The Ultimate Super Ayr Thread

[HMIP]

6 minutes ago, AyrExile said:

The Hughes situation seems to be like the Anderson one in accepting the club line. The recruitment process isn’t identical across all sectors and industries, particularly in a small world like football where everyone is known. Asking the question like Hughes did often saves a lot of effort and being left in limbo whilst an inevitable result concludes 

Point for me is that we were a full time top 4 championship side when McCall left.  Surely an attractive managerial vacancy?  Maybe we still see ourselves as League 1 part timers, but there’s no doubt for me we sold ourselves short appointing Kerr.

 The thing that really angers me about all this is that McCall’s appointment was the first time since Ally in the 80s that we went for an experienced manager with a track record of delivering at the level we see ourselves being at.  Did we learn the lesson?  No, we reverted back to a strategy of taking a punt on a rookie manager.  We didn’t even have the sense to team him up with an experienced coach or assistant.  I mainly feel sorry for Kerr, as he looks utterly lost at the moment.  

[Trogdor]

3 minutes ago, HMIP said:

Point for me is that we were a full time top 4 championship side when McCall left.  Surely an attractive managerial vacancy?  Maybe we still see ourselves as League 1 part timers, but there’s no doubt for me we sold ourselves short appointing Kerr.

 The thing that really angers me about all this is that McCall’s appointment was the first time since Ally in the 80s that we went for an experienced manager with a track record of delivering at the level we see ourselves being at.  Did we learn the lesson?  No, we reverted back to a strategy of taking a punt on a rookie manager.  We didn’t even have the sense to team him up with an experienced coach or assistant.  I mainly feel sorry for Kerr, as he looks utterly lost at the moment.  

There's a tad of revisionism here. I share your frustration btw.

However, even during Cameron's reign we appointed Neil Watt who had a track record at Stranraer. That was widely accepted as a disaster. Managerial appointments are always unpredictable. 

I agree with the broader point in that we have tended to go for internal appointments or junior no mark managers though.

[HMIP]

8 minutes ago, Trogdor said:

There's a tad of revisionism here. I share your frustration btw.

However, even during Cameron's reign we appointed Neil Watt who had a track record at Stranraer. That was widely accepted as a disaster. Managerial appointments are always unpredictable. 

I agree with the broader point in that we have tended to go for internal appointments or junior no mark managers though.

Watt had no record at championship level or at any full time club for that matter. My recollection is he won League 2 and promotion from League 1.  
Look at the list since Ally.  It’s grim.  
Burley (good coach but made his mistakes at Ayr), Stainrod (idiot), Dalziel (a profligate disaster), Money (meant well, but hopeless), Shanks (junior level manager), Robert Connor (meant well, but hamstrung by finances), Neil Watt (used car salesman), Brian Reid (did pretty well on a limited budget, don’t mention the semi final), Mark Roberts (utter trauma for everyone), Ian McCall (first Ayr manager in 40 years to be headhunted by another club, speaks volumes)

[yorkshirepud]

I've actually been quite supportive of Kerr despite what you may think. Not even advocating for him to get punted the now. Something felt different about yesterday though which has left me, and many others, extremely worried.

The thing about yesterday was just how predictable and inevitable the whole thing was. Another team sussed out how we play, nullified us, then made a couple of chances themselves before taking one and it was game over as we were never going to get back into it. We have failed to score in 3 of last 4 having only 2 blanks in 12 before that. We have picked up a grand total of one point from losing positions this season (Morton at Ayr) and have lost far too many from winning positions. We led at Morton, QOS, Hearts and ICT but picked up 1 solitary point from those 4. There is a lack of nous in this team that we can't shut out games from winning positions. Teams have worked out how to play us and Kerr needs to solve that problem very quickly.

[Finlay21]

1 hour ago, North British said:

 But like you say he won the Championship, kept County in the Premiership (total prize money £2.5 million) . Oh and also bounced Celtic out the Betfred at Parkhead . Yes there will be other candidates , but the guys last three years would surely be of interest to us . Or we could just offer it to the Moff , why change the habits of a lifetime ... ?

On top of all that HE was the manager that a Kerr managed  team pumped out the Scottish Cup , it’s obvious that Ferguson was the main man in that management partnership going by his promotion within the club , if we change manager , the next one will need some time as I would think he will be the manager who has to meet the chairman’s ambition of getting us into Premiership within next 4 seasons , 

Edited February 21, 2021 by Robbo63

[Trogdor]

4 minutes ago, HMIP said:

Watt had no record at championship level or at any full time club for that matter. My recollection is he won League 2 and promotion from League 1.  

Pretty sure he managed them in the old first division (Championship) and they were relegated. However, he had a track record of being able to get out of the old second division (League One) where we were languishing at the time. On paper, Watt was a decent appointment and had managed within the SFL (SPFL) unlike the other Cameron appointments up to then and afterwards until McCall.

That aside, I agree with your point on our managerial appointments.

[HMIP]

2 minutes ago, Trogdor said:

Pretty sure he managed them in the old first division (Championship) and they were relegated. However, he had a track record of being able to get out of the old second division (League One) where we were languishing at the time. On paper, Watt was a decent appointment and had managed within the SFL (SPFL) unlike the other Cameron appointments up to then and afterwards until McCall.

That aside, I agree with your point on our managerial appointments.

I wonder if Watt explained to Cameron that his strategy for success was to sign the Stranraer team from 3 seasons before!  Ouch...

[Trogdor]

3 minutes ago, HMIP said:

I wonder if Watt explained to Cameron that his strategy for success was to sign the Stranraer team from 3 seasons before!  Ouch...

Admittedly, it was a disaster. No doubt.

I do wonder if that had a bearing on Cameron's future management recruitment strategy though.

Even where McCall was concerned you could argue he was a cheap appointment, he had been out of the game for several years. Did he not credit a call/reference from Neil Lennon actually getting him the job? Its not like we appointed him from another club and paid any compo. Have we ever done that with a manager?

[diegomarahenry]

21 minutes ago, Trogdor said:

Admittedly, it was a disaster. No doubt.

I do wonder if that had a bearing on Cameron's future management recruitment strategy though.

Even where McCall was concerned you could argue he was a cheap appointment, he had been out of the game for several years. Did he not credit a call/reference from Neil Lennon actually getting him the job? Its not like we appointed him from another club and paid any compo. Have we ever done that with a manager?

I'm sure Watt was manager at Stranraer when we took him

[HMIP]

19 minutes ago, Trogdor said:

Admittedly, it was a disaster. No doubt.

I do wonder if that had a bearing on Cameron's future management recruitment strategy though.

Even where McCall was concerned you could argue he was a cheap appointment, he had been out of the game for several years. Did he not credit a call/reference from Neil Lennon actually getting him the job? Its not like we appointed him from another club and paid any compo. Have we ever done that with a manager?

Suggestion was that we were set to appoint Billy Stark (the best of a bad lot of applicants), then Lennon and Derek McInnes contacted him out the blue to recommend that McCall be given an interview.  Who knows.   I just always got the feeling that Cameron had so few contacts in the game that there weren’t many people he could turn to for help in identifying candidates.   

[HMIP]

4 minutes ago, diegomarahenry said:

I'm sure Watt was manager at Stranraer when we took him

He left after they were relegated.  We picked him up about a year later.

[Finlay21]

3 hours ago, THEHonestman1910 said:

Jim McIntyre - No thanks, hasn't done enough in recent years to warrant a move here.

Stuart Kettlewell - Done well the last time he was in this league (albeit, he was a partnership with a co-manager) . Steven Ferguson left then about 6 months later, Kettlewell was sacked. 

Martin Canning - Jesus Christ no

Peter Houston - Done well with Falkirk and unlucky not to have had them back in the SPL. Since sacked from Falkirk, he's done well with the Scotland youth side. He was probably the person I would've gone for when McCall left. 

Ian McCall - Yeah I'd probably have him back. I really don't care how he left us and I'm sure deep down he regretted the move. 

Steven Pressley - He'd probably want some stupid budget to come to us. Also said that he wouldn't manage another team in Scotland. 

David Hopkin - Done well at Livingston but Morton have got better since he left which would be a concern. 

Scott Marshall - Who?

 

A lot of those managers are probably better than what we've got right now. It's more of a case of what they'd bring to us long term. 

There are better assistant managers out there ready for a step up , better than  the usual has beens being banded about if we were to change 

[D'Jaffo]

There are better assistant managers out there ready for a step up , better than  the usual has beens being banded about if we were to change 

I get what you’re saying but were we to change manager then Smith would need to appoint someone with at least some form of managerial success elsewhere.

I’m not talking about trophies necessarily but even a lower league manager looking for a shot at a full time club.

[Jazzar]

4 minutes ago, Robbo63 said:

There are better assistant managers out there ready for a step up , better than  the usual has beens being banded about if we were to change 

Agreed. I'd call that a barge-pole list of managers with the possible exception of Kettlewell.

For what it's worth I reckon MK will have reached the end of his tether with recent performances on top of a horrid run of results before that. Some eye-opening team changes for Tuesday are fairly likely I'd say. 

[UpInTheAyr]

Keep it in the Smith family

[North British]

20 minutes ago, Jazzar said:

For what it's worth I reckon MK will have reached the end of his tether with recent performances on top of a horrid run of results before that. Some eye-opening team changes for Tuesday are fairly likely I'd say. 

It has to be a departure from the hopeless 4-2-3-1 ? He must be looking at simplification for the short term . If there is no loan coming in then let’s give McKenzie his chance leading the line with either Smith or McCowan beside him in a 4-4-2 . 

[ryanayr1987]

5 minutes ago, North British said:

It has to be a departure from the hopeless 4-2-3-1 ? He must be looking at simplification for the short term . If there is no loan coming in then let’s give McKenzie his chance leading the line with either Smith or McCowan beside him in a 4-4-2 . 

After yesterday I’m not sure Mckenzie’s  the answer. He couldn’t hit a barn door

[yorkshirepud]

4-4-2. Keep the same back 4. Bring McGavin in for either Murdoch or Chalmers as that pairing is struggling. McCowan left, Walsh right. Smith and Moff up front as a 2.
Or 4-4-3 with Chalmers, Murdich and McGavin in middle with any 3 from Smith, Moffat, McCowan and Walsh up top.
4-2-3-1 hasn't worked all season and I have no idea why Kerr is still persisting with it.

[callum-ayr]

51 minutes ago, ryanayr1987 said:

After yesterday I’m not sure Mckenzie’s  the answer. He couldn’t hit a barn door

For me he done more in his 15 or some minutes than what Moffat and Smith done in 90 minutes. I think he needs a good run of games and minutes to show us what he can do. He took the ball in well and turned the defender for his attempt on Saturday and was really unlucky. 

[ecocme]

442

Sinsalo

 

Houston

muirhead (c)

Baird

Nabda

 

McCowan

McGavin

Murdoch

Walsh

 

Moff

McKenzie

Edited February 21, 2021 by ecocme