Island Games team

[Stoichkov]

It will be interesting to hear the real reasons why he has resigned. I think J.Johnson has done a decent job but i've felt he's never really had solid backing fae da start. It's a very strange time to resign with the challenge of the island games coming up. I don't know who is going to want to commit to this job to try and get the squad prepared in just 9 months. Does anyone think Derrick Bradley would go for it again?

 

i want to see the shetland team put up a fight for the title they won in 2005 (am i the only one thinking along these lines) i just dont want to see years of hard work by those in the years before go to waste

 

I think we all want to see them put up a fight but Shetland 2008 aren't at the same level as the 2005 Shetland. But by the same token you can't really blame the current team if don't build on past successes. It's very difficult to replace players like Stuart Smith, Duncan Bray, Michael Johnson, Bobby Wiseman, Stuart Hay and John Montgomery.

Hopefully the new coach can produce the best they can from the current crop.

[skinnyhobbit]

The Manager's position requires a huge level of energy, enthusiasm and especially time, not to mention a significant financial element. Priorities are weighed up and decisions are made as to where individuals "are" professionally and personally at certain times in their lives.

 

Niall and John both did great things with the Team and I am sure enjoyed their moments and learned from the defeats. But life commitments greater than football ultimately take precedence. Common Sense prevails.

 

Good Luck to the new Manager and here's to a successfull Island Games for all participating local competitors.

[Marshall]

John Johnson had an impossible job to follow in the footsteps of Niall and what he had done, I think everyone has been waiting for this to happen. But no-one else would touch it and he was keen enough to come in and do a job that others were to frightened to do. He carried on with the highland adventure which Niall had started and like it or not he was the first Shetland manager to taste that. So I say hats off to the him but lets push on to the next level.

 

It's great to see the team is commited to going to the games because with the price and the length off time you are away it is a big commitment. With the Challenge Cup now in flow it would have been the easy option to have given the Island games a miss but they have not.

 

So who is going to take Shetland forward?

It would be a great challenge for a manager and with a look ahead to next year must wet the appetite for someone, Island games, Challenge Cup, Milne Cup, Western Isle and Deveronvale?

This is why it will be important to get the correct man in with a good backroom team with the backing of the committee and the whole of Shetland Football.

[braveheart]

well kirsty if that is your name ????? thats my opinion he didnt do much but fair play to the guy for having a go but i think am right in saying it was his first senior job???? thats would be one of the reasons i said he was out of his depth

 

i think if it was any other job in shetland ie club he would be a very good manager

 

i do agree with stoichkov that it was a hard job but some of his team selection ceartainly raised eyebrows.

 

i think theres really only 2 candidates for the job if shetland are looking for someone to take them to the next level one is like kirsty says john jamieson or martin gibb who has done great work with both whitedale and shetland youth teams but thats if there allowed

 

but i wouldnt say that the squad of 2005 is un-reachable we do have unbelievable talent in the league its just a matter of getting them together and allowing them to develop in to a good team like the team of 05

[penfold]

but i wouldnt say that the squad of 2005 is un-reachable we do have unbelievable talent in the league its just a matter of getting them together and allowing them to develop in to a good team like the team of 05

 

Thats fairly true braveheart, but as the previous and current Captains of the County select both admitted at Monday's meeting that the dedication to training by the squad will have to increase, you can have the best manager in the world at Amateur level but if the players are not on the same wavelength then its is hard to achieve your goals.

 

Also the county select managers job was not JJ's first senior job, he had previously managed Thistle before taking the Select job. I was at the meeting when John Johnson was appointed and he was the only candate willing to take the team on and do the hard work of rebuilding a team that had hit the hieghts of 2005 but then had to move on from that with quite a few of the squad leaving. He was willing to take it on when others with plenty of ideas and opinions on the matter were'nt.

 

I didn't always agree with the guys selections or some times his tactics, but I have to praise the impact he has made on our keeper who he selected for the County squad and through the coaching and training he got whilst involved has improved as a player. So to say he was out of his depth is a bit over the top.

[EISTnWAST]

What is all this nonsense about Shetland defending their title? They lost that chance when they decided not to go to Rhodes.

 

Anyway, it looks like it will be very expensive for the team to travel to Aland. So far one player has said he can't go. I wonder if the others have found out if they can get time off work for the 10 days or so required.

Does anybody think that the team would be better off focusing their resources on competing in Scotland?

[nederlander]

What is all this nonsense about Shetland defending their title? They lost that chance when they decided not to go to Rhodes.

 

Abso-bloody-exactly!

[Boruc]

As much as it would be cheaper and more suitable to focus on just the challenge cup and other highland league games - i still think we should enter the Island games. I can't bare the thought of Shetland dropping out of another games. Plus It'll be a great experience for the younger players who have never played in the games. What better preparation for a highland leaugue cup is there than the island games? It can only be a good thing for the team. Maybe this experience will lead to the new 'Stuart Hays' and Bobby Wisemans'.

[mr_brain]

Martin Gibbs would be a good shout.

 

I doot martin gibbs has far too many commitments as it is

[penfold]

Yeah Gibbsy would be a good shout but he has got a lot on at the moment, any other candidates? had a look through the last thread on the County managers job here

 

http://www.shetlink.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1195&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=50

 

some familiar names.

[Baxter]

for me it doesnt matter who gets the job so long as he/she is highly commited to the job and is willing to put in the time to bring the team forward. It is also important that the manager is fair and is willing to consider players from every team.

 

It's all very well appointing a manager but it really needs to be the right man who genuinely wants the job!!

[braveheart]

, but as the previous and current Captains of the County select both admitted at Monday's meeting that the dedication to training by the squad will have to increase, you can have the best manager in the world at Amateur level but if the players are not on the same wavelength then its is hard to achieve your goals.

 

thats a great point penfold but if thats the case with certian players there is in my view a wealth of talent so get rid of those with no commitment and bring in those who will want to play for the county

 

also i was probably being harsh with the out of his depth comment but its been something i was holding in for a while as my passion is for all things football it was hard to sit back and see something you want and know could be a sucess being back tracked and you couldnt do a thing about it , especially when there seemed to be favouritism with players and teams i couldnt understand how players like alan davidson ian simpson grant thompson laurance pearson steven umpharay erik thompson lewis kay brian duncan were left out and lesser players included although i did hear a certian player refused to play for shetland under john johnson????

 

but as you say he did take it when nobody would touch it for that he dose deserve a lot of credit

 

 

but with the new manager coming in he is going to have to act quick to get a squad together and build a team to challange for the games and inter county

[Boruc]

I agree with you on that but i'm sure nearly all those players were asked to training. Maybe not this year but certainly last year and only 1 or 2 turned up. I think JJ didn't bother after that. Don't know if they had other commitments or if they just weren't keen on JJ. All i know is that nobody in Shetland is too good for Shetland!! No matter who the manager is, every footballer in Shetland should jump at that chance. Sometimes i think there's just too many Lee McCullochs around!

 

(kinda drifted from the subject there. Sorry!)

[Marshall]

Any player with any sort of ambition should strive to pull on the dark blue strip and play for Shetland with pride. Looking around Shetland Football at moment there are alot of good players out there. Probably some have not been to many or any training sessions. As a player you will only get better with quality regular training with the best players around along with alot of hard work, motivation and a goal.

Good young players need to be brought into a good Shetland set up were this is happening. Learn from the other players around you see things other players do and pick up their good habits.

 

The new manager should work with the club managers closer go along to there training see who is playing well, looking fit and working hard. Find out their strengths and weakness. Give players a goal and some incentive to get into the Shetland team. This might help players that are not getting picked up that should be.

 

The Shetland team that played last year I felt was a good strong team and I can't really argue with the core of the team.

Just one or two individual players might have been in or around the team or a different tactic here or there.

 

Whoever gets the job will need a good backroom team behind them and get the team doing quaility regular training.

[njl3]

The Unst manager Paul Bell could take the shetland team to the next level