Victorian Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 http://www.afc.co.uk/articles/20101213/new-management-team_2212158_2243286 The Dons new management team of Craig Brown and Archie Knox arrived at Pittodrie this morning to take up the reins. Their first major decision was to bring back Jim Leighton as goalkeeping coach. After meeting with the staff and the players Craig and Archie were introduced to the media. Craig Brown told RedTV "We have had a very warm welcome at the club. Archie and I are delighted to be here and we are looking forward to getting started with the players. "I have been asked a few times if this is the biggest challenge of my career. It is the biggest current challenge but I have had plenty of challenges before. Like when I was given the Scotland job and told the next big championships is in England and if we don't get there, it is a disgrace to the nation. Then the next World Cup is in a country that is as near as can be and you get the same challenge, you have to be in France. Also when you we had to play England in a playoff. So we add this to the various challenges I have had throughout my career. "This is a challenge though and in many ways being accountable to a community, the local community in the North East of Scotland, you are even more accountable because of the intimacy of the situation. The people in this area want to be proud of their team. Our objective is quite simple. Make the people of Aberdeen and the North East proud of their team. "We can't minimise the task. It is a very demanding ask to get the team sorted and to get the team going. I would say two things from Saturday. Firstly, Hearts are the best side in the country at the moment. They are on a terrific run. They have won eight of their last nine games and I can't remember the last time they conceded a goal. So it was just unfortunate. Even if the game had been here it might have been different. Also we lost two early goals and they were just individual errors. I actually thought the team have been set up well by the two Neil's. The tactics were sound but you can't legislate for individual errors, you have to eliminate them. The other statistics in the game show it was more even than the result suggests. "So we are not going to get too downhearted about that and hopefully we are going to get Aberdeen back winning again. "Keeping Aberdeen in the SPL is obviously a priority but the fans will be proud if the team are winning football games again. We might have to be dogged and I don't want to say win ugly but that is what we might have to do the get results to start with. We are in a results business. "There are many factors which mean the team are struggling at the moment. It is not just confidence. I never ever criticise players individually or collectively in public but what I will say is that we have identified things that we can do that will improve the situation and hopefully we will be proved right. "It is not a big squad. If you look at it numerically compared with other squads in the SPL it is quite a tight squad. There are not a lot of guys we can eliminate from contention. I have not seen the U19 team this season, although I saw them last year and they are a good side. I watch every u19 game whenever possible and I will be watching them. I know one or two have graduated into the first team and I thought young Robertson actually did well on Saturday in a demanding situation. "However youngsters are not going to get us out of this situation. We need experience and we need determination and we also need confidence. Archie and I have plenty of that without being arrogant in any way. Hopefully we can make it infectious and give the players confidence with the things we say and do with them." "It will be very difficult to move the situation dramatically in January. The top managers, Alex Ferguson for example traditionally does very little during the January transfer window. Although he doesn't have to! The big movement is in the summer. Very few players are contracted from January to January. We have a number of players out of contract in the summer so they are players we have to decide if we keep them or we move them. You can't just move players out in January. They have to be agreeable and somebody has to want them. We will do what we can within the financial remit that the club can afford. "The reason I decided to come here was the prospect of eventual success here and the challenge to make the people of the North East proud of their team again." New Assistant manager Archie Knox then spoke to media and RedTV and he was asked how does it feel to be back? "Well, let me say it was a surprise. It was a big surprise that we were approached and it took, as everybody knows, a bit of time to come to the final decision but now that we are here we are looking forward to it. You know it is a nice stadium at Pittodrie, it's a big club, fallen on a wee bit of hard times at the minute and the reason we are here is that we have got to try and improve that and improve that as soon as we possibly can. "Yes, it is a big challenge there is no question about that. If we didn't think we would be able to face up to that challenge and get the backing of everybody here then we would not have done it. Now that we are in we are certainly excited by the prospect of getting Aberdeen out of the present problems that they have. "The players know the position they are in and they've got to show that they are capable. It is them who put the club in this position so it is them who will get the opportunity to take the club out of the situation that they are in at the minute." Archie was asked about Saturday's SPL game against Motherwell: "These things are thrown up all the time aren't they? All of a sudden you face a club that you have been involved with. We know the inside track on Motherwell that's for sure but if we can turn the tables on them we don't know. "We have got a massive, massive challenge here that we need to get everybody to face up to that. "We can't make the players better, they have got to make themselves better. They have got to perform better. We can never make a player. It is not a coach or a manager that makes a player it's what's in the player himself. Now if there is something in these players that is for some reason or other they have notshown at this particular time they have quickly got to get it out and we will see if we can drag as much as we possibly can out of every individual." Director of Football Willie Miller also spoke to the media. "They are a pairing that brings a lot of experience to the club. When we were looking for a new management team we were keen to attract that and they certainly have a CV and a record that's impressive.We're happy with the quality of the management team that we've now got. "They certainly were our first choice. They've got an impressive track record and it's a track record that we were keen to bring to the club. Although there was a little hiccup along the way, they were certainly first choice of the board. "I know both of them well. I've worked under them at different times in my career as a player so they do have that experience and they've got quality and it's a quality we are keen to get here and it's a quality we hope will get us results. We need results, particularly in the league, we do have a Semi Final coming up and there is a Scottish Cup game at home too so there's an opportunity for them there to progress into a Final but the most important thing it to use that experience to get results in the SPL and we all know that if you get 2 or 3 results it can shoot you right up the league but you've got to get these results and we're hoping they can use their experience to produce an organised shape, get a bit of confidence back into the squad and get results. "Archie is a coach of the very highest quality. They've both been involved with bringing young players through as well so they've got qualities in identifying talent in young players and giving them the opportunity and realising what it is to enable these young layers to flourish and make that step in to the first team. They've obviously got organisational skills. Craig has fantastic man management skills and they bring with them different qualities. Archie may be being the louder one, the more aggressive one and Craig having the more measured approach in how he handles players, on and off the field so I think it's a good combination we've got. "I am glad Jim Leighton back. He's a very fine goalkeeping coach and we're happy to have him back." Dons Chief Executive Duncan Fraser spoke on behalf of the Board on the appointment Following Mark leaving the club the board considered the applications that had come in and it would be fair to say that Craig and Archie were the unanimous choice of the board. Given their experience, given what they have achieved in the game and given their coaching background it was felt we needed a very experienced team to come in. We've discussed our budgets so they will see where it sits relative to what they have been used to. They've seen when the various contracts run out which will clearly lead to potentially freeing up funds and we've said we will work with them short term to make certain changes they feel will be necessary. I think what they've also made clear is that they do wish to assess the players that are here. With the transfer window opening in just over two weeks I think that will give them enough time to reflect on what they have here or what they don't have more to the point. :omg!: though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drylaw Hearts Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 "We can't minimise the task. It is a very demanding ask to get the team sorted and to get the team going. I would say two things from Saturday. Firstly, Hearts are the best side in the country at the moment. They are on a terrific run. They have won eight of their last nine games and I can't remember the last time they conceded a goal. So it was just unfortunate. Even if the game had been here it might have been different. Also we lost two early goals and they were just individual errors. I actually thought the team have been set up well by the two Neil's. The tactics were sound but you can't legislate for individual errors, you have to eliminate them. The other statistics in the game show it was more even than the result suggests. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debtor Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 He has to encourage his side. That's good management, even if he lies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dr. Pepper Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 Their first major decision was to bring back Jim Leighton as goalkeeping coach - aw man, let-down leighton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victorian Posted December 13, 2010 Author Share Posted December 13, 2010 maybe he was talking about red cards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Romanov Saviour of HMFC Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 The other statistics in the game show it was more even than the result suggests. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victorian Posted December 13, 2010 Author Share Posted December 13, 2010 shameless use of a brilliant smilie for the sake of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Munch Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 http://www.afc.co.uk/articles/20101213/new-management-team_2212158_2243286 The Dons new management team of Craig Brown and Archie Knox arrived at Pittodrie this morning to take up the reins. Their first major decision was to bring back Jim Leighton as goalkeeping coach. After meeting with the staff and the players Craig and Archie were introduced to the media. Craig Brown told RedTV "We have had a very warm welcome at the club. Archie and I are delighted to be here and we are looking forward to getting started with the players. "I have been asked a few times if this is the biggest challenge of my career. It is the biggest current challenge but I have had plenty of challenges before. Like when I was given the Scotland job and told the next big championships is in England and if we don't get there, it is a disgrace to the nation. Then the next World Cup is in a country that is as near as can be and you get the same challenge, you have to be in France. Also when you we had to play England in a playoff. So we add this to the various challenges I have had throughout my career. "This is a challenge though and in many ways being accountable to a community, the local community in the North East of Scotland, you are even more accountable because of the intimacy of the situation. The people in this area want to be proud of their team. Our objective is quite simple. Make the people of Aberdeen and the North East proud of their team. "We can't minimise the task. It is a very demanding ask to get the team sorted and to get the team going. I would say two things from Saturday. Firstly, Hearts are the best side in the country at the moment. They are on a terrific run. They have won eight of their last nine games and I can't remember the last time they conceded a goal. So it was just unfortunate. Even if the game had been here it might have been different. Also we lost two early goals and they were just individual errors. I actually thought the team have been set up well by the two Neil's. The tactics were sound but you can't legislate for individual errors, you have to eliminate them. The other statistics in the game show it was more even than the result suggests. "So we are not going to get too downhearted about that and hopefully we are going to get Aberdeen back winning again. "Keeping Aberdeen in the SPL is obviously a priority but the fans will be proud if the team are winning football games again. We might have to be dogged and I don't want to say win ugly but that is what we might have to do the get results to start with. We are in a results business. "There are many factors which mean the team are struggling at the moment. It is not just confidence. I never ever criticise players individually or collectively in public but what I will say is that we have identified things that we can do that will improve the situation and hopefully we will be proved right. "It is not a big squad. If you look at it numerically compared with other squads in the SPL it is quite a tight squad. There are not a lot of guys we can eliminate from contention. I have not seen the U19 team this season, although I saw them last year and they are a good side. I watch every u19 game whenever possible and I will be watching them. I know one or two have graduated into the first team and I thought young Robertson actually did well on Saturday in a demanding situation. "However youngsters are not going to get us out of this situation. We need experience and we need determination and we also need confidence. Archie and I have plenty of that without being arrogant in any way. Hopefully we can make it infectious and give the players confidence with the things we say and do with them." "It will be very difficult to move the situation dramatically in January. The top managers, Alex Ferguson for example traditionally does very little during the January transfer window. Although he doesn't have to! The big movement is in the summer. Very few players are contracted from January to January. We have a number of players out of contract in the summer so they are players we have to decide if we keep them or we move them. You can't just move players out in January. They have to be agreeable and somebody has to want them. We will do what we can within the financial remit that the club can afford. "The reason I decided to come here was the prospect of eventual success here and the challenge to make the people of the North East proud of their team again." New Assistant manager Archie Knox then spoke to media and RedTV and he was asked how does it feel to be back? "Well, let me say it was a surprise. It was a big surprise that we were approached and it took, as everybody knows, a bit of time to come to the final decision but now that we are here we are looking forward to it. You know it is a nice stadium at Pittodrie, it's a big club, fallen on a wee bit of hard times at the minute and the reason we are here is that we have got to try and improve that and improve that as soon as we possibly can. "Yes, it is a big challenge there is no question about that. If we didn't think we would be able to face up to that challenge and get the backing of everybody here then we would not have done it. Now that we are in we are certainly excited by the prospect of getting Aberdeen out of the present problems that they have. "The players know the position they are in and they've got to show that they are capable. It is them who put the club in this position so it is them who will get the opportunity to take the club out of the situation that they are in at the minute." Archie was asked about Saturday's SPL game against Motherwell: "These things are thrown up all the time aren't they? All of a sudden you face a club that you have been involved with. We know the inside track on Motherwell that's for sure but if we can turn the tables on them we don't know. "We have got a massive, massive challenge here that we need to get everybody to face up to that. "We can't make the players better, they have got to make themselves better. They have got to perform better. We can never make a player. It is not a coach or a manager that makes a player it's what's in the player himself. Now if there is something in these players that is for some reason or other they have notshown at this particular time they have quickly got to get it out and we will see if we can drag as much as we possibly can out of every individual." Director of Football Willie Miller also spoke to the media. "They are a pairing that brings a lot of experience to the club. When we were looking for a new management team we were keen to attract that and they certainly have a CV and a record that's impressive.We're happy with the quality of the management team that we've now got. "They certainly were our first choice. They've got an impressive track record and it's a track record that we were keen to bring to the club. Although there was a little hiccup along the way, they were certainly first choice of the board. "I know both of them well. I've worked under them at different times in my career as a player so they do have that experience and they've got quality and it's a quality we are keen to get here and it's a quality we hope will get us results. We need results, particularly in the league, we do have a Semi Final coming up and there is a Scottish Cup game at home too so there's an opportunity for them there to progress into a Final but the most important thing it to use that experience to get results in the SPL and we all know that if you get 2 or 3 results it can shoot you right up the league but you've got to get these results and we're hoping they can use their experience to produce an organised shape, get a bit of confidence back into the squad and get results. "Archie is a coach of the very highest quality. They've both been involved with bringing young players through as well so they've got qualities in identifying talent in young players and giving them the opportunity and realising what it is to enable these young layers to flourish and make that step in to the first team. They've obviously got organisational skills. Craig has fantastic man management skills and they bring with them different qualities. Archie may be being the louder one, the more aggressive one and Craig having the more measured approach in how he handles players, on and off the field so I think it's a good combination we've got. "I am glad Jim Leighton back. He's a very fine goalkeeping coach and we're happy to have him back." Dons Chief Executive Duncan Fraser spoke on behalf of the Board on the appointment Following Mark leaving the club the board considered the applications that had come in and it would be fair to say that Craig and Archie were the unanimous choice of the board. Given their experience, given what they have achieved in the game and given their coaching background it was felt we needed a very experienced team to come in. We've discussed our budgets so they will see where it sits relative to what they have been used to. They've seen when the various contracts run out which will clearly lead to potentially freeing up funds and we've said we will work with them short term to make certain changes they feel will be necessary. I think what they've also made clear is that they do wish to assess the players that are here. With the transfer window opening in just over two weeks I think that will give them enough time to reflect on what they have here or what they don't have more to the point. :omg!: though. and wind foward 6 months for a picture of Pa Broon with Sir Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victorian Posted December 13, 2010 Author Share Posted December 13, 2010 and wind foward 6 months for a picture of Pa Broon with Sir Paul surely that's sir paul berating zander diamond for forgetting to get a fancy dress costume for the halloween party. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottish_chicP Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 I thought that's what he said! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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