port_bear

I've been getting slaughtered for even questioning his potential but like yourself I just don't see where the hype is coming from. His effort cannot be questioned, the lad gives 110% and more but the points you mentioned about being able to pick a pass, dictate temp and grab the game by the scruff of the neck are all points i've made myself. A few have highlighted his age but that's a moot point for me, at the same age Barry Ferguson was doing everything we mentioned, picking passes, dictating tempo, controlling the midfield, McCrorie on occasions just looks lost. I'm not saying he's not worthy of a place in the squad but for me that's all he is a decent squad player, the hype surrounding him just baffles me.

McLean was by far the best player on the park last night, was involved in everything they did. Why? because he was allowed to !

Ok so most in here are raving about McCrorie last night .. Someone can maybe answer this question for me .. If McCrorie (our holding defensive midfielder) had such an outstanding game, how come McLean (their attacking midfielder) had some much time and space to run the show and eventually get the sponsors man of the match?

I must have been watching a different game last night to everyone else, I thought he was sub standard at best. I lost count the number of times he got caught on the ball or gave possession away and don't get me started on his first touch. One of the first things you're taught as a kid is how to trap the ball at your feet or control a pass, at least 3 times I watched him try this only for the ball to run under his foot. Rarely goes looking for the ball, and when he has it he never drives forward with the ball always looking to get rid of it, either sideways or back.

Inter have been a mess since Mourinho left in 2010, sacking manager after manager, they've had 12 different managers in the past 7 years ffs !! As for the Palace debacle, to sack someone after 10 weeks in the job is more a reflection on the board than it is the ability of the manager.

I cant get my head around this ... People are dismissing FdB because he is foreign (no other reason) despite the fact the guys is a proven WINNER at managerial level. On the other hand they are asking for a Smith type, a "no-nonsense" winner and the name that keeps being mentioned is Clarke, a guy who has won NOTHING as a manager. I'm not saying Clarke isn't a legitimate candidate, of course he is but we cant just rule successful managers out just because of where he was born.

No one can argue with what Clarke has achieved with Killie. However the point I was trying to make was that you seem to think that will somehow guarantee him the same success if he got the job here. Just because he has had instant success at one club doesn't mean the same will happen at another. Its the same with FdB, just because he had failed spells with Inter and Palace doesn't mean his next will also end in failure. I seem to remember a certain MrClough who lasted only 44 days at Leeds before going onto win several European Cups with Forrest. EVERY new manager is a gamble.

So we are paying Alves and Pena peanuts are we? The likes of Dorrans, Murphy and Martin who have come from the mega rich Championship are they on pennies also? We may not have the budget they have but we aren't 100miles away either. The difference (whether you want to accept it or not) is they have a manager who has instilled belief in all his players and united them as team.

So you want a "winning football" mentality over a "good football" mentality and to achieve this you want a manger who has never won anything over a guy who has won 4 league titles in Holland?

That starting 11 that destroyed us yesterday was full of free transfers, end of contract signings and academy graduates, only Brown and Ntcham were big money signings. The difference yesterday was not how much money was spent, the difference was we were lacking a manager with any ability and a background team who aren't much better. Boyd picked up on it at half time, their subs doing proper warm ups and drills, our subs just aimlessly kicking balls about. We had a corner in the first half and I counted 4 blue shirts in the box, FOUR !! About 5 minutes later we had another corner and we only had THREE in the box. That has nothing to do with lack of money, that is down to bad management, poor preparation and lack of leadership from the dugout.

They cost me £240 .... bookies must have known

I was thinking more along the lines of risking one of our key players picking up an injury one week before one of the biggest games of the season in a match that we should easily win.

Hopefully with the celtic game just around the corner, Murty will rest Morelos on Sunday and start Cummings.

The 17pts dropped is a shocker of a statistic and for those who are saying Murty is the answer long term they have to look at that and re-evaluate their assessment. Look, don't get me wrong the guy was placed in a difficult situation and I applaud him for trying his best but I just feel had we appointed a more competent manager within weeks of the Pedro sacking we could have been in a much better position than we are now.

The problem is we are stuck with a board who is reactive when what we need is a board who are more proactive. They are sitting back with their fingers crossed, hoping that Murty does enough from now till the end of the season to win the fans over before announcing a new contract for him in the summer. Should he mess up or not live up to the fans expectations they will then be in panic mode trying to recruit a new manager. What they should be doing is scouring the market, sounding out agents and managers to see who is available / interested and trying to find the best possible option for the club going forward. I like Murty, he seems and really nice, intelligent, honest guy and you can't fault what he's done under the most difficult of circumstances, however for me he's just not the answer long term.

Been discussing this with a guy in work ... Couple of ways of looking at this, a) they go through and have two difficult Europa games ahead which could have a result on their performances, players more tired or require resting, one eye on the latter stages, league form suffers. 2) they go through and they are lifted by the result and gain extra confidence and go on a long winning streak domestically. Personally I hope they get pumped on Thursday night and come back, exhausted, beat and dejected and facing a long trip to Pittodrie

I've been saying since day 1 that Murty doesn't have what it takes long term, he's too inexperienced and tactically he's naïve. 100% agree with your point on Moyes, he's not the answer either.

So by giving a striker 12 mins to try and make something happen you see that as some kind of masterstroke from the manager? Murty got lucky yesterday, his changes (like they always are) were far too late in the game and we were fortunate not to drop points.

Bottom of the league Ross County, who have only won 4 games all season a potential banana skin? seriously ? I've heard it all now !! lol After the good results against Motherwell, celtic and Aberdeen and the boost from the latest new signings we should have been going into the game with a view to putting in a an improved performance, not clinging on at the end, biting our nails awaiting the ref blowing his whistle. The acceptance of mediocrity in here is unbelievable at times. WE WERE PLAYING BOTTOM OF THE LEAGUE !!

Nah I disagree with this, yes he's our top scorer but by halftime you could see he wasn't in the game. Sometimes players have off days and it was evident that this was one of his ... Should have been hooked much earlier!

We should never be 100% happy with our performance or start to be complacent otherwise we will never improve.

Those two results were just examples I mentioned in my post but its his lack of tactical awareness during games that have me thinking he isn't up to the task. The Aberdeen game was a good result but again you could look at the last 15-20 mins when were camped in and ask what did he do to prevent that? I mean we had controlled the game for so much of the match, why allow them back into the game like that ? its asking for trouble. As for the "only conceding one goal in 4 games" ... what about the two games before this run when we conceded 5 goals and lost both games?

We were lucky yesterday pure and simple anyone who says otherwise is blinkered ! The Ref could have easily given the Bates penalty (personally I didn't think it was a pen, but I have seen them given) and at 1-1 with County looking the better team who knows what might have happened.

We shouldn't be "scrapping" our way to 2-1 win against bottom of the f...ing league Ross County !! They've only won 4 games all season !! If that's the level of ambition you are willing to accept under Murty then we are in big trouble. People seem to forget the abysmal performances against Dundee, Hamilton, St Johnstone and Kilmarnock. Yes we were indeed "winning" the game yesterday but it cold have quite easily have slipped away from us as it did at Killie. So many on here so happy to let a couple of good performances paper over the cracks.

I’m sorry but yesterday, the final result aside, was a huge wake up call for me and emphasized to me that Murty is NOT the man for the job. Don’t get me wrong some of the results since he has taken over the reigns have been encouraging, as has the transfer window thus far, although how much of that is down to Murty or MA? Who’s to say? However yesterday’s game further highlighted Mutry’s flaws as a manager and his tactical naivety when the game isn’t going his way. I’ve been saying for weeks that his reluctance to make changes (tactical or personnel wise) during games will cost him, as it already has this season. At halftime it was clear the game had started to slip away from us and there were a few players struggling to make an impact in the game (Morelos, Windass, Murphy etc.). Nothing changed in the second half and it takes him until the 74th minute before introducing some fresh legs, with Cummings and Docherty chomping at the bit, desperate to get into the action. The defeat to Hamilton was the same, the game was running away from us and he waits until the 72nd minute to do anything about it. The Kilmarnock defeat was the same, we got an early lead and then the game started to slip from us and Killie got their goals, his reaction? throw Hererra on in the 83rd minute….. WTF? Lets not forget the last OF game in which Kranjcar was a passenger from the first whistle and Murty waits until the 80th minute to replace him. You could argue that his options have been limited but that excuse couldn’t be used yesterday and in my opinion we dodged a bullet yesterday and Murty got very lucky.