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Flagship - Hope Isn't A Strategy (Patreon)

Published:
2022-11-07 17:57:14
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

David welcomes Stevie from Four Lads Had A Dream to discuss the situation Rangers find themselves in after another league shocker. 

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Previews only

Comments

Tamus

If we conceded 20 corners we lose 3 or 4 goals

keith wright

Putting a name out there as a possible Gio replacement, John Heardman. Canada’s mens national coach.

Rona Bluebell

Running a business, you have a number of strategies to cover all eventualities. This includes a risk register, a business recovery plan etc. I therefore find it hard to believe Rangers don’t have Gio possibly failing as a managed risk and funds ring-fenced around it.

James McSween

Surly we can just sack him and pay him off with so called ring fenced money for Sands and Tillman that we shouldn’t be signing permanently anyway.

stefan strzelecki

I recall hearing an analogy that a team consigned to surrendering corner after corner , are the equivalence of a boxer getting their heads punched off against the ropes. Get the goal to knock them out. In contrast our team have a glass jaw. So mentality is everything. That doesn’t change with a new manager. We need the new manager to clear out most of the team.They are broken. We really have imbalance throughout the squad. Injuries will always do this to any competitive club. That’s why preparation and fitness programming is key to success going forward.

Martin Davies

David, re fan media and the pressers. Some people think you are grilling the manager the way a politician gets grilled on a Sunday morning politics show. They don't realise it's one question and the manager can choose not to answer it!

Fraser Martin
>>95154452

To be fair we have our 2nd and 5th choice centre halves and have had no consistency of selection of CH pairing for years.

Tamus
>>95154452

That's a piss poor excuse Fraser, our defending at set pieces is atrocious and To be fair I didnt let Leon Balegon go and sign John Soutar

Ross Russell

Kevin Muscat just won the J-League 😉

Sandy

A bit left field, but what about Kevin Thomson as manager with Davie Martindale as his mentor?

Spoon

Won’t get many likes but not why I am posting it. Despite that fact I am now one of those who think Gio probably has to go I still get a bit of doubt when I listen to pods like this, or the excellent tactics show. What I am struggling with is the train of thought that Gio has had a raft of issues to deal with, the squad is ageing and gash but it’s still his fault that he isn’t getting more from them. Is it really on him? Isn’t this the perfect storm of our reluctance to release (or more importantly cut loose) players who have a history of failing to perform except when they can be bothered? The tactics pod communicates it far better than I could, but Ally covers how difficult it is to have any cohesive strategy or tactical identity when you constantly have to change players and despite it not being mentioned I would add in having to use players who are past it or bang out of form as well as those constantly getting injured. If, and I accept that I don’t speak for everyone, we agree that the squad is problematic in terms of quality, profile, injury then there isn’t a lot the manager (any manager) can do. If players are unable to do the basics of tracking, tackling, making runs, making angles and finding their own man with a pass what can he really do? Normally the answer is drop them and bring in someone else, he doesn’t have that luxury, certainly not in terms of established first team players. I don’t subscribe to the lack of style that others do; I genuinely don’t think that how they play when they cross the line is how they are set up. I don’t believe, and his after-match comments reflect this and show his own frustration at this bunch of players not taking on instruction, which they seem to have done since the days of SG who at times said similar. Possession football is where the modern game is at, very few leagues however face 11 teams desperate to have 10 men behind the ball for so much of a match, isn’t it inevitable that this will look like hard work when you watch a team trying to wear it down? I think in many ways people are looking across the city and while they wont admit it see how they play and think we should be doing similar. I personally think many people are now finding reasons to back up / justify their frustration and desire for change. The chat from Stevie around the subs is for me an example, the whole game we had control of the midfield and the first shot they had on goal was their opening goal. If the team do the basics i.e., switch on and mark players from a throw in I see no issue in that defence being able to see things out given our overall control of the match. I have no issue taking a gamble and giving King the responsibility, I also don’t blame him for mistakes as it's part of his development. I don’t for a second believe Gio is just making stuff up, given his career in football and what he has achieved (including the Euro run with us where we all have blanked out playing some good stuff), his schooling in world football and his wider staff who he discusses things with every game to suggest it's just throwing players on is seeing what you have already decided to see. Making a sub 30 minutes from time and changing shape to win a game might not have worked for various reasons but it's hardly just throwing folk on without thought, you could see him talking to the coaches constantly, do we genuinely think it wasn’t tactical discussion around options? I suspect if he hadn’t changed it then he would have had same criticism from another segment of the support who couldn’t believe he didn’t change it. What he certainly didn’t have the luxury of was real quality to change it, so it was always going to have to be a shape change, in fact I’m sure he was criticised recently for ‘like for like changes’ now he changes shape it's a desperate gamble. Stevie’s repeated comment is it's not all on Gio, he lists factors, yet for many they say all these things and still just ultimately lump it onto him. He is right he does sound entrenched, that’s absolutely his right and at least he is self-aware! I do genuinely get his frustration but don’t quite agree on it's laser focus. This sounds like a defence of Gio, it's not really meant to be but for me he has become the scapegoat for a huge amount of frustration and maybe some realisation that the club is in a bad way and heroes have underperformed and let us down. His character is also more reserved and less reactionary than we have enjoyed recently where it felt like the coach was kicking every ball like us, something that allows people who like more ‘passion’ to latch onto. People still laud Alfredo as a hero, we still hear talk of Helander being some defender or Roofe being real quality, the most recent fable is Sakala has something, this is the type of self-delusion is why we have the squad we do. Holding onto guys who have had a spell but never a sustained contribution, banking on the perma injured or sponsoring help the aged. We must get rid of sentiment, we need to stop pretending that these guys are all fans and ‘love the club’ they don’t, this mob actually clearly don’t as the desire and application is missing. Back to my original point, given everything that is going on, given all the factors that are accepted as being in play is it really on Gio? If he sets a team up and they don’t follow his instruction due to them being limited professionals is that on him? IF that team can turn up and put a performance in some games why not give him that same effort every game? it's not like the personnel change wildly or the tactics are different that they can't keep up with the changes? I totally respect others are angrier with the situation. I get that to others eyes the criticism of the manager is the only logical conclusion to be made. I get that there is almost a denial that the squad and club is in such a bad state so quick after what we thought was us rallying from the last crisis. Given how much money had to be pumped into getting 55 that we would go flat afterwards has a sort of inevitability about it, especially when the FFP stuff is incoming. I am also a little bit uncomfortable with the idea that any manager would get more from this team, if genuinely this set of players haven’t given everything for the current staff, then it's disgusting regardless of their opinions on the change in direction. One thing is for sure if you don’t like an idea and give it a half-hearted effort then it probably won’t work, it's another thing to prove a system doesn’t work by giving it your all but still failing. Isn’t that a bit petulant, a bit unprofessional from them? Surely they don’t get to choose when to turn up? I just can't get on board with the fatalistic approach to this. Genuinely who is to say that if some of the wider squad issues were alleviated, he couldn’t turn it around? I also can't get on board with some of the venom and glee with which people would see him hounded out with. I am not saying that’s the view of all the podders but it is a view with traction in the support, you see it daily on social media. Suggesting that anyone who doesn’t want him gone now is delusional or holding out for a miracle is to me insulting, I accept he probably will go but I’m not 100% convinced it's automatic he can't make it work. For those of you who read my rants or apologist propaganda depending on your views sorry this was a longer than usual one. Stevie, David enjoyed the pod, as you can see I don’t necessarily agree with all your takes, not actually the content but more the extrapolated conclusions, but as always a great listen gents.

Stevie
>>95159689

I think this is a great post and I love the discussion. I think though that I’m not quite being taken in context, I am very unconvinced by Gio but he isn’t my ‘scapegoat’ as such even if I would rather he left rapidly, my points are wider than him in that the squad, Wilson (probably more than Gio) and Board also need to be taken to account of the goings on. I’m repeatedly quoted as saying removing Gio only isn’t the answer. That’s my only point to you wider. I don’t agree on the subs thing & think at that point in the game it is madness to go one cb vs two but that’s opinion. Enjoyed your counter points and respect the discussion.

Spoon
>>95159689

All fair Stevie and the scapegoat comment is a wider support thing I know you didn’t say that. I’m not for one second saying people can’t see it that way or somewhere in between, it’s not at all invalid I personally just think there’s more than one way to look at some stuff that’s being kind of portrayed as ‘this is how it is’ and there’s no alternative view. I always come away from the pods or your posts with something to think on and I know regardless your giving your honest take and coming from wanting the same as most fans, return of success👍🏻

Greg

Morelos was trying to get the ball and make something happen!

David Hanlon

Thanks guys for saying what we all think. I would love to to ask Gio how he thinks he can turn it around when he lost the League last year after being 7 points ahead when he took over. He is now 7 points behind going on 8 with goal difference. He hasn't a hope in hell of turning it around and he knows it.

Gregg
>>95158356

If this is your pitch for the director of football job, it’s a firm no fucking danger from me. Jesus wept mate

Sandy
>>95158356

Never said I was any use! Couldn’t be any worse than 3 of the last 4 we’ve had

Alan Cowan

Steve The guy is tactically inept and leaving King exposed was gross stupidity and shows up GVB as a tactical clown. It was the act of a desperate manager trying to save his reputation. As far as a payoff is concerned, usually an agreement is made at termination of a contract, eg £20k per week until further employment is gained, then it would either stop or be reduced to match his Rangers wage. So this misconception, that we can't afford to give £4m is surely no where near correct unless he's unemployed for the duration of his Rangers contract

Jon McNeill

Question for the historians and stattos. Who was the last Rangers manager to fall 7 points behind and still be in the job 6 months later? I don't have the answer, but would be keen to know how salvageable the current situation is based on precedent. Not very would be my guess!

Doug Young
>>95159689

Fair essay. Haha. I am similarly minded. Gio should go but only because I see no path where this changes. The playing squad is either tripe or injured but there is simply no denying that he isn't getting what he wants from them, be it their fault or his. As David keeps saying, you can't sack 20 players, so options are limited. I would take issue with your comments about fans being sentimental for duffers. That may be so, but we don't sign them or give them new contracts; that's down to the management. We were warned by Feyenoord fans we would get laborious football and lo! It has come to pass. I was excited at Gio's arrival but all I can see is a team in reverse and a desperate figure on the touchline. It's getting Murtyesque, yet there are no quick answers or miracle solutions. The board will limp to the WC, I have no doubt. And I will still watch each game with that sinking feeling not far away.

Spoon
>>95159689

I think we are suckers for guys who are perceived to be fans or have played for us previously and we over hype guys who are bang average, it’s just an opinion. Week in week out we get a defence of players currently based on what they did once, for a brief spell or did several years ago not what they bring over the length of their contract or currently. Best examples are Morelos who is expected to return to 2019 at the time when he had stopped being sent off, was banging in goals but hadn’t yet sacked it and let his fitness go. Many fans talk about how they still love him despite him having repeatedly let us down and delivered in maybe one 12 month period? But folk still talk like he is a game away from being back. Other extreme is Arfield, never actually that great but ran about a lot and saluted his odd goal. Return miles off what you need for an attacking mid, limited goal return and likely to miss half a dozen chances in a match that are easier than the odd one he will score. Kent has been excused a lack of actual output for ages based on him being a handful and delivering intangibles like that’s a thing. McGregor is now about 3 years past when he started to wane. He will always stop a shot in a match but the mad behaviour, lack of any form of passing and his inability to command a box is all forgiven because he’s shagger. I’m a huge fan of Tav and he has until recently been a machine but we will now keep him past his sell by and on the basis, he can do a job for us when we should already have a right back understudy waiting to take his place. Borna… same. All throughout my time watching the team we have loved going back for a player and brining them back. You could even say we did it with Gio…. That’s where I believe we are overly sentimental. We should ask what have you done for me lately and if, as is the case with this squad, it’s fuck all much lately from a great many they should be thanked and sent on their way. A wee consideration in terms of you can’t sack 20 players, your realistically correct but we will see a turn over of about 10 ideally possibly more soon and by sacking Gio his staff (also about 8 or 10) may go to so while it’s perhaps a bit cheaper to do one than the other it might not be by much. We also have had a lot of football department turnover and some stability at some point might be good. The amount of money we are wasting on turning over football staff is just coming straight out of squad budget. You hit my main point straight on, he isn’t getting what he wants from them my general issue is, when do we accept it might be on them ? Do they just get to slide if the new guy comes in and gets a tune out of them however brief ? Doesn’t that mean like huffy teenagers they downed tools and not only got a manager sacked it’s directly on them we lost points in the title race ? Are you happy they get to decide when to turn up and play ? Rhetorical stuff and I’m not asking you to answer these are just the thoughts I keep having about it.

Adam

I just wish he'd been allowed to fail on his own merits. Wilson's involvement and our shoddy recruitment leaves a very sour taste in my mouth. I find it really difficult to believe that at Dutch manager had no intentions of signing any dutch players or even players from the dutch league.

Rona Bluebell

I’m concerned about our future. I’m also concerned about the Podders comfort eating. James tanning pizza and Hagen dazs and now Stevie. (Please no friends with salad references).

Gary Brown
>>95159689

Great post/s Spoon, bang on the mark in so many aspects. Gio is done, whatever happens next - win every game but if its not in a manner acceptable to some, like it was v Motherwell & Dundee, the same calls for his head will happen. Facts are being cherry picked by the Board to keep Gio in the job, similarly facts are being cherry picked by the fanbase to get him out. Only natural, each side selects what backs their opinion. The deeper problems, discussed by the guys and highlighted further by Spoon's post are THE problem, which the next manager will also have to face; squad quality, financial backing, recruitment and the time to do it. How long will they get? Gio won us the Cup for the first time in 13yr and took us to Euro final - at the expense of the League (and plenty on here as well as the wider fanbase were happy gambling with those odds at the time!) But the team could not compete on both fronts with the same intensity having expended so much in preceding Europa games. Smith, Souness, Advocaat & McLeish could never get that balance right either. Those 2 great achievements in less than a year, former player, former very successful player for the huge clubs, but Gio is dogfood! So what does the next guy get? The same root problems for a start. Plus they are unlikely to have credit in the bank being a former player / very successful player / very successful coach. So how long? 6 months? 3? As soon as a mob mentality exists and is successful this will happen again, and again, and again until a stand is made sacrificing short term gain for greater good long term. The Souness / Gerrard > Smith / Gio similarities are chokingly apparent. Stevie said "our support has changed" yes mate they have and right now are scarily acting like that eastend mhob from the early 90s! This is not about me blindly defending Gio, I know I'm farting at thunder trying that. It is about where this current mentality takes us next.

David Harrison

I get things aren’t great, and I get that you guys don’t do full match breakdowns on the flagship, but we hit the bar twice and their keeper made at least one fantastic save. On another day we could have been talking about a great result 🤷‍♂️ I get it didn’t turn out that way. Small margins I suppose.

KMS

Over the banter years I kind of fell out of love with football, in the respect of it became a bit of a chore, I still attended, But i would turn up right on kick off, watch the game....rarely enjoy it, go home......repeat again and again. <br><br>Then Gerrard came and I fell in love with things again, I rediscovered my mojo. Not so much the league...more so those European nights, I got my fire back, In turn I was turning up long before kick off and enjoying myself again, a proactive supporter. I was spending money big time again with the club, I was buying into them again, I believed. <br><br>Then Gerrard Left... and I still had that feeling, Not so much as 'Let's Go' but more of 'Let's continue!!' I really thought we would push on and take the club to the next level, More so domestically, I was realistic on a European level, but not to the point of complete submission, just quiet conficence that we would be a team that nobody would relish playing. nobody would take for granted......<br><br>Under the reign of Gio I have regressed, I'm struggling (Like the players) to motivate myself to turn up for games, I do go, but often it's a feeling of 'I really cannot be arsed with this today!'...especially if it's pissing down with rain etc. You know what you're turning up to see, you know what you're going to witness, A lifeless, souless, banal type of football that's so predictable, so repetitive that you become frustrated, bored, irritated....pass....pass....pass.....back this way....pass....pass....pass.....cross!.....ad'freckin'nauseum.....Gio-Ball?....No the Gio-Effect. <br><br>The guy has eroded, along with the board, the feel good factor we had, the sense of unity, the togetherness, all of us against everyone, we feared no foe!, now we are a tepid, yellow streaky pish, laughing stock, whipping bears, the type of team lower ranking SPFL teams see as a scalp, they have no fear, no trepidation in facing us, We do not have that aura, we do however present a very predictable, soft as sh1te set up that can be got at!,<br><br> I miss that feeling I re-discovered, I have no faith in this manager, these players, this board, We have signed up and committed to their promises wholeheartedly, we believed, we, as a support have supported them to the hilt with everything we have.....and collectively?...they have failed us, they have betrayed us, they have taken us for granted, and they are now bringing shame and embarrassment to our club leaving us a figure of fun, to be ridiculed.<br><br> When they have something to sell to us it's all about togetherness, they sell the dream, we buy into it, we commit, The board are very visible, very pro-active in promoting the 'we are one', and 'we are this, we are that' and so on, the MyGers, The Merch, The fanzones, this , that, other, you name it, if it has a price on it they are there and we are happy to support our club. Now it's not going their way, they are a closed shop, no engagement, no public interaction....selfish, arrogant silence, we are a cash cow they look upon as gullible, taken for granted....TAKEN FOR GRANTED!!!, THERE IS NO WE with them, it's them and those gullible customers in the stands<br><br>Shame on them, Shame on the manager, the players, the board, We as a support are better than that,<br><br> WE ARE NOT customers, WE ARE NOT an open wallet, I hate seeing unrest, apathy , toxicity within our support, I don't want to be heading to the front door to voice my concerns in a vitriolic manner, but when it gets to the point you, yourself are regressing, you are falling out of love with even being at a game?, you know it's time for change, it's long overdue, it's long since past the moment of concern, <br><br>we are in a shocking state at every level, be it as a team, a style of play, overall fitness, a basic hunger or appetite to succeed, Everything around us at this time has eroded to negative, passive, WEAK! <br><br>The board are accepting it, we won't, I am sick of this current set up, I have no faith in them collectively, Just f&cking go and do the honourable thing, DO it now, do it before the damage becomes more long term. The GVB era has lost me, and lost me for good, He won't win me back, I have no faith in his managerial vision for our club, go elsewhere and try to implement it, it's not for us, and it CLEARLY is not working, <br><br>Just go, take your backroom staff with you, and hopefully a lot of those stale, stagnant, heartless people masquerading as players, I cannot stomach this abolute sh1t you are serving up any longer.<br><br>JUST GO!!!

Craig Robertson

Can I make a suggestion to David and Stevie? See instead of using these pods to defend yourself against faceless twitter accounts who you've previously stated aren't even subscribers, how about you just tweet that out and don't bother mentioning it on the audios? It's about 10 minutes of this one. I think it's well and truly covered. Meant sincerely lads, enjoyed the rest of the pod (as much as I could with these recent results)

Tom
>>95185631

I felt I wanted to contribute to the discussion but no need to now...you sum up exactly how I feel. The highs of getting to Seville to the lows on Sunday...gio, Wilson and the board have sucked the life out of me. .

Billy Brotherston
>>95163583

You’re 100% right mate, the change of shape was criminal but the thing that gets me is him saying the defending was terrible for the 2nd goal, by saying that it shows he doesn’t realise that was all on him making the wrong changes. For me, that goes a long way to explaining why the team aren’t playing for him, they know the coaches are clueless, they put Scott Wright on in the middle of the park against Ajax ffs…..Scott Wright…….middle of the park??

Cameron Fraser

@Stevie Clifford I enjoy listening to your thoughts in the main but can you please stop saying "in terms of"? It's relentless and for the most part, unnecessary.

Spoon
>>95159689

Gary you went where I stopped short of…….the comparison of some of the fanbase the ones we laughed at across the city but your bang on. I just don’t want to be a club who expects but can’t consider context and chops people on a whim demanding the board spend money we obviously don’t have again. Couldn’t agree more with you.

Robert Atkinson
>>95155074

We will also have funds ring fenced in case we lost the Peña court battle, which we won!

Gary Brown
>>95185631

Great points KMS, well said. I feel very much like you do and for many of the same reasons. This is why I have a huge amount of sympathy for Gio. Armed with a health(ier) squad he has shown what he can do. He has not been backed as well as he could have by the Board, so has been let down by them as much, if not more, than we have and there is every likelihood the next manager will be the same.

Alan Cowan
>>95163583

Billy. He's desperate and will try the unusual. It it works , he think he's solved the problem and will play like that next game, if it fails, like it usually does, it just buries him deeper. He refused to play Sakala, then he did against Aberdeen, had a great game, then threw him in against Ajax and St Johnstone, out of his depth Clueless

Robert Atkinson

The profile of defender signed under Gio has changed from Gerrard. Gerrard wanted defenders who could protect the goal by winning headers, tackling and blocking: Katic, Goldson, Worrall, McAuley, Helander, Edmundson, Balogun. If they could play the ball, that was the icing on the cake. Gio wants ball players, if they can defend a bit, so much the better.

Stevie
>>95196806

Cameron Simply a nerves thing. listening back I heard it a few times too so had already caught it. My apologies to you and everyone else

Stevie
>>95191671

It’s the first podcast we have done together in a long time, good feedback but to discuss it is also relevant to what we face everyday and especially the last few weeks. Fair point but equally I think it’s also relevant to touch on it

CJT

Interesting comments about where the fans are. I'm well into my 50s and cant remember a time when Rangers weren't the cornerstone of my general wellbeing. The Gers do well I can take most anything, they don't and everything seems a challenge. I also can't remember a time when I'm so out-of step with the general feeling of the support. I've accepted the manager has to go. Where we go next has to be considered though. His whole back room staff has to go as well. What does that leave us, a youth team coach again? Can't do that again surely. We have an opportunity coming up to smooth the transition when there's no games. OK there might be the usual media charade that we"re assessing options once he goes but we need to have all that dusted before we pull the trigger. How we've got here is also really grating with me. The answer to me is too many become fixated on that lot across the city and let 55 convince us that things were back to pre-2012 business as usual. Its bloody hard I know to watch them winning but if we're to progress as a club we need to focus on ourselves. We've come off a season that gave us our first cup win in more than a decade and a European final and then followed that up with champions league qualification. We've then gone into a period with the worst injury position i can recall and we all know that's saying something. To the get to a stage 3 months later where we're on the verge of demos at the front door is beyond me. As noted, I'm old, but social media attracts extreme views and they take hold quickly I think. I do worry though that this is our future, bad spells of form leading to overwhelming calls for change. That's not sustainable. Agree with the comments on leadership though. We look from the outside a bit rudderless and we're letting rumour fill the facts void. We need a strong character that fans trust. If that's not the manager then it has to be someone at the top of the club that can calm stormy waters such as these. Let's hope that person exists and we see them soon.

Rick Roberts

It's all a bit of a mess. Managers and players can hit and miss. The Gio experiment is excusable. A long contract we cant afford to break isnt. The board is packed with pigmies with terrible decision making skills. As someone else said, we'd be planning and packing bags for Ange's homecoming parade if they'd had their way. Quite the thought.

Doug Young
>>95159689

Absolutely agree with pretty much all of that. Kent has always flattered to deceive for me. Tav hit heights last season, as did Buffalo but they are absolute shadows. I would have let Goldson, Davis, Arfield and Greegsy go myself. Greegsy in particular is an odd one. Always passionate but last few games he has looked a beaten man when he gets on the pitch, which is absolutely nuts. Only one I would perhaps stuck up for is Borna. At least he has looked like he has some fight. I have always been a fan of young, passionate players, mixed with a good solid spine of Keeper- centre-back- defensive lynchpin and creative ten. Chuck in a roving 9 and that drags most teams up to code for me. Can't remember the last time we had that. Do you think if Gio went "fuck it" and threw in McCann, Lowry, Lovelace, Devine and told the senior sloggers to sit down and shut up, the crowds would respond?

Spoon
>>95159689

Personally no I don’t as I think the support have gone through so much in the last decade they must have success and 100% win rate or it’s all shit. I understand why it’s become like that when you see the amount of time, money and just passion the fans have poured into the club to get back to 55 but it’s left us struggling for perspective and intolerant of performance dips. Even though the majority are willing to give King time some are already saying he won’t make it. Tillman a hit prospect across Europe is a shitebag to some and won’t make it etc we don’t do youth development well and want instant results. We have put off a team overhaul about 2 or 3 years too long and it’s caught up with us and specifically Gio in one almighty shit show. We have dug ourselves into this hole as a club and in some ways the fans were happy to ignore the signs as long as we got 55. I admit I was in some ways to but immediately on securing it, from the players still being half cut the next day the standards and drive dipped and we started a slump. There’s no quick fix here, I would be going for stability. Agree with the sentiment of your post though I just don’t think our fragile ego squad would cope with it. It’s amazing listening to dominant pods and Souness building a team of winners vs what we have currently.

Angus Mackay

I'm probably more frustrated with the the incessant whining from a lot of fan media right now than I am with anyone at the club. What makes that even more frustrating is that a lot of the assertions that are used as sticks to beat the manager with are obviously flawed. For example, the point gets constantly repeated that he said we couldn't compete in the CL. What he said, and what he has since clarified more than once, is that we couldn't compete with Liverpool, Ajax and Napoli financially. That is objectively and obviously true. That then gets compounded (as per the opening passage of this pod) by people saying that we haven't competed with anyone since. That's just plainly wrong. Another assertion that seems to have become accepted fact is that it's been perpetual decline under Gio. I actually find it incomprehensible how quickly people have forgotten the nights that the guy gave us last spring. I've been following the club for over forty years and I've seen a few european adventures (far more humiliations, sadly), and neither I or anyone else in that time has seen us making our way to a European final by outplaying the superior opposition in front of us - often emphatically so. And yet, absurdly, people say he has no defined pattern of play. People also say constantly that he doesn't improve players, entirely ignoring the transformation of Bassey and the fact that several of the younger players are clearly improving. It gets said a lot that he dropped more points than Celtic last season? He carried on accumulating points at the same rate as Gerrard. (and he did it whilst being at the disadvantage of having to compete in Europe while they didn't). He's dropped more than them this season? Well he had the same issue to deal with in the opening weeks of the season and it's been obvious since then that the squad is suffering for a psychological and physical hangover from last season and probably several seasons past. In reality, the club (and this team) have had to pull themselves up from a position of tremendous weakness because of everything that was done to us. At every point in that process where a significant milestone has been passed (beating them, topping the league, winning the league) there has been a period following in which the team has been out of sorts (witness the two Gerrard collapses in the league), that is obviously mental fatigue from making and passing these milestones. (I think there are clear parallels between the celebrations of Gerrard and the team at both Ibrox and CP and the celebrations in Eindhoven this season). I could go on, but it's getting too long. It's looking as if the great likelihood now is that Gio will get eventually get sacked. That will cost the club a tremendous amount of money and set us back a long way and it will be for nothing. Gio isn't the issue; he's already shown his ability to coach and motivate players. Actually the real issue is our short term outlook as a support, and the unwillingness of many to accept and deal with the fact that despite the league win and the Europa final we're still fighting our way back. All sacking Gio will do is set that process back. People went on at great length during our fightback to domestic competitiveness about our new outlook and how much healthier it was; the bulk of fan media output at the moment unfortunately suggests we have learned nothing at all from all that we went through. Rant/

David MacT
>>95168569

McLeish in October 2004 (I think) when we drew 1-1 with Dundee United at home. Smith as well in January 2009 when we lost 1-0 at home to Celtic.

James Anderson

I was criticised 10 weeks ago for saying Gio was morphing into Pedro, now its even worse than that. That aside, the board are now morphing into Pedro. Clueless, stubborn and hapless. My big fear us that they are too stubborn to ask Dave King to come back and sort out the mess they have created, but turn to a US venture capital investor for help.

Luke
>>95185631

Feel the same way, I just don’t understand how a 433 under Gio is so much worse than a 433 under Gerrard!

David Gardner

A lot to unpack and I think digest about what’s going on the playing side of the football club just now - I think anyone is mislead to think the board are bad people and haven’t done anything good at the football club since they arrived. On paper I completely understand why they’ve brought in Ross Wilson and GVB - we should be running away with every domestic competition but unfortunately hasn’t worked out like that. The football side of things are needing fixed and I’m in the camp of the manager needs to change, I think there needs to be some sort of change in the director of football as well, Ross just hasn’t worked out. The board have done good things since they arrived and are continuing to do well in non-football operations. It’s amazing how much any other issues we have as a support get blown up when results aren’t going the correct way. I can also understand and empathise with the board at not wanting to sack the manager but I agree with you guys on the pod it seems inevitable where this ends.

Graham Twycross
>>95199528

Think it's fair to say we were all happy when Gio came in. Quickly we managed to drop points domestically whilst having some great nights in Europe. The phrase over achieved has been used. If we take a step back and look at the teams we beat in Europe last year you would notice we had the smaller budget by far. The league is the mainstay if you consider its a 2 horse race. Gio has struggled in both seasons and that would see most managers go.

Heart and Hand
>>95199528

All fair but I keep coming back to ‘do I believe this manager can deliver us a league title?’ And the truth is I don’t.

Scott Macrae

I think it clearly does come down to not wanting to pay the compo for Gio to go. Gio doesn’t seem the type to resign either. If the hierarchy at the club genuinely believe he’s the man to take us forward, I am worried. The other factor is, I guess is if they have made their mind up. Do we want another Murty/Nicholl situation where we don’t have a replacement lined up.

Johnnie Mitchell
>>95185631

Absolutely fantastic post. Straight from the heart. Well said and I agree and feel the same as you with a lot of it. Hopefully things change soon.

George Harrison
>>95180397

Remember that St Johnstone had other chances too. As the guys said though, it’s not about this one game in isolation, it’s about numerous things over many months …. the complete drop off in form of key players such as Tav, Kent, Morelos & Kamara ; the failure to address the elephant in the room, Alfredo Morelos, who seems happy to turn up and take the money ; the first manager in our history to lose 7 goals …. when we were losing 4-1 we should have shut up shop ; the worst Champions League record of any team, albeit with some mitigating factors such as injuries to keep players ; players consistently played out of position, such as Tillman wide right ; failure to beat a Livi side with 2 Rangers rejects in their midfield ; don’t get me started on corner kicks ! I could go on and on.

David MacT

I have no idea if it's just but there does seem to be a lot of comments on recent pods about what people have said to the podders on Twitter or the likes. To me social media is a haven for angry lunatics to vent and send abuse that they obviously would never say in real life. Twitter is just people hiding behind a username and fake 'persona' and should never ever be taken seriously. It maybe is just me but I've no idea why you guys even acknowledge the crap written on social media or give it any coverage. In the real world things like twitter or FF mean absolutely nothing.

Heart and Hand
>>95208568

Oh you are spot on, it's just draining. When you're in a good place it's water off a duck's back, when you're not quite there it's different. Logically you know it's just noise but the feelings are a bit different.

David MacT

Alex, and yourself , Stevie etc all seem like really decent guys but, and it's usually on the Preview Pod, Alex almost has to apologise in advance for his opinion as he knows people on twitter might give him stick. I would just laugh at 'abuse' on Twitter or FF. It means nothing. It's obviously how people look at social media I suppose but i have 1 look at FF and Twitter and last about 2 minutes before I close the page/app. It's all fake and OTT hysteria.

Rick Swan

It’s taken less than a year for us to realise that Gio is not the man to do the job. The Feyenoord fans more or less told us that yet he was rushed in with what was more of a coronation than due process. I fear that the names mentioned to replace Gio are yet again, very predictable - he’s a Rangers man,he’ll kick their arses etc. Without wishing to sound too entitled, we deserve much better than that. I suspect the major prize of the League may be beyond this sadly depleted squad this season so I hope the Board use this time wisely to agree upon a football philosophy and bring the appropriate staff- players and management to the club to do that. That’s what happened initially under SG and it was so enervating.

Gary Brown
>>95198211

Agreed, excellent post. And many of the same feelings; out of step with the 'general' support, accept they'll get their way, gutting the entire coaching staff, too many fixated on that mhob, Gio's tenure is a time to solidify, compete & actually get back on a level footing with that lot, should focus on ourselves (if we are to follow the player trading model we must accept there will be seasons like this, a step back after big talent moves on for big money!). Also early 50s, aye just another auld man shouting at clouds eh?

Alastair McGeoch

I take the points on the board and the squad but for me the biggest problem right now is GVB. Players clearly not fit enough, no style of play and players clearly don’t understand what he wants from them, crazy substitutions and gambles in games, throwing young players under the bus (Diallo and Tillman at Parkhead, King a couple of times this season) and playing with 2 holding midfielders when the defence isn’t coached. A contingency plan should have been in place straight after our 4-0 gubbing at Parkhead. Clearly he had no belief in his squad going into champions league and I think the squad know that. He needs to go