The Alloa Athletic Thread

[Tamhain]

1. Hartley - built a brilliant team from scratch and is IMO our best ever manager.

2. Ross - managed to quickly gets respectable results with the utter dross he inherited from Lennon. Built a brand new team over one summer that broke the club record for consecutive wins, knocked out 2 SPL clubs and held Brendan Rodger's "invincibles" for 83 minutes (no thanks to the ref). 

3. Goodwin - wouldn't class him close to the top two. Inherited a great team and slowly made them worse over the next year. Picked up after that and deserved the play off win. Next season very similar in struggling first half, then clicking in the new year and gloriously relegating Falkirk. Not the greatest signing record, but a few great loans.

4. Grant - did a great job last season and had the team playing great football and looking for our best points tally before lock down.  This season has seen mistakes, but it has been probably more difficult than any other with everything else happening.

5. Smith - for the most part rubbish and really sent us backwards after Hartley 's highs. However strangely responsible for the glorious wins against Rangers and Hibs. 

6. Lennon - thought Eddie Fearns was a championship striker. Nuff said.

[whereismillar]

Would like to see Andy takeover , more of a risk but worth a punt

We would need to recruit a new back line , absolutely crucial we keep taggs ,would like to see us with a good backup keeper 

no offence to Andy wilson or willison , maybe jamieson will find his level ?

i fear liam dick will move on too which leaves big gap at the back 

big shoes to fill in Andy graham  .

i think we can keep the other players  (barring a certain midfielder)  i would guess hetherington Cawley brown buchanan thompson and the young lads will stay ,dont know what Malcolm and  lynch must be thinking but they deserve a try IMO

[Father Barrys Sign (Top Half)]

Going back to the manager rankings, no surprise to see most are in agreement, and there are some who will place Jack Ross ahead of Goodwin.

Hartley is top, having built one of the best teams in the clubs history and completely revamping the feel about the club. He transformed Alloa- a bit of an acrimonious departure, and others went on to achieve a bit more- but Hartleys tenure paved the way for that.

Goodwin edges out Jack Ross, despite a slow start as he got to grips with management. His recruitment was a bit hit and miss, and we really struggled at times to break teams down in League One. But he did get it right in 17/18 in the second half of that season. Supporters (myself included) were clamouring for him to rest key players for the playoffs towards the end of that season. Goodwin went with the momentum and he was proved right. We were brilliant on that run and the playoff wins vs Raith and Dumbarton were hugely memorable. By that time he had cracked it, and he built a team spirit which rivalled Hartleys original team. He was tailor made for the Championship and thrived in the underdog status.

Jack Ross may have emulated them all had he stayed longer. He steadied a bit of a shambles of a squad. Then built another team which looked unbeatable from the off before St Mirren poached him due to his success. We beat Inverness and Ross County on that League Cup run and gave Brendan Rodgers invincible Celtic team a real run for their money. The core of the team he built in 2016 remain at the club to this day.

Peter Grant also had a tough start with the late arrival into the job. It took some time for him to put his stamp on things and we gained some real momentum at the turn of the year in his first season. But for Covid, it looked really plausible he could lead Alloa to their highest league finish since 1983.

Barry Smith doesnt perhaps get the credit he deserves, but I guess that's largely due to inheriting Hartleys team and not changing much. He did bring in Liam Buchanan whose goals were massive in the Championship. Wins over Rangers and Hibs were amongst the most memorable in the history of the club.

Danny Lennon did brilliantly to revitalise the dressing room and lead us to Championship safety through the playoffs. Tactically brilliant, a great character and having spoke to him a fair bit such a nice man. Unfortunately fell off a cliff after that with his botched effort to rebuild Hartleys team. The quality of the replacements was on the whole substantially lower and we became Championship whipping boys.

[Father Barrys Sign (Top Half)]

15 hours ago, McCulloch No.5 said:

Yeah what I'd go for, Lennon was murder. Tactics, tactics, tactics, players had no idea what he was on about.

He undoubtedly blew it, but was hugely entertaining in the process. Some of the dressing room insight was brilliant at that time with their reaction to Lennons largely unconventional methods. Hiring a "motivator", PowerPoint presentations of Sun Tzus "Art of War" book (a fantastic read by the way, if anyone hasn't read it- I regret not getting Danny to sign my copy )  Blaring out Al Pacinos "Any Given Sunday" speech in the dressing room before the Forfar playoff final second leg- which worked on the day, not that the players needed any extra motivation.

I used to watch his training sessions at the time. Brilliant attention to detail tactically as he worked on shape,  but the players all standing around bemused and shivering having worked all day. 

And as stated, a great guy to talk to. The only manager who has ever called me into his office and give me great feedback on my programme writing. I assumed no one read it, never mind the manager .

Absolutely bonkers at times, he took his eye off the ball that summer and we paid the price. 

Edited April 24, 2021 by Father Barrys Sign (Top Half)

[Otis Blue]

Printer ........ I'm gonna miss your avatar next season.  You're welcome back soon. 

[Kevchenko]

As much stick as I’ve given him all season, thought Ray Grant was excellent yesterday. Put himself about in a meaningful manner for the full 90 mins. 25 games too late, but nonetheless nice to get a performance out of him.

[weetoonlad]

1. Hartley 

2. Goodwin/Ross 

3. Grant 

4.Smith 

5. Lennon 

I couldn't split Goodwin or Ross both have great man management skills. 

Hartley was a gem of a guy and assembled a great squad with wonderful players. Simmy the pick for me 

Who would my choice be. I dream of the day Andy Graham gets the job. But he would need to stop playing. Player/manager doesn't work. He has total repect in the dressing room for me it's a clear out player wise this squad has come to an end. Good memories this squad has given us over several seasons. But would only keep 6 or 7 so we need 12 plus in. 

I woukd also bring in Peter Houston as no2 very very experienced 

In MM we trust only time will tell. 

[KierenAAFC]

 

I reckon Andy Graham will be the new manager. Wonder if Paddy will stay on. He will definitely need an experienced No. 2 and hang up his boots. 

None of the names out a job - Jim Weir, Kevin Harper, Martin Canning, Mark Kerr - excite or inspire me.  So don’t want someone on the merry-go-round, which we rarely get anyway.

Darren Young always linked too but think his East Fife collapse again would make me wary there. Stewart Petrie the only real manager in the league below I’d like, bit ambitious financially though. 

Some of the names involved in youth football - Darren O’Dea, Andy Webster, John Rankin, Kevin Thomson - would be interesting. I know Thomson is really highly regarded. Would be bold and probably priced out though, he’ll be on a succession line at Ibrox. Just throwing all sorts of random names. 

A wild claim I would always welcome would be Shelley Kerr. Would be so bold and so ambitious. Lack of knowledge of lower leagues maybe. 

Reckon it’s Andy Graham’s gig though. Get it sorted ASAP and let him get contracts on the table. Players will want to play for Andy. 

[alloagh]

Most seem agreed on the order of best manager. I would put Goodwin ahead of Ross because of his communication with the fans, Something that appears to be even more non existent with Grant.

[TxRover]

Saw the mention of Liam Dick, and got me thinking which other players do you see moving out because of the relegation? Obviously keeping some of this years players would likely provide an excellent start for next year, but surely some you would love to keep (Liam Dick, for instance) players will not want to drop down a level.

[D'Jaffo]

Obviously losing Kevin O’Hara was a massive blow over the summer but would most fans not also agree that losing Iain Flannigan was just as much of, if not more, of a blow? It looks as though Grant eventually managed to find the right replacement for O’Hara albeit in January but Ray Grant was never up to at as a replacement for Flannigan.

For the record I think Graham would be a decent option. Will know every player inside and out, will surely be able to keep most of the squad together and there won’t be that much pressure on him straight away as you’d think Mulraney will recognise being in the same league as Queens Park, one or more of Thistle, Falkirk and Cove and then maybe ourselves, Arbroath or Morton would be a tricky league to get out of. Might take Graham 2 or 3 years to get it right but I think it’d be good to see another young manager do well in the game.

[Waspie]

Flannigan was without doubt the biggest loss. Basically irreplaceable for a club like Alloa. But for sure we didn't replace O'Hara either and we lacked pace up front all season. The experienced spine of the team showed signs of wear and tear too with pretty much every stalwart making the kind of mistakes we didn't see previously and the loans that had complemented that spine so well previously weren't at the same level. 

I'm another who'd be happy to give Andy Graham a shot if he wants it. Might be an issue in going from very much part of the gang - the beating heart of it really - to being gaffer, and we also don't know for sure about how he'd cope with setting up a team. He is clearly a great leader though, has the respect of fellow players and knows the scene so well. And it wouldn't be a bad time for him to call it a day as a player, even if he could probably do a job again in League 1. All those positives, and the compelling fact that most of the established managers are shite, make Andy an attractive option. 

I'd agree that Petrie is the only really impressive younger manager around but I don't see Montrose to Alloa as being a significant enough move to be worth his while. Think maybe the idea of Shelley Kerr is better than the reality. Did well to get Scotland to the World Cup but made a mess of the finals and her admission on the Terrace that she couldn't get her instructions onto the park against Argentina was pretty shocking. Subsequently made a mess of the Euros qualifiers, despite having an excellent squad. I like her as a pundit but number of questions there about her management. 

Edited April 27, 2021 by Waspie

[Father Barrys Sign (Top Half)]

7 hours ago, Waspie said:

Think maybe the idea of Shelley Kerr is better than the reality. Did well to get Scotland to the World Cup but made a mess of the finals and her admission on the Terrace that she couldn't get her instructions onto the park against Argentina was pretty shocking. Subsequently made a mess of the Euros qualifiers, despite having an excellent squad. I like her as a pundit but number of questions there about her management. 

I agree with this. Also add getting drunk at a squad meeting and berating the players- she was very fortunate to remain in post. Mike likes to get eyeballs on he club, and that would certainly do it. She seems to really know her game, but definitely not for me.

Edited April 27, 2021 by Father Barrys Sign (Top Half)

[KierenAAFC]

Yeah, suppose actually. Those are points i hadn’t considered. Now thinking about it, I think she said she’d rather an upstairs role, like a DoF or something? Something along those lines I think. Worth the discussion anyway as would turn heads. Like I said, all hypothetical as looks pretty set on Andy. 
 

Iain Flannigan was a much bigger loss in my opinion. Both great players but Flanny was different class. He was the glue to that team and made everything tick and flow. I don’t think it’s a slight on Ray Grant to say you haven’t lived up to Flanny’s influence as he was just ridiculous. Technically faultless. 
 

There would be a few players, one or two, I’d worry about losing to FT. I just can’t see the majority, if the terms are there, leaving Alloa and going sideways to another PT team. They’ve been here a long time, treated well and say Andy is in charge, they’ll play for him. Only fear is a Danny Lennon esque summer when we don’t get contracts on the table quickly, one decides to jump ship and it’s a domino effect. Leaving us with few left and a bigger rebuilding job that it needs to be!

[printer]

On 24/04/2021 at 08:00, Father Barrys Sign (Top Half) said:

And as stated, a great guy to talk to. The only manager who has ever called me into his office and give me great feedback on my programme writing.  

 

I hope you took the opportunity to give him feedback on his coaching sessions. 

[printer]

On 24/04/2021 at 22:00, Otis Blue said:

Printer ........ I'm gonna miss your avatar next season.  

You a cycling fan too?

[TxRover]

2 hours ago, KierenAAFC said:

There would be a few players, one or two, I’d worry about losing to FT. I just can’t see the majority, if the terms are there, leaving Alloa and going sideways to another PT team. They’ve been here a long time, treated well and say Andy is in charge, they’ll play for him. Only fear is a Danny Lennon esque summer when we don’t get contracts on the table quickly, one decides to jump ship and it’s a domino effect. Leaving us with few left and a bigger rebuilding job that it needs to be!

A pretty solid point, with Falkirk looking to probably be the only true FT team you’d face in League One, and given their turmoil they would not appear to be an appealing choice for players coming from Alloa’s stability. I don’t know how it will go with the coaching change, but if you keep some of the core for the rebuild, and find a well thought of choice, you might actually be a more appealing option than many in League One. I find it very surprising how Alloa got so few points after watching them play this year.

[Otis Blue]

8 hours ago, printer said:

You a cycling fan too?

Wouldn't say I was very knowledgeable, but I watch the grand tours and a few other races. I'm bit of a leisure cyclist though,  usually out 3 or 4 times a week if I can fit it in with work stuff, family stuff and watching the mighty blue machine .....

Yourself?

[Otis Blue]

9 minutes ago, Otis Blue said:

Yourself?

Sorry,  daft question when Laura Kenny is your avatar....

[Father Barrys Sign (Top Half)]

11 hours ago, KierenAAFC said:

Yeah, suppose actually. Those are points i hadn’t considered. Now thinking about it, I think she said she’d rather an upstairs role, like a DoF or something? Something along those lines I think. Worth the discussion anyway as would turn heads. Like I said, all hypothetical as looks pretty set on Andy. 
 

Iain Flannigan was a much bigger loss in my opinion. Both great players but Flanny was different class. He was the glue to that team and made everything tick and flow. I don’t think it’s a slight on Ray Grant to say you haven’t lived up to Flanny’s influence as he was just ridiculous. Technically faultless. 
 

There would be a few players, one or two, I’d worry about losing to FT. I just can’t see the majority, if the terms are there, leaving Alloa and going sideways to another PT team. They’ve been here a long time, treated well and say Andy is in charge, they’ll play for him. Only fear is a Danny Lennon esque summer when we don’t get contracts on the table quickly, one decides to jump ship and it’s a domino effect. Leaving us with few left and a bigger rebuilding job that it needs to be!

I think if Arbroath stay in the league Dick Campbell would rightly be interested in one or two.

Other than that I agree.