meet the manager

[teekasule]

May 26, 2017 7:52:55 GMT Rovergrant said:

It would be good to hear a report from some of those who could attend for the benefit of those who - like me - cannot attend such gatherings.

 quick summary. 

great turn out for a very hot summers evening. standing room only. 

1. Brian is a very positive and likeable manager ( he reads this message board )  
2. Ross Dunlop was offered a deal but chose to join Stenny with Mick. 
3. We have been looking at players who can fit into the system Brian wants to play. Quite a few players have been offered deals. hopefully find out in next few days if some of these are going ahead. Experienced young keeper will hopefully be joining this week. 
4. Brian will be in the lounge after matches to chat to fans. He also mentioned the players will be asked to nip up before they leave, very keen to build a relationship with players and fans (wait 'til they meet the prof ! ) 
5. We have a new strip for next season - same supplier Football Nation - Adidas. 
6. We will be moving supplier for club shop items. 
7. Some of the under 20 team will be invited to pre season training. Couple of the boys may be a year too young to make that jump up but will be given the change to impress. 
8. No other X players have been offered deals ... yet, but this may change and some of them will be invited to pre season training. 
9. Board voted for a 4g pitch two years ago and only missed out by 1 vote but Ronnie thinks this may have been a disastrous decision as the costs would have crippled the club. £500k was mentioned.
10. Assistant manager Michael Stuart Malcolm will register as a player but will only be used in emergencies. Brian said his experience will help attract the right players.
11. Ross Stewart - striker was offered a deal. 
12. Kids summer football camp will be on again. July 3rd. 
13. Club are looking for a new photographer... 
14. looking to play 433 system and really going for it.

If someone wants to add what Ive missed... was a pretty long meeting with some varied questions ! 

Tee 

[shakey]

Good summary Tee - a few things I would add:

Brian stated Mick was not offered a deal because he wants the team to defend much further up the park this year. He feels that we defended too deep last year and while it worked for a while, it started to show cracks later on in the season and that affected confidence throughout the team.

He also felt that we were not very organized up front last season with good things happening due to a bit of individual skill ( e.g. Stephen Boyd ) rather than a planned attacking formation.

Loan players will be important - and its not beyond the bounds of possibility that we could get Stephen Boyd back as Brian is a good mates with Martin Canning.

As well as players fitting into the system - attention is also being paid to other aspects like ambition, character and what they will contribute to the dressing room.

Full backs will be encouraged to get forward more - he felt that was missing last season.

As a former midfielder - feels he has a lot to offer in that area and can make Ross and Gary even better players.

Must admit I left the meeting in a much more positive frame of mind than when I arrived - I think the new manager definitely has the communication skills to inspire players and get his philosophy across.

Can't wait for the season to start now!!

[Deleted]

Lots of stuff to like, especially BK's hands-on approach like Paul Martin, and that he's in there early for signings and working to keep some of the young guys involved.

4-3-3 is bold though. I hope Brian remembers we played some of our worst stuff under Darren Young in that formation.

Can we make the new strip the old primrose and red vertical stripes? We haven't had them for ages.

[Rovergrant]

Thanks for the reports guys !

[chris]

May 26, 2017 11:38:07 GMT albino said:

Lots of stuff to like, especially BK's hands-on approach like Paul Martin, and that he's in there early for signings and working to keep some of the young guys involved.

4-3-3 is bold though. I hope Brian remembers we played some of our worst stuff under Darren Young in that formation.

Can we make the new strip the old primrose and red vertical stripes? We haven't had them for ages.

My favourite too

Aberdeen this year played in red with white pinstripes always thought that would have been smart with the yellow and red pinstripes

[Deleted]

Seems very positive and i hope the rewards come from it.

The new squad aint gona have much time to gel before the cup campaign starts and micks experience would have been vital.I think its a huge mistake not getting the dunlops tied down again but hey im not the manager and brian will live or die by results and he and his team im sure will get the backing and time to bed in

[d7]

I mean, fair play Andy but even in the Championship winning season it was apparent Mick's lack of pace was an issue. It has meant we sit in way too deep and has resulted in some of the defensive frailties that have cost us dear over the last two seasons in terms of points dropped. Okay we've stayed up so overall you can't really argue and time will tell if we can do any better with maybe younger central defenders with a bit of pace. If I was the manager I'd have done the same thing - ie thanked Mick for his contribution but only offered Ross another year.

[d7]

Thanks for the summary Tee and Shakey. Seems the manager's assessment of the performance over the latter half of the season mirrors a lot of the opinion on here. Or mine at any rate. Defensively, 4 across the back has been obvious. Thereafter, total shambles.

4-3-3 might work - time will tell and it'll depend on the players that are brought in. Ask Mark Warburton how it worked out for him. So, flexibility is key and 4-3-3 won't work every week.

Good to hear the manager reads this forum. He'll find that a sobering experience as the season develops.

[Deleted]

I will be the first to start the "Brian Kerr is a genius" thread if we're outside the relegation zone at Christmas. Hope that is an incentive for him.