"The ICT Thread - The Championship Years"

[Derry Alli]

13 minutes ago, LondonHMFC said:

So was Cathro, actually on that, what is Cathro doing now? 

First team coach at Wolves. 

[weirdcal]

So was Cathro, actually on that, what is Cathro doing now? 

Cathro had to work with levein as his director of football and then replaced him as manager.
How well did that work out?

Least we have a director of football who can also manage.

[PB1994]

Billy Dodds is the early favourite for the job with the bookies.

[Highland Capital]

My thoughts from the candidates on the betting list - 

Billy Dodds - No

Paul Sheerin - Yes

Barry Robson - Don't know

Stewart Petrie - Yes

Darren Young - Maybe

Stuart Kettlewell - No

David Robertson - No

Michael Beale - Yes

Stuart McCall - Yes

Jon Daly - Probably yes

Peter Grant - Maybe

Allan Johnston - No

Gary Locke - 100% NO!

Stephen Robinson - Yes

Derek McInnes - Yes (but absolutely no chance of him coming)

Jim McIntyre - No

Lee McCulloch - No

Mark McGhee - No

Ray MacKinnon - Probably No

Terry Butcher - No

Gary Caldwell - Absolutely No

Edited May 15, 2021 by Highland Capital

[Derry Alli]

I've no idea why but I've always wanted Paul Sheerin to get a decent sized gig to see how he does. Arbroath was a bit mad. 

Might look at chucking a couple quid on him. 

[Ludo*1]

I had no idea you guys were looking for a manager. Disappointed you lads never tagged me to get the thread started. Such small time.

[Fae_the_'briggs]

12 minutes ago, Snafu said:

We're not, we are looking for a Head Coach.

 

Not sure if that will be an attractive option for some on the list and may cut down the calibre of those applying. 

[Highland Capital]

1 hour ago, Mr. Alli said:

I've no idea why but I've always wanted Paul Sheerin to get a decent sized gig to see how he does. Arbroath was a bit mad. 

Might look at chucking a couple quid on him. 

He was interviewed for it when Robertson got it and my understanding is that he was the club's favoured candidate but at that time couldn't afford/didn't want to pay the compensation to Aberdeen.  I was keen on him at the time and would be relatively pleased if we took a punt on him this time.

[alsy]

3 hours ago, Highland Capital said:

My thoughts from the candidates on the betting list - 

Billy Dodds - No

Paul Sheerin - Yes

Barry Robson - Don't know

Stewart Petrie - Yes

Darren Young - Maybe

Stuart Kettlewell - No

David Robertson - No

Michael Beale - Yes

Stuart McCall - Yes

Jon Daly - Probably yes

Peter Grant - Maybe

Allan Johnston - No

Gary Locke - 100% NO!

Stephen Robinson - Yes

Derek McInnes - Yes (but absolutely no chance of him coming)

Jim McIntyre - No

Lee McCulloch - No

Mark McGhee - No

Ray MacKinnon - Probably No

Terry Butcher - No

Gary Caldwell - Absolutely No

Out of interest, why such a definite no to Dodds? At the time he came into the club this season, our record under McCann was three draws and two defeats; after Dodds joined the coaching staff, we won six games straight. Obviously there will have been other factors at play too, but that suggests to me that he must have had some sort of positive impact on the coaching, and as we're looking for a head coach rather than a manager, I'd have thought he'd staked a decent claim for himself.  

I'm pretty much in line with you on all the other names you mentioned.

[Highland Capital]

3 minutes ago, alternative maryhill said:

Out of interest, why such a definite no to Dodds? At the time he came into the club this season, our record under McCann was three draws and two defeats; after Dodds joined the coaching staff, we won six games straight. Obviously there will have been other factors at play too, but that suggests to me that he must have had some sort of positive impact on the coaching, and as we're looking for a head coach rather than a manager, I'd have thought he'd staked a decent claim for himself.  

I'm pretty much in line with you on all the other names you mentioned.

He just doesn't fill me with much excitement to be honest.  From what I've read he doesn't expect to be back next season anyway so I imagine he isn't in the running.  I'd rather go in a new direction, particularly someone who's perhaps got some expertise in markets that wouldn't be so known to us.  My preference would still be a foreign manager, if a decent one applies.

[alsy]

4 minutes ago, Highland Capital said:

He just doesn't fill me with much excitement to be honest.  From what I've read he doesn't expect to be back next season anyway so I imagine he isn't in the running.  I'd rather go in a new direction, particularly someone who's perhaps got some expertise in markets that wouldn't be so known to us.  My preference would still be a foreign manager, if a decent one applies.

Fair enough. If it's true he isn't in the running, I'm quite surprised, I must admit, especially as he's local and the club presumably isn't in a position to offer all that great a salary.

[btb]

Out of curiosity what do Caley fans think of Robertson's new position?

After Alan Stubbs left we had a set-up with Gus MacPherson brought in to focus on transfers and Oran Kearney on coaching but when Jim Goodwin arrived he seemed to want to make the decisions on transfers himself and eventually MacPherson moved on.  

Edited May 15, 2021 by btb

[alsy]

1 hour ago, Snafu said:

I always thought Dodds disliked us for some reason.

Going back to the 00's I remember him getting boos and pelters when he turned up with QotS.

 

I don't know if he disliked us, but he always seemed to tip us to go down when we were in the top flight, even when we had a couple of good seasons behind us, which irritated me. Presumably he likes the area though, as he chose to remain up here after getting his jotters from County, so maybe the club has grown on him too. Also, he apparently can't stand Roy McGregor, so he has that in common with ICT supporters.

38 minutes ago, btb said:

Out of curiosity what do Caley fans think of Robertson's new position?

After Alan Stubbs left we had a set-up with Gus MacPherson brought in to focus on transfers and Oran Kearney on coaching but when Jim Goodwin arrived he seemed to want to make the decisions on transfers himself and eventually MacPherson moved on.  

Wait and see, I guess. One of his strengths has always been spotting players - his proportion of successes to duds is far better than most other ICT managers' - so it makes sense from that point of view, and last season McCann and Dodds seemed to get more consistency and creativity out of his players than he was able to do, so perhaps he was starting to struggle on the coaching front. If he's recognised that and chosen to step back from it, then fair play to him, and I'm glad he's still involved with the club. As you say though, a lot will depend on how well he can work with whoever comes in as head coach.   

[PB1994]

5 hours ago, btb said:

Out of curiosity what do Caley fans think of Robertson's new position?

After Alan Stubbs left we had a set-up with Gus MacPherson brought in to focus on transfers and Oran Kearney on coaching but when Jim Goodwin arrived he seemed to want to make the decisions on transfers himself and eventually MacPherson moved on.  

I quite like that we have moved him “upstairs”. As mentioned above his signings have more or less been excellent since he came back. After his recent issues he might not want to come back in the full managers role so getting someone in to focus purely on coaching seems like a good move. I’d like to think whoever comes in does still have a say on what players that do come into the club.

I would quite happily take a Paul Sheerin or Barry Robson.

[Highland Capital]

2 hours ago, PB1994 said:

I quite like that we have moved him “upstairs”. As mentioned above his signings have more or less been excellent since he came back.

How many dud signings did he have?  There was a few in the first season - John Baird was pish but I think the club had plans on bringing him in prior to Robbo's appointment.  Matthew Elsdon was rubbish and Felitciano Zschusschen is probably one of the worst players I've ever seen.  Was there many more than that though?  I can't think of any.  There's been a few mediocre ones but most have been pretty good.

[PB1994]

39 minutes ago, Highland Capital said:

How many dud signings did he have?  There was a few in the first season - John Baird was pish but I think the club had plans on bringing him in prior to Robbo's appointment.  Matthew Elsdon was rubbish and Felitciano Zschusschen is probably one of the worst players I've ever seen.  Was there many more than that though?  I can't think of any.  There's been a few mediocre ones but most have been pretty good.

Zschusschen was brutal. Up there with the Dani Lopez trial game where you could clearly see they should be nowhere near a football team.

I’m sure there will be a few others who I can’t think of off the top of my head but generally every one who has joined has at least been solid or someone who even though they were only average players could at least do they job they were there to do.

[alsy]

9 hours ago, Highland Capital said:

How many dud signings did he have?  There was a few in the first season - John Baird was pish but I think the club had plans on bringing him in prior to Robbo's appointment.  Matthew Elsdon was rubbish and Felitciano Zschusschen is probably one of the worst players I've ever seen.  Was there many more than that though?  I can't think of any.  There's been a few mediocre ones but most have been pretty good.

The signings just ahead of that first Championship season were uncharacteristically poor  - you can add Alex Cooper and Collin Seedorf to the list too - but I think that's probably a symptom of Robbo being appointed so late and having to get bodies in the door, and it reflected well on him that they largely disappeared out of the first team squad pretty quickly, with the exception of Baird who, on paper, looked like a reasonable signing. Apart from that, his success rate has been really high, and the same applied to his first spell, when he brought in Bingham, Dods, Black and Juanjo, and the likes of Hislop and Fox too. Only Prunty springs to mind as being largely a failure from that spell. Big contrast with the colossal amounts of shit Butcher managed to churn through the squad, albeit while eventually building a hugely successful side, or with most of Hughes's signings in the aftermath of the Scottish Cup win.      

Edited to add: the reason for mentioning Butcher & Hughes' signings, btw, is not to argue that Robbo is a better manager but rather to say that his relatively high hit rate with signings makes him a logical person to put in charge of recruitment when we've got so little budget and margin for error.  

Edited May 16, 2021 by alternative maryhill

[D'Jaffo]

Rumours on our thread that we’re interested in Todorov. I’m aware he managed a decent goal return last season but is he actually any good?

[Juanhourjoe]

1 hour ago, alternative maryhill said:

you can add Alex Cooper and Collin Seedorf to the list too

I thought seedorf was alright. And would probably have done better for us at right back this season. He just seamed to have a dip in confidence, and would have been all right with a wee break. 

The other Seedorf, I can see getting released by Motherwell. The sort of player we'd be looking at, and we need a replacement for  Dan Mackay.

[Juanhourjoe]

46 minutes ago, D'Jaffo said:

Rumours on our thread that we’re interested in Todorov. I’m aware he managed a decent goal return last season but is he actually any good?

Got a lot of joy. When there was good crosses coming in. But ineffective when that was coming from Storey or Sutherland, who were never going to provide the service he needs.