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Berwick Rangers 2018/2019 Thread


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1 hour ago, Fergie1 said:

Again I belive it shows the manager out his depth, he has no idea who the person is he is meant to be speaking to yet carries on and discusses financial negotiations. If you ever get to see the recording you will understand what I mean. 

The manager Johnny Harvey is taking a hammering on here and other platforms. Unfortunately the majority of it is well justified, I’ve not seen anything that is personal against the guy, it is all football related. He has not done himself any favours with the interviews ect. Even I’m his post match interview after the drubbing yesterday he was on the verge of coming out with excuses, wasn’t a penalty ? Two wonder strikes to make it 3 -0, the goalie shouldn’t have been sent off ? The liability and team performance are fully the managers responsiblity, no more excuses, 

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As a non-local supporter my opinion will not hold much water, but so be it.

I can't blame the Cowden lads for their patter, following two years of absolute embarassment on their side of the fence. Berwick are a shambles unlike ever before seen in my time following the club (since 2013), and the ridicule aimed at us by the rest of the league is well-deserved.  I'm surprised it isn't dished out in greater amounts, but then most of the others are either good eggs or just not interested in us. If I was a Peterhead fan I wouldn't so much as glance in our direction, that's how irrelevant we are. Edinburgh City have made great strides since entering the league and are too happy (rightly so) to pay attention to us. Fecking Montrose of all teams is in League 1.

We fired Colin Cameron, which I was staunchly in favour of, but we barely improved under Coughlin.

We fired Coughlin, which I was staunchly opposed to, but I was happy to see Robbie Horn come despite no signs of improvement

We let Robbie go, which I was once again staunchly opposed to, but Harvey was brought in amongst a bit of optimism.

Unfortunately, it's like the plug's been pulled out of our bath since Harvey came in and now we're shivering as hope and time drains from around us at an alarming pace in what is possibly the worst analogy I've ever used. Nonetheless, I don't see how changing managers again will improve things, not with managerial departures having done very little for us in recent memory. I read comments about how we can't attract the right type of players, maybe this extends to managers as well? We can't even attract sponsors without a raffle anymore.

Matter of fact is that Harvey was deemed as the best candidate to bring us forward back when Robbie was let go; no way will we attract better managers if we oust him now, as no one with more than two brain cells to rub together will step aboard after a 7-1 clobbering against QP and be the third manager of the season despite it being January. I haven't seen any names being suggested, which is probably because there are few realistic targets that would be a guarantee for improvement.

Harvey is young and new to this level, but has approached this challenge with positivity and guts, for which I do very much commend him. The only fair way we can appraise him is through a full off-season of preparation, rather than him being thrust into a relegation dog battle and then tossed to the curb after a handful of matches helming a team that loses and gains players more often than I change out of my clogs. Fans from other teams harping on about him doesn't help the general mood either, even though they are the last people we should listen to on this matter.

The team is incredibly inconsistent from one match to the next under him, with QP being the low point so far. The second and third goals were absolute screamers but there is no excuse for the other four goals and the sending off of our keeper. Penalty was well-deserved and QP should have been awarded another one in all honesty, which is perhaps the only bit of luck we had on the day. This has clearly laid bare the issue of discipline, and perhaps denotes a lack of respect amongst the squad for Harvey, alongside clear mental vulnerability.

Is this the fault of Harvey, the fault of the budget, or of the players being a bit shite at times? A combination of all three, I believe, and what I'd ideally like to see is a veteran of the game, someone with natural authority, being added to the backroom staff as assistant manager/advisor to support and help Harvey where necessary. Someone who can fill in for Johnny's weak points and crack some skulls if players remain ill-disciplined. This was done to great effect at Feyenoord some years ago when Giovanni van Bronckhorst, who had all the playing credentials but zero managerial experience at top level, was backed by Dick Advocaat for half a season. Perhaps something similar, at our modest level, is the best way out of this mess without sacrificing Harvey before he's had a fair shake at things. It'd be an investment in Harvey and in the club, on our way to shithousing a couple of points on the board.

If we keep Harvey as is, I'll definitely support him for the time being, but if we fire him, we'll essentially be chancing things; beat Albion Rovers at least once to get to safety, or finish tenth and get our arses manhandled harder by Cove/East Kilbride than QP was ever capable of.

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1 hour ago, DutchBorderer said:

As a non-local supporter my opinion will not hold much water, but so be it.

I can't blame the Cowden lads for their patter, following two years of absolute embarassment on their side of the fence. Berwick are a shambles unlike ever before seen in my time following the club (since 2013), and the ridicule aimed at us by the rest of the league is well-deserved.  I'm surprised it isn't dished out in greater amounts, but then most of the others are either good eggs or just not interested in us. If I was a Peterhead fan I wouldn't so much as glance in our direction, that's how irrelevant we are. Edinburgh City have made great strides since entering the league and are too happy (rightly so) to pay attention to us. Fecking Montrose of all teams is in League 1.

We fired Colin Cameron, which I was staunchly in favour of, but we barely improved under Coughlin.

We fired Coughlin, which I was staunchly opposed to, but I was happy to see Robbie Horn come despite no signs of improvement

We let Robbie go, which I was once again staunchly opposed to, but Harvey was brought in amongst a bit of optimism.

Unfortunately, it's like the plug's been pulled out of our bath since Harvey came in and now we're shivering as hope and time drains from around us at an alarming pace in what is possibly the worst analogy I've ever used. Nonetheless, I don't see how changing managers again will improve things, not with managerial departures having done very little for us in recent memory. I read comments about how we can't attract the right type of players, maybe this extends to managers as well? We can't even attract sponsors without a raffle anymore.

Matter of fact is that Harvey was deemed as the best candidate to bring us forward back when Robbie was let go; no way will we attract better managers if we oust him now, as no one with more than two brain cells to rub together will step aboard after a 7-1 clobbering against QP and be the third manager of the season despite it being January. I haven't seen any names being suggested, which is probably because there are few realistic targets that would be a guarantee for improvement.

Harvey is young and new to this level, but has approached this challenge with positivity and guts, for which I do very much commend him. The only fair way we can appraise him is through a full off-season of preparation, rather than him being thrust into a relegation dog battle and then tossed to the curb after a handful of matches helming a team that loses and gains players more often than I change out of my clogs. Fans from other teams harping on about him doesn't help the general mood either, even though they are the last people we should listen to on this matter.

The team is incredibly inconsistent from one match to the next under him, with QP being the low point so far. The second and third goals were absolute screamers but there is no excuse for the other four goals and the sending off of our keeper. Penalty was well-deserved and QP should have been awarded another one in all honesty, which is perhaps the only bit of luck we had on the day. This has clearly laid bare the issue of discipline, and perhaps denotes a lack of respect amongst the squad for Harvey, alongside clear mental vulnerability.

Is this the fault of Harvey, the fault of the budget, or of the players being a bit shite at times? A combination of all three, I believe, and what I'd ideally like to see is a veteran of the game, someone with natural authority, being added to the backroom staff as assistant manager/advisor to support and help Harvey where necessary. Someone who can fill in for Johnny's weak points and crack some skulls if players remain ill-disciplined. This was done to great effect at Feyenoord some years ago when Giovanni van Bronckhorst, who had all the playing credentials but zero managerial experience at top level, was backed by Dick Advocaat for half a season. Perhaps something similar, at our modest level, is the best way out of this mess without sacrificing Harvey before he's had a fair shake at things. It'd be an investment in Harvey and in the club, on our way to shithousing a couple of points on the board.

If we keep Harvey as is, I'll definitely support him for the time being, but if we fire him, we'll essentially be chancing things; beat Albion Rovers at least once to get to safety, or finish tenth and get our arses manhandled harder by Cove/East Kilbride than QP was ever capable of.

Decent post. Don't think there is any chance of us sacking Harvey, but there must be a small chance he'll resign. 

The team sways from promising signs to utter gash on a weekly basis. (As BTU says, bit like my posts). 2 or 3 disasters in a row, with the transfer window closed and Harvey could be toast. 

The  biggest thing next week will be the reaction of the players. If they play like that again it suggests that they ain't overchuffed with the manager. 

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2 hours ago, DutchBorderer said:

As a non-local supporter my opinion will not hold much water, but so be it.

I can't blame the Cowden lads for their patter, following two years of absolute embarassment on their side of the fence. Berwick are a shambles unlike ever before seen in my time following the club (since 2013), and the ridicule aimed at us by the rest of the league is well-deserved.  I'm surprised it isn't dished out in greater amounts, but then most of the others are either good eggs or just not interested in us. If I was a Peterhead fan I wouldn't so much as glance in our direction, that's how irrelevant we are. Edinburgh City have made great strides since entering the league and are too happy (rightly so) to pay attention to us. Fecking Montrose of all teams is in League 1.

We fired Colin Cameron, which I was staunchly in favour of, but we barely improved under Coughlin.

We fired Coughlin, which I was staunchly opposed to, but I was happy to see Robbie Horn come despite no signs of improvement

We let Robbie go, which I was once again staunchly opposed to, but Harvey was brought in amongst a bit of optimism.

Unfortunately, it's like the plug's been pulled out of our bath since Harvey came in and now we're shivering as hope and time drains from around us at an alarming pace in what is possibly the worst analogy I've ever used. Nonetheless, I don't see how changing managers again will improve things, not with managerial departures having done very little for us in recent memory. I read comments about how we can't attract the right type of players, maybe this extends to managers as well? We can't even attract sponsors without a raffle anymore.

Matter of fact is that Harvey was deemed as the best candidate to bring us forward back when Robbie was let go; no way will we attract better managers if we oust him now, as no one with more than two brain cells to rub together will step aboard after a 7-1 clobbering against QP and be the third manager of the season despite it being January. I haven't seen any names being suggested, which is probably because there are few realistic targets that would be a guarantee for improvement.

Harvey is young and new to this level, but has approached this challenge with positivity and guts, for which I do very much commend him. The only fair way we can appraise him is through a full off-season of preparation, rather than him being thrust into a relegation dog battle and then tossed to the curb after a handful of matches helming a team that loses and gains players more often than I change out of my clogs. Fans from other teams harping on about him doesn't help the general mood either, even though they are the last people we should listen to on this matter.

The team is incredibly inconsistent from one match to the next under him, with QP being the low point so far. The second and third goals were absolute screamers but there is no excuse for the other four goals and the sending off of our keeper. Penalty was well-deserved and QP should have been awarded another one in all honesty, which is perhaps the only bit of luck we had on the day. This has clearly laid bare the issue of discipline, and perhaps denotes a lack of respect amongst the squad for Harvey, alongside clear mental vulnerability.

Is this the fault of Harvey, the fault of the budget, or of the players being a bit shite at times? A combination of all three, I believe, and what I'd ideally like to see is a veteran of the game, someone with natural authority, being added to the backroom staff as assistant manager/advisor to support and help Harvey where necessary. Someone who can fill in for Johnny's weak points and crack some skulls if players remain ill-disciplined. This was done to great effect at Feyenoord some years ago when Giovanni van Bronckhorst, who had all the playing credentials but zero managerial experience at top level, was backed by Dick Advocaat for half a season. Perhaps something similar, at our modest level, is the best way out of this mess without sacrificing Harvey before he's had a fair shake at things. It'd be an investment in Harvey and in the club, on our way to shithousing a couple of points on the board.

If we keep Harvey as is, I'll definitely support him for the time being, but if we fire him, we'll essentially be chancing things; beat Albion Rovers at least once to get to safety, or finish tenth and get our arses manhandled harder by Cove/East Kilbride than QP was ever capable of.

I can't remember a post of yours that I've agreed with any of, but I do with most of this. That said, I think a backroom addition of that nature is probably unlikely unless Coughlin fancies a highly unlikely return or we decide to give Jimmy Crease his 48th spell of responsibility. 

I wouldn't want Harvey gone (a sudden influx of 6 post accounts that claim to be Berwick fans won't change that), but clearly all is not well. Reading between the lines of interviews, I think he knows he's stuck with the squad we've got, maybe with 1-2 more at a push. And no wonder - I reckon he's made about 10 new signings.

I don't make any secret of thinking we're absolutely shite. A managerial change isn't going to change that. In fact if he did go, I think it'd probably be the final nail in the coffin. For me, the best thing we can do is hope that Harvey can find a way to persuade a couple of proven faces to the club in the coming days and either way, get behind the team.

Albion are shit too but I expect their new signings will see them pick more points up between now and the seasons end. We'll take more humpings but there'll also be games that can go either way. 

Finally, Jamie Todd's family and friends are absolute fucking weirdos.

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5 hours ago, Muzza81 said:

A certain smart arse Berwick fan deleting posts once he’s been shown up to be an idiot? Shocking. 

Bang on. This Berwick fan was influential in Harvey’s arrival and quite clearly didn’t want any more embarrassment or anymore spotlight on him so probably thought better not to bring the video to light on here. 

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I do think that there are typical dynamics for even a moderately successful team.

Budget appropriate to your ambition; leaving this polarizing topic right there.

Sufficient player quality appropriate to your ambition. It's equally polarizing; if that's survival in 9th or league champions. Achievable goal....

Unity of players and manager: yep, the general view on that is, well, etc etc...

Leader on the field, a great pro dyed in the wool, supporting the manager, driving the players to meet the clubs ambition. Just not seen for some time, and the single most important missing link.

The first 2 are linked, and are, as far as I can see, in hand. But are long term success criteria and need some patience.

The last just has to happen soon, or we are in soapy bubble. A leader on the field is required and will be massive.

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A lot of Albion Rovers recent matches have been close. Thumped on Saturday, but the early sending off played a part in that. They do look like they will pick up points and have home advantage against you early March.

You really need to pick up points in the three home games next month.

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Well Johnny said a week ago we have played quality sides recently, we will get a better idea when we play QP. There's your answer. Absolutely torn apart by the side directly above us. Not a premier league club. Not a league above. Queens effing Park. Tbh this had been coming. Peterhead skidded 5 past us without breaking sweat. Clyde and Annan 4 going on 8 or 9. Cowdungbeath have beaten us easily, more Ill discipline there I may add and I will remind everyone Albion scored 3 before we got our act together. Etc etc, a defensive shit fest. We have been a shambles all season and yes it's getting worse. Time, and it seems resources we don't have. Which brings me to my main ire. Where oh where is the football direction at our club? The same crap has been ploughed out for years now with no obvious plan or strategy. I've seen Jimmy Thomson get roasted in the stands, the roof come off literally, diesel gate, heartbreaking late goals and humiliation at the hands of, 'minnows' but this is a disgrace. A shameful result and it has finally rattled a few cages, where are the directors? Surely we need a statement of intent. But no, I actually thought Johnny would have ducked out yesterday but he didn't. Fair play to him, embarrassing with his family watching. The thing is I just feel he is out of his depth and I'm sorry but his selections, team formations and his leadership just dont cut it. Trying to play silly systems with players who need to be 4-4-2 not piddling about trying back passes against red hot strikers is suicidal. Signing more unknown inexperienced non-league players when clearly seasoned experience is desperately needed. I worry for him I really do.
Anyway, directors. The early season dissary was indicative of where we find ourselves. A mutiny of sorts the Tory party would be proud of. Wannabies and could've beens who couldn't and aren't and we all gleefully relaxed when we as supporters should have been told exactly what the remaining directors where going to do to bring stability and longevity to Berwick Rangers, but hey we got the pound a point scheme. That's working well! How much did they think that was going to bring in to the war chest?
Not saying anything personal, sometimes people are good with administration but wouldn't know what makes a good centre-back. Sometimes the perfect host wouldn't know a holding midfielder from another. The truth is the Club has too much dead wood upstairs, end of. Time to end the blazer mentality that has gone on far too long. New investment and football nous. Edinburgh had Jim Jeffries sitting in our directors box. Kind of ironic don't you think? Desperate , and yet all too predictable times.

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Enough has been said already, so my only comment is this, back in September we were told we are all pulling in the same direction, my comment then Was, ‘ let’s hope that direction isn’t the EOS,’ all I can say is ‘nothing has changed’ as a lady famously  once said. Thank fook for Albion fookin’ Rovers 

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10 hours ago, sammyreidloyal said:

Well Johnny said a week ago we have played quality sides recently, we will get a better idea when we play QP. There's your answer. Absolutely torn apart by the side directly above us. Not a premier league club. Not a league above. Queens effing Park. Tbh this had been coming. Peterhead skidded 5 past us without breaking sweat. Clyde and Annan 4 going on 8 or 9. Cowdungbeath have beaten us easily, more Ill discipline there I may add and I will remind everyone Albion scored 3 before we got our act together. Etc etc, a defensive shit fest. We have been a shambles all season and yes it's getting worse. Time, and it seems resources we don't have. Which brings me to my main ire. Where oh where is the football direction at our club? The same crap has been ploughed out for years now with no obvious plan or strategy. I've seen Jimmy Thomson get roasted in the stands, the roof come off literally, diesel gate, heartbreaking late goals and humiliation at the hands of, 'minnows' but this is a disgrace. A shameful result and it has finally rattled a few cages, where are the directors? Surely we need a statement of intent. But no, I actually thought Johnny would have ducked out yesterday but he didn't. Fair play to him, embarrassing with his family watching. The thing is I just feel he is out of his depth and I'm sorry but his selections, team formations and his leadership just dont cut it. Trying to play silly systems with players who need to be 4-4-2 not piddling about trying back passes against red hot strikers is suicidal. Signing more unknown inexperienced non-league players when clearly seasoned experience is desperately needed. I worry for him I really do.
Anyway, directors. The early season dissary was indicative of where we find ourselves. A mutiny of sorts the Tory party would be proud of. Wannabies and could've beens who couldn't and aren't and we all gleefully relaxed when we as supporters should have been told exactly what the remaining directors where going to do to bring stability and longevity to Berwick Rangers, but hey we got the pound a point scheme. That's working well! How much did they think that was going to bring in to the war chest?
Not saying anything personal, sometimes people are good with administration but wouldn't know what makes a good centre-back. Sometimes the perfect host wouldn't know a holding midfielder from another. The truth is the Club has too much dead wood upstairs, end of. Time to end the blazer mentality that has gone on far too long. New investment and football nous. Edinburgh had Jim Jeffries sitting in our directors box. Kind of ironic don't you think? Desperate , and yet all too predictable times.

Loads of anger and despair after a thoroughly embarrassing display at QP. This however, neatly sums up the bigger picture for me. 

On to Annan now, and just hoping Johnny Harvey can prove he is the Manager we all hoped he'd be. 

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3 hours ago, Fergie1 said:

Gaz Phillips signs for Albion. Personally felt his better days were maybe behind him but always gave maximum effort. Wish him all the best, hopefully he doesnt  come back to haunt us! 

Surprised Darren Lavery hasn't ended up there. 

Still a decent player in Phillips, somewhere. Hope Albion don't find him. 

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3 minutes ago, Fergie1 said:

Hopefully the gaffer is chasing Marsh who has just left cowden. Looked good against us this season, certainly better than what we currently have. 

Gone to Stenny. 

Great to see your reserve team following in the footsteps of your senior team. 

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Perhaps an unpopular opinion, but Harvey has what it takes to be a brilliant manager at Berwick. Young, forward thinking and not afraid to try out radical new styles. It was always going to be an uphill battle for Berwick after the departure of such an accomplished administrator like Coughlin - not to mention Horne's car crash of a managerial stint in between.

And as for Berwick's technically-deficient, streak-of-piss midfield - whatever happened to Lee Currie? Such was his playmaking prowess in his spell at Shielfield that he won a trial at Hearts. Surely Currie would relish the opportunity to get back into the senior game and make a name for himself - and improve the fortunes of a club close to his heart - once more.

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11 hours ago, Callous_Pint said:

Perhaps an unpopular opinion, but Harvey has what it takes to be a brilliant manager at Berwick. Young, forward thinking and not afraid to try out radical new styles. It was always going to be an uphill battle for Berwick after the departure of such an accomplished administrator like Coughlin - not to mention Horne's car crash of a managerial stint in between.

And as for Berwick's technically-deficient, streak-of-piss midfield - whatever happened to Lee Currie? Such was his playmaking prowess in his spell at Shielfield that he won a trial at Hearts. Surely Currie would relish the opportunity to get back into the senior game and make a name for himself - and improve the fortunes of a club close to his heart - once more.

I don’t think there’s any doubt Harvey may have the potential to be a good manager. I think he is probably a really good coach, he does try and play football from the back and has the right philosophy and ideas if you like.

My problem is I don’t think that what we need at Berwick right now with the position that we are in. I’ve seen and heard some of our supporters refer to cowden as a gang etc. But I’m sorry I would love it if Berwick were a gang right now and sitting in cowdens league position. I think it’s horses for courses and right now we don’t have the personnel or quality to play football the way Jonny would like and that includes the players that he has brought in. Hopefully He has maybe realised that. But I think from the interviews in which I have seen he won’t stray from his beliefs. 

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