Pars v Arbroath

[kelty_par]

9 hours ago, GG Riva said:

Leishman was great for the Pars, first time around, but let's not get too carried away by the return of the Messiah. Sure enough, in his first game back, we beat Dundee 5-0. I was at the game. We went in 4-0 up at halftime in what was a fairly even 45 mins. Dundee created some very good chances, thanks to some rampaging runs and inviting crosses by Caballero on the left wing, but contrived to miss them all.

No such luck for Dundee. They had Soapy Soutar in goal. (The soap was on his palms) To say he had a nightmare is a gross understatement. He was in tears during the interval. He did better in the 2nd half but the baw was burst by then. We also did well in the next game, carving out a gritty 1-0 win at Tannadice. Maybe we should draw a veil over our last game of the season at Rugby Park - 0-4 going on 0-8. Killie took their foot off the gas in the 2nd half or we might still have gone down on GD,

Leish stayed on as manager at the start of the following season, but quickly realised that his passionate pre match talks about playing for the jersey fell on stony ground with that squad. Before long, he was helping the Board to appoint his successor..... A certain Mr Stephen Kenny.

Kind of missing the point, another poster said it’s too late to change manager at this stage of a season, was just giving an example of one who had so little time yet worked wonders 

[GG Riva]

8 hours ago, kelty_par said:

Kind of missing the point, another poster said it’s too late to change manager at this stage of a season, was just giving an example of one who had so little time yet worked wonders 

Yea, I got that. I don't have any stats for it, but I think the "new manager bounce" theory is a bit overstated. Most of the time, it doesn't work - a bit like the conviction that former players always scoring against their old team. They usually don't. Trouble is, our brains are trained to remember events that happen, not those that don't. So next time we play Queens Park, we'll be expecting Dom Thomas to score again, but we've forgotten that John Hughes failed to stop us getting relegated after Peter Grant was sacked - and he had a lot more than 3 games to achieve it.

[Eastendtales]

4 hours ago, GG Riva said:

Yea, I got that. I don't have any stats for it, but I think the "new manager bounce" theory is a bit overstated. Most of the time, it doesn't work - a bit like the conviction that former players always scoring against their old team. They usually don't. Trouble is, our brains are trained to remember events that happen, not those that don't. So next time we play Queens Park, we'll be expecting Dom Thomas to score again, but we've forgotten that John Hughes failed to stop us getting relegated after Peter Grant was sacked - and he had a lot more than 3 games to achieve it.

Eh, nobody has forgotten that i am fairly certain. 

[Grant]

5 hours ago, GG Riva said:

Yea, I got that. I don't have any stats for it, but I think the "new manager bounce" theory is a bit overstated. Most of the time, it doesn't work - a bit like the conviction that former players always scoring against their old team. They usually don't. Trouble is, our brains are trained to remember events that happen, not those that don't. So next time we play Queens Park, we'll be expecting Dom Thomas to score again, but we've forgotten that John Hughes failed to stop us getting relegated after Peter Grant was sacked - and he had a lot more than 3 games to achieve it.

I think the key is appointing the correct replacement. We got exactly what I expected when we appointed Hughes. 

I reckon QP are a bit better of with Davidson at the helm than the chancer before him. 

[GG Riva]

3 hours ago, Eastendtales said:

Eh, nobody has forgotten that i am fairly certain. 

No, I know, it's too recent - and painful, but in time we will. I picked a poor example, but the principle is correct. We forget things that don't  happen. Thinking it through we haven't forgotten it because something DID happen - he got us relegated! I'll bet Rovers fans will remember him, too. 😄

1 hour ago, Grant said:

I think the key is appointing the correct replacement. We got exactly what I expected when we appointed Hughes. 

I reckon QP are a bit better of with Davidson at the helm than the chancer before him. 

I can't disagree with you there, Grant, but that begs the question; who is out there who can improve the fit players McPake has available, that we can afford and is keen to take a short term job demanding instant results? And that's before any consideration of how much it would cost to sack McPake and Mackay and who would pay their compensation. I know our investors are not short of a few £ but the club isn't exactly awash with cash. David Cook said at a recent supporters meeting that we lost a significant sum in League 1.

No, I think McPake and Mackay know the players better than any new man coming in and should be given until the end of the season to keep us up. I believe they can and results will improve as our injured players start to return. 

Edited February 15 by GG Riva

[Grant]

32 minutes ago, GG Riva said:

No, I know, it's too recent - and painful, but in time we will. I picked a poor example, but the principle is correct. We forget things that don't  happen. Thinking it through we haven't forgotten it because something DID happen - he got us relegated! I'll bet Rovers fans will remember him, too. 😄

I can't disagree with you there, Grant, but that begs the question; who is out there who can improve the fit players McPake has available, that we can afford and is keen to take a short term job demanding instant results? And that's before any consideration of how much it would cost to sack McPake and Mackay and who would pay their compensation. I know our investors are not short of a few £ but the club isn't exactly awash with cash. David Cook said at a recent supporters meeting that we lost a significant sum in League 1.

No, I think McPake and Mackay know the players better than any new man coming in and should be given until the end of the season to keep us up. I believe they can and results will improve as our injured players start to return. 

My only concern GG is the state of McPake, the last couple of weeks he's looked utterly done in the sideline when we've conceded. Gone seems to be last seasons McPake who was changing tactics and mixing it up when things weren't going well. 

 

Is there anyone out there as good as McPake from last season? No. Not even close, however I do wonder how much the injury crisis has jaded him. 

[Yorkiepar]

49 minutes ago, Grant said:

My only concern GG is the state of McPake, the last couple of weeks he's looked utterly done in the sideline when we've conceded. Gone seems to be last seasons McPake who was changing tactics and mixing it up when things weren't going well. 

 

Is there anyone out there as good as McPake from last season? No. Not even close, however I do wonder how much the injury crisis has jaded him. 

Agree totally. He sounds and looks totally fed up - and who could blame him. This season has been a complete nightmare. But we’re not down yet and I hope he can still turn things around - at least to win enough points to stay up. I know it’s a matter of personal opinion but I rate him highly as a manager and would be very sorry to see him go. With a new season and a clean sheet I think he could do very well.

[GG Riva]

1 hour ago, Grant said:

My only concern GG is the state of McPake, the last couple of weeks he's looked utterly done in the sideline when we've conceded. Gone seems to be last seasons McPake who was changing tactics and mixing it up when things weren't going well. 

 

Is there anyone out there as good as McPake from last season? No. Not even close, however I do wonder how much the injury crisis has jaded him. 

Again, I don't disagree, but we're seeing him during and after games in which we've been well beaten. You'd have plenty to say if he walked off all smiling and carefree. All the players were totally gutted after our most recent games - they hate losing as much as we do - maybe even more, believe me. On the Monday after a game, they come in, go through the last game with the manager, look at the good and bad and discuss how they can reduce mistakes and improve for the next game. I think if you went and watched the squad training in midweek, you'd find their body language and that of the management team had improved significantly. 

[Eastendtales]

Sometimes looking like you care is almost as important as actually caring. Fans need to know that we're not being led by someone who has given up. 

[Rossmcno1]

5 minutes ago, Eastendtales said:

Sometimes looking like you care is almost as important as actually caring. Fans need to know that we're not being led by someone who has given up. 

This.  The pre match interviews with McPake and OHalleron last week before the QP game were awful to watch.  I knew after watching those we’d be in trouble.  They both looked utterly done and came across exasperated, tired, out of ideas.  Thats the manager and one of the senior pros.  I’m hopeful Kane coming on board plus another one or two will improve the mood and the options.

 

I don’t buy it that a manager change is needed.  Almost every game i look at the available players and despair, as there’s not much else he can do with the available personnel.  Theres so little room for him to change things too, which is where he really earned his corn last year.  

Edited February 15 by Rossmcno1

[Grant]

1 hour ago, GG Riva said:

Again, I don't disagree, but we're seeing him during and after games in which we've been well beaten. You'd have plenty to say if he walked off all smiling and carefree. All the players were totally gutted after our most recent games - they hate losing as much as we do - maybe even more, believe me. On the Monday after a game, they come in, go through the last game with the manager, look at the good and bad and discuss how they can reduce mistakes and improve for the next game. I think if you went and watched the squad training in midweek, you'd find their body language and that of the management team had improved significantly. 

Aye, but it doesn't bode well if your gaffer is just throwing the towel in as soon as we go behind. It doesn't matter if he's more cheerful during training if the situation has gotten to him to the extent that going 1-0 down to the team second bottom in the table at home. We weren't well beaten at that time but looking at the dugout and our lack of reaction you'd think it was game over. 

McPake done fantastic last season, and was doing well enough earlier in the season, but much like players can lose form it almost looks like McPake could do with some time away. If only we could bring a manager in on loan for a wee bit! 

[Piracy]

Now is exactly the time McPake will learn about himself and if he finds a way to improve things he will carry that experience with him for life. He's a young man in a high pressure position and he should be receiving support and mentoring from Cook and Meggle. There's only so much you can achieve with ambition and raw talent. Best thing supporters can do is get behind them. Support their efforts and we'll see where it takes us on Saturday. 

[buspasspar]

8 minutes ago, Piracy said:

Now is exactly the time McPake will learn about himself and if he finds a way to improve things he will carry that experience with him for life. He's a young man in a high pressure position and he should be receiving support and mentoring from Cook and Meggle. There's only so much you can achieve with ambition and raw talent. Best thing supporters can do is get behind them. Support their efforts and we'll see where it takes us on Saturday. 

Good post Piracy .. we all need to be positive .. I would hope he is getting support .. but we don't know .. Is Cook the right man to support him ? .. again we don't know .. some on here will tho .. COYP 

[Secure Par]

I would expect McPake to be dejected etc after last Saturday’s game but he must get the team back on track for a really important game against Arbroath.

i just hope either Otto/Hamilton can get back in midfield. Plus Kane needs decent service. 

[Eastendtales]

I'm worried if he can't seem to motivate this squad. But it feels strange if that's true because you only have to look at both away games at Airdrie last season to see examples of how we fought to the (not literal) death.

Has something changed? I dunno. Everything is worrying right now though, or I might be projecting my own inner concerns out through this.