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Steve Clark - Not a one season wonder after all


davie1980

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15 hours ago, Ministry of Football said:

Lot of absolute nonsense on here about some hate campaign against Levein, as if that is the reason supporters question his tenure in charge. 

 

It is all about results and competing for trophies, nothing else matters. 

 

Our first 10 games saw us top of the league and even played some exceptional football during this period. From time to time we rode our luck, but that is football. Levein deserved all the praise he got. 

 

Now however, including cup games, we haven't won in 7 and Levein genuinely seems out of his depth. Injuries have not helped, but it is the managers responsibility to prepare us for all eventualities. We sold Lafferty and did not get Vanachek. Instead Levein himself chose to spend money on Clare and Wighton. I suspect that if we offered all that money for Vanachek, he would be here by now. Levein must be judged on his decisions. 

 

My opinion on this is that Levein is a safe pair of hands. If you are happy with that, then fine. If you want to see us win something however, we will probably need something different. 

 

Does he deserve to be sacked at this in time? Of course not, that is just rediculous. If we don't get our act together soon or do well in the Scottish Cup... Hearts aren't some charity for constant failure. 

 

Everyone manager has a shelf life and Levein has been here for a long time now. I'm my opinion he has to really compete or win something to earn a continuation of employment. Mid table and bottling it in really big games isn't my idea of how Hearts should be setup. When there are managers like Clarke at Killie, performing absolute miracles and competing against the old firm on a tiny budget, we must not accept second best. 

 

If and when we do decide on a change, it must also be a clean break. No going upstairs nonsense. 

 

I honestly think Levein has earned the right to see how this season pans out, before being fully judged.

 

 

 

Great post. :clap: 

 

14 hours ago, To Be Frank said:

 

In August 2017, did you know Steve Clarke (who had been out of a job for a year and not employed by anybody else) was a fantastic manager?

 

This is the correct question. At that time, there was nothing in his back catalogue to suggest he'd go on to do what he has. Nothing. He's amazed everyone - albeit, hasn't achieved anything tangible yet. Whether he will? Who knows?

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Geoff Kilpatrick
2 hours ago, EastSideJambo said:

Not really Geoff. Both clubs are moving in diametrically differing directions in the table 

 

I hope I'm wrong and our fortunes improve starting today. Six points between now and Friday would be most welcome 

 

Back to back finishes behind Killie would be tough to justify 

"Nailed on". My arse!

 

"I hope I'm wrong...". My arse!

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2 minutes ago, Geoff Kilpatrick said:

"Nailed on". My arse!

 

Kilmarnock were 'nailed on' to finish 2nd at the winter shutdown in 1998/9.

 

They ended up 4th. Below St Johnstone.

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Geoff Kilpatrick
14 minutes ago, shaun.lawson said:

 

Kilmarnock were 'nailed on' to finish 2nd at the winter shutdown in 1998/9.

 

They ended up 4th. Below St Johnstone.

Quite.

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On 05/12/2018 at 22:59, magicTs said:

In the last calendar year, from the start of December 2017, Steve Clarke's Kilmarnock side have played 36 SPL games:

 

23 wins

9 draws

4 defeats 

 

78pts out of a possible 108pts.

 

In the same calendar year, since the start of December 2017, Craig Levein's Hearts side have played 39 SPL games:

 

16 wins

11 draws

12 defeats

 

59pts out of a possible 117pts.

 

So Kilmarnock despite having played 3 less league games than Hearts have taken NINETEEN points more than us. Clarke is doing an absolutely phenomenal job with a fraction of the resources, far poorer facilities and about a third of the fanbase that Levein has at his disposal. He should have been appointed Hearts manager when Cathro was given the boot, he was the very obvious choice within Scottish football and I have no doubt whatsoever we would be top of the SPL right now and not Kilmarnock. I would love to see what he would be doing with the players we have available and I'm sure he would have brought in some far better than the numerous duds we've again conspired to end up with. 

 Love posts like this. Appreciate the analysis. 

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5 hours ago, shaun.lawson said:

This is the correct question. At that time, there was nothing in his back catalogue to suggest he'd go on to do what he has. Nothing. He's amazed everyone - albeit, hasn't achieved anything tangible yet. Whether he will? Who knows?

 

Clarke is an unusual one, there is a post quoted by Deodato that says “he (Clarke) was the very obvious choice within Scottish football”. However, in the period since he was released by Villa half the teams in our league changed manager and none appointed him, this included us and of course Killie who eventually appointed him after their second vacancy.

 

There is no doubt he has been an incredible appointment for Kilmarnock. However, I don’t think we should spend too much time lamenting that we didn’t identify a surprisingly inexperienced Clarke (I thought he had more than 2.5 seasons prior to Killie as a boss) as our next manager.

 

At West Brom he had 6 great months, 6 average and 6 poor followed up by a 35% win rate with Reading and dismissed within a year.

 

He is the obvious choice within Scottish football today, his Kilmarnock record confirms this beyond doubt, but let’s not rewrite history and argue that he was the obvious answer staring us in the face both pre and post Cathro.

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9 minutes ago, JamboGraham said:

 

Clarke is an unusual one, there is a post quoted by Deodato that says “he (Clarke) was the very obvious choice within Scottish football”. However, in the period since he was released by Villa half the teams in our league changed manager and none appointed him, this included us and of course Killie who eventually appointed him after their second vacancy.

 

There is no doubt he has been an incredible appointment for Kilmarnock. However, I don’t think we should spend too much time lamenting that we didn’t identify a surprisingly inexperienced Clarke (I thought he had more than 2.5 seasons prior to Killie as a boss) as our next manager.

 

At West Brom he had 6 great months, 6 average and 6 poor followed up by a 35% win rate with Reading and dismissed within a year.

 

He is the obvious choice within Scottish football today, his Kilmarnock record confirms this beyond doubt, but let’s not rewrite history and argue that he was the obvious answer staring us in the face both pre and post Cathro.

 

Let's also keep in mind that he didn't want the Hearts job when it came up, or at least he didn't apply for it despite being unemployed and actively looking for work. He's also said he's at Killie because they were his boyhood club, that he wasn't interested in the rangers job and that if he moves anywhere it'll be back to England.

 

Yeah he's doing well but any suggestion that we missed a trick doesn't really stand up.

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Ministry of Football
1 hour ago, Smithee said:

 

Let's also keep in mind that he didn't want the Hearts job when it came up, or at least he didn't apply for it despite being unemployed and actively looking for work. He's also said he's at Killie because they were his boyhood club, that he wasn't interested in the rangers job and that if he moves anywhere it'll be back to England.

 

Yeah he's doing well but any suggestion that we missed a trick doesn't really stand up.

Would be have wanted to work under Levein.... 

 

I think he has proved he is more than able to manage and indeed transform a club, all by himself. 

 

When Levein does eventually move on, there must be no moving upstairs so this kind of thing does not happen again. If Levein can do the manager and DOF roles in one, so can anyone else. 

Edited by Ministry of Football
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Don't know if this has been mentioned, the story through here is that his wife comes from the area and that there are elderly parents. He's here for family reasons apparently, and the Killie job suits his situation.

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5 minutes ago, Ministry of Football said:

Would be have wanted to work under Levein.... 

 

I think he has proved he is more than able to manage and indeed transform a club, all by himself. 

 

When Levein does eventually move on, there must be no moving upstairs so this kind of thing does not happen again. If Levein can do the manager and DOF roles in one, so can anyone else. 

So just ignore that he's not interested in bigger clubs than us in Scotland and only wants Killie or a move to England, it's all Levein's fault? Cool. 

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I might just bring out the Macallan single malt and raise a wee glass to Brendan and the boys for keeping the league the way it should be :greggy:

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3 hours ago, upgotheheads said:

Don't know if this has been mentioned, the story through here is that his wife comes from the area and that there are elderly parents. He's here for family reasons apparently, and the Killie job suits his situation.

That and his brother approached him I think in relation to it on behalf of the Killie board. As it was Killie and personal reasons he found common ground with them. He also has stated he wont go anywhere else up here its either Killie ir back South depending in the family situation.

 

Something like that anyway

 

but don’t let that knock anyone off their moaning trains

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3 hours ago, Ministry of Football said:

Would be have wanted to work under Levein.... 

 

I think he has proved he is more than able to manage and indeed transform a club, all by himself. 

 

When Levein does eventually move on, there must be no moving upstairs so this kind of thing does not happen again. If Levein can do the manager and DOF roles in one, so can anyone else. 

 

I read this a lot about so and so not wanting to work with Levein. Is there any actual evidence of this? In fact the evidence is there that Levein has launched or at minimum helped along the careers of several coaches and managers, Neilson, Houston, Cathro (still working at a good level) and Jack Ross (Hearts on his CV will only have helped him) spring to mind. And players who are aspiring coaches or influential figures, notably most recently Steven Naismith, have also said how much they like working with him and how much they learn from him.

 

Clarke's done a superb job with limited resources for two seasons. I remember when Stuart McCall did that at Motherwell. The Hearts job is a different kettle of fish from Killie. Much, much higher expectations for a start, bigger budget, more expectation to bring young players through, no plastic pitch to give you advantage at home, a large demanding home crowd instead of a small crowd with zero expectations. I'd like to think he'd be a candidate for us but there's zero evidence he can run our youth system and wheel and deal in the transfer market as successfully as Levein has done over his managerial career.

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3 hours ago, Gambo said:

Celtic to take 4 or 5 off Killie today.

Spot on , the media love in with killie is blown out the water today, 

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2 minutes ago, To Be Frank said:

Pep Clarkiola getting horsed in Glasgow. Must be imagining things :whistling:

To be fair Frank there are alot better and worse managers than Mr Clarkiola that have taken a good thumping at Parkhead bud

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Seymour M Hersh
2 hours ago, Harry Potter said:

Spot on , the media love in with killie is blown out the water today, 

 

Was it a love in or heaping pressure on them. The media want 1 thing and 1 thing only and that's the arse cheeks fighting it out for the league every season. The rest of us are cannon fodder. 

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5 hours ago, VALDOS said:

I might just bring out the Macallan single malt and raise a wee glass to Brendan and the boys for keeping the league the way it should be :greggy:

Knob

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So Clarke has Killie as a false top of the league for 4 days and people get all excited...saying sliced bread is no longer all that. Clarke is doing a very good job - at Killie - but why do peoople think this makes him a success at his next club?  Football doesn't work that way, and it never has.

 

 

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5 minutes ago, Spellczech said:

So Clarke has Killie as a false top of the league for 4 days and people get all excited...saying sliced bread is no longer all that. Clarke is doing a very good job - at Killie - but why do peoople think this makes him a success at his next club?  Football doesn't work that way, and it never has.

 

 

 

Pup Clarkiola is the greatest thing since sliced tortilla according to some 

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Cairneyhill Jambo

Can't believe some folk are gloating over  a Celtic victory today. I'd rather Killie had pumped them. 

Edited by Cairneyhill Jambo
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12 minutes ago, Cairneyhill Jambo said:

Can't believe some folk are gloating over  a Celtic victory today. I'd rather Killie had pumped them. 

Exactly. Celtic's first win over Clarke's Killie in 5 attempts. Something CL should be aspiring to.

Edited by Enzo Chiefo
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The thing is though...Killie getting ripped a new one at Parkhead doesn’t suddenly mean that Clarke is a poor manager...same as Hearts struggling for a few games whilst missing four first pick players doesn’t make Levein a poor manager...

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6 minutes ago, JamboGraham said:

The thing is though...Killie getting ripped a new one at Parkhead doesn’t suddenly mean that Clarke is a poor manager...same as Hearts struggling for a few games whilst missing four first pick players doesn’t make Levein a poor manager...

 

Exactly

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Looking at Clarke's CV he gives the impression of being someone who doesn't really fancy being a manager, especially at a higher profile club. He's tried it but only for a couple of years and even though it seemed to go well he went back to being an assistant pretty quickly, even though Fulham wanted him apparently. That could mean he doesn't like pressure, which he would be under a lot more at Hearts than Killie. It'll be interesting to see if he moves on to a bigger club or chooses to stay in his comfort zone.

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9 hours ago, VALDOS said:

I might just bring out the Macallan single malt and raise a wee glass to Brendan and the boys for keeping the league the way it should be :greggy:

 

Weird thing to say, or you’re simply a tit.

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8 hours ago, To Be Frank said:

Pep Clarkiola getting horsed in Glasgow. Must be imagining things :whistling:

Sorry but I don't think we are in a position to take the piss out of anyone getting horsed In Glasgow you are better than this.

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J.T.F.Robertson
4 hours ago, Cairneyhill Jambo said:

Can't believe some folk are gloating over  a Celtic victory today. I'd rather Killie had pumped them. 

 

You and me both. They turn it up when needed, not that we'd know anything about that. :rolleyes:

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9 hours ago, JamboGraham said:

The thing is though...Killie getting ripped a new one at Parkhead doesn’t suddenly mean that Clarke is a poor manager...same as Hearts struggling for a few games whilst missing four first pick players doesn’t make Levein a poor manager...

 

That sort of logic doesn’t make operate on JKB though unfortunately

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36 minutes ago, To Be Frank said:

 

That sort of logic doesn’t make operate on JKB though unfortunately

Its not the fact that folk are happy that celtic beat killie by a big score but the fact killie are not as fantastic as the media make out,

as stated they were lucky to leave Tynecastle with 3 points , i said yesterday killie now have that fear where teams are thinking, oh no its killie 

we are playing, that should not be the case, 

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8 hours ago, Coolio said:

 

Weird thing to say, or you’re simply a tit.

I think this one has gine right over your head.

I was simply in keeping with the mood on here.

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Seymour M Hersh
18 hours ago, VALDOS said:

I might just bring out the Macallan single malt and raise a wee glass to Brendan and the boys for keeping the league the way it should be :greggy:

 

Unacceptable post imo. Should be suspended for even thinking something like that. ::troll::

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Seymour M Hersh
12 hours ago, Enzo Chiefo said:

Exactly. Celtic's first win over Clarke's Killie in 5 attempts. Something CL should be aspiring to.

 

Hey, hey like clockwork!! 

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part_time_jambo

I think there are too many people, press and supporters, not giving Hearts enough credit or recognition. They are only 1 point behind world-beaters Kilmarnock despite not winning any of the last 8 games and suffering major injury blows, and will only get better, yet Kilmarnock are the ones being tipped as challengers.

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10 minutes ago, Seymour M Hersh said:

 

Unacceptable post imo. Should be suspended for even thinking something like that. ::troll::

What, for even thinking about opening such a fine bottle :clyay:

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