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The Official Airdrieonians Thread - 2019/20 and beyond


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2 hours ago, Aufc said:

When is the West Ham striker signing?

Mad thing is, the player that was meant to come to us (Afolayan) ended up doing really well at Bolton and then got a £500k move to St Pauli in January there and has scored a few goals for them. That would’ve been Eoghan Stokes if it wasn’t for his injury. 

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4 minutes ago, GoalForAirdrie said:

Mad thing is, the player that was meant to come to us (Afolayan) ended up doing really well at Bolton and then got a £500k move to St Pauli in January there and has scored a few goals for them. That would’ve been Eoghan Stokes if it wasn’t for his injury. 

Sean Adarka was another one meant  to be joining at the same time also a left back aswell from there academy at the time 

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Notice a couple of clubs are going down the player/manager route for this coming season, with Elgin appointing Ross Draper and Kelty Hearts appointing Michael Tidser. I know we were far from the first team to do it, and at the time of McCabe’s appointment there was at least one other SPFL team that had a player/manager (Wullie Gibson at QOTS comes to mind), but you do wonder if McCabe’s success has inspired other teams to give their more experienced players a chance at managing.

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5 minutes ago, ShineOnYouCrazyDiamonds said:

Notice a couple of clubs are going down the player/manager route for this coming season, with Elgin appointing Ross Draper and Kelty Hearts appointing Michael Tidser. I know we were far from the first team to do it, and at the time of McCabe’s appointment there was at least one other SPFL team that had a player/manager (Wullie Gibson at QOTS comes to mind), but you do wonder if McCabe’s success has inspired other teams to give their more experienced players a chance at managing.

Maybe to do with economics? Previous examples were less successful; e.g. Dalglish, Souness 

 

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A year ago today since Rhys McCabe was appointed manager. To think this time last year we were all devastated after the defeat to Queens Park in the final to now being on cloud 9. It has been some journey and an incredible first season in management.

I also notice that Consilium Sports Group's Liam McStravick has joined the Northern Ireland U21 camp with Justin Devenny, wonder if he fancies a go at the Championsip with us next season.

a396a5_361956999bed49e9802c92003bb71492~mv2.jpg

Edited by David Fernández
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6 minutes ago, David Fernández said:

A year ago today since Rhys McCabe was appointed manager. To think this time last year we were all devastated after the defeat to Queens Park in the final to now being on cloud 9. It has been some journey and an incredible first season in management.

I also notice that Consilium Sports Group's Liam McStravick has joined the Northern Ireland U21 camp with Justin Devenny, wonder if he fancies a go at the Championsip with us next season.

a396a5_361956999bed49e9802c92003bb71492~mv2.jpg

Has been involved with linfields first team a good bit this year small fast winger Scottish game would help him build himself up 

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1 hour ago, ShineOnYouCrazyDiamonds said:

Notice a couple of clubs are going down the player/manager route for this coming season, with Elgin appointing Ross Draper and Kelty Hearts appointing Michael Tidser. I know we were far from the first team to do it, and at the time of McCabe’s appointment there was at least one other SPFL team that had a player/manager (Wullie Gibson at QOTS comes to mind), but you do wonder if McCabe’s success has inspired other teams to give their more experienced players a chance at managing.

 

1 hour ago, goodwin said:

Maybe to do with economics? Previous examples were less successful; e.g. Dalglish, Souness 

 

 

Economics must be part of it. McCabe and Fordyce will obviously be on more money than last season but I doubt very much they'll be getting the equivalent of a manager's salary plus a player's salary, so we'll be saving quite a chunk of money on both management roles. There's also the added benefit of them potentially being sold on like a player for profit.

I also think it's a complete lack of obvious potential managers. If you look down the league this season there are still a few of the old heads like Duffy, McGlynn and Rice. But there's not many about that have a good track record, and if they do then most clubs can't afford them. Given that, clubs are looking for new managers like McCabe, Gibson, Bartley, Maybury, Potter etc in the hope they strike it lucky. I suppose the next logical step is appoint a player/manager and save a bit of extra money. It's high risk as Queens found out, you can end with someone well out their depth and you won't know until they've ruined your season.

There are obvious drawbacks with it, but I think one unseen benefit is that you are likely to get a more united group as there can't really be that divide between the players and management team (especially when your assistant also plays) that can sometimes happen if results go downhill. I think we've seen that this season with us, there is clearly a real bond between the whole group but McCabe has still managed to retain that respect/fear from the players which must be a very fine line to walk. I do think if you're going to do it you need to be one of the better players though, even if you had great managerial skills it would be hard to manage if you were then going out onto the park and having a stinker every week. It will be interesting to see how McCabe and Fordyce manage that next season at a higher level where they may be the weaker players (depending how much we strengthen).

 

Edited by Diamonds are Forever
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34 minutes ago, Diamonds are Forever said:

Economics must be part of it. McCabe and Fordyce will obviously be on more money than last season but I doubt very much they'll be getting the equivalent of a manager's salary plus a player's salary, so we'll be saving quite a chunk of money on both management roles. There's also the added benefit of them potentially being sold on like a player for profit.

I also think it's a complete lack of obvious potential managers. If you look down the league this season there are still a few of the old heads like Duffy, McGlynn and Rice. But there's not many about that have a good track record, and if they do then most clubs can't afford them. Given that, clubs are looking for new managers like McCabe, Gibson, Bartley, Maybury, Potter etc in the hope they strike it lucky. I suppose the next logical step is appoint a player/manager and save a bit of extra money. It's high risk as Queens found out, you can end with someone well out their depth and you won't know until they've ruined your season.

There are obvious drawbacks with it, but I think one unseen benefit is that you are likely to get a more united group as there can't really be that divide between the players and management team (especially when your assistant also plays) that can sometimes happen if results go downhill. I think we've seen that this season with us, there is clearly a real bond between the whole group but McCabe has still managed to retain that respect/fear from the players which must be a very fine line to walk. I do think if you're going to do it you need to be one of the better players though, even if you had great managerial skills it would be hard to manage if you were then going out onto the park and having a stinker every week. It will be interesting to see how McCabe and Fordyce manage that next season at a higher level where they may be the weaker players (depending how much we strengthen).

 

Economics absolutely plays a major part in it. Not in your case but it's also often a way of getting a player to come to you who wouldn't otherwise have done so (see Rangers recruiting Graeme Souness for instance by offering the manager's job). It can often also be a way of keeping a senior player at the club. I've no idea if Rhys was considering moving on last summer but in the wake of Murray departing, offering him the manager role was a way of ensuring he didn't.

There is a trend these days to go for younger managers in the belief they will be "innovative" and not dinosaurs. Managers out of work for more than a year are unlikely to be considered, particularly at lower levels where in many respects the gamble is less in appointing someone new.

Personally though, and I've said this before, player managers have a very limited shelf life. I've seen many at close quarters (Wullie Gibson, Allan Johnston, George Rowe, Ken Eadie, Rowan Alexander). It's a short term solution and over the medium term the downsides outweigh the upsides. I actually think your "unseen benefit" is one of the biggest downsides and extremely difficult for a manager to get over. Indeed I'd have thought worse with you as the assistant is a player too but maybe that spreads the load a bit. A manager needs to be separate from his players. Too many player managers try to remain best mates with the players and it doesn't really work. Players need to be able to moan about the manager in the dressing room without him sitting next to them. Management need to make rational decision about players without them being the guy the pass the ball to on the pitch. It's a very difficult line to keep treading over time. McCabe seems from the outside to have done an excellent job of juggling it so far. I do think it likely he'll seldom play at Championship level though. Fordyce more likely to carry on but one of them will really need to be on the sideline more regularly.

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4 hours ago, GoalForAirdrie said:

Mad thing is, the player that was meant to come to us (Afolayan) ended up doing really well at Bolton and then got a £500k move to St Pauli in January there and has scored a few goals for them. That would’ve been Eoghan Stokes if it wasn’t for his injury. 

Eoghan Stokes would be playing at the most elite level conceivable if it wasn't for his injury, Neymar would currently be cleaning his boots in the PSG changing room.

© E.Stokes

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2 hours ago, Skyline Drifter said:

Economics absolutely plays a major part in it. Not in your case but it's also often a way of getting a player to come to you who wouldn't otherwise have done so (see Rangers recruiting Graeme Souness for instance by offering the manager's job). It can often also be a way of keeping a senior player at the club. I've no idea if Rhys was considering moving on last summer but in the wake of Murray departing, offering him the manager role was a way of ensuring he didn't.

There is a trend these days to go for younger managers in the belief they will be "innovative" and not dinosaurs. Managers out of work for more than a year are unlikely to be considered, particularly at lower levels where in many respects the gamble is less in appointing someone new.

Personally though, and I've said this before, player managers have a very limited shelf life. I've seen many at close quarters (Wullie Gibson, Allan Johnston, George Rowe, Ken Eadie, Rowan Alexander). It's a short term solution and over the medium term the downsides outweigh the upsides. I actually think your "unseen benefit" is one of the biggest downsides and extremely difficult for a manager to get over. Indeed I'd have thought worse with you as the assistant is a player too but maybe that spreads the load a bit. A manager needs to be separate from his players. Too many player managers try to remain best mates with the players and it doesn't really work. Players need to be able to moan about the manager in the dressing room without him sitting next to them. Management need to make rational decision about players without them being the guy the pass the ball to on the pitch. It's a very difficult line to keep treading over time. McCabe seems from the outside to have done an excellent job of juggling it so far. I do think it likely he'll seldom play at Championship level though. Fordyce more likely to carry on but one of them will really need to be on the sideline more regularly.

 

I'd agree generally but definitely this season I've seen nothing to suggest that Rhys struggles to maintain that kind of professional distance from the players and he's certainly not afraid to make tougher decisions. I remember early in the season he subbed Lewis Jamieson 2 minutes before half-time at Dunfermline as he wasn't happy with how he was following instructions. He could have waited 2 minutes until HT but I assume wanted to make a point to him and the players. Even last week after the Hamilton game he came out and publicly criticised Craig Watson for getting sent-off (when most fans were saying how harsh it was), a player who he played with last year and is mates with. He's done that a few other times too.

The caveats would be that we have a very young squad and we don't really have anyone who has had a better career than McCabe. So there is that respect and they look up to him, plus he's one of the better players. We also have a small squad so there's not really any tough decisions to be made, the team kind of picked itself, so there's not really any players who are going to cause disruption.

Next season will be really interesting. We'll presumably have a few higher quality signings and 'bigger names' who may challenge McCabe a bit more. We'll be losing more often which affects morale. And it will be much more debatable whether the management team are worth their place in the team. It may well force his hand into deciding whether he wants to keep playing or whether he wants to give his full focus to management. Given he doesn't have any pace to lose and his technical ability he could easily have played League 1 for another 2 or 3 years, it would be a shame if he retired early but it's a choice I think he'll be forced to make pretty soon, particularly if we manage to stay up next year.

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44 minutes ago, Diamonds are Forever said:

 

I'd agree generally but definitely this season I've seen nothing to suggest that Rhys struggles to maintain that kind of professional distance from the players and he's certainly not afraid to make tougher decisions. I remember early in the season he subbed Lewis Jamieson 2 minutes before half-time at Dunfermline as he wasn't happy with how he was following instructions. He could have waited 2 minutes until HT but I assume wanted to make a point to him and the players. Even last week after the Hamilton game he came out and publicly criticised Craig Watson for getting sent-off (when most fans were saying how harsh it was), a player who he played with last year and is mates with. He's done that a few other times too.

The caveats would be that we have a very young squad and we don't really have anyone who has had a better career than McCabe. So there is that respect and they look up to him, plus he's one of the better players. We also have a small squad so there's not really any tough decisions to be made, the team kind of picked itself, so there's not really any players who are going to cause disruption.

Next season will be really interesting. We'll presumably have a few higher quality signings and 'bigger names' who may challenge McCabe a bit more. We'll be losing more often which affects morale. And it will be much more debatable whether the management team are worth their place in the team. It may well force his hand into deciding whether he wants to keep playing or whether he wants to give his full focus to management. Given he doesn't have any pace to lose and his technical ability he could easily have played League 1 for another 2 or 3 years, it would be a shame if he retired early but it's a choice I think he'll be forced to make pretty soon, particularly if we manage to stay up next year.

Come on, who could be first to name positive signing .

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