Stephen Robinson and Aberdeen: "This job was too big for him"
The Journos panel examined why Stephen Robinson failed at Aberdeen, from wages and recruitment to who picks the manager at Pittodrie.
By Peter Martin,
Stephen Robinson's sacking by Aberdeen was the main subject on The Journos, where Peter Martin was joined by Michael Grant, Hugh MacDonald and Gordon Parks. The panel's verdict was blunt: "This job was too big for him."
Wages, recruitment and accountability
The discussion began with wages and recruitment, and with the position of a sporting director who, in the panel's words, "appears to be bombproof". The panel also asked who actually picks the manager and looked at Adrian Bevington's role in that process.
The criticism went beyond one appointment. Looking at four managerial appointments, the panel argued there had been no strategy behind them: "That's just picking a manager."
The Motherwell comparison
Much of the conversation used Motherwell as a point of contrast. The panel discussed Jens Berthel Askou's Motherwell and a style he stuck to, summed up as "It was a Motherwell thing". They also looked at Motherwell's foreign coaches and the strategy behind those appointments.
That theme of identity ran into a wider discussion of The Last Dance, Bill Shankly and Carlo Ancelotti, and the idea of a team with a DNA that outlasts any single manager.
Tannadice and Thelin
The panel also picked over a defeat at Tannadice, with one line standing out: "that's not a Stephen Robinson side". The point was that the performance did not reflect what Robinson's teams are known for.
Jimmy Thelin was part of the discussion too, with the panel looking at how opposing teams worked him out.
Taken together, the episode made the case that Robinson's difficulties at Aberdeen sat within a bigger question about how the club appoints managers and whether it has a clear idea of the team it wants to be.