Ange Postecoglou

It was the board who hired Postecoglou though, a manager who must have thought his lottery numbers had come up when we offered him the job. If Postecoglou fails here, it’s down to the board for hiring someone who wasn’t up to the task. Which would come as no surprise, as he would have been nowhere near the top of the list of managerial options, but they were forced into a rushed appointment due to chasing Eddie Howe.

 

Conjecture, sorry.

 

It’s not conjecture that the summer transfer window went any differently to previous years.

 

We signed a large number of players because we needed to. It went the only way it was ever going to.

 

We * about and waited to get players sold before bringing in. Leaving us with no chance of qualifying for the Champions League as we were so underprepared it was unreal, and we also started the first league game at Tynecastle with players in the starting X1 and on the bench that hadn’t even trained with the first team squad yet. We didn’t properly back the manager and ended up beefing up the squad with a few loans. All this after making a total * of trying to bring in our number one target in Eddie Howe and left scrambling about at the last gasp to get a manager. That’s what I meant with it being no different to previous years. We still didn’t bring in enough players either. Our bench the past 2 months has been testament to that.

 

There's a reason transfers take time. Players, agents and clubs all hold out for the best deal they can get. That's why you invariably get a flurry of activity at the end of the window. We'll always use loans, so will most clubs. Regardless of that, it isn't evidence Lawwell is still 'pulling the strings'.

 

There is plenty teams that can get their business done early in a transfer window. There is no excuse for going into Champions League qualifiers and your league campaign underprepared. Not when the board know what is at stake. Or do you think it’s okay to going into qualifiers still needing 4 or 5 first team players? I think the fact that nothing changed in terms of how we do our business and the fact that Dominic McKay is away after two months into the job is evidence that Lawwell is still pulling strings. Why would he walk away from a £1m+ salary when he got it as easy as he did?

 

We must be the exception, as we’re usually quick enough to * our better players with relative ease.

 

Whether Lawwell is ‘pulling the strings’ is something we probably can’t know for sure.

What’s almost certainly true is we’re being run today just about the same way we were run under Lawwell, years after we worked out that system was inadequate and out of date.

I would also say the signings we made late in the window could’ve been done earlier. None of them strike me as signings holding out for better.

 

Well you’re entitled to your opinion, but I think you’re just guessing based on nothing.

I think McKay left because he was out of his depth.

 

Two months in? Nah, I don’t think so.

 

I mean it was the last day of the window. Arguably they should've been sold earlier.

 

Spot on

This was our back 5 in the Champions League qualifier 2nd leg vs Midtjylland:

Bain
Ralston Welsh Murray Taylor
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That level of incompetence is stunning, even by our standards. People seem to forget just how badly the board have shafted us and will continue to shaft us unless they are removed. A couple of loan signings on deadline day and a deal for Giakoumakis that was in the pipeline for weeks has not pulled the wool over my eyes. In less than a year we've lost Frimpong, Elhamed, Ntcham, Griffiths, Brown, Christie, Ajer and Edouard. We've made a few really good signings and some others show promise but no one can sit there with a straight face and tell me we're stronger than we were 12 months ago personnel-wise.

 

Well that’s what I’ve heard and it’s what I think. Makes no difference to me if you think differently. Still zero evidence Lawwell is ‘pulling the strings’.

 

I've never seen John Kennedy in the same room as Peter Lawwell; ipso facto, they are the same person!

 

Probably says more about the overall leadership than Lawwell, maybe PL was the puppet rather than the puppeteer

 

I'd go with 3 at the back. Let's face it right now we're more or less playing with 2 at the back. If we have 3 it gives us that wee bit more security and we still have 7 players who can press higher up.

 

I’ve heard Lawwell is still involved, and that’s what I think.

 

Why would lawell still be pulling the strings but at the same time leave the job that paid him millions a year that enabled him to pull the strings to instead secretly pull the strings for free. I'm no buying it. The strings must be being pulled higher up since nothings every changing.

 

Because he’s charitable at heart, and doesn’t like money.