Stenhousemuir FC - The Warriors - The 2023/24 Thread

[Neilly]

Telfer will be along shortly to tell you Blair can hit the best long, dioganol pass in the lower leagues. 

 

[Francesc Fabregas]

32 minutes ago, David W said:

Ryan Blair has rocked up at Clyde as a trialist. Decent passer, a bit soft otherwise?

Here's a post from a few months ago in this thread:

Quote

Ryan Blair is the best long-range passer of a ball I've ever seen at Stenhousemuir. He's at his best when space opens up for him and he's able to pitch 60-yard diagonals into the channels for an onrushing full-back, or switching play from one flank to the other. He's also good at keeping possession and recycling the ball in the middle of the park. Blair is not, however, the kind of player who is comfortable with the rough and tumble of Scottish lower-league football and there were too many times last season when bigger, stronger, more committed opponents steamrollered over the top of him. He won't get stuck in and his body language can look off at times. He's not much of a goal threat and his set-pieces were generally poor.

Essentially what you've written.

[cowdenbeath]

3 hours ago, mr_malcolm said:

Is this keeper you guys are on about really that bad ?

He looked dodgy against us last week.

[Vimto90]

Now bottom after tonight's win by Stranraer. Positive is Albion play Cowden when we at annan so worst we can be is 3 pts adrift.

Small gains.

[Francesc Fabregas]

Someone might need to correct me here, but since I've started following the club in 2004, I don't think we've ever been bottom of the SFL/SPFL.

This is new and unappealing territory!

Also, are we burdened by the closing of the summer transfer window? Or are we still able to bring in loans and free agents?

[true fan]

2nd bottom for a while under colin mcmenamin. Did we not dip below that briefly, even for a week?

Wonder how Swift is feeling right now? Worried I hope

[Hard Graft]

The board should be worried - you seriously wonder about the questions they ask at interviews. Surely Swift told them he was going to bring a stack of Lowland League players to the team, including a clown who would play in goals week after week despite being shite and they accepted that this was the way forward. He has accumulated the biggest squad we have had in years but cannot fathom what his best team is.

What criteria to they have when it comes to selecting a manager and how to they sift out the applicants? It would be interesting to know who decides and what the factors are.

At the moment, despite a few glimmers of hope, we look unlikely to win a game.  Annan and Stranraer away and Elgin and Forfar at home are our next four league games.  If we are win-less after these games then the board have a big decision to make and they will have to get it right. We cannot go a full quarter without a win and say everything is going to be okay unless it is the ambition of the board to play in the LL next year.

I have no doubt that Stephen Swift is a decent bloke, and I hope things work out for him,  but I care more about the future of my club than someone's feelings.

Interesting times ahead.

[Mantis Toboggan]

2 hours ago, Francesc Fabregas said:

Also, are we burdened by the closing of the summer transfer window? Or are we still able to bring in loans and free agents?

Loan window closes at the end of September and I’m sure free agents can be brought in at any point 

[mo83]

How's Robert Thompson been for you guys?

[Francesc Fabregas]

16 minutes ago, Hard Graft said:

The board should be worried - you seriously wonder about the questions they ask at interviews. Surely Swift told them he was going to bring a stack of Lowland League players to the team, including a clown who would play in goals week after week despite being shite and they accepted that this was the way forward. He has accumulated the biggest squad we have had in years but cannot fathom what his best team is.

What criteria to they have when it comes to selecting a manager and how to they sift out the applicants? It would be interesting to know who decides and what the factors are.

At the moment, despite a few glimmers of hope, we look unlikely to win a game.  Annan and Stranraer away and Elgin and Forfar at home are our next four league games.  If we are win-less after these games then the board have a big decision to make and they will have to get it right. We cannot go a full quarter without a win and say everything is going to be okay unless it is the ambition of the board to play in the LL next year.

I have no doubt that Stephen Swift is a decent bloke, and I hope things work out for him,  but I care more about the future of my club than someone's feelings.

Interesting times ahead.

I agree with some of the points in your post and I disagree with others. I'm not sure why you're having a pop at the board here - from the candidates interviewed, Stephen Swift was the most intriguing and someone who probably deserved a shot in the SPFL after his time at BSC Glasgow. I'm sure the manager would have loved to have brought in 18 experienced, well-known campaigners but we don't have the finances to do this, so we have to be creative and that involved bringing in some inexpensive, low-maintenance squad players from non-league football.

Of the seven players who joined from non-league football, only three are featuring regularly. Ross Lyon has been alright, Darren Christie has been inconsistent and Ryan Marshall has been poor and it's in everyone's best interests that he's taken out of the starting XI. Hang-Time Tierney, Declan Hughes and Michael Anderson will only ever feature if other, better players are unavailable, and one, Jamie Mills, has been punted out on loan to the West of Scotland Conference League already. A real mixed bag, and something I think highlights the step up in quality between the SPFL and the Lowland League.

The problem is, as I've written elsewhere, is the squad is unbalanced and lacking in key areas, something I can't quite get my head around given its size, and we're all still unsure about what our best XI is. That's on the manager and his backroom team. They are under pressure but I think a lot of that will come from themselves and their own sense of professionalism, at least at this stage.

The upcoming run of fixtures is unappealing and that game against Stranraer later on in the month will be huge. Let's hope for a positive performance against Cove Rangers at the weekend!

[Francesc Fabregas]

6 minutes ago, mo83 said:

How's Robert Thompson been for you guys?

Robert Thomson has been Stephen Swift's best signing and someone who looks too good for League 2. He's a positive player, a strong influence and he leads the line well. It hasn't quite translated into a multitude of goals just yet but I'm happy with what I've seen from him so far.

[Nigel Blackwell]

It is too early to hit the panic button, but I'm also not sure when it isn't. I am sure Brechin City thought that their first win was just around the corner. Problem is that we don't have a crystal ball so we can only go with what we have seen on the pitch.

As things stand, based on what I have seen, we are not the worst team in the league so you have got to imagine that at some point things will turn. In my opinion, the only league game we clearly deserved to lose was on Saturday. Every other game we have either been the better team (Albion Rovers, Cowden) or at least matched the opposition (Stirling and Edinburgh). But it is results that count, so we need to start winning. Simple as that.

[Hard Graft]

26 minutes ago, Francesc Fabregas said:

I agree with some of the points in your post and I disagree with others. I'm not sure why you're having a pop at the board here - from the candidates interviewed, Stephen Swift was the most intriguing and someone who probably deserved a shot in the SPFL after his time at BSC Glasgow. I'm sure the manager would have loved to have brought in 18 experienced, well-known campaigners but we don't have the finances to do this, so we have to be creative and that involved bringing in some inexpensive, low-maintenance squad players from non-league football................

The upcoming run of fixtures is unappealing and that game against Stranraer later on in the month will be huge.

I am having a pop at the board because they are the ones that approve and sign the manager. You may have knowledge of who the other candidates were and are in a position to state that Swift was the best candidate, unfortunately I do not know who the others were and cannot say if he was the best, the only option, the most promising or the cheapest. 

The full squad from last year were cleared out apart from 2, how often does that happen and he was obviously of the opinion that those he was bringing in were better than what we had.

If you look at our history of appointing managers there must have been some poor candidates listed when you see what we signed or was the option of signing from within the club the easy way to go?  I know at our level we will never get the cream of the crop.

As much as I would like to see a good performance and result at Cove I would rather we did it in the league.

Again you say the game against Stranraer will be huge, you have previously stated that already several games this season were "Must Win" games which of course we didn't. It is bad when you describe games in the first quarter of the season as must win.

We have all spoken in previous posts about how rank our goalkeeper is. Why is Swift continually playing him?

What you have not said is at what point do you draw the line. 

Edited September 1, 2021 by Hard Graft

[Jan Vojáček]

I've been keeping a close eye on Stenny this season. I know that Stephen Swift is very highly thought of by the board at DFC and, had you guys not acted first, I wouldn't have been shocked to see him being appointed our new manager when Jim Duffy departed. More than that though, I was intrigued to see if Swift could find a way to fit Nat Wedderburn and Ross Forbes into the same team successfully. 

I thought Wedderburn was largely decent for us last season, whilst Forbes was largely poor - despite setting up almost every goal we scored. Individually though both should be very good players in League Two. I just couldn't fathom a single shape that would fit the two of them into an effective team.

What sort of shape have you been playing, and has there been any signs that Forbes and Wedderburn could work in a team together? 

[Francesc Fabregas]

3 minutes ago, Hard Graft said:

I am having a pop at the board because they are the ones that approve and sign the manager. You may have knowledge of who the other candidates were and are in a position to state that Swift was the best candidate, unfortunately I do not know who the others were and cannot say if he was the best, the only option, the most promising or the cheapest. 

The full squad from last year were cleared out apart from 2, how often does that happen and he was obviously of the opinion, and probably rightly so,  that those he was bringing in were better than what we had.

If you look at our history of appointing managers there must have been some poor candidates listed when you see what we signed or was the option of signing from within the club the easy way to go?  I know at our level we will never get the cream of the crop.

As much as I would like to see a good performance and result at Cove I would rather we did it in the league.

Again you say the game against Stranraer will be huge, you have previously stated that already several games this season were "Must Win" games which of course we didn't. It is bad when you describe games in the first quarter of the season as must win.

We have all spoken in previous posts about how rank our goalkeeper is. Why is Swift continually playing him?

What you have not said is at what point do you draw the line. 

I'll address your points one by one:

• I think the reception to Stephen Swift's appointment on this thread was broadly positive. A few people, myself included, were a little sceptical given his lack of experience in the SPFL but thought it was a good move for both parties all the same. Unfortunately, this hasn't been the case just yet.
   
• Three players from last season's team were kept on (Graeme Smith, Adam Corbett and Cammy Graham). Other than the players under contract, how many would you have wanted to stay? Mark McGuigan was the only player I was sorry to see move on, and I thought it might have been worth continuing with Jack Hodge, but other than that? Not really.
   
• I suppose when you're a manager putting together a team of players, you want to bring together people you trust, people who can take direction, people you believe in and people who believe in you. While that might be the case, it hasn't translated on the pitch so far.
   
• Well, yes, but beating a good, promotion-chasing side from League 1 could do wonders for our confidence going into the game against Annan Athletic next weekend.
   
• I think I might have been a little hyperbolic earlier in the season by describing some of the games as "must win" but the Cowdenbeath one certainly was and, until we're in a position to move away from the bottom of the table, every fixture going forward will be must win too. Come to think of it, the game against Stranraer is every bit as important as the matches against Annan and Elgin City.
   
• Judging by the manager's interview after the Kelty Hearts game, I don't think we'll see Ryan Marshall in goals for a while. This will give Davie Wilson the chance to stake his claim for the #1 spot. I saw him during pre-season but he wasn't really tested against the likes of Syngenta or Benburb, so I don't have much of an opinion on him.
   
• Where do you draw the line? If you get to the end of October and you're not seeing any signs of positivity on the pitch, I would expect the board to act.

4 minutes ago, Jan Vojáček said:

I've been keeping a close eye on Stenny this season. I know that Stephen Swift is very highly thought of by the board at DFC and, had you guys not acted first, I wouldn't have been shocked to see him being appointed our new manager when Jim Duffy departed. More than that though, I was intrigued to see if Swift could find a way to fit Nat Wedderburn and Ross Forbes into the same team successfully. 

I thought Wedderburn was largely decent for us last season, whilst Forbes was largely poor - despite setting up almost every goal we scored. Individually though both should be very good players in League Two. I just couldn't fathom a single shape that would fit the two of them into an effective team.

What sort of shape have you been playing, and has there been any signs that Forbes and Wedderburn could work in a team together? 

I was told by someone associated with Swift's former club that he wanted either the Dumbarton or the Stranraer post as his first managerial gig in the SPFL, but felt the opportunity at Stenhousemuir was too good to miss. I imagine he was disappointed when both roles became available four weeks later.

As for Ross Forbes and Nat Wedderburn being able to play together? Maybe, if you've got a willing, ball-winning midfielder in there alongside them, but we don't, and the pair are exposed most weeks. I can't remember who we signed first, but I was surprised we went for the other one afterwards. The failure to find a system to get the best from both of them has been a weak spot.

[Francesc Fabregas]

Craig Red has left the club:

 

[Nigel Blackwell]

Reid looked past it anytime he has played.

Wonder if anyone else will follow...

[true fan]

We can't get a brand new squad but putting Mills on loan and Reid out suggests we may be trying to create space to bring new faces in. suggests we are being proactive. It does look like swift isn't just sitting back and hoping. I did think his clearing of the decks was rather bold and I hoped it wouldn't backfire.  Only kept 3 who had contracts for this year - he might have sent them packing as well if that wasn't the case. Players like Blair, Biabi, Hodge, Brown weren't perfect but the rule is - move players on when better options are found - not the case so far it seems.

We really need loan players to fire where possible - its not a hard science but makes life easier if we get a Paul McMullan on loan. Is the Killie left back not fit or not fancied? if its the latter how long is he with us?

Panic time depends as much on what others are doing - if we are in a group at the bottom we can hang on a bit but I don't fancy a 5 point gap and no results going our way. Oh dear

 

[Jan Vojáček]

29 minutes ago, Francesc Fabregas said:

I was told by someone associated with Swift's former club that he wanted either the Dumbarton or the Stranraer post as his first managerial gig in the SPFL, but felt the opportunity at Stenhousemuir was too good to miss. I imagine he was disappointed when both roles became available four weeks later.

As for Ross Forbes and Nat Wedderburn being able to play together? Maybe, if you've got a willing, ball-winning midfielder in there alongside them, but we don't, and the pair are exposed most weeks. I can't remember who we signed first, but I was surprised we went for the other one afterwards. The failure to find a system to get the best from both of them has been a weak spot.

Must be a strange situation that he's in if that was the case. Although I'd probably have the Stenny job down as being more attractive than either Sons or Stranraer. A decent budget, a (from the outside at least) stable and well run club and the potential to mount a title challenge. 

I think you'd have to totally build your team around Forbes and Wedderburn to get the most out of them. But that would come at the expense of other players who would probably contribute more. You could maybe come up with some bizarre 3-6-1 formation with Forbes and Wedderburn both in a congested midfield surrounded by runners. But I can't imagine that would be very effective or easy on the eye.

It feels a bit like when you start a new Football Manager save and start offering hopeful deals round, only for two players to accept them leaving you stuck with how to shoehorn them into the same team. In fact Swift's recruitment more generally feels a lot like Stevie Aitken's in his first season with the club - brought in a huge load of bodies, experienced heads, big names, players he'd worked with previously and a few jobbers (Gordon Smith, Darren Miller) and then whittled his way through them in the first six months, emptying the ones he didn't rate along the way.

[Vimto90]

Craig Red has left the club:
 

On one hand It's good as he is done and we are being proactive but it also just looks like we are very muddled in our thinking.