Stenhousemuir FC - The Warriors - The 2023/24 Thread

[warriors21]

The correct decision has been made and there’s no point in dwelling on the Swift-era.

 

Managerial eras at the Warriors seem to be coming and going without any real progress being made whilst non-SPFL teams are making strides and those entering the SPFL are proving extremely formidable so for me, Swifts replacement has to be someone with not only SPFL management experience but success of managing a SPFL league winning team as I fear if that it doesn’t come in the next 5 years it never will.

 

As a side note, I wonder how Jim McInally would fare at a team based in the central belt and without the geographical constraints he faced whilst at Peterhead …

Edited December 7, 2022 by warriors21

[Only one David Marsh]

Danny Lennons Warriors 

[Bring Back Paddy Flannery]

39 minutes ago, Francesc Fabregas said:

I've seen some posts on social media accusing Stenny supporters of having high expectations this season, pointing out that we're only a handful of points from the play-off places.

You see this sort of pish every time a lower league manager is bagged - generally posted by their mates, ex players they’re pally with and current pros who experienced a successful stint under them. Swift should’ve been emptied weeks, if not months ago. 

[Francesc Fabregas]

1 minute ago, Bring Back Paddy Flannery said:

You see this sort of pish every time a lower league manager is bagged - generally posted by their mates, ex players they’re pally with and current pros who experienced a successful stint under them. Swift should’ve been emptied weeks, if not months ago. 

I remember Lee Mair wading in when Falkirk binned off "Cracks 'n' Big Sexy" and couldn't believe they'd been sacked so soon after winning the Manager(s) of the Month award. A fan asked Mair if he'd seen Falkirk at any point that season; Mair had not.

[Bring Back Paddy Flannery]

2 minutes ago, Francesc Fabregas said:

I remember Lee Mair wading in when Falkirk binned off "Cracks 'n' Big Sexy" and couldn't believe they'd been sacked so soon after winning the Manager(s) of the Month award. A fan asked Mair if he'd seen Falkirk at any point that season; Mair had not.

A fine example!

[Am Featha Taigh Nan Clach]

Sacking him was the correct decision. I'm quite sure our budget last season and this was comfortably top 4 and we've underperformed relative to that.

I don't have any ill feelings towards him though. The team selections and tactics were usually fine. There was seldom any 'he's lost the plot' line ups/personnel choices but it just didn't work out. 

Danny Lennon does seem the obvious choice if he is interested. 

[Goethe]

As long as it isn’t Paul Hartley, looking to redeem his tattered career yet again.

[Francesc Fabregas]

7 minutes ago, Goethe said:

As long as it isn’t Paul Hartley, looking to redeem his tattered career yet again.

To be fair to him, Paul Hartley's career as a part-time football manager has been roundly excellent. You'd be daft to say no!

[the_bully_wee]

Danny Lennon would be a great appointment up until the point where he had to "sign players" or "work with a tighter budget"

[Dunning1874]

10 hours ago, warriors21 said:

As a side note, I wonder how Jim McInally would fare at a team based in the central belt and without the geographical constraints he faced whilst at Peterhead …

Likely the same gross underachievement he's managed in every job.

If it's an experienced SPFL manager you're after, Lennon has a far superior record to McInally.

[Hard Graft]

At last the board have made a decision they should have taken a while ago.  No ill feeling to Swift but obvious this was a step too far for him.

Hopefully the board will put some thought into the new appointment and not a cheap option from within.

[bobbydazzler]

Barry Ferguson has put down his Daily Record and is en route with a bag of ball and some cones

[TAFKAC]

17 hours ago, Francesc Fabregas said:

Stephen Swift's time in charge of Stenhousemuir was perhaps the most mediocre and unmemorable tenure since Campbell Money's dead zone between 2006 and 2007. The last 18 months have seen one, maybe two genuinely good performances in amongst long periods of muck; little bursts of form that tricked you into thinking the team were moving in a positive direction followed by disappointment. I think that's how I feel looking back over Swift's tenure - hoodwinked into believing he could deliver us some kind of success. The bad moments have definitely outweighed the good.

I've seen some posts on social media accusing Stenny supporters of having high expectations this season, pointing out that we're only a handful of points from the play-off places. With respect, I would disagree - a lot of money has been spent on this squad and we're almost as close to the bottom as we are to the top four. There was no indication that Swift could turn around this terrible slump. Watching his interview after the defeat at Elgin City, he looked lost and distant.

There's no point in writing up some long-winded summation of Swift's management because it's been covered so many times, in this thread and elsewhere - the terrible goalkeepers, the overthinking, the over-complication, the lack of connection with supporters - but I'm glad it's over. We need someone to come in and galvanise this group of players (who have seriously underperformed this season, by the way - it's not solely down to Swift) and stop the rot. Fanciful notions about league titles and promotion will have to be paused for the time being because our immediate priority is moving clear of the bottom of the table.

It's a shame it didn't work out.

I would largely agree with this. I'm not a Stenhousemuir fan but Stranraer. There's always been plenty of chat about Swift, as a former player, being a future manager at Stair Park. With that in mind, I think there were plenty of people who were keeping an eye on how he did.

Stenhousemuir seemed very much to be a team that would fool you. Every little good bit of form where you think things were on the up was followed by a couple of bad results. A bad run, when you thought time was running out, was followed by a little surge in form. So, the circle went on. Last season, a bit like Hamill at Stair Park, could almost be excused given there were massive turnovers in players and the challenges that Covid brought. This season would be the season where it was a Swift team. There were signs that he had brought in players over the two seasons who should be more than good enough. Tom Orr scored double digits in his single season at Stranraer. Matty Yates was a player who had impressed at Stranraer and seemed destined for bigger things. Willie Sewell was a player who scored loads in the lower leagues and there were a handful of clubs looking at him. There were players already in the squad who had attracted glances from other sides.

Equally, I think from early in the season, there were a few eyebrows being raised. For example, the goalkeeping issue from last season - Was it sorted for this season?

Stenhousemuir fans will, obviously, know more than me but it just seemed to never work out. Being X points off the play-off given the expectations - rightly or wrongly - isn't enough. To be "in with a shout" of the play-offs given the expectations was the bare minimum when they should be comfortably in the play-offs and chasing and challenging those above.

[Dan Steele]

It would be great if the New Manager Bounce kicks-in for the game after next and not this week, lads. We need points more than you .

[Moonglum25]

Whoever the new manager is he needs to bring in a decent goalkeeper and a decent centre midfielder.  We have the fire power upfront to be a threat but need some pace in central midfield and the defence needs tightening up.  There should be 3 or 4 shown the door in January as well.

It has taken the board a fair bit of time to act but at least they have acted.  A defeat on Saturday with Swift in charge would have been carnage.

[Francesc Fabregas]

1 hour ago, TAFKAC said:

I would largely agree with this. I'm not a Stenhousemuir fan but Stranraer. There's always been plenty of chat about Swift, as a former player, being a future manager at Stair Park. With that in mind, I think there were plenty of people who were keeping an eye on how he did.

Stenhousemuir seemed very much to be a team that would fool you. Every little good bit of form where you think things were on the up was followed by a couple of bad results. A bad run, when you thought time was running out, was followed by a little surge in form. So, the circle went on. Last season, a bit like Hamill at Stair Park, could almost be excused given there were massive turnovers in players and the challenges that Covid brought. This season would be the season where it was a Swift team. There were signs that he had brought in players over the two seasons who should be more than good enough. Tom Orr scored double digits in his single season at Stranraer. Matty Yates was a player who had impressed at Stranraer and seemed destined for bigger things. Willie Sewell was a player who scored loads in the lower leagues and there were a handful of clubs looking at him. There were players already in the squad who had attracted glances from other sides.

Equally, I think from early in the season, there were a few eyebrows being raised. For example, the goalkeeping issue from last season - Was it sorted for this season?

Stenhousemuir fans will, obviously, know more than me but it just seemed to never work out. Being X points off the play-off given the expectations - rightly or wrongly - isn't enough. To be "in with a shout" of the play-offs given the expectations was the bare minimum when they should be comfortably in the play-offs and chasing and challenging those above.

This is an interesting and considered post. Last season's fifth-place finish was a failure; I don't think there's any other way to look at it. Yes, Stephen Swift put together a virtually brand new squad (and an unbalanced one at that, overstocked in some departments and lacking in others), but it still should have been good enough to topple a mediocre Edinburgh City side for the final play-off place. Over the latter part of the season, the Citizens would play on a Friday night and drop points, then we'd play the following day and drop points too. We could never take advantage of the numerous opportunities they presented us and eventually we just ran out of time.

A lot of that comes down to the horrendous start to the campaign when were tied with Cowdenbeath at the bottom of the division after the first quarter with just six points. Swift's frequent overthinking and faith in players who were simply not good enough for League 2 tanked us. I think the manager might have been taken aback by the step up in quality from the Lowland League to the SPFL - looking back, it's hard to believe that Ryan Marshall, Jamie Mills, Declan Hughes and Ryan Tierney were part of squad expected to challenge for promotion. The duds were phased out in the new year for a higher calibre of player and we largely used the same XI and same system over the closing stages but it still wasn't quite enough. There were times last season where Swift exhausted my patience, especially after a home defeat to Elgin City in September and the fact up we collected just five points from a terrible Cowden side, and he was coming into the current season under a fair degree of pressure.

With a number of players signed on two-year deals, and the likes of Adam Corbett and Mikey Anderson agreeing new terms after impressing over the latter part of the previous campaign, I was confident that, with the right additions, we could mount a title challenge. I think most supporters felt the same. There were no full-time sides like Queen's Park and no monied upstarts like Cove Rangers or Kelty Hearts - just middling, bottom-of-the-barrel SPFL dumplings who might all fancy a shot at the championship. So why couldn't Stenny do it? A new season, a new group of players and a manager who had acclimatised and got to grips with the rough and tumble of the division - it all seemed remarkably straightforward.

You don't need to go far on this forum to understand how the season unravelled - just look at the matchday threads - but it was remarkable to see Swift repeating the same mistakes that had dogged last term. We had spent pre-season utilising a lop-sided 4-4-2 formation, a system that didn't work and left us short in the middle of the park. We then reverted to a midfield diamond, but that meant no place for Euan O'Reilly, one of the division's best wingers. The move to a three-at-the-back system against Forfar Athletic in late August precipitated a six-game unbeaten streak, but it didn't necessarily stiffen us up and we still continued to ship a couple of goals every game. When that stopped working and the wins became defeats, Swift reverted to a back four that seemed to change on a weekly basis. I have some sympathy for him in this regard as we've been devastated by injuries and poor form in defence - only Sean Crighton has performed respectably throughout the season - but we've kept just one clean sheet (in a match we could have easily lost, by the way) and it was clear he had no way of addressing it, despite his hard work to find a solution.

Of all our new signings, I think Matty Yates is the only one to have performed to a consistent standard. Some of have done well in fits and starts; some have been quite poor indeed. Goalkeeper, as has been acknowledged, was a position we needed to get right after last season's travails with Ryan Marshall and David Wilson, so to bring in Conor Brennan, a notoriously streaky and error-prone 'keeper from East Kilbride, was a disappointment. Yes, he's made some important saves over the course of the season but he looks uncomfortable at set-pieces, his distribution is haphazard and he doesn't seem to inspire confidence in those around him. Brennan lost his place in the side to Jay Cantley, the very definition of a "lower-league backup goalkeeper", following a miserable showing in the defeat at Stranraer, and a new number 1 is something we should look into next month.

When we announced Craig Bryson had joined the club, dozens of punters told us he'd be a "brilliant signing for that level", evidently failing to check he'd spent his time at St Johnstone battling persistent fitness issues and had last played a game on Boxing Day. Bryson, our marquee summer signing, was a smashing player back in the day, someone who could dominate the middle of the park and run and run and run for 90 minutes but the version that pitched up at Ochilview was a diminished presence and struggled to influence matches before quietly retiring in September. It seemed remarkable that so much stock had been placed in a midfielder whose best days were behind him, and it necessitated another venture into the transfer market. Liam Brown, on paper at least, was an enormous upgrade on Bryson and would have been one of the best players in the division; it's just a shame he refused to play for us. This is another area I have sympathy with the manager.

As I mentioned earlier, the good moments were few and far between. There was no defining match, nothing to look back on that will make you think: "Wow, we were excellent that day!" I was trying to think of games where we played well across the 90 minutes under Swift and oddly enough, the best performance might have been the 1-0 defeat to Kelty Hearts in March, where we did our very best to stifle a high-flying opponent; on another day, could have beaten them. A 2-0 win over Forfar Athletic in February and the 4-1 thrashing of Albion Rovers in April were good too. Beating Stirling Albion 3-1 at Forthbank was neat. But that's about it. Even when we were winning, we'd tend to do well in one half and poorly in the other.

I'm sorry things didn't work at Stenhousemuir for Stephen Swift. He worked hard for the club and will have had our best interests at heart, but it wasn't quite good enough. I think the step up in standard and expectation, even at the least successful club in the SPFL, was too much for him. It says a lot about Stenny that our last three managers have had very different profiles - a newcomer taking his first steps in management (Colin McMenamin), and old stager who's been around (Davie Irons) and someone who's worked their up from non-league football (Swift) - and they've all ended in disappointment.

What a cursed little team!

[Nigel Blackwell]

Liam Brown - refused to play for us? There must be more to it.

[TAFKAC]

18 hours ago, Francesc Fabregas said:

This is an interesting and considered post. Last season's fifth-place finish was a failure; I don't think there's any other way to look at it. Yes, Stephen Swift put together a virtually brand new squad (and an unbalanced one at that, overstocked in some departments and lacking in others), but it still should have been good enough to topple a mediocre Edinburgh City side for the final play-off place. Over the latter part of the season, the Citizens would play on a Friday night and drop points, then we'd play the following day and drop points too. We could never take advantage of the numerous opportunities they presented us and eventually we just ran out of time.

A lot of that comes down to the horrendous start to the campaign when were tied with Cowdenbeath at the bottom of the division after the first quarter with just six points. Swift's frequent overthinking and faith in players who were simply not good enough for League 2 tanked us. I think the manager might have been taken aback by the step up in quality from the Lowland League to the SPFL - looking back, it's hard to believe that Ryan Marshall, Jamie Mills, Declan Hughes and Ryan Tierney were part of squad expected to challenge for promotion. The duds were phased out in the new year for a higher calibre of player and we largely used the same XI and same system over the closing stages but it still wasn't quite enough. There were times last season where Swift exhausted my patience, especially after a home defeat to Elgin City in September and the fact up we collected just five points from a terrible Cowden side, and he was coming into the current season under a fair degree of pressure.

With a number of players signed on two-year deals, and the likes of Adam Corbett and Mikey Anderson agreeing new terms after impressing over the latter part of the previous campaign, I was confident that, with the right additions, we could mount a title challenge. I think most supporters felt the same. There were no full-time sides like Queen's Park and no monied upstarts like Cove Rangers or Kelty Hearts - just middling, bottom-of-the-barrel SPFL dumplings who might all fancy a shot at the championship. So why couldn't Stenny do it? A new season, a new group of players and a manager who had acclimatised and got to grips with the rough and tumble of the division - it all seemed remarkably straightforward.

You don't need to go far on this forum to understand how the season unravelled - just look at the matchday threads - but it was remarkable to see Swift repeating the same mistakes that had dogged last term. We had spent pre-season utilising a lop-sided 4-4-2 formation, a system that didn't work and left us short in the middle of the park. We then reverted to a midfield diamond, but that meant no place for Euan O'Reilly, one of the division's best wingers. The move to a three-at-the-back system against Forfar Athletic in late August precipitated a six-game unbeaten streak, but it didn't necessarily stiffen us up and we still continued to ship a couple of goals every game. When that stopped working and the wins became defeats, Swift reverted to a back four that seemed to change on a weekly basis. I have some sympathy for him in this regard as we've been devastated by injuries and poor form in defence - only Sean Crighton has performed respectably throughout the season - but we've kept just one clean sheet (in a match we could have easily lost, by the way) and it was clear he had no way of addressing it, despite his hard work to find a solution.

Of all our new signings, I think Matty Yates is the only one to have performed to a consistent standard. Some of have done well in fits and starts; some have been quite poor indeed. Goalkeeper, as has been acknowledged, was a position we needed to get right after last season's travails with Ryan Marshall and David Wilson, so to bring in Conor Brennan, a notoriously streaky and error-prone 'keeper from East Kilbride, was a disappointment. Yes, he's made some important saves over the course of the season but he looks uncomfortable at set-pieces, his distribution is haphazard and he doesn't seem to inspire confidence in those around him. Brennan lost his place in the side to Jay Cantley, the very definition of a "lower-league backup goalkeeper", following a miserable showing in the defeat at Stranraer, and a new number 1 is something we should look into next month.

When we announced Craig Bryson had joined the club, dozens of punters told us he'd be a "brilliant signing for that level", evidently failing to check he'd spent his time at St Johnstone battling persistent fitness issues and had last played a game on Boxing Day. Bryson, our marquee summer signing, was a smashing player back in the day, someone who could dominate the middle of the park and run and run and run for 90 minutes but the version that pitched up at Ochilview was a diminished presence and struggled to influence matches before quietly retiring in September. It seemed remarkable that so much stock had been placed in a midfielder whose best days were behind him, and it necessitated another venture into the transfer market. Liam Brown, on paper at least, was an enormous upgrade on Bryson and would have been one of the best players in the division; it's just a shame he refused to play for us. This is another area I have sympathy with the manager.

As I mentioned earlier, the good moments were few and far between. There was no defining match, nothing to look back on that will make you think: "Wow, we were excellent that day!" I was trying to think of games where we played well across the 90 minutes under Swift and oddly enough, the best performance might have been the 1-0 defeat to Kelty Hearts in March, where we did our very best to stifle a high-flying opponent; on another day, could have beaten them. A 2-0 win over Forfar Athletic in February and the 4-1 thrashing of Albion Rovers in April were good too. Beating Stirling Albion 3-1 at Forthbank was neat. But that's about it. Even when we were winning, we'd tend to do well in one half and poorly in the other.

I'm sorry things didn't work at Stenhousemuir for Stephen Swift. He worked hard for the club and will have had our best interests at heart, but it wasn't quite good enough. I think the step up in standard and expectation, even at the least successful club in the SPFL, was too much for him. It says a lot about Stenny that our last three managers have had very different profiles - a newcomer taking his first steps in management (Colin McMenamin), and old stager who's been around (Davie Irons) and someone who's worked their up from non-league football (Swift) - and they've all ended in disappointment.

What a cursed little team!

That must be the frustrating thing.

As I said, Stenhousemuir fans will know better than me, but you would have thought the team should have been on an upwards trajectory last season. Learning from some of the mistakes at the start of the season and getting better and better as the season went on. By the end of the campaign, you think they should be one of the in form teams. Although missing out on the play-offs would be disappointing, you think the core of the squad is there and it is a case of a few additions rather than ripping it up and starting over.

However, those issues that were apparent last term are still there (the goalkeeper/the midfield, etc). Stenhousemuir should have been one of those teams looking to hit the ground running, really set the pace, etc. It's not really worked out that way.

[Brian Carrigan]

On 08/12/2022 at 21:50, Nigel Blackwell said:

Liam Brown - refused to play for us? There must be more to it.

From the outside - it seemed like he was being forced out on loan somewhat against his will (having turned down a move to Alloa), then was used as a sweetener between QP and yourselves due to the formers predicted extended use of the ground. I can’t imagine anyone would be too happy about that! Still fairly disappointing if he’s literally pretending to be ill, as I’ve heard from a few people.

I was absolutely fuming when he signed for you as he’s the exact type of player Clyde desperately require and aside from the stadium connection, such a talented player dropping down two levels made absolutely no sense.

[19QOS19]

Bit of a rhetorical question given he's been on the bench any time I've checked but how has the charlatan Niyah Joseph been? Thought he was rank rotten for us and in no way a football player but wondered how he got as high as Championship. Surely he had to have something about him. Any signs of that for yourselves?