Cardle is Magic Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 20 minutes ago, Waspie said: This is a bizarre take on his time at Alloa and has provoked me into a wordy and most probably boring response. He came in right on the eve of last season and inherited a pretty small squad as Goodwin normally brought in a few loans late summer. Grant was obviously new to the level which was another problem but he added a very good loan CB in Robbie Deas and also Kevin O'Hara. I wasn't impressed with that signing initially but Grant talked him up and said he'd be playing as striker rather than wide. His encouragement and coaching worked as O'Hara got better and better, giving defenders no peace and showing great movement and finishing. We were too short on numbers until new year though and had bad luck with injuries to key men, although Grant made another terrific signing in getting Jamie Macdonald in to replace the injured Neil Parry. In January he got some more loans in, Scott Banks among them. We had a rocky spell between Macdonald leaving and Parry coming back but after that we seemed to be on a nice course just before Covid hit. The last game we beat ICT 2-0 with Banks on fire and the general opinion was it could have been 5. For the first time that season we had pretty much everyone fit and decent strength in depth. Can never be sure, but I think we'd have been well of clear of relegation last season. Partick and QoS were shite and we were on the up. We had more points at that point than Goodwin's team the previous season. Also interesting that Grant increased the park dimensions which was a major error from Goodwin that worked against us. Anyway when football restarted we had lost those impressive loans and also the massive loss of Iain Flannigan in midfield, basically irreplaceable for Alloa, plus the goals and threat of O'Hara. Since the club also made the decision to keep everyone else on due to the wider situation he was prevented to a degree from freshening up the core of the squad, which was now getting a bit tired. In Ray Grant and Stefan Scougall he did make promising signings but for different reasons they didn't quite work out. The experienced nucleus was getting on and players made individual errors we hadn't seen before. The general performances were frequently decent but we were just a bit short. My only real criticism of Grant was that he didn't use the loan system properly this past season. The team was crying out for a wee bit of help and although he said Covid made loans harder, other clubs did manage. When he did get Innes Cameron in he made a big difference. Had we also added some pace in attack and perhaps at CB then we'd have better off. But overall Grant did well the first season and not bad in very challenging circumstances in season two. In normal times he would have had much more freedom to rebuild that squad. Saying he turned us into "useless no hopers" is nonsensical. We beat Hearts in the cup and were competitive most weeks. For all the crazy goals we conceded, we lost a late goal against Arbroath in a 6 pointer late in the season that could have gone either way and that would have put the "useless no hopers" right in with Arbroath and Morton with 4 games left. We weren't that far away despite everything. I'm not sure he will be a terrific success for the Pars and his constant moaning about refs and shouting non stop all game will annoy some, but he showed he has an eye for a player and an ability to improve players. He can also set a team up. Looking at Crawford's very impressive group of players, I couldn't see what he was trying to do with them, they were a disjointed mess in games I saw. Grant is an upgrade on that for sure. I can only imagine how low your expectations were if 12 wins out of 55 games is seen as any sort of success. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chubbychops Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 30 minutes ago, Rob1885 said: Club tie and blazer The could of at least updated the club managers board behind him. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 5 minutes ago, Cardle is Magic said: I can only imagine how low your expectations were if 12 wins out of 55 games is seen as any sort of success. Context is important, as my other post was trying to point out. Just the like the Pars fans on twitter shouting that Grant must be rubbish because Alloa were relegated. You could perhaps compare it to some people saying Crawford had a really good season because you finished 4th, when in reality you had a great squad but actually weren't very good. Stats, league positions etc are important but need to be seen in a wider context. Anyway, I've no interest in being a cheerleader for Peter Grant, was simply offering my own perspective in response to a wildly inaccurate, IMO, post from the Arbroath fan. I wish you all the best for the new season. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAFC. Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 Well, there it is. Wholly uninspiring and I imagine a lot of people will be put off getting season tickets. I'll get behind him but he has a MASSIVE job on his hands to win over the support. Good luck to him. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
101 Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 41 minutes ago, Bring Back Paddy Flannery said: I watched one of those Si Ferry interviews with him and he came across as really smug and unlikeable. That's Si Ferry for you. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DA Baracus Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 I get the impression that he was the only one they interviewed. If not it would be very interesting to hear who else they spoke to. What happened to McNamara's firm advising the board on such matters? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob1885 Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 I watched it this morning and thought he was decent. Perspective eh 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Merlot Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 Why?What in the screaming f**k has Peter Grant got to do with him? Overpowering vibes of Davie Hay. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardle is Magic Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 22 minutes ago, Darth Merlot said: Why? What in the screaming f**k has Peter Grant got to do with him? Former Celtic man brought in due to experience and contacts in the game. Of course, Hay had experienced far more success as a manager. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardle is Magic Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 Anyway, guess there’s only so long we can greet about it. Let’s see what sorts of signings we makes. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 Did Dunfermline really finish fourth, sack their manager, then appoint the manager of the team who had finished tenth?How bees are. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chubbychops Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 8 minutes ago, Cardle is Magic said: Anyway, guess there’s only so long we can greet about it. Let’s see what sorts of signings we makes. Estonian Mihkel Ainsalu is the only transfer rumour I've heard so far. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chubbychops Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 2 minutes ago, Lex said: Did Dunfermline really finish fourth, sack their manager, then appoint the manager of the team who had finished tenth? How bees are. No. Our manager quit. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAFC. Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 5 minutes ago, Lex said: Did Dunfermline really finish fourth, sack their manager, then appoint the manager of the team who had finished tenth? How bees are. Nothing surprises me with this club anymore. I look forward to the German lads taking full control in a year's time. Let's just hope we ain't in League 1 by then. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob1885 Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 St Mirren, Thistle, Dumbarton and Stenny in the cup draw 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DA Baracus Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 That's a honking draw. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAFC. Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 How can the Fife teams be in the North section bar us? Makes not one iota of sense. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stoo61 Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 Not that I think Grant can work a computer or a smart phone but if he could he would hate us already. It's no looking good here boys. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardle is Magic Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 Aye, I quite liked the League Cup format tbh but think it’s in danger of getting stale quite quickly. I guess they’re basically competitive friendlies at the end of the day. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardle is Magic Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 28 minutes ago, Chubbychops said: Estonian Mihkel Ainsalu is the only transfer rumour I've heard so far. Spent a good 30 seconds trying to get the pun before realising that’s an actual player. I’m all for trying out foreign lads instead of the traditional shuffling around of jobbers from other Scottish sides. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.