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The Pelé Podcast - Andy Graham


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Always remember when his relatives came on here & the Morton site to defend him. Give them their due they tried harder in defence than McManus did

On the subject of his relatives, his daughter was cracking! Edited by SFC1884
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This was excellent. Was almost difficult to listen to as Irons sounded so downbeat at times but he was extremely forthright. Obviously, it's only one side of the story so would be very interesting if you got Grady to do a show and asked him about the claims.

Have to say though, when someone speaks about being "betrayed" and "stabbed in the back" and then claims to have move passed it, you do have to roll your eyes a little. When you actually move on, you don't still hold that feeling on injustice.

He was asked a question specifically about his relationship with Grady and McManus, to say he was stabbed in the back doesn't mean he hasn't moved on, it's just him giving an account of what he thinks happened.

Besides saying 'no comment' how else could he have truthfully answered that question?

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He sounded extremely bitter. Which I don't blame him in the slightest for as I'd be exactly the same but I don't think he's over it like he claims he is.

Depends what we mean by 'over it' I guess, I doubt he lies awake at night thinking about it, or ever really thinks about it. So in that sense he has moved on. But when he gets asked about it's probably natural to still feel a resentment towards them. To me that's different from someone continually making a point of actively carrying a grudge against someone and not letting it go.

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Irons was very dismissive of anyone who wasn't in the first team squad, to the extent that they would get very discouraged and become desperate to leave.

Based on what evidence, exactly? This smacks of the same school of ridiculous claims in which Irons' training regime was injuring first-team players to no benefit ie not credible whatsoever.

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The fact that the snake James Grady slithered into the role and then decided to release the powerhouse that is Brian Wake - correctly highlighted by Irons as really his best selection in charge of the club - unacceptable. Particularly given it led to the signing of Donovan Simmonds as a replacement; sackable offence.

Surprised that the Tele ran the interview story tbh, given how very, very awkward it could be for them trying to deal with the old fool and his puppet in the dugout.

Edited by vikingTON
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That was really interesting.

Obviously it provides a fascinating insight for fans of the clubs he's been at. As others have said though, the perspective offered is pretty self-serving. That's obviously human nature of course, but it had a ring of Father Ted settling scores at some points. Irons does appear to have been "let down" and "disappointed" by a remarkably big cast.

The only bit I've got much knowledge about is the Gretna phase and again, there are parts of what he says that jar. The old lie about Gretna not spending wildly because they paid only one transfer fee is ludicrous. Obviously, it was the wages on offer that blasted rivals from the water. He mentions getting players from the division above who'd been discarded and even has the nerve to cite Stevie Tosh as an example - a guy tempted from a one year contract offer at Aberdeen to join bottom tier Gretna because they were offering him longer. He talks of others experiencing jealousy - a difficult view to cling to I'd have thought, given how things developed.

Such economy with truth would seem to me, to at least provide caveats when interpreting his version of other phases of his career.

Still though, he speaks well and it's great to see such depth offered on a lower leagues figure.

Edited by Monkey Tennis
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I'm not sure how much interest this will hold beyond Stenhousemuir supporters, but here's a bonus podcast taking an extended look back at David Irons' 18 months in charge of the club - CLICK.

I had to cut a lot of it from the original podcast because of time constraints so that's why we've made this bonus. Irons talks about his favourite games, his players, his recruitment drive and the manner in which the season collapsed.

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Didn't get past the Gretna stuff yet but totally agree with Monkey Tennis on what Irons had to say about that. He never questioned if the model was sustainable until midway through the First Division season? Incredible. Transfer fees are irrelevant, the wages they were paying ensured they could get players too good for the level they were at. Signing players released from full time clubs in the Premier League or First Division and setting them loose on Divisions 2 + 3 does not equate to picking up discarded guys and getting them going again, the players in question dropped to a lower level than they would have in normal circumstances because of the cash.

I remember well many people on here warning that Gretna would implode and being told they were just jealous. They were right yet Irons is still rolling out the jealously line years after the club predictably went tits up. He is delusional.

Great podcast. Looking forward to get a chance to listen to the rest.

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A good listen, was interesting to hear his side of the Threave stuff (I take it he won't be their new manager then?!).

A couple of things on the Gretna stuff - I would go into full on rant mode but I've done it too many times in the past and folk have covered the main points I'd have touched on.

The suggestion they only paid money for one player is wrong. I can't remember the name he mentioned in the podcast but it wasn't Allan Jenkins, who they definitely paid for when they got him from Stranraer and was the name I was expecting. Ourselves and a couple of other teams were in for him too.

The media did not make out the success was only down to Mileson's cash. That was why so many fans of other clubs were getting angry. Gretna were chucking money about yet the media were making out they were the plucky underdog who took on the might of the SFL after a hard day's work, fuelled only by Granny's special soup.

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A good listen, was interesting to hear his side of the Threave stuff (I take it he won't be their new manager then?!).

A couple of things on the Gretna stuff - I would go into full on rant mode but I've done it too many times in the past and folk have covered the main points I'd have touched on.

The suggestion they only paid money for one player is wrong. I can't remember the name he mentioned in the podcast but it wasn't Allan Jenkins, who they definitely paid for when they got him from Stranraer and was the name I was expecting. Ourselves and a couple of other teams were in for him too.

The media did not make out the success was only down to Mileson's cash. That was why so many fans of other clubs were getting angry. Gretna were chucking money about yet the media were making out they were the plucky underdog who took on the might of the SFL after a hard day's work, fuelled only by Granny's special soup.

Pretty sure your club chose to vote Gretna into the league....

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Pretty sure your club chose to vote Gretna into the league....

Hardly any crime involved in that.

At the time, there was nothing to suggest they were going to embark on some unsustainable nutty programme to massage an unwell man's ego.

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A good listen, was interesting to hear his side of the Threave stuff (I take it he won't be their new manager then?!).

A couple of things on the Gretna stuff - I would go into full on rant mode but I've done it too many times in the past and folk have covered the main points I'd have touched on.

The suggestion they only paid money for one player is wrong. I can't remember the name he mentioned in the podcast but it wasn't Allan Jenkins, who they definitely paid for when they got him from Stranraer and was the name I was expecting. Ourselves and a couple of other teams were in for him too.

The media did not make out the success was only down to Mileson's cash. That was why so many fans of other clubs were getting angry. Gretna were chucking money about yet the media were making out they were the plucky underdog who took on the might of the SFL after a hard day's work, fuelled only by Granny's special soup.

Yes, Jenkins moved in the January, so a fee must surely have been involved, given that he wasn't out of contract at Stranraer.

The fairy tale stuff really did get galling. It was all so lazy and dishonest, allowing for plenty cliched crap about Gretna's association with weddings, enabling a gormless connection to be made with romance.

What Gretna did was as romantic as gonorrhoea.

Edited by Monkey Tennis
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The suggestion they only paid money for one player is wrong. I can't remember the name he mentioned in the podcast but it wasn't Allan Jenkins, who they definitely paid for when they got him from Stranraer and was the name I was expecting. Ourselves and a couple of other teams were in for him too.

From memory, they also paid fees for David Graham, Dene Shields and Martin Canning.

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From memory, they also paid fees for David Graham, Dene Shields and Martin Canning.

Yup, they paid fees for loads of players. According to a few sources they also paid fees for players like Bingham and Gilfillan. His account is full of inaccuracies, but it's also quite ignorant in that regard as well. They attracted players like Tosh, Innes, Main, McQuilken, Nicholls, Townsley, and Bingham to the bottom tiers of Scottish football while also taking many of the better players from that league (Deuchar, Graham, Shields). This was even before adding players like Jenkins, MacFarlane, and Canning. It was a massive project in terms of money, especially considering how small the club was.

We spent quite a bit of money back then as well, but we had nothing like the pull of Gretna. We could buy up some of the better players around us, but the salaries of the experienced SPL players Gretna brought in were well beyond us save a token few (McLaren, Lilley, but that was about it).

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Hardly any crime involved in that. At the time, there was nothing to suggest they were going to embark on some unsustainable nutty programme to massage an unwell man's ego.

Whilst there may well be no crime involved, it was obvious to all and sundry what direction Gretna were headed; A village outfit with a maximum of 200 fans, a crumbling stadium with plans to go up through the leagues. This was rivaled at the time by an Airdrie bid, where all footballing debts accrued by Airdrieonians would have been paid off, with a modern state of the art stadium and a >1500 fan base.

The reason the Airdrie bid did not succeed was that the league did not want to start a precedent of clubs going bust then reforming. How's that worked out? Gretna - bust. Rangers - bust, reformed and readmitted without so much as a by-your-leave.

It's a bit rich for fans of clubs who voted for Gretna - then voted to admit Rangers - to complain about those clubs outbidding their own for players.

Just my opinion obviously.....

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