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5 hours ago, Boo Khaki said:

Pretty much the main difference for me. 

The squad itself isn't really any different to the past couple of seasons, but the feel is different because the manager gives the impression of basic competence instead of constantly looking like he's just fumbling around in the dark with no real method or understanding of what he's trying to achieve.

Can't remember if it was in this thread or another, but a few months ago I was  making the point that when fans of other clubs laugh at Dundee for being perennial under-achievers, a yoyo-club etc, they totally overlook the fact that when we have had a competent manager we've pretty much achieved what any realistic fan would expect. The problem is we have a habit of appointing clueless managers and sticking by them for too long. I was one of those who wanted McPake sacked after we won the playoffs last May, because for me he'd proven his incompetence by taking half the season to get the team looking organised in both his years in charge, and finished even further behind Hearts than he should have with the players at his disposal. I saw no reason at all to think he'd be capable of keeping us up because the only way that would happen is if the club somehow gave him a squad that was easily capable of mid-table and he underachieved with it. We made two signings, so it really didn't come as any surprise that we struggled all season long and were eventually relegated. That's exactly what I expected from McPake under the circumstances, and I don't believe the eventual outcome would have been any different had we kept him in position the entire season long.

I don't have these concerns with Bowyer. It may turn out in time that he's no managerial genius either, his record certainly suggests that he's a bit of a journeyman, but being a competent journeyman is still a huge improvement over his predecessors. I think Bowyer will achieve the expected level of the squad and players that he's given, whereas with McPake and McCann I always felt that they were a hindrance themselves and over the longer term the team would invariably under-achieve in terms of league position, points totals, cup runs, and so on. I feel reasonably confident that we can expect to take the league title this coming season, and while we might not run away with it, I think that is an unreasonable expectation in the first place. Inverness, Partick or some other team might turn out to be a bit better than expected, and someone else might do an Arbroath, but provided we are challenging for top spot all the way I'd say that's job done. If McPake was still here I could easily see us being 10-12 points adrift of top spot by Christmas, and while I don't think our squad is anywhere near good enough to expect to just blow the league away, there's absolutely no excuse for it being 7th at Christmas or something. That would be entirely down to managerial incompetence.

What a post, spot on imo. 👏👏👏

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Mind when we went away to Hearts the last time we were in the Championship, I think it might have even been the first game of the season, and we got hammered 6-2 or something? This was in October or something thanks to the delayed start, so there really was no excuse for being poorly prepared or looking that clueless straight off the bat.

Then round about Christmas/early new year we were down in 6th or 7th in the table for a wee while. Ok, maybe with games in hand and it was tight from 2nd downwards.

The season we got relegated under McCann I remember us playing Championship Dunfermline at Dens in the League Cup group. We were second best all day, and fair enough, Dunfermline had a decent season that year, but it was abundantly clear to me on that performance alone that we were in serious trouble.

How many games did it take us to get our first win last season? It's not as if the Premiership was so chock full of quality that there was a massive gulf in standard and we had no right to beat anyone. Logically, if you are well organised and know what you are trying to do, it's inevitable that you will run into a team in disarray at some point and get the better of them, yet it always seemed to be us who were disorganised. We got hammered by Ross County, utterly hammered by them at home, when they were bottom of the table themselves.

Fair enough, there is no Hearts level team this season, but I don't see us looking totally shambolic and getting a 6-2 hiding from anyone, or going on a streak of 4 or 5 shitty results in a row and tanking down the table. That's the difference between basic competence and a clown of a manager. If you don't beat yourself in the first place with your own incompetence, then it's an order of magnitude more difficult to underachieve. Competent managers use good process, and generally achieve expected results, with the caveat that sometimes you can do everything right and still things don't go your way. Incompetent managers use poor process and underachieve, with the caveat that occasionally you will get results you don't deserve in spite of your stupid approach. We've seen plenty of the latter, you just need to look at the results over the longer term. Charlie Adam got us promoted in spite of McPake's incompetence, but McPake was totally found out any time Adam wasn't available.

Edited by Boo Khaki
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1 hour ago, johnnydun said:

Seems like team bonding is becoming quite a thing at Dens after years of not much evidence, apart from Cumdog getting leathered at the promotion party.

 

 

 

 

McMullan hanging his Vespa on the wall rather than parking it,the cheeky small scamp that he is.

Thank you.

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58 minutes ago, locheedee said:

Good article for the lad who I've been impressed by but extremely "we're not signing a striker" energy.

Edited by The Algebraist
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3 minutes ago, The Algebraist said:

Good article for the lad who I've been impressed by but extremely "we're not signing a striker" energy.

I'm hoping thats just more a we've not signed a striker yet and talking up the goals from elsewhere until we do...

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Have to say that I've been impressed by GB so far. However, two things do stand out for me;

 

1. Going into the new season with Jak, Rudden and the seemingly perma-crocked Sheridan as our only recognised strikers is approaching McCann's "We will go with Moussa as our main striker for two seasons" and McPake's "Jack Hamilton is our number one goalie for two seasons" & "We can dump Griffiths, Cummings and let Jak go out on loan at the end of the transfer window" levels of negligence.

 

2. If, as is stated on the list from the end of last season, Mulligan has only 1 year left on his contract, then he needs to be signed up to a longer deal ASAFP.

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GB made the point that he thinks it's important to get the right striker in and not just sign anybody for the sake of having an extra body. I don't think that's negligent, it's common sense. To be honest, I'd be reasonably satisfied with Jak, Rudden, Sheridan, and A.N. Other, because fewer and fewer teams play with more than one striker anyway these days, Bowyer doesn't appear to be any different, and I don't see the point of having more than four when it just means there's going to be players getting paid to get splinters in their arses.

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2 hours ago, Boo Khaki said:

GB made the point that he thinks it's important to get the right striker in and not just sign anybody for the sake of having an extra body. I don't think that's negligent, it's common sense. To be honest, I'd be reasonably satisfied with Jak, Rudden, Sheridan, and A.N. Other, because fewer and fewer teams play with more than one striker anyway these days, Bowyer doesn't appear to be any different, and I don't see the point of having more than four when it just means there's going to be players getting paid to get splinters in their arses.

Don't worry mate. I'm scouting my nuts off. 

Bill Belichick Binoculars GIF by Barstool Sports

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Rumours going round on twitter linking us with 31 year old Nathan Delfouneso. Played for Gary Bowyer previously making 81 appearances for him. Interesting one but he is a bit of a lower English league journeyman with very little in the way of a goal return. 

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41 minutes ago, Pens_Dark said:

Rumours going round on twitter linking us with 31 year old Nathan Delfouneso. Played for Gary Bowyer previously making 81 appearances for him. Interesting one but he is a bit of a lower English league journeyman with very little in the way of a goal return. 

I remember when he broke through at Villa. He was that month's 'next big thing' in English football, touted for 100+ Caps etc etc. Sure he disappeared up his own arse in short order, but not before some sort of behavioural incident. Might be confusing him with Nile Ranger or something who was never out of trouble around the same time.

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27 minutes ago, Boo Khaki said:

I remember when he broke through at Villa. He was that month's 'next big thing' in English football, touted for 100+ Caps etc etc. Sure he disappeared up his own arse in short order, but not before some sort of behavioural incident. Might be confusing him with Nile Ranger or something who was never out of trouble around the same time.

That was Nile Ranger who was the troubled wonderkid...he was an absolute rocket! Delfouneso was a wonderkid who either had an attitude problem or was just found out to not actually be that good. Maybe subject to a change of managers at Villa too many times who didn't want to put faith in him and decided to stick him out on loan.

 

 

Edited by Pens_Dark
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59 minutes ago, Boo Khaki said:

I remember when he broke through at Villa. He was that month's 'next big thing' in English football, touted for 100+ Caps etc etc. Sure he disappeared up his own arse in short order, but not before some sort of behavioural incident. 

Add in a long history of injury-plagued seasons and we have the ideal Dundee FC signing (prior to GazBo, obviously).

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