It absolutely reeks of 'plucky little Stirling.' Oh, but we had injuries! Look at everyone else's budget! There was a difference of opinion with the board about how the season had gone, ie he was appalled the board had the temerity to tell him results needed to improve and he didn't feel supported enough as a result. That statement should rule him out of even getting an interview, it's the last attitude we need now.

Imrie would be a massive gamble and you can never say for sure how a first time manager will go, but I think he has a fair bit going for him. He's not wanting to take a job just because he's the most senior player at a club or already on the coaching staff like James Grady or John Potter, he's not unemployed and whacking his CV in anywhere and everywhere because he just needs a job. Unlike people in those categories, it seems he actually wants to be a manager and is giving serious thought to how to progress to that and where to do it. In that sense his "highly rated coach" reputation can be seen as part of a progression towards managing which he's always wanted to do, rather than highly rated coaches like Brian Rice or Jonatan Johansson who just gave it a try for the hell of it and were terrible. It could still be a disaster like all first-time managers, but it's a more sensible risk than an experienced failure.

As for Young, a manager who has been just been sacked with his club bottom of a lower division isn't going to excite anyone, but he has at least had achievements in management. He massively overacheived with Albion Rovers in winning the League Two title then keeping them in League One for two seasons, and only missed out by on the promotion playoffs by two points in one of those seasons. At East Fife he'd generally punched their weight, threatening to overacheive by making the promotion playoffs but tending to fall away with poor endings to seasons, before then having a disaster this season after poor recruitment. I generally think managers who have had success shouldn't be written off for one failure, but then you wouldn't expect them to move to a higher level after failure. My immediate reaction is no to him, but if I was given a straight choice between him Rice and Rutkiewicz he wins comfortably. Someone who has had both success and failure at a lower level is preferable to those who've only had failure at a higher level or those who've done nothing special at a lower level.

Brian Wake my Lord, Brian Wake

Brian Wake my Lord, Brian Wake

Brian Wake my Lord, Brian Wake

Oh Lord, Brian Wake

 

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Having said all the above, I've now caught Chris Ross' comments in the Tele yesterday which suggest no shortlist is even finalised yet.

On one hand it's good that we have a proper process in place and someone who wasn't here when MacPherson was handed a two year deal is heavily involved in the decision making. On the other, while getting this appointment right is essential and you'd rather the right appointment after a lengthy process rather than rushing into the wrong one, I am a bit concerned with the comment that "we'll hopefully have a new manager in post by the turn of the year."

Inverness and Arbroath are tough games we'd probably have lost under MacPherson anyway, but I was really hoping we'd have escaped the Mike Bassett approach of the caretakers by the time we're playing Queen of the South on Boxing Day. That's a must win game. Hopefully they're just trying to manage expectations.

Brian Wake my Lord, Brian Wake

Brian Wake my Lord, Brian Wake

Brian Wake my Lord, Brian Wake

Oh Lord, Brian Wake

 

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3 hours ago, dunning1874 said:

Having said all the above, I've now caught Chris Ross' comments in the Tele yesterday which suggest no shortlist is even finalised yet.

On one hand it's good that we have a proper process in place and someone who wasn't here when MacPherson was handed a two year deal is heavily involved in the decision making. On the other, while getting this appointment right is essential and you'd rather the right appointment after a lengthy process rather than rushing into the wrong one, I am a bit concerned with the comment that "we'll hopefully have a new manager in post by the turn of the year."

Inverness and Arbroath are tough games we'd probably have lost under MacPherson anyway, but I was really hoping we'd have escaped the Mike Bassett approach of the caretakers by the time we're playing Queen of the South on Boxing Day. That's a must win game. Hopefully they're just trying to manage expectations.

He's got one now..

https://www.greenocktelegraph.co.uk/news/19786096.morton-chief-executive-chris-ross-reveals-ton-hit-list-managers-role/

Very frustrating that none of these interviews appear on our official channels. Do i need to subscribe to the tele to get Morton news now?

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5 hours ago, Boogs49 said:

Kenny Miller mentioned in that article but thankfully we know it's not him, Falkirk are welcome to him.

What would’ve been wrong with Kenny Miller, out of interest?

He was one of the most respected Scottish players of his generation, with a wealth of experience as a player and presumably numerous shoulders to lean on for advice, has never struck me as an idiot when I’ve heard him speak about the game and I’d say it would be extremely harsh to judge him on his time managing Livingston, at a point he was still young and contributing as a player.

I don’t think you’re the only one I’ve seen turn their nose up at the thought of Miller coming in, but Alex Rae he ain’t. If we were to take a risk on a relative novice, Miller would’ve been one I’d have been open to giving the job.

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The risk with Miller is, given the Livingston/Dundee situation, that he'd walk if he felt like it. But while that is a risk, it's also a sign that the guy knows what he wants and is driven to succeed. If he took this job I think he'd expect the same level of drive from those around him, which is something we're sorely lacking.

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11 minutes ago, TRVMP said:

The risk with Miller is, given the Livingston/Dundee situation, that he'd walk if he felt like it. But while that is a risk, it's also a sign that the guy knows what he wants and is driven to succeed. If he took this job I think he'd expect the same level of drive from those around him, which is something we're sorely lacking.

It’s that drive and demand for success that put him as my first choice for the gig. I think you’re spot on though, as I think he’d take one look about and knock us back if we did offer him the job.

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21 minutes ago, Deego said:

It’s that drive and demand for success that put him as my first choice for the gig. I think you’re spot on though, as I think he’d take one look about and knock us back if we did offer him the job.

Beggars can't be choosers. There's not that many jobs out there.

The driven winner can backfire, incidentally, there are always risks. John Collins at Hibs springs to mind. The bam crew at Easter Road weren't having his methods. But I'd still like to see us give it a shot.

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I hate this extended search for a manager thing. It reminds me of when Budge did this at Hearts a couple of years ago - and it helped relegate them. I don't know if it's arrogance or naivety to think that such a long process will allow you to pick exactly the right manager. Good instinct, a measure of diligence, and a slice of luck is needed in picking the right man - good planning should mean it doesn't take this long. It feels mad to sacrifice league games, and important planning time for January, in the meantime to prolong the process of taking a risk on a usual suspect or taking a risk on someone different. 

Gus had been on a shoogly peg for a long time. We should have had a shortlist in mind already and a short period to invite applications. We're 16 days after sacking Gus, and 6 days away from an important match. I thought we took far too long to appoint a new manager when we appointed Shiels, and we're not far away from taking even longer this time. 

 

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3 hours ago, SpoonTon said:

I hate this extended search for a manager thing. It reminds me of when Budge did this at Hearts a couple of years ago - and it helped relegate them. I don't know if it's arrogance or naivety to think that such a long process will allow you to pick exactly the right manager. Good instinct, a measure of diligence, and a slice of luck is needed in picking the right man - good planning should mean it doesn't take this long. It feels mad to sacrifice league games, and important planning time for January, in the meantime to prolong the process of taking a risk on a usual suspect or taking a risk on someone different. 

Gus had been on a shoogly peg for a long time. We should have had a shortlist in mind already and a short period to invite applications. We're 16 days after sacking Gus, and 6 days away from an important match. I thought we took far too long to appoint a new manager when we appointed Shiels, and we're not far away from taking even longer this time. 

 

Yep - hard not to see hubris here, particularly given that they seemed to think (as of the Q&A) that this scenario wouldn't take place. Well, now it has taken place, and the 'extended search' just looks like feigning professionalism for its own sake. A bit like 'stability', then - it's a nice idea in theory but we're just cargo culting it in reality.

I'd love to know what the actual activities are that are taking a long time. Are they getting references? Are they calling around and asking people who previously worked with the candidates for their views? Like, what is it that's actually demanding hours, much less days, be spent on this decision?

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Aye, going by Chris Ross' interview in the Tele, they had a shortlist of their own then they will add to that after assessing all the applicants. They will think about and work out the process they are going to use for a couple of weeks then whittle down the shortlist before approaching and interviewing.

They could have sorted the process, approached their own list, and even interviewed them before applications closed. Then interview the best few of the applicants at that point and it would be decision time already.

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