Paul Hartley

[capitalsharpie]

Just watched the interviews on red tv and i have to say, at this moment in time the ONLY good thing within this club is our Captain.

 

Accepted responsibility for his actions, defended the club (always refering to "us") and making a point of removing the youth players from any responsibilty, getting angry at the perennial stupid questions from the hacks, showing to me a passion that has been missing for years.

 

I thnk his methods off the pitch are not well known or spoken about (and to a point rightly so).  If this club is to recover and move on AT ALL, we need to keep Hartley at the club and build our team round him.  in fact we should break the bloody bank to do so.  If he was to leave (fair enough no suggestions of this yet), but we know wehat AFC and contract negotiations are like then to me this will be sign of where the board of directors are at and should recieve nothing more from us.  It will be a syptom of this board of directors reign.

[stoney]

I genuinly think if Calderwood had a guy like this in the dressing room we could have won a trophy under him, Not for his playing abilty but to drill some professionalism into the players.

 

What might have been.

[BigAl]

I genuinly think if Calderwood had a guy like this in the dressing room we could have won a trophy under him, Not for his playing abilty but to drill some professionalism into the players.

 

What might have been.

 

Whilst we'll never know, I think this one time you might be right

[amp]

It's nice that he said the right things after the match.

 

Shame he was such a fuckwit during the game.

[capitalsharpie]

It's nice that he said the right things after the match.

 

Shame he was such a fuckwit during the game.

 

Well, evdrybody on here has been moaning about how either nothing has been said or the wrong thing has been said from the authority figures within afc. Hartley actually has thu guts to admit his mistakes and take that on the chin.

 

Well, i suppose i'm trying to inject a small positive out of all of this.

[CtS]

I genuinly think if Calderwood had a guy like this in the dressing room we could have won a trophy under him, Not for his playing abilty but to drill some professionalism into the players.

 

What might have been.

 

I think Severin was Calderwood's Hartley, albeit a slightly less influential and probably quieter man off the pitch.  But Seve led by example on the park.  Don't forget we also had Russell Anderson too.

 

I agree though, we had a better squad back then, certainly more balanced, and maybe Hartley would have made the difference in some of those cup defeats.  There's a lot to be said for investing in a player who's "been there and done that".

 

Whatever way you look at it we were just a player or two short of being a really good side, and whether you call it prudence or lack of ambition, it boils down to the same thing - lack of backing from the Board.

[manc_don]

I think Severin was Calderwood's Hartley, albeit a slightly less influential and probably quieter man off the pitch.  But Seve led by example on the park.  Don't forget we also had Russell Anderson too.

 

I agree though, we had a better squad back then, certainly more balanced, and maybe Hartley would have made the difference in some of those cup defeats.  There's a lot to be said for investing in a player who's "been there and done that".

 

Whatever way you look at it we were just a player or two short of being a really good side, and whether you call it prudence or lack of ambition, it boils down to the same thing - lack of backing from the Board.

 

I think thats what makes this situation even more harder to bare. As you said, we were a couple players short of having a team that could have arguably made 3rd place theirs and possibly challenged higher up the table. Hartley would have made a huge difference, but it's all if's and but's, but the board fucked up as they so often have done and ultimately caused us to be where we are now. A mess.

[stoney]

I think they were both a bit quiet on the pitch and all to often when the going got touch, seve got going! He went into hiding far too much for my liking. Our defence has never fully recovered from Anderson and Hart both leaving.

[CtS]

Like I said manc_don there has been a prudent approach, none of us can really argue with the motives for that, but I feel the boat could have been pushed out a wee bit further especially on the back of the European run.

[CtS]

I think they were both a bit quiet on the pitch and all to often when the going got touch, seve got going! He went into hiding far too much for my liking. Our defence has never fully recovered from Anderson and Hart both leaving.

 

Well the going got tough on Saturday and Hartley was nowhere to be seen.    He fucked up badly at Parkhead. 

 

Agree about Anderson and Hart, they were never replaced.

[manc_don]

Like I said manc_don there has been a prudent approach, none of us can really argue with the motives for that, but I feel the boat could have been pushed out a wee bit further especially on the back of the European run.

 

Totally, it was probably the one occassion which we had a reason to push the boat out just a little bit further. As the herald article the other day said, we'd all like football clubs to be run like business' but at the end of the day, they have to take other things into consideration, like the quality on the park. It really was a monumental cock up.

 

Edit: You can also add Super Kev to that.

[BigAl]

I still clearly remember listening to Miller bering interviewed on Radio scotland post the Copenhagen game waxing lyrically about how the cash injection from reaching last thrity two would result in team being strengthened.

 

Got to think whatever became of the cash generated, and if he/they had no intention of doing so why go on about it

[TENEMENTFUNSTER]

I still clearly remember listening to Miller bering interviewed on Radio scotland post the Copenhagen game waxing lyrically about how the cash injection from reaching last thrity two would result in team being strengthened.

 

Got to think whatever became of the cash generated, and if he/they had no intention of doing so why go on about it

 

I have reason to believe Miller expected that and it didn't happen.

[baggy89]

Like I said manc_don there has been a prudent approach, none of us can really argue with the motives for that, but I feel the boat could have been pushed out a wee bit further especially on the back of the European run.

 

Agree but at the time I though the approach seemed to be to use the cash to pay off as much of the debt as possible, which is fair enough because that is what has been killing the club over the last decade. The decision to give Calderwood a long term contract seemed to reflect that. Then they go and spunk a shit load of money dumping that management team and poaching another, just as the bank account was looking that bit healthier. That seems to sum up the club for the last 15 years or so, no one seems to be able to make a decision and stick to it, and all that results in is the fans being short changed time and time again.

[glasgow sheep]

Agree but at the time I though the approach seemed to be to use the cash to pay off as much of the debt as possible, which is fair enough because that is what has been killing the club over the last decade. The decision to give Calderwood a long term contract seemed to reflect that. Then they go and spunk a shit load of money dumping that management team and poaching another, just as the bank account was looking that bit healthier. That seems to sum up the club for the last 15 years or so, no one seems to be able to make a decision and stick to it, and all that results in is the fans being short changed time and time again.

 

It wasn't so much that we used the cash to clear some debt, more that rather than investing in the team, it was actually weakened significantly.  We lost several important players who we either never replaced or got much poorer, cheaper replacements in for.  This attitude continued over the end of the Calderwood era and into the current McGoo disaster.  I suppose it is questionable whether, having kept that team together we would have gone onto greater things, or maintained regular European Football, as after all that seasons league form was pretty poor and saw some truely woeful performances, but you get the feeling the the attitude taken that season to put the debt above continuity on the park to maintain performances and results has been the root of the problem over the last few years and has perhaps resulted in us losing alot of what we gained financially as a result of poor crowds, poor league and cup form and the sacking/appointing of management teams

[TENEMENTFUNSTER]

It wasn't so much that we used the cash to clear some debt, more that rather than investing in the team, it was actually weakened significantly.  We lost several important players who we either never replaced or got much poorer, cheaper replacements in for.  This attitude continued over the end of the Calderwood era and into the current McGoo disaster.  I suppose it is questionable whether, having kept that team together we would have gone onto greater things, or maintained regular European Football, as after all that seasons league form was pretty poor and saw some truely woeful performances, but you get the feeling the the attitude taken that season to put the debt above continuity on the park to maintain performances and results has been the root of the problem over the last few years and has perhaps resulted in us losing alot of what we gained financially as a result of poor crowds, poor league and cup form and the sacking/appointing of management teams

 

 

There probably would have been a case for being able to keep a great deal of that squad, especially if the money laid out on manager changes, that is apparently never available but gets magicked out the golfie puggy when the board want a change of manager, is taken into account. I mean, where does that fucking money come from exactly? FUCKING WHERE?

[BobbyBiscuit]

I mean, where does that fucking money come from exactly? FUCKING WHERE?

 

The Sacked Manager Account. There's about £2m in there to cover the next 4 years.

[CtS]

 

There probably would have been a case for being able to keep a great deal of that squad, especially if the money laid out on manager changes, that is apparently never available but gets magicked out the golfie puggy when the board want a change of manager, is taken into account. I mean, where does that fucking money come from exactly? FUCKING WHERE?

 

To be fair a lot of our better players wanted to move on for their own reasons, so it wasn't all about throwing cash at them.  The  sacked manager account is a mystery though, I wonder how much it will cost this time?

[TENEMENTFUNSTER]

To be fair a lot of our better players wanted to move on for their own reasons, so it wasn't all about throwing cash at them.  The  sacked manager account is a mystery though, I wonder how much it will cost this time?

 

Aye, so they said, Seve to Watford reserves and United via Killie, surely if he was serious about thon pish he spouted he would have stayed down south? No sure about him. Nicholson seems to have got on wi it at PNE, Clark? Hart? Money.

 

Really money when all's said and done.

[Tyrant]

I think they were both a bit quiet on the pitch and all to often when the going got touch, seve got going! He went into hiding far too much for my liking. Our defence has never fully recovered from Anderson and Hart both leaving.

 

Add Markus Heikkinen to that list.

[Tyrant]

To be fair a lot of our better players wanted to move on for their own reasons, so it wasn't all about throwing cash at them.  The  sacked manager account is a mystery though, I wonder how much it will cost this time?

 

 

Maybe sacking the current shower of useless spazocks is what the board have kept the Mystery Lee Miller £600k for?