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Houston; Support?
Tweet Topic Started: Oct 26 2011, 09:45 AM (5,188 Views)
Naebody	Oct 27 2011, 05:43 PM Post #61
Twat Posts: 5,210 Group: Members Member #20 Joined: September 13, 2010	findus Oct 27 2011, 05:30 PM It's been sitting in my DVD pile for... yes, five years now. Great film, still feels fresh, though it goes at a speed and intensity that demands full concentration. Try to see it in a cinema first, otherwise you may struggle. Third Man, however. Now that's a peerless choice for a wet Thursday night at home with a Lafite.



Conan the Destroyer	Oct 27 2011, 05:58 PM Post #62
I prefer it when we're pish Posts: 3,265 Group: Members Member #6 Joined: September 10, 2010	You c*nts crack me up.



The Eggman	Oct 27 2011, 06:00 PM Post #63
Tommy McLean Posts: 2,119 Group: Members Member #5 Joined: September 10, 2010	Conan the Destroyer Oct 27 2011, 05:58 PM You c*nts crack me up. Where's that .gif



TheDean	Oct 27 2011, 06:30 PM Post #64
ALLEGEDLY CALICO Posts: 2,117 Group: Members Member #53 Joined: September 18, 2011	The STV interview utterances weren't those of a confident man- even more worry factor for Saturday which could well shape up to be a FcCall style "make or break" game in that if we lose we could hit bottom. The scenario really does have a FcCall style feel about it. Where we have dominated games at home we haven't converted that into wins and played poorly away from home (Hearts excepted). Are there alternatives? Of course there are-there's more than a few ambitious managers out there that would welcome the chance to manage United as a means of moving on and up (like our player development policy). When the directors are "gathering to discuss the poor performance of the team" you feel that a momentum is building for Houston's demise. Is it unfair? On balance , yes -but life's unfair a lot.



Vex	Oct 27 2011, 07:33 PM Post #65
Paul Sturrock Posts: 216 Group: Members Member #51 Joined: July 20, 2011	Conan the Destroyer Oct 27 2011, 12:44 PM He's had to watch a very good team walk away and been given virtually nothing with which to replace them. I don't blame him. Nobody else would have done any better. I had to look at a colleague's copy The Sun cos this network doesn't allow access to shit like that, and there was a story about United "raging" which SFA over the "tapping-up" of Cathro. Is Cathro off to the SFA then? I fear that would have a longer lasting effect on Utd than Houston's fate. I have always been very impressed by Cathro.



Vex	Oct 27 2011, 07:43 PM Post #66
Paul Sturrock Posts: 216 Group: Members Member #51 Joined: July 20, 2011	With regard to the Houston speech I'd say that was "fighting talk" and when managers and chairmen have fights the manager very rarely wins. Anyone have W L D stats for Utd managers? I'd be interested to see where he falls. That said he didn't buy many of the players who achieved those results did he? Although it can be agued he showed more faith in some of them (Goodie and Swanny) that allowed them greater success.



Naebody	Oct 27 2011, 08:23 PM Post #67
Twat Posts: 5,210 Group: Members Member #20 Joined: September 13, 2010	Och, he's toast. Not because of results -- though they're obviously the stick with which he'll be beaten -- but because he's clearly out of joint with the chairman. In retrospect, that's been clear even before the season started. The August pantomime of: "we've got signings lined up and no we don't we're not signing anyone until someone leaves" becomes clearer when seen through the prism of a manager and chairman no longer on speaking terms. I'm prepared to put money on our next manager being Hegarty, though only for a game or two, so I guess we may as well as well talk about replacements. O'Neill or Fenlon (yes, he's still available) would be the "hope over experience" gambits, which I'd favour. Jefferies would represent safety, of sorts. Hopefully McGee's talked himself out of further employment so the binraking options would be along the lines of Bobby Williamson. The thought that worries me most involves Calderwood. I'm 99% sure I could never support a team managed by that c*nt. That'd mark the end for me.



Ivan	Oct 27 2011, 08:27 PM Post #68
F*cking plebs. Posts: 1,749 Group: Members Member #8 Joined: September 10, 2010	Naebody Oct 27 2011, 05:11 PM Holy shit. Dunno if this is another foot-in-mouth incident or something thornier. Whichever way, I doubt it's done his prospects much good. Quote: With all these cutbacks we have got the team into Europe twice running for the first time since the early 80s, since Paul Hegarty's time as a player. Steady on now, Peter.



Cobardon	Oct 27 2011, 08:38 PM Post #69
Uncle Smurf Posts: 1,768 Group: Members Member #16 Joined: September 12, 2010	Vex Oct 27 2011, 07:43 PM With regard to the Houston speech I'd say that was "fighting talk" and when managers and chairmen have fights the manager very rarely wins. Anyone have W L D stats for Utd managers? I'd be interested to see where he falls. That said he didn't buy many of the players who achieved those results did he? Although it can be agued he showed more faith in some of them (Goodie and Swanny) that allowed them greater success. Funnily enough I was looking at the WDL record for Houstie last week and his is just about the best we have (discounting statistical anomalies). His stats are better than any boss bar Jim (yes, even Jerry Kerr). He even beats Kirky who had the luxury of a very big winning season at a lower level before he was found out again within ten minutes of getting back to the SPL. Certainly, you could say Houston inherited a better squad than any other boss - think of the dross that Luggy was bequeathed in the last sorry days of Tommy's reign - and is only now really being tested. In which case it doesn't look so good. The bottom line is can we afford to bin him - he's contracted until 2013 so it'd be yet another expensive kiss-off wouldn't it? And then there would be the cost of getting a new boss in. Sure, there are a fair few young ambitious bosses around but the good ones tend to be under contract themselves... In summary, things would have to get a fair bit worse yet for me to punt him. When he does go the one thing I will be pleased about is the end to those lazy-ass 'we have a problem' lines that every unimaginative twat feels the need to come up with every time we hit a snag.



The Eggman	Oct 27 2011, 09:23 PM Post #70
Tommy McLean Posts: 2,119 Group: Members Member #5 Joined: September 10, 2010	Naebody Oct 27 2011, 08:23 PM he's clearly out of joint with the chairman. In retrospect, that's been clear even before the season started. Going further back, Thompson's manner immediately after the Scottish Cup win suggested he wasn't too keen on Houston.



The Eggman	Oct 27 2011, 09:27 PM Post #71
Tommy McLean Posts: 2,119 Group: Members Member #5 Joined: September 10, 2010	Cobardon Oct 27 2011, 08:38 PM The bottom line is can we afford to bin him - he's contracted until 2013 so it'd be yet another expensive kiss-off wouldn't it? And then there would be the cost of getting a new boss in. Sure, there are a fair few young ambitious bosses around but the good ones tend to be under contract themselves... In summary, things would have to get a fair bit worse yet for me to punt him. When he does go the one thing I will be pleased about is the end to those lazy-ass 'we have a problem' lines that every unimaginative twat feels the need to come up with every time we hit a snag. That's what Thompson will look at, and is the only reason Houston was even in the job in March 2010. Maybe Thompson did/does have funds available, but didn't think Houston was the man to spend them (at least now after the Goodwillie sale).



whatsthatonyourback	Oct 27 2011, 10:40 PM Post #72
Waldo Jeffers Posts: 4,443 Group: Members Member #3 Joined: September 10, 2010	reekie Oct 27 2011, 05:17 PM The lighting in that .gif is beautiful. The stuff of an artist. That's Gregg Tolland for ya. Dark shadows equals getting away with cheap backgrounds. Genius.



Skeletor	Oct 28 2011, 12:22 AM Post #73
Most likely to be Ann Widdecombe Posts: 2,157 Group: Members Member #10 Joined: September 10, 2010	Conan the Destroyer Oct 27 2011, 12:44 PM He's had to watch a very good team walk away and been given virtually nothing with which to replace them. I don't blame him. Nobody else would have done any better. That's sort of my opinion on it. It's a massive upset to rip the talented heart of the team out, stripped back to the bare bones and the "might do"s. That resets the whole team dynamic, and everything has to change as a result. So the argument there is that Houston is doing his best to reform the team, from the mechanically re-claimed shreds of sinew and meat scraps into something tasty - like a hot-dog! Mmmmmmm The other point of view could be that he hasn't got the power to whip the players into a working team again, but I'm hesitant to take that stance just yet. We do have a few players underperforming, but the overall teamsheet is uninspiring. How much of that is down to Houston, and how much is down to breathtakingly bad contract management/negotiation and sales? It's Thompson who deals with the contracts right? I just don't hold Houston responsible for the team being so shite right now. But once again it's a Schroedinger's cat situation where we wont know if anyone can do any better unless we get someone new in. I'd give it another month, and if it doesn't become clear that we'll be dealt in at the January transfer window, I'd suppose we'll be looking at finding better candidates for the other half of the player/manager relationship.



Skeletor	Oct 28 2011, 12:23 AM Post #74
Most likely to be Ann Widdecombe Posts: 2,157 Group: Members Member #10 Joined: September 10, 2010	The Eggman Oct 26 2011, 10:16 PM Naebody Oct 26 2011, 08:54 PM We have a rather North Korean view of work, what with our default criticism of "lazy" players and our worries about Houston "wasting time" on international duty. Work is not a productive in itself, so measuring it quantitatively is just dumb. It's all to do with ethics. A job is a contract between two people, and both sides must uphold their end of the contract. By taking employment you do have an ethical obligation to do the job required. However, neither side is required to do more than the contract says, and neither side should feel obligated to do more. That's true of all of us. So, if you can get the daily report filed on time and to everyone's satisfaction, it shouldn't matter if you spend an hour or two dozing off a hangover in the nearest Starbucks. And, if you score one and make two assists over the 90, it shouldn't matter if you really can't really be arsed chasing the wayward pass that's nearly certain to be heading out for a goal kick. One of my favourite football stories involves Ivan Golac in his playing days. The team (Ipswich or similar) had just been hammered, and everyone was back in the dressing room getting a bollocking from the manager. Ivan, however, was ignoring the noise and cheerily changing into his flares and kipper tie. When asked what the fck he was doing, Ivan replied that the man he'd been told to mark didn't score so that was his job done. The bollocking didn't apply to him. That's* the right attitude. It should, and does matter, if a player can do better than one goal and two assists, but doesn't because he thinks he's done his bit. It's a team game. So the player's team loses 4-3 ('hey, it's not my fault you fcks can't defend'), when they could've won 5-4 if he hadn't stopped trying halfway through the second half. Try your best. If you're not trying your best, fck off. Oh aye, and slightly relevant to that: http://sport.uk.msn.com/football/news/mancini-critical-of-johnson-attitude



Naebody	Oct 28 2011, 06:59 AM Post #75
Twat Posts: 5,210 Group: Members Member #20 Joined: September 13, 2010	Skeletor Oct 28 2011, 12:22 AM once again it's a Schroedinger's cat situation where we wont know if anyone can do any better unless we get someone new in. Ah, Schroedinger's famous thought experiment involving a cat in a box that's suspended in a state of simultaneously knowing and not knowing how to organise a zonal defence. The perfect analogy. Let's be clear here. Houston's gone. The Dumfermline game is not "make or break". It can't save him, only delay his P45 by a week. For whatever reason the chairman doesn't like his face, so he's out. Let's not kid ourselves that the shite start to the season is anything more than the petard by which he can be hoisted. There are two ways of looking at this. The change of manager may result in the chairman getting someone he can work with, which might help neutralise what would seem to be a noxious and febrile atmosphere at Tannadice right now. That would be for the greater good, I guess. The other way of looking at it would be that the chairman would be spending money the club (apparently) doesn't have to sack a successful manager during his first sticky patch because of a personal dislike, despite having no particular reason to believe he can find a replacement who would be able to deliver more with identical resources. Unsmiley face.

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