| St Mirren Supporters’ Thoughts on Jack Ross… 21:11 - May 10 with 7977 views | HarryfromBath |
I thought it might be helpful to gather the thoughts of St Mirren supporters on their manager Jack Ross in the light of Phil’s story today confirming that we had asked the Buddies for permission to discuss our manager vacancy with him.
Ross left Alloa Athletic to take charge in of the Paisley-based club October 2016 with the side bottom of the Scottish Championship table with just four points from their first eight games. After steering them to a seventh-place finish last season, they won this year’s league title by a 12-point margin.
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“What we are seeing now is what we having been hoping to see for years. Guys are playing well as a cohesive team under the guidance of a manager who is very good at his job and passionate about our team. The atmosphere at our stadium is now much better and there far more positivity.”
There is an understandably euphoric mood in the club right now. “I used to look forward to away games because the support was far more behind our team, but now we have that at home. I even have work colleagues who support other teams saying how great our team is.”
“We all need to be eternally grateful to Jack Ross and [assistant manager] Jack Fowler for giving us a season which must rank as one of our best ever in terms of sustained excitement and satisfaction as Saints fans”, “I truly believe we have an absolute diamond of a manager on our hands here.”
“The short time he has been with the club have been some of the most enjoyable and memorable times I have had as a Buddie. He likes the club, gets on well with the Chairman, likes the fans and in return is liked by the massive majority of us and has a group of players who respect him massively.”
“I can’t remember liking a manager as much as Jack, the guy is brilliant”, “It's great to hear the passion he and a number of the players have for the club. It's not a forced thing. it's a genuine affection for our club. I love listening to him chat about us”, “Manager of the fecking Century!”
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“This is going to be a long haul for Jack Ross”, “He inherited the poorest squad in a generation.” Turning the clock back to when he arrived, there is wide agreement that the playing side of things was in some chaos. He had no honeymoon period, losing his first six league games in charge.
Despite the poor results, fans could still see what he was trying to achieve. “There is a deep-rooted problem within the playing staff. Or another way to say it is an unbalanced squad which Jack Ross inherited that. Mary f**kin Poppins could not wave her magic wand to fix this sorry state.”
“You could see the level of performance improving, even though it as worrying as it was that we were not getting any points. The players were growing in confidence and it was evident that Jack was working hard to introduce his methods.”
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“Before the transfer window closed - 13 points from 22 games. After the transfer window closed - 26 points from 14 games. Jack did an incredible, incredible job to rebuild a team mid-season, get the new boys to gel, get the fans and team united and, ultimately, keep us up!”
“This has been one hell of a window.” Ross moved swiftly and ruthlessly to overhaul the squad in his first transfer window in January 2017. There were no fewer than 10 arrivals and 11 departures, but fans in hindsight believe that much of the success which followed stemmed from this overhaul.
“The January signings stepped up and took the pressure off the younger players. Performances have transformed since he had a chance to complete his January transfer dealings. When was the last time we brought in so many players and they all worked? Not one has been poor when selected.”
“You saw the problems we had, and Jack had to work in what is usually a very difficult window to change things around. But change things around he did and brought in some needed cash. The squad on paper looked far stronger, more balanced and deeper than it had two weeks previously.”
“He was frustrated at the attitude of most of the players when he arrived at the club. They weren't interested on high intensity training and he couldn't wait to get rid of them. My observation was that at that time something was rotten about the club culture.”
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“Ross strikes me as man of substance. He is clearly analytical in his approach, but there is a thread of pragmatism running through that and he has genuine passion”, “He believes in what he is saying and doesn’t offer clichés. One thing I like is that he never bangs on about budgets unlike predecessors.”
He has a hard-working and pragmatic management style. “Ross identified the areas we needed to strengthen and did a fine job bringing in the correct personnel”, “He trusts his players and if they adapt to his ethos he will back them to the hilt. If you don't like his methods you're out the door.”
“Articulate, driven, confident and focused” “There's a controlled passion in there, and you can see that this is a man who wants to succeed”, “I particularly like the fact that he is prepared to question his methods continuously”, “He doesn't seem the sort of guy that would walk away.”
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“I like and admire the Jack Ross energy and high press set up”, “Jack appears to favour a playing style whereby strikers who thrive on route-one style balls into the box are not part of the plan. He wants players who move the ball about and create goals from the 18-yard area, not the six-yard area.”
“If you like your teams to shell it up to a big guy up front and then playing for scraps, then Jack is not your man”, “Results over the season have been excellent and those have almost invariably come via our busy passing and movement”, “Honest and attractive football using width and pace, hallelujah.”
“We are not a physical team.” St Mirren’s success has come from pass-and-move brand of football using a 4-2-3-1 shape and keeping more possession. Fans have felt that he is not wedded to this philosophy and that he would be prepared to alter it in the more demanding Scottish top flight.
“Jack’s refusal to be tied down to a ‘philosophy’ takes pressure off him and makes it easier to change the approach if needed. Clearly his preference is for his teams to get the ball forward quickly and to make the most of the time spent in the final third of the pitch.”
“The big problem as everyone can see is Plan B. Jack is a ‘Do Plan A’ better type guy who believes in his wee players. On some occasions Jack has shown how our wee team can destroy bigger stronger teams and give them a good thumping but if that team also has any kind of ability, we can't cope.”
“Teams like Livingston and Dundee United used physical, psychological and rule bending tactics to stop us playing. This lack of plan B and the consistent push of passes on the ground makes it harder for us to score. Other teams now know that we don't do high balls apart from set-pieces.”
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“It's taken a bit longer than I had thought but we are now seeing some great signs on the park and finally getting a bounce”, “We are playing as a team and some of the new signings are starting to really look the part”, “The belief and positivity amongst the squad is apparent for all to see.”
Although it took several months for the team to click, St Mirren fans by last summer could see the team starting to blossom. “The form of established stars has improved beyond compare since the new squad has been in place”, “We possibly have had the best midfield in the league since January.”
In August, many sensed how well this season would play out. “To finish seventh albeit on goal difference is stunning, but it’s the way we did it, the style, the goals, and the fact that he has got 1500 fans back when we were not chasing glory but relative survival. Basically, what a guy!”
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Lee Mair played alongside Jack Ross and he discussed his leadership on the pitch in one interview which St Mirren fans picked up: “I know Jack well. I played alongside him at St Mirren and you could tell he was a leader. He commanded respect amongst the boys and always gave 100 percent…
“You tend to find with every manager there will be one or two who are saying quietly away from training, 'he’s rubbish', or 'he’s no good' but with Jack, I haven’t heard one. Honestly.
“The way you can tell is that even boys he has dropped are still saying good things about him. He has that respect. He lets them go and express themselves and understands they will make mistakes.
This was echoed by the recollections of one St Mirren fan: “Jack Ross was the guy all those years ago who geed the team up in our do-or-die battle against Falkirk and we utterly destroyed them…
“He took that match completely by the scruff of the neck but more importantly in this case, he made sure that the match was won in the dressing room before it by saying the right things to the right people about what former team mates in the opposing dressing room were saying to him all week.
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“I hope Jack stays with Saints but I'm sure he'd be a great appointment for Ipswich”, “This approach is definitely more worrying than the Dundee or Barnsley ones.” Ross has also been linked with both of these clubs in his time at St Mirren.
“Jack restored pride, passion and pleasure to our team”, “He has been a great find but it scares me to think what could happen if he goes”, “I'm praying that it won't come to that but Ipswich are a big club, much bigger than Barnsley, I'm not surprised he wants to go and hear what they have to say.”
“Let's face it if it's not Ipswich it will be another club next week and so on. It looks pretty inevitable to me he won't be here come the first game of the new season.”
For many St Mirren fans, the risks involved revolve around Ross’s relative lack of experience, the step up in scale and pressure from a club with average home gates of 5,000 and the perceived hit-and-miss track record of lower-league Scottish managers who have switched to the Championship.
“Ipswich could provide Jack with a fantastic platform to further his ambitions or they could ruin them like so many Scottish managers have had them ruined by going down South. The money will be ridiculous in comparison, I would imagine, and that surely is a massive factor.”
“I wouldn’t imagine it’s a done deal by any means as Jack, good as he is, would represent a gamble by Ipswich and hopefully they’ll look for more experience for their next manager”, “He would go with our best wishes, but in all honestly I'm sure we would rather that he didn't.”
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| St Mirren Supporters’ Thoughts on Jack Ross… on 21:17 - May 10 with 7867 views | Kieran_Knows |
Superb as ever, Harry. |  |
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| St Mirren Supporters’ Thoughts on Jack Ross… on 21:28 - May 10 with 7757 views | Incublue |
Great insight - Sounds perfect to me, let's get him before someone else does! |  | | |
| St Mirren Supporters’ Thoughts on Jack Ross… on 23:02 - May 10 with 7231 views | Marshalls_Mullet |
Good work Harry.
I like the fact that Ross has passion for the club and uses the words ‘us’ and ‘we’, would be nice to have a manager like that. |  |
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| St Mirren Supporters’ Thoughts on Jack Ross… on 23:26 - May 10 with 7146 views | pointofblue |
He sounds the kind of manager we should be after. I'm really excited about how we're approaching this at the moment; I hope the end result is good for the club too. | |
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| St Mirren Supporters’ Thoughts on Jack Ross… on 23:37 - May 10 with 7097 views | HennikerBlu |
Excellent thank you Harry! | | | |
| St Mirren Supporters’ Thoughts on Jack Ross… on 23:57 - May 10 with 7020 views | SenatorBlue |
Never heard of him before today, but like an awful lot of what I’ve read about him. He sounds almost too perfect for us, but has jumped straight to the top of my list, just for the chance he could recreate what is written above here. |  | | |
| St Mirren Supporters’ Thoughts on Jack Ross… on 01:00 - May 11 with 6909 views | SpruceMoose |
Majestic, simply majestic. Posts like these are why we would all follow you into the gates of hell! |  |
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"Imagine being a heterosexual white male in Britain at this moment. How bad is that. Everything you say is racist, everything you say is homophobic. The Woke community have really f****d this country." | | Poll: | Selectamod |
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| St Mirren Supporters’ Thoughts on Jack Ross… on 01:12 - May 11 with 6888 views | textbackup |
Not that I’d ever disbelieve you HFB but I went and took a look to see if there were any slightly negative comments from them.... couldn’t find a single one, either about the manager or us as a club!
This guy sounds a hell of a manager in the making, he sounds what we have been wanting for so long.
Please let it be him ME, please |  |
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| St Mirren Supporters’ Thoughts on Jack Ross… on 06:00 - May 11 with 6710 views | brogansnose |
| St Mirren Supporters’ Thoughts on Jack Ross… on 01:12 - May 11 by textbackup |
Not that I’d ever disbelieve you HFB but I went and took a look to see if there were any slightly negative comments from them.... couldn’t find a single one, either about the manager or us as a club!
This guy sounds a hell of a manager in the making, he sounds what we have been wanting for so long.
Please let it be him ME, please |
I want him, I really , really want this bloke. |  | | |
| St Mirren Supporters’ Thoughts on Jack Ross… on 06:55 - May 11 with 6620 views | TLA |
| St Mirren Supporters’ Thoughts on Jack Ross… on 06:00 - May 11 by brogansnose |
I want him, I really , really want this bloke. |
My mate who has been a lifelong Town fan but also supports St Mirren (now more then Town) loves this guy.
I can't pretend to know a huge amount about him but he does seem like the best fit. It may well come down to whether he'd take the job if offered it.
It is an exciting prospect though. |  | | |
| St Mirren Supporters’ Thoughts on Jack Ross… on 06:59 - May 11 with 6608 views | NewcyBlue |
| St Mirren Supporters’ Thoughts on Jack Ross… on 06:00 - May 11 by brogansnose |
I want him, I really , really want this bloke. |
Is what you thought when you met me! |  |
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| St Mirren Supporters’ Thoughts on Jack Ross… on 07:12 - May 11 with 6582 views | TLA |
| St Mirren Supporters’ Thoughts on Jack Ross… on 06:59 - May 11 by NewcyBlue |
Is what you thought when you met me! |
I certainly did mate! | | | |
| St Mirren Supporters’ Thoughts on Jack Ross… on 07:12 - May 11 with 6580 views | C_HealyIsAPleasure |
Cheers Harry as usual
Really excited by this, a gamble for sure but for me exactly the sort of gamble I hoped we’d take - young, up and coming and very successful at a lower level. Sounds stylistically the sort of change we need too
Definitely on my yes list |  |
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| St Mirren Supporters’ Thoughts on Jack Ross… on 07:14 - May 11 with 6566 views | Bluefish |
| St Mirren Supporters’ Thoughts on Jack Ross… on 06:00 - May 11 by brogansnose |
I want him, I really , really want this bloke. |
I'm with you on it. He is my number 1 choice
I also think he would come with less baggage to unite the fans
Still a gamble but the new bloke needs to be a gamble |  |
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| St Mirren Supporters’ Thoughts on Jack Ross… on 07:14 - May 11 with 6568 views | Kieran_Knows |
| St Mirren Supporters’ Thoughts on Jack Ross… on 01:12 - May 11 by textbackup |
Not that I’d ever disbelieve you HFB but I went and took a look to see if there were any slightly negative comments from them.... couldn’t find a single one, either about the manager or us as a club!
This guy sounds a hell of a manager in the making, he sounds what we have been wanting for so long.
Please let it be him ME, please |
I hope if Ross was to be appointed, you’d make up a song along the lines of ‘Jack Ross had a dream, to build our football team.....’ ill leave the rest of the song for you to make up! | |
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| St Mirren Supporters’ Thoughts on Jack Ross… on 10:42 - May 11 with 6262 views | Bad_Boy_Mark |
Top work Harry! Until a couple of days ago, I was not remotely aware of Jack Ross.
Much of what I have read has been positive and I believe he should be on The Marcus Shortlist  |  | | |
| St Mirren Supporters’ Thoughts on Jack Ross… on 16:55 - May 11 with 6002 views | brogansnose |
| St Mirren Supporters’ Thoughts on Jack Ross… on 06:59 - May 11 by NewcyBlue |
Is what you thought when you met me! |
TLA got in there first.
Broke my heart you two did, but now I have Jack to swoon over. | | | |
| St Mirren Supporters’ Thoughts on Jack Ross… on 17:05 - May 11 with 5958 views | brogansnose |
| St Mirren Supporters’ Thoughts on Jack Ross… on 07:14 - May 11 by Bluefish |
I'm with you on it. He is my number 1 choice
I also think he would come with less baggage to unite the fans
Still a gamble but the new bloke needs to be a gamble |
That 'less baggage' thing is important and the man ticks all of my boxes. I like Jones too but seeing as we're not going to pay his compensation fee then he's top of my list.
They're all a gamble and it takes an awful lot of circumstances to all come together for success but, this feels right. | | | |
| St Mirren Supporters’ Thoughts on Jack Ross… on 17:10 - May 11 with 5936 views | Monkey_Blue |
He sounds like a young Mick McCarthy😂 |  | | |
| St Mirren Supporters’ Thoughts on Jack Ross… on 18:05 - May 11 with 5824 views | ScottCandage |
Great job Harry!
Yes. Now. Go get him. Now. |  | | |
| St Mirren Supporters’ Thoughts on Jack Ross… on 12:00 - May 12 with 5507 views | horsehollerer |
| St Mirren Supporters’ Thoughts on Jack Ross… on 17:10 - May 11 by Monkey_Blue |
He sounds like a young Mick McCarthy😂 |
No problem, this is an easy fix...
Scroll down beyond the paragraph you already read, and get a load of these instead. Joy and excitement imminent.
“I like and admire the Jack Ross energy and high press set up”, “Jack appears to favour a playing style whereby strikers who thrive on route-one style balls into the box are not part of the plan. He wants players who move the ball about and create goals from the 18-yard area, not the six-yard area.”
“If you like your teams to shell it up to a big guy up front and then playing for scraps, then Jack is not your man”, “Results over the season have been excellent and those have almost invariably come via our busy passing and movement”, “Honest and attractive football using width and pace, hallelujah.”
“We are not a physical team.” St Mirren’s success has come from pass-and-move brand of football using a 4-2-3-1 shape and keeping more possession. Fans have felt that he is not wedded to this philosophy and that he would be prepared to alter it in the more demanding Scottish top flight.
“Jack’s refusal to be tied down to a ‘philosophy’ takes pressure off him and makes it easier to change the approach if needed. Clearly his preference is for his teams to get the ball forward quickly and to make the most of the time spent in the final third of the pitch.” |  |
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