Jim Goodwin

[BigAl]

Time for his own topic

So it's no longer who is going to be our next manager and now it's all about Jim Goodwin

Firstly welcome to the good old ship Aberdeen FC.

Barely has the ink dried on the contract and straight down to work and in the dugout for today's game, like your style, no taking the easy option out and sitting in the stand leaving it to Robson & Co.

If you're half as successful as the last couple of managers who came straight from St Mirren To Aberdeen you'll do for me

Good luck Jim.

[LA-Don]

First question, does he dye his beard? No way it can be that perfect…

[BigAl]

Just caught his interview with Kenny McIntyre as I was driving home.

Have to say I like the cut of his jib. 

Saying all the right things and confirmed that HE was the one that picked the team.

[manc_don]

Very impressed to read be went straight into the dugout. Good on him, precisely the dedication I want to see from a manager. Will have to try dig out the sport sound podcast and give that a listen, Al. A few folk have said he speaks very well.

[BigAl]

Gave an excellent post match analysis also.

Certainly conducts himself very well.

I am warming to him.

[Panda]

Well Goodwin maybe hasn't had a first win yet but he's certainly made an impact. From taking charge at Motherwell when he could have watched from the stand, by showing Scott Brown who the man in charge is, to basically telling JET to shape up or fuck off, he's set his stall out early.

Also has identified early that the midfield needs built around McCrorie.

Hearts game the only real blot on his record. Motherwell he'd had just a team talk, Dundee United was unfortunate not to be a win, and Rangers the plan was working up until John Beaton wanted his name in the papers again. And that's with an injury-hit team.

At least now he's finally got two weeks on the training pitch to put his ideas across and hopefully her players back before three absolute must-win games. I think anything less than nine points and we're almost certainly in the bottom six and out of European contention.

[wokinginashearerwonderland]

Loving the positive vibe Panda min and sincerely hope we can be challenging for Europe. I’ll whisper this but part of me is wondering whether we should actually be preying for a St Mirren win tonight. If Dundee win we are two points closer to a relegation play off. Strange old season this one. 

[tom_widdows]

2 hours ago, wokinginashearerwonderland said:

Loving the positive vibe Panda min and sincerely hope we can be challenging for Europe. I’ll whisper this but part of me is wondering whether we should actually be preying for a St Mirren win tonight. If Dundee win we are two points closer to a relegation play off. Strange old season this one. 

I think 0-0 would have been better but your prayer was answered in stoppage time.

 

[RicoS321]

2 hours ago, wokinginashearerwonderland said:

Loving the positive vibe Panda min and sincerely hope we can be challenging for Europe. I’ll whisper this but part of me is wondering whether we should actually be preying for a St Mirren win tonight. If Dundee win we are two points closer to a relegation play off. Strange old season this one. 

Your prayers were answered. Agent McGhee doing the business on his end.

[tlg1903]

It's an interesting place Goodwin finds himself.  Arrives after the season is all but a bogey, has his first  home game with fergie looking over his shoulder and then has to go to Tynecastle and mordor.  All of which with a decimated squad and a captain walking out. Despite the losses the fans seem to have taken him in well which is to his credit. 

 

On paper we have a talented squad, and I think a few weeks on the training ground will be good for us. Watkins is hopefully back soon too and whilst he is inconsistent when he's on it he has a spark about him. Right now I'll take that.  Interesting to see who Goodwin names captain.... My money is on Ferguson.  

[Goldie03]

That's interesting and he may well do but will it not be Jonny Hayes - Ferguson and McCrorie are quite young 

We've been quite spoiled for captions yeh

[RicoS321]

I think McRorie. Ferguson probably deserves it on performances this season and I think he'd actually benefit from it the most too. However, he's handed in a transfer request which should really make him ineligible. The only way I could see it being Ferguson is if the club we're cynically trying to increase his value. I don't think captain is as relevant as it might have been in the Fergie years anyway. I think likes of Hayes and Considine would be happy enough to not have the hassle of it, they'll see it as a meaningless bandage.

[Slim]

I’d give it to Ramirez, his relentless positivity would be a welcome change from the usual shouty clappy-handy captain role and seems like the kind of person that would transcend any changing room divides/cliques. 

[RicoS321]

8 minutes ago, Slim said:

I’d give it to Ramirez, his relentless positivity would be a welcome change from the usual shouty clappy-handy captain role and seems like the kind of person that would transcend any changing room divides/cliques. 

Come on guys, you can do it, you just have to believe and - with the grace of the lord - you can be anything you want.

Aye, fuck off Christian.

[LA-Don]

19 hours ago, tlg1903 said:

It's an interesting place Goodwin finds himself.  Arrives after the season is all but a bogey, has his first  home game with fergie looking over his shoulder and then has to go to Tynecastle and mordor.  All of which with a decimated squad and a captain walking out. Despite the losses the fans seem to have taken him in well which is to his credit. 

 

On paper we have a talented squad, and I think a few weeks on the training ground will be good for us. Watkins is hopefully back soon too and whilst he is inconsistent when he's on it he has a spark about him. Right now I'll take that.  Interesting to see who Goodwin names captain.... My money is on Ferguson.  

Not quite how I see it, talented squad? I'd say Lewis, McCrorie, Ramsay, MacKenzie, Ramirez, Vicente, Ferguson, and Barron are worth building around. Gallagher, Bates, on paper are borderline internationalists, but we haven't seen that....yet... worth keeping. Polvara, got to give him a chance. That's 11 players, but I see Ferguson and possibly Ramsey moving on in the summer. Lewis appears to have lost his mojo too so we may need a new keeper. Even Vicente, I'm not sure if he's any good, yet to see it. So of my 11 I'd argue only McCrorie, Ramirez, Gallagher, and Bates are pretty much certs to be starters in the new season. Ouch.

Hayes and Considine are old squad fillers. Hayes has had a decent season but I just don't think he maybe has the legs to be a winger anymore, and he's an average left back. No clue what version we get of big Andy coming back, but as much as he's popular, he was an ever slowing and limited defender before the injury. Harsh but true. Woods, Devlin, McGeough, Ojo, McLennan, Kennedy, and Jet should all be moved on. 

Back in the day we had the best players outside of the old firm performing well, Lewis, Logan, Hayes, McGinn, McKenna, McLean, Jack, even Rooney, we need to get back to that status.

Big rebuilding job ahead.

 

Edited March 10, 2022 by LA-Don

[Panda]

Team for next season

Brilliant GK

Ramsay Cracking-RCB Awesome-LCB Hayes

McCrorie Barron

Vicente Superb-AM Watkins

Ramirez

 

I'd make McCrorie captain from that. Goodwin actually said McCrorie was a future when he signed his contract extension. 

[OrlandoDon]

Curious to hear peoples thoughts on the ‘new’ manager now that he’s been with us a few months and the season is over. I took criticism for questioning his appointment and for judging him in recent months but I still see very little to suggest he is the right man for the job. While I understand players chucked it and are leaving, that happens every season with players who get released. The last few weeks have been absolutely awful. I still haven’t see anything to suggest he’s an improvement on Glass. Summer will certainly be interesting. Our team is screaming for creativity but I don’t sense goodwin is that type, I suspect (just a hunch) goodwin will prioritize work rate, graft, mental and physical toughness, and fitness. I said pre appointment we needed someone who had experience/contacts in the transfer market, just don’t know what goodwin brings here. Mcinnes did well selling the club and getting players to join us (and no, I don’t want DM back!), no clue what goodwin can do here. 
roll on summer, hope it’s a successful window!!

Edited May 15, 2022 by OrlandoDon

[Panda]

1 hour ago, OrlandoDon said:

Our team is screaming for creativity but I don’t sense goodwin is that type, I suspect (just a hunch) goodwin will prioritize work rate, graft, mental and physical toughness, and fitness.

I can only judge that based on what he did at St Mirren, but he had creative players such as Connor Ronan, Jamie McGrath, Ilkay Durmus and Dylan Connolly. He tried to make them a good footballing side and he was hamstrung by his budget - which is why I backed him for the Aberdeen job as felt with a bigger budget he could do something. Let's not forget he hasn't signed a single player yet.

I never thought McGrath was good enough for us when we were being linked with him - but Goodwin managed to get a tune out of him. McGrath had 17 goals from midfield last season. He's fairy dropped off this season so maybe he was a one-season wonder and we dodged a bullet by not signing him.

 

Like I said a few weeks ago, I don't think any manager is coming in and getting much better out of that team. They're just not good enough. That he's planning to empty half of them gives me hope.

I'll judge him from the first League Cup game of next season.

 

[wokinginashearerwonderland]

Goodwin’s been crap so far. 2 wins from 11 games is pathetic and he has put himself under the cosh already. If next season doesn’t start well, he will be under real pressure to keep his job. Got to agree with Orlando in that he has done nothing to prove he is the right man for the job.

[RicoS321]

He's had a bad start. However, no manager should be having to get rid of more than ten players in a window, that's entirely the fault of the previous two managers. One of Glass' biggest problems was that he didn't do a clear out. Instead he pretended he'd turned shite players into passable ones (Ojo), when the evidence didn't really back it up. Ojo, Kennedy, Devlin, McLennan, McGeouch should all have been binned in the summer or January. It would have given a bit of breathing space in the squad and perhaps allowed a couple more signings in too. Instead he kept all those players and also brought in a shit tonne of crap to spread on top (recruitment was way worse than McInnes' worst, which is impressive). McInnes left Glass a rebuilding job which he never really undertook and now Goodwin has a bigger one. That is a failure at club level in my opinion and should never have been allowed to happen. There is no way Goodwin is turning it around in the summer. In reality, a manager is only a small part of the whole and the impact he'll be able to have is negligible beyond the recruitment.

[manc_don]

I’d give him a D+ at the moment. He’s not done much positive that I’ve been able to see, but I feel some of that blame should law at cormacks feet. Feels like the club is a bit chaotic from top down so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt for the time being. As Rico says, the deadwood never got cleared, which is going to be one helluva task, but we need to see it out. 

if he sorts out that defence, that’d be a good beginning. Get rid of both shite centre backs. Both should have been good (as they were on paper), but for one reason or not, they’re shite. Who knows if Lewis stays as no1.

 

regardless, must do better, but feels like the fans are piling on the pressure already.

[OrlandoDon]

6 minutes ago, manc_don said:

I’d give him a D+ at the moment. He’s not done much positive that I’ve been able to see, but I feel some of that blame should law at cormacks feet. Feels like the club is a bit chaotic from top down so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt for the time being. As Rico says, the deadwood never got cleared, which is going to be one helluva task, but we need to see it out. 

if he sorts out that defence, that’d be a good beginning. Get rid of both shite centre backs. Both should have been good (as they were on paper), but for one reason or not, they’re shite. Who knows if Lewis stays as no1.

 

regardless, must do better, but feels like the fans are piling on the pressure already.

Defense looks shit when you have shit ahead of you causing all sorts of problems. I don’t think bates and Gallagher are that bad, they just have zero confidence and shit ahead of them. They’ve made mistakes but I blame the whole team for that. A better team and we’ll see better from both in my opinion. Same to an extent of Lewis, if the team ahead of you is piss there’s more pressure on you, mistakes happen and confidence dips.

[Jute]

I was not a fan of Goodwin’s appointment and nothing I have seen so far has eased any of my concerns. Not a fan of zonal marking at corners that he has brought in and he has religiously stuck to a lone central striker even when the players we have do not suit that system. Good manager adapts his tactics to suit players he has at his disposal. Goodwin has not done that in the slightest. That said he should get the window to bring in his own players in and time to work with them. 

[RicoS321]

12 hours ago, OrlandoDon said:

Defense looks shit when you have shit ahead of you causing all sorts of problems. I don’t think bates and Gallagher are that bad, they just have zero confidence and shit ahead of them. They’ve made mistakes but I blame the whole team for that. A better team and we’ll see better from both in my opinion. Same to an extent of Lewis, if the team ahead of you is piss there’s more pressure on you, mistakes happen and confidence dips.

I wish I had your confidence. I don't think you're completely right about the "shit ahead of them", but I do agree that the lack of scoring has heaped extra pressure on the defence to get everything right, and their lack of confidence has led to a spiralling mess. It's more than that though. The defence was so much better in the first half yesterday with a recognised left centre half and Bates on his right foot. Considine did something I expected Gallagher to be really good at (and something both Taylor and McKenna were great at too), in that he attacked everything and defended on the front foot. He was aggressive and in the face of the attacker, who hated it. That brought us further up the pitch, and Polvara was able to pick up the inevitable loose balls that the attacker was pressured into giving away. It was genuinely night and day. When Gallagher came on, we defended deeper and waited on the second balls. Bates became shakey again on his wrong side, culminating on his atrocious attempt at a challenge resulting in his booking. I'm mystified why Gallagher wasn't taken on as left centre half in a direct replacement, but perhaps it's not as obvious an issue when you're looking side on to the game. From behind the goals, you could see the difference between Bates' first half body position and his second half one, where his body becomes flat to the play, the ball in between his feet ready to switch to his good side at the first opportunity (hence an extra touch every time), rather than comfortably strolling out with it on his right foot as was the case in the first half. I'd go as far as to say that Bates looked decent in that first half, which is the first time I could say that since Goodwin arrived.

This isn't an advert for Andy Considine, just that an aggressive left sided centre half is an absolute priority (I have a feeling it might be Joe Shug, which I'd be happy with). The pairing of Gallagher and Bates has without question failed in my mind, and it goes deeper than confidence. Personally, I wouldn't like to see someone like Gallagher sitting on our bench for a whole season, as I think (probably harshly) that he's the type that would happily pick up a wage, but if it's the pragmatic thing to do with the turnover in the summer then fair enough. It would be an absolute mistake to have those two as first choice centre backs next season (although I realise that you're not actually suggesting that). I think that if we have Gallagher on the bench, we'll actually need another cover for left centre half too, which adds further to the recruitment process.

[OrlandoDon]

16 hours ago, RicoS321 said:

I wish I had your confidence. I don't think you're completely right about the "shit ahead of them", but I do agree that the lack of scoring has heaped extra pressure on the defence to get everything right, and their lack of confidence has led to a spiralling mess. It's more than that though. The defence was so much better in the first half yesterday with a recognised left centre half and Bates on his right foot. Considine did something I expected Gallagher to be really good at (and something both Taylor and McKenna were great at too), in that he attacked everything and defended on the front foot. He was aggressive and in the face of the attacker, who hated it. That brought us further up the pitch, and Polvara was able to pick up the inevitable loose balls that the attacker was pressured into giving away. It was genuinely night and day. When Gallagher came on, we defended deeper and waited on the second balls. Bates became shakey again on his wrong side, culminating on his atrocious attempt at a challenge resulting in his booking. I'm mystified why Gallagher wasn't taken on as left centre half in a direct replacement, but perhaps it's not as obvious an issue when you're looking side on to the game. From behind the goals, you could see the difference between Bates' first half body position and his second half one, where his body becomes flat to the play, the ball in between his feet ready to switch to his good side at the first opportunity (hence an extra touch every time), rather than comfortably strolling out with it on his right foot as was the case in the first half. I'd go as far as to say that Bates looked decent in that first half, which is the first time I could say that since Goodwin arrived.

This isn't an advert for Andy Considine, just that an aggressive left sided centre half is an absolute priority (I have a feeling it might be Joe Shug, which I'd be happy with). The pairing of Gallagher and Bates has without question failed in my mind, and it goes deeper than confidence. Personally, I wouldn't like to see someone like Gallagher sitting on our bench for a whole season, as I think (probably harshly) that he's the type that would happily pick up a wage, but if it's the pragmatic thing to do with the turnover in the summer then fair enough. It would be an absolute mistake to have those two as first choice centre backs next season (although I realise that you're not actually suggesting that). I think that if we have Gallagher on the bench, we'll actually need another cover for left centre half too, which adds further to the recruitment process.

I think it’s interesting so much emphasis is placed on a central defender who can play on the right but not on the left. Is it really that hard for a pro player?? Sad if so. Anyway, as has been mentioned before, bates and Gallagher in a back 3 is probably their strength, and if/when we lose Ramsay maybe a strong investment in the left sided central defender to be the third part of the three?

in regards to my shit ahead of them, I think that’s a fair assessment. Who in midfield and forward this year should start next year?? Based on what I’ve seen, Barron is the only one is want assuming Ferguson is away, Ramirez plays too if he returns. The rest, including Vinny, are bang average at best. I just hope Vinny kicks on cos he is young to be fair. Even hayes is on the decline. We have a very large rebuild ahead. Goodwin has a close to impossible job ahead of him given he won’t last the season if he doesn’t get it right.

Edited May 17, 2022 by OrlandoDon