How long would you give Allan Johnston ?

[Killiesquirrel]

Steve Clarke IMO.

[Craig McCulloch Burley]

Pako Aynestaran

Paolo Di Canio

Gianfranco Zola

[kennysmassiveego]

Pako Aynestaran

Paolo Di Canio

Gianfranco Zola

At the moment I'd take

Pako Bonner

Paulo Di Canneloni

Gianfranciso Zola

[Twinkle]

Hes got to go IMO

[CityDave]

Kilmarnock now have over 4 games the same form as Dundee Utd, Motherwell and Aberdeen, equal 2nd best at the moment.

Why do fans not give managers time to settle in, but instead after only a month in charge right him off as incompetent and not having a clue as to what he is doing?.

[Quitongo's Left Peg]

Kilmarnock now have over 4 games the same form as Dundee Utd, Motherwell and Aberdeen, equal 2nd best at the moment.

Why do fans not give managers time to settle in, but instead after only a month in charge right him off as incompetent and not having a clue as to what he is doing?.

Because "he's not a manager" and he "is a shambles" and "hates our young players" and most importantly for many - "isn't Kenny Shiels".

Yawn.

[craigkillie]

Kilmarnock now have over 4 games the same form as Dundee Utd, Motherwell and Aberdeen, equal 2nd best at the moment.

Why do fans not give managers time to settle in, but instead after only a month in charge right him off as incompetent and not having a clue as to what he is doing?.

Who wrote him off after a month in charge?

I've already critiqued him and his side in the Hearts thread, but there are still plenty of reasons to question his competence.

Form over 4 matches is hardly something to get excited about, especially when that form constitutes wins over the bottom 3 teams in the league. We can come back to this if we start beating anyone half decent.

[Albino Rover]

Who wrote him off after a month in charge?

I've already critiqued him and his side in the Hearts thread, but there are still plenty of reasons to question his competence.

Form over 4 matches is hardly something to get excited about, especially when that form constitutes wins over the bottom 3 teams in the league. We can come back to this if we start beating anyone half decent.

What teams outside the bottom 5 can Killie be expected to beat?

[craigkillie]

What teams outside the bottom 5 can Killie be expected to beat?

All of them.

[Albino Rover]

That's optimistic but not true.

As a neutral I expect Killie to be able to challenge against St. Mirren, Partick Thistle, Ross County and Hearts. You'll get the odd home win against the half decent teams but "expect" isn't the word.

My point is Allan Johnston has his team winning the important games and making a bit of ground between themselves and 11th in the process. That's steady form and no cause for people questioning his competence.

[Quitongo's Left Peg]

That's optimistic but not true.

As a neutral I expect Killie to be able to challenge against St. Mirren, Partick Thistle, Ross County and Hearts. You'll get the odd home win against the half decent teams but "expect" isn't the word.

My point is Allan Johnston has his team winning the important games and making a bit of ground between themselves and 11th in the process. That's steady form and no cause for people questioning his competence.

100% this. Our natural position in the order of Scottish football is seventh or eighth in the Premiership, and that won't change permanently until the financial situation sorts itself out. Under Mixu we punched slightly above our weight, but to claim that we should be a top 3 or 4 side is ludicrous.

Saying that, I believe with the squad we have this season that 6th is a reasonable estimation this term, taking into account the Hearts situation and the poor squads at Hibs, Thistle and County. We're winning games against those around us, and the odd win over top-end sides will come once the side has more confidence flowing through it.

If we can get this debt plan pushed through, and get more fans through the gates then we can start to make money as a club, and start to challenge realistically for a European spot on a regular basis again. Until then, I'll be content with being in or around the top six, bringing through a few youth players, and a decent cup run. We didn't achieve that run in the League Cup and that was down to AJ and SC, and that was dissapointing.

[craigkillie]

That's optimistic but not true.

As a neutral I expect Killie to be able to challenge against St. Mirren, Partick Thistle, Ross County and Hearts. You'll get the odd home win against the half decent teams but "expect" isn't the word.

My point is Allan Johnston has his team winning the important games and making a bit of ground between themselves and 11th in the process. That's steady form and no cause for people questioning his competence.

We beat 9 of the 11 teams in the league last season, with ICT and St Johnstone being the only ones we failed to win against. We were capable of beating all 11, and should be again this year.

Why would you not expect us to be able to do anything against ICT or St Johnstone when we undoubtedly have a bigger budget? Why shouldn't we be competitive in one off matches against Motherwell and Dundee Utd, who don't pay a great deal more?

You seem to have an odd grasp of how football leagues work. Over a season, clubs will finish just about where they deserve to (give or take a couple of places), but in individual matches you should be able to pick up results against teams better than you. We have shown very little sign of being able to do that, and that is concerning. There needs to be a long-term aim of trying to better yourself in the table, and failure to be competitive against the sides above you is not conducive to doing that.

[kennysmassiveego]

100% this. Our natural position in the order of Scottish football is seventh or eighth in the Premiership, and that won't change permanently until the financial situation sorts itself out. Under Mixu we punched slightly above our weight, but to claim that we should be a top 3 or 4 side is ludicrous.

Saying that, I believe with the squad we have this season that 6th is a reasonable estimation this term, taking into account the Hearts situation and the poor squads at Hibs, Thistle and County. We're winning games against those around us, and the odd win over top-end sides will come once the side has more confidence flowing through it.

If we can get this debt plan pushed through, and get more fans through the gates then we can start to make money as a club, and start to challenge realistically for a European spot on a regular basis again. Until then, I'll be content with being in or around the top six, bringing through a few youth players, and a decent cup run. We didn't achieve that run in the League Cup and that was down to AJ and SC, and that was dissapointing.

So our "natural position" is 7th or 8th yet we sack a manager for getting us into that position .... is that ( in your opinion) tha fault of the manager or the chairman ?

What happens then if we dont achieve our "natural position " this term should the same happen? Or to give you an excuse do we put that down to teething problems/interim difficulties/fiscal problems or any myriad of excuses you care to bring to the table?

I also admire your optimism for a European place but I see you tinge it with a bit of realism and would be satisfied with a decent cup run and bringing through a few youth players.

Now I am going to make you yawn but wasnt that the plan of a certain KS whos services you once extolled on these boards? He overdelivered ......by winning a cup and getting "a few youth players" capped at international level but lets put that to one side.

AJ & SC have only stumbled upon a formula for winning by accident rather than design, which for my liking, isnt inspiring me with any confidence for the future. MJ will stick by them as he knows its his neck on the line and thats there only saving grace.

I look forward to your decent cup run ,but wonder if Girvan Amatuers really want to be cannon fodder again

[the west curve]

I would give him a new 5 year contract.

[Quitongo's Left Peg]

Another win under his belt, this time against one of the top teams he "couldn't beat", and doing it whilst playing good football with plenty of youngsters.

Is it time that those who had jumped the gun and wrote him off admitted that they were wrong?

[DeStijl]

I was critical of him before but I'd be happy to give him until the end of the season at least right now.

[Squirrelhumper]

Another win under his belt, this time against one of the top teams he "couldn't beat", and doing it whilst playing good football with plenty of youngsters.

Is it time that those who had jumped the gun and wrote him off admitted that they were wrong?

Still not convinced tbh.

Pleased to see the youths finally get chance but we could easily find ourselves in play offs still.

I reserve judgement until May.

[Dindeleux]

The interview AJ gave yesterday certainly made me feel a bit better, certainly seems like he has faith in the youngsters.

It's not great to watch a lot of the time but hopefully we can push on now and try to close the gap towards the top 6.

[kennysmassiveego]

Another win under his belt, this time against one of the top teams he "couldn't beat", and doing it whilst playing good football with plenty of youngsters.

Is it time that those who had jumped the gun and wrote him off admitted that they were wrong?

In a word no ...he has stumbled on a formula rather than by design which doesnt augur well for the future. What happens next season and for instance we lose Boyd, Eremenko signs elsewhere , Slater/Kilitie/Muirhead/Ashcroft/Johnstone/Mckenzie get cherrypicked and lets remember these kids were overlooked by AJ. If what he did at the start of the season is anything to go by we will be in the sh!tter again.

Also if he does survive he must get rid of the turd of an assistant ,a truly horrible man

[Quitongo's Left Peg]

In a word no ...he has stumbled on a formula rather than by design which doesnt augur well for the future. What happens next season and for instance we lose Boyd, Eremenko signs elsewhere , Slater/Kilitie/Muirhead/Ashcroft/Johnstone/Mckenzie get cherrypicked and lets remember these kids were overlooked by AJ. If what he did at the start of the season is anything to go by we will be in the sh!tter again.

Also if he does survive he must get rid of the turd of an assistant ,a truly horrible man

Plenty of ifs and buts there.

The fact is that most had written him off from the get-go, and the early results just compounded their prejudice. He's then (haven been given time) found a system and the players to suit us, and we're starting to climb the table. You claim he "stumbled" across the formation, I'm glad to know that I'm dealing with someone ITK here, that clearly sees AJ working on a daily basis...

Many seemed to have forgotten that it's only his second season as a manager, and that he's bound to make mistakes. Any mistakes he has made however, have been rectified. Learning of lessons eh? I wonder how our old manager is getting along with that...

As for Clark, I'm not a fan of his. However, it's worth keeping him for the now-daily "Sandy Clark did this/that/the other thing..." that appears on Twitter/Kickback etc. The latest being "Eremenko won't sign because SC didn't think he worked hard enough in training." It won't quite reach the levels of "Clingan won't play for us again because he had a fight with SC" or "Darren Barr isn't playing because he stormed out after an argument with SC".

How accurate they proved to be...