They should have kept the receipt

Coming hot on the heels of the postponement of the home match versus Celtic for this weekend, Aberdeen dropped the bombshell that Mark McGhee was leaving the club. McGhee was joined in his exit by Scott Leitch and goalkeeping coach Colin Meldrum.

McGhee becomes the latest Dons hero to fail in the hot-seat and you wonder what sort of man would be able to bring the good times back to Pittodrie? As McGhee will point out, injuries have hampered his team this season but even with that, some of the results have been deplorable. For instance, they lost at home to Rangers, something that hadn’t happened in years!

Okay, we’re joking about that but no doubt Rangers fans will take some joy in the exit of McGhee, but what about the Aberdeen fans?

The Dons supporters took joy in getting rid of Jimmy Calderwood but the short-sightedness of that has been proven by McGhee’s failure.

Hibs pulled a surprise by appointing Colin Calderwood to replace John Hughes and you wonder if Aberdeen will think outside of the box and announce someone from outside the merry-go-round of Scottish managers?

We can’t see the Dons going after John Hughes and they won’t be back in for Jimmy Calderwood but it wouldn’t shock you to see if they make a move for an SPL manager. Billy Reid of Hamilton and Derek McInnes of St Johnstone have a high reputation at the moment and they are probably bound for bigger things. McInnes will more than likely end up at a decent Championship club but there is something about Reid which makes him seem like a strong candidate for Aberdeen.

Aberdeen need someone to shake them up and to inspire the players that are at the club…but most clubs would benefit from a manager that could do them. It’ll be interesting to see what the Dons boss go for?

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Is it a case of when rather than if for McGhee?

With two tough games this week against Inverness Caley and Rangers, there may be a parting of the ways sooner rather than later.

Then again, many think the man that presided over the Dons worst ever defeat should already be gone from the Pittodrie hot-seat.

There is a precedent here with Ebbe Skovdahl presiding over an Aberdeen team that took many thumpings from Celtic. 5s, 6s and 7s were fairly common but the circumstances were a bit different.

Celtic were considered a far stronger team then, at least in expenditure and star names, whereas Aberdeen were largely reliant on youth. A myth has developed around Skovdahl about being the manager that gave youth a chance and then reaped rewards in the long run.

In all honesty, Skovdahl had no alternative to play the youngsters; that was all the players he had at his disposal. This provided Skovdahl the time to mould the squad together and allowed him the opportunity to bounce back from heavy defeats.

That and he seemed so likable with his cheery quips and enthusiasm about life.

McGhee though, his press conference on Monday made him like a man on the edge…as well he should.

Losing Paul Hartley was a big blow as he appears to be the main man at Aberdeen but even still, a 9-0 defeat should not be happening for Aberdeen in the SPL. Certainly not against a team who also played with ten men for over half the match.

The response and reaction is very important at Pittodrie tonight. Will the fans rally behind the team and management? In all likelihood, they’ll sit back and see how the team starts.

There is hope for Aberdeen, a few years back Celtic took 7 off St Mirren only for the Paisley team to defeat the Glasgow side in the cup a week later. Teams can bounce back from big defeats but Aberdeen haven’t had a lot of time to get over the defeat.

The dressing room chat will be about how it is good to get a game so quickly to get it out of the system but without a proper focus on returning to the basics, Aberdeen may struggle tonight.

The game tonight is so important that Saturday at Ibrox is almost meaningless (at least for now). There will likely be Aberdeen players who weren’t born the last time the Dons won at Ibrox, so that’s not a proper barometer of success or failure for a Dons boss.

In the words of Neil Young, Tonight’s the Night for Mark McGhee. Feel free to swap Neil Young for any other singer who has a song with that line it….it doesn’t change the importance for McGhee.

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Only thing they have won in a while

Okay, maybe not a sacking….mutual consent is yet again the official description.

It seemed to be just a matter of time before Hibs and John Hughes parted company and the 2-0 defeat at St Johnstone sealed the end for Yogi. It’s been quite a fall for a man that we here at WeKnowSFA hailed as a candidate for the manager of 2009.

The first half of that year saw Hughes take Falkirk to a League Cup semi-final, a Scottish Cup final, into Europe and maintained their SPL status on the final day of the season. In the summer he moved to Hibs and their start to the season gave the Easter Road crowd genuine hope of splitting Celtic and Rangers.

2010 was mainly a very bad year for Hibs
January 2010 was alright but from February onwards, there has been very little sunshine on Leith. With just one league win so far this season, coming on the opening day, and European and League Cup exits, there appeared to be little support for Hughes from the punters.

Strong start maybe worked against Hughes at Hibs
With the playing squad at Easter Road, even allowing for the sales and injuries, being involved at the bottom of the SPL is just not on and ultimately, this is what has caused the parting of the ways. In a way, the start that Hughes made at Hibs has probably went against him….the song “I Wish I Never Saw The Sunshine” springing to mind.

The international break provides time for Hibs to examine and interview possible replacements and the new man could be in place for the match against Kilmarnock on the 16th of October.

Who is your tip for Hibs boss?

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Time must be running out for Yogi

After a battling performance at Celtic Park last weekend many Hibees felt there was room for hope and optimism about their team turning around the fortune. We disagreed. We felt it would be another case of a side raising their game against Celtic or Rangers but failing to produce the same level of performance in their match in a more mundane game.

The match versus St Johnstone was the real test for John Hughes and Hibs and sadly, the Edinburgh club failed. Two late goals gave the Perth club victory, which sees them leapfrog Hibs in the league. The victory will have given Derek McInnes a bit more breathing space at McDiarmid Park but it looks fairly bleak for Hibs.

With just one league win this season, and that in the opening weekend, the pressure is really starting to build on Hughes. The loss of Anthony Stokes to Celtic and then an injury Daryl Duffy has limited the attacking options to Hughes.

With the international break meaning there are no SPL games next week, Hibs are not back in action for a fortnight. A home match against Kilmarnock could be another chance for Hughes to get his season back on track. Alternatively, it could see a new manager having a great opportunity to get their Hibs career off to a flier.

If Hughes is relieved of his duties at Hibs, who would be the likely candidates to take over at Easter Road?

Former Hibs player Michael O’Neill was linked with the Dundee United post when Craig Levein quit and his name will likely surface again this time. It’s hard to think of any first division manager worthy of a crack at an SPL club but perhaps the success of Craig Brown at Motherwell may influence the Hibs board?

Whilst John Hughes is still in charge, this sort of talk is mere speculation but there can be no doubt that time is running out for Hughes.

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Does the old school still have a place in Scottish football?

You’ve probably read this story by now but you know how it is midweek, it’s hard to stay on top of things.

Anyways, John ‘Cowboy’ McCormack and Hamilton Accies were in court recently and the full findings can be found here:
Scotcourts website

Some of the stuff we don’t want to get into, if even half of the allegations about comments and movements made towards the female physio are true, it’s fair to say that McCormack is a relic of a previous time.

McCormack will, and rightly so, point to the decision which was found in his favour but most of that is due to the Accies not following proper procedures and undertaking the right steps and processes. Such is the business world but Hamilton can have no one to blame but themselves for the finding.

However, we just want to think about the coaching stuff and the comments about the tournament in Oban seem particularly interesting!

First of all…the swearing. Yes, at a football match, whatever next!

It’s quite ironic for us because at the football match we were at this weekend, there were three ladies of a certain vintage in the row in front of us…not the sort of crowd you want in proximity when you bellow out “PLAY TO THE F***ING RULES REF!!”

Ha, a swift apology was offered up but one of the ladies was polite enough to respond “oh its okay, he deserved that, you can swear for us!

Haha but that’s the thing, football is an emotive thing and it is very easy to get caught up in it. When dealing with youth players there is a need to watch your language and try to set a positive tone. However, the Hamilton team that McCormack was in charge of ranged in age between 16 and 28 years. It was also McCormack’s first big challenge at Hamilton, and no doubt he was feeling pressure because of this.

The findings indicate that McCormack was like a different person away from the game, so it’s not as though he was a complete git…and there are many people who would be willing to speak up for a person.

The thing is, some players respond to cajoling and pressure better than others. A good manager is able to react to different players needs, knowing what one needs an arm around them, knowing what players need a rocket up their backside.

It’s like the incident in the room with the nutritionist. Taking a chair away from someone is the sort of craic and banter that many footballers say they miss the most when they retire…but then again, others will see it as childish and embarrassing.

It’s not as though McCormack’s style of management would have been a surprise to Accies, he had been in management since 1997 so there was plenty of examples they could have looked to. It’s likely that swearing and being loud would have been part of McCormack’s managerial style and surely Hamilton would have known this before they even approached him to work alongside Billy Reid.

The management style of McCormack is not the way of the modern manager (although it should be noted that he holds the UEFA professional licence and other coaching qualifications) but Scottish football has seen a renaissance from the experienced managers.

Craig Brown has been one of the biggest successes in the past season and of course, Walter Smith is still at the top of his game. Experience and traditional ways can still be a success in the modern era but a lot depends on the club and the attitudes of everyone involved.

Hamilton Accies are a modern, forward-thinking club who deserve a lot of praise for their youth academy…but maybe their way of life doesn’t suit the management style of McCormack.

So what do you think…..are managers in the style of John McCcormack out-dated or is there still room for a bit of swearing and bellowing in the modern game?

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It has to come now doesn’t it?

Sometimes when someone or something is in so much pain, the most humane thing is to stop the pain. We’re not trying to draw a comparison to Tony Mowbray’s tenure at Celtic and people suffering a serious illness, football’s football but it isn’t as important as life and death.

The thing is though; the most humane thing you could do to Tony Mowbray is to put him out of his current misery.

He looks the most miserable man on the planet (barring those in the stands wearing green and white) and is a man who appears to be out of his depth.

It’s not his fault for taking the job, he applied and was deemed the best out of the candidates who remained in the running. Yes he has had some bad luck, yes he has been on the end of some strange refereeing decisions but ultimately, Tony Mowbray isn’t up to the task of managing Celtic.

The constant changing of tactics and formations, baffling substitutions, unsettled line-ups, an attitude perceived to be weak and some of the most bizarre decision making you will ever see on a football field have all made the managers position virtually untenable.

In his post match press conference, Mowbray was making the same old noises about taking it on the chin and soldiering on so perhaps it is time for the decision to be taken out of Mowbray’s hands?

His pride or financial motives may mean he wont resign but there doesn’t appear to be the hope of any improvement for the hoops under him.

Of course, is it a case of better the devil you know?

The issue is not really about getting rid of Mowbray, it is about who could replace him and do a better job?

Many Celtic fans may say “anyone” but it is never as simple as that. You would think the club carried out a full search in the summer and if Mowbray was deemed to be the best candidate then, who is going to be better now?

Celtic fans
a) Should Mowbray be relieved of his duties?
b) If yes, who do you want to replace him?

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