All things Dundee FC

[Shadow Play]

“McPake should be given this season at a minimum, then we can evaluate if it has been a success or not. Finish outside the playoffs then obviously he’s failed and should go. It’s far too early in the season for heads gone”.

I’ve said for some time, as have many others, that McPake is not up to it.  I had a nosey to see what others were thinking only recently about him.  The above was posted less than 3 weeks ago.  Does anyone still agree that we should give McPake until the end of the season as a minimum to evaluate what he has done?  Quite a few posters were defending McPake quite forcibly, so I’d imagine a few may still feel that way. 

I don’t think anything is going to change for the better and keeping him as manager would just be wasting time.

Edited December 1, 2019 by Shadow Play

[srw]

10 hours ago, Dele said:

Woods on the left as we look at it, Curran on the right. 

Cheers. Sorry I asked though, I’d almost wiped my memory of those prcks. 

[harry94]

20 hours ago, srw said:

Going by the above Davies is the blond twat who is somehow standing up amazingly, who are the other two?

@harry94 I don't think Ive seen you post anything as critical as you have regarding McPake, albeit on the happy clap board, its a sign that things are really bad IMO

Meh it's grim.

Under Hartley, he got a lot of credit from me because he was the first to get us over the line and had a really good first year (albeit league was a bit weakened). He had to go when he went and although McCann was a total stab in the dark, there was at least a little bit of substance with him seeming to genuinely have some intelligence behind him. Too many projects which were pointless without the core of the team - the likes of Elton, Nabi, Madianga etc were tremendous footballers and then Kallman was a unit for a 21 year old and the stattos loved him (and although he's not been prolific, he's doing well for a decent side in Denmark pushing for Europe). Although I deluded myself too long, I think it was reasonable for a while to put aside their setbacks and see some prospect of maybe picking up.

McPake has done all his badges etc and I don't doubt at all that he's maybe done well in his roles but he's literally never actually held an official coaching role for a first team anywhere. The dressing room experience he has as a senior player is mostly here and we've not exactly been the best place to learn the last few years. I get that owners sometimes maybe have these personal relationships that they gamble on but when you see some of the stuff McPake has done in matches, he's absoloutely appalling at influencing games, there is a certain prerequisite knowledge that anyone in the game should have (i.e. Saturday, Finlay gets injured and he throws on Callum Moore when we're in a desperate situation, sitting beside him is one of his biggest signings from a top flight club in a similar role). Putting 'old heids™' next to him is positive but he's the guy making the decisions, if the world was as simple as that, we'd just promote Nicholl to manager and stroll the league.

On the positive side, I think he has actually done not too bad in getting players who could in theory be made into an effective unit but I simply can't see any way that he can suddenly gather the ability to make them tick in the next few weeks. He should go away and get some coaching experience in a first team somewhere else and we should try and get someone in who could at least give us a glimmer of hope in competing for a play off. United were always vast vast favourites this season and it was unreasonable to expect a manager to win the division if they are projecting 80 points or so but there's still something to compete for this year and we can't afford to just write it off. Even if we didn't quite make it but finished the season well, that could be a great thing and give us a good canvass to add a little and resume as league favourites next term (presuming Hearts and Hibs are safe).

[RossBFaeDundee]

Dobbie saying the fans booing helped them take control during the game, and I can't doubt him. I don't think many couldn't boo that ending, but the booing peppering the game does nothing but make our team lose confidence and gives it to the opposition.

Hopefully the crowd for Arbroath will be largely free of the boo boys.

[harry94]

13 hours ago, RandomGuy. said:

Would you want him? 

By all accounts hes applied for four jobs while with us, and haven't got a single interview (while dross like Stubbs and Ross got moves), and since then he's been entirely focused on building a squad that will get him noticed rather than what we need. Just now we're a soft as shite, inexperienced side who pass the ball about in their own half then ship embarrassing goals before completely chucking it. An absolutely massive chunk of our wage bill has been chucked at Swanson, O'Halloran, Kennedy and May, while our starting defence includes Junior level shite like Ralston and Duffy. 

Whatever he had, he's lost it trying to become something hes not.

He's managed you guys for six years. In that time, you've consistently been projected to be in that bottom half budget wise, little better than Livi and Hamilton. He's consistently had to rebuild and has kept you afloat relatively comfortably.

Having one year where his recruitment hasn't gone so well is always going to happen in that time frame and with those pressures, almost every year St Johnstone have looked doomed to outsiders and struggling to build a squad for the start of the season. Even if you guys were dead and buried (which you aren't, you're 3 points off 7th) and needed to throw the dice in panic to just try and escape through chaos, Wright as a free agent would undoubtedly be a great choice for any full time team outwith the bigger five or so in Scotland.

[Fifespud]

As much as I dislike the grass I’d give him a chance to see if he could do it at a big club.

Watching the highlights back - Hamilton should have done better at the first imo. And as for the second - what the f**k was Foster thinking about? I was back in the car with the heater on by then.

Great strike from DJ though. His goal scoring record v minutes on the park is excellent in comparison to Hemmings.

[RossDee01]

As much as I dislike the grass I’d give him a chance to see if he could do it at a big club.

Watching the highlights back - Hamilton should have done better at the first imo. And as for the second - what the f**k was Foster thinking about? I was back in the car with the heater on by then.

Great strike from DJ though. His goal scoring record v minutes on the park is excellent in comparison to Hemmings.

If he doesn’t start on Saturday McPake has absolutely lost the fucking plot.

[RandomGuy.]

1 hour ago, harry94 said:

He's managed you guys for six years. In that time, you've consistently been projected to be in that bottom half budget wise, little better than Livi and Hamilton. He's consistently had to rebuild and has kept you afloat relatively comfortably.

Having one year where his recruitment hasn't gone so well is always going to happen in that time frame and with those pressures, almost every year St Johnstone have looked doomed to outsiders and struggling to build a squad for the start of the season. Even if you guys were dead and buried (which you aren't, you're 3 points off 7th) and needed to throw the dice in panic to just try and escape through chaos, Wright as a free agent would undoubtedly be a great choice for any full time team outwith the bigger five or so in Scotland.

We've not won an away game in 2019, are conceding, on average, over 2 goals a game in that time, and every transfer window has been weakening us defensively. He let Easton, Shaughnessy, Anderson and Foster leave this Summer without replacing them.

The "3pts off 7th" thing is a bit misleading, we're getting rinsed by most sides most weeks.

[Dee Bliss]

2 hours ago, RossBFaeDundee said:

Dobbie saying the fans booing helped them take control during the game, and I can't doubt him. I don't think many couldn't boo that ending, but the booing peppering the game does nothing but make our team lose confidence and gives it to the opposition.

Hopefully the crowd for Arbroath will be largely free of the boo boys.

I’m not the kind to boo at games but I totally understand where those booing on Saturday were coming from. The manager has to take the flak for that one. We can all see those in the team that aren’t up to scratch yet still get a hell of a lot of game time and the layout of the team and possession based tactics are woefully short of what we are looking for. It’s all fine and well keeping possession but there has to be a purpose behind it. The amount of times Kerr got the ball on Saturday and turned back or inside because no one was out wide to receive the ball was ridiculous. 
 

On a more serious note why the f**k hasn’t he been punted yet?

[RossBFaeDundee]

6 minutes ago, Yenitit said:

On a more serious note why the f**k hasn’t he been punted yet?

It's not happening, whether people want it or not I'm afraid.

[Dee Bliss]

1 hour ago, Fifespud said:

As much as I dislike the grass I’d give him a chance to see if he could do it at a big club.

Watching the highlights back - Hamilton should have done better at the first imo. And as for the second - what the f**k was Foster thinking about? I was back in the car with the heater on by then.

Great strike from DJ though. His goal scoring record v minutes on the park is excellent in comparison to Hemmings.

To say the vast majority still at the game after Dobbie’s 2nd goal turned on Forster is an understatement. He got possession of the ball after we kicked off again and he got the loudest boo’s of the game. I think there was 7 touches of the ball from when we equalised and Dobbie scored the winner and Dobbie had 3 of them. 
 

 

Forster seems to have it in his head he’s some sort of hard man on the park, which he’s not and he seems to get caught up in this rather than just getting on with the game. Heard he offered a Dundee fan a square go in the car park immediately after the Inverness game last week, the man’s an arse. 

Edited December 2, 2019 by Yenitit

[Dee Bliss]

7 minutes ago, RossBFaeDundee said:

It's not happening, whether people want it or not I'm afraid.

I think you’re right. 

[RossBFaeDundee]

Would you look at that... took 3 mins for Johnson to get a goal in the reserves game. I swear if he's not starting on Saturday I want him to leave because he deserves better than that.

[Crawford]

10 minutes ago, RossBFaeDundee said:

Would you look at that... took 3 mins for Johnson to get a goal in the reserves game. I swear if he's not starting on Saturday I want him to leave because he deserves better than that.

Wouldn't even be slightly pissed if he left. It's criminal he got binned after the first derby because he had a legitimate goal taken away.

I liked McPake, but there comes a time when you have to be honest and say he really is clueless.

[dundeeunited83]

Abdy ok?[emoji1360]

[Ludo*1]

Interestingly, McPake is in the paper today name checking Strachan saying that he, Strachan and Nicholl are all working hard to get things right.

[RossDee01]

I’ll be absolutely raging if we lose Johnson.

Hamilton

Kerr
Meetings (if fit)
McGhee
Marshall (if fit)

McPake
McGowan
Dorrans
McDaid

Johnson
Hemmings

Forster needs binned.
Toss up between McGowan and Byrne.
Likewise with McPake and Todd.

[Shadow Play]

1 hour ago, Ludo*1 said:

Interestingly, McPake is in the paper today name checking Strachan saying that he, Strachan and Nicholl are all working hard to get things right.

If you can stay awake for them McPake’s interviews they are generally an embarrassment.  Imagine a manager having to be told by the reporter that it took over 70 minutes for your team to have a shot on goal.  Surely it’s details like that you should be well aware of as a manager?

[RossBFaeDundee]

14 minutes ago, Shadow Play said:

If you can stay awake for them McPake’s interviews they are generally an embarrassment.  Imagine a manager having to be told by the reporter that it took over 70 minutes for your team to have a shot on goal.  Surely it’s details like that you should be well aware of as a manager?

I'm pretty that's why this week he name-dropped Strachan and Nicholl... I'm fairly certain McPake is aware of how out-of-his-depth he is, hence his mentioning of working closely with them, which therefore suggests an elevated engagement from the more experienced people into McPake's tactics.

[Shadow Play]

2 minutes ago, RossBFaeDundee said:

I'm pretty that's why this week he name-dropped Strachan and Nicholl... I'm fairly certain McPake is aware of how out-of-his-depth he is, hence his mentioning of working closely with them, which therefore suggests an elevated engagement from the more experienced people into McPake's tactics.

I really hope it is that.  Given past interviews I can’t help but worry it’s more a case of when things aren’t going well, remind everyone it’s not just himself who is to blame.