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Thankyou Lawrie.
- Thread starter bjw
- Start date
voice of reason
Well-Known Member
You tak the High Road and I'll tak the Low Road,
And I'll be in Scotland afore ye.......
or in the words of my wise old uncle,
It's no' the cough tha' carries ya off
It's the coffin they carry ya off in!
And I'll be in Scotland afore ye.......
or in the words of my wise old uncle,
It's no' the cough tha' carries ya off
It's the coffin they carry ya off in!
MagpieMariner
Well-Known Member
FFC Mariner said:
So long as he doesn't join the liberals. Anything else & I'll vote for him.
pjennings
Well-Known Member
Great tribute Brett!!! 
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=740198&sec=australia&root=australia&cc=3436A-LEAGUE IN FOCUS
The making of a legend
By Brett Taylor
February 12, 2010
The special thing about being part of a relatively new competition such as the A-League is that you get to create its history.
The clubs certainly lack tradition by international standards - that's to be expected when the league is only five years old. Some casual observers find it hard to get engaged by teams that feel more like 'franchises' than clubs, and rivalries that at times seem manufactured compared to the world's famous derbies. Many Australians take at least an equal interest in English football, with its infamous characters, its stadia full of history and its clubs founded two centuries past.
History, tradition; these things all take time to build. Club legends, classic fixtures; some of these can only be realised for what they are long after their time, perhaps only after generations have passed and they transform from mere memories to folklore.
But it all has to start somewhere. Later chapters cannot be written in a book that doesn't exist in the first place. In that sense, Lawrie McKinna's contribution to the Central Coast Mariners may not be fully understood or appreciated for years to come.
If history can indeed be likened to a book, then the outgoing Central Coast boss is author, editor and publisher of the Mariners story so far. To overplay his influence on the foundation of the A-League club would be to discount the invaluable contributions of executive chairman Lyall Gorman and others who have been involved either financially or laboriously. But in terms of identity and character, McKinna and Mariners will forever by synonymous after these first five years of the club's existence.
McKinna decided this week to call time on his coaching career - at least for now - to step back into a commercial operations role at the club, leaving Melbourne Victory supremo Ernie Merrick as the only foundation coach still in charge at his A-League club.
McKinna's results have been mixed, particularly in recent times, and his style of play has caused debate since the A-League's inception, but there is no doubting that he will be remembered for his overwhelmingly positive influence. So much more than just another gun-for-hire coach, McKinna has made his mark on the history of the Mariners and the A-League, and his contribution should be celebrated by generations of Mariners fans. Their successes will be possible thanks to the foundations McKinna has played a major role in laying.
After all, McKinna has been hard at work for the Mariners since long before a ball was kicked - in fact, he's been at it since well before the club even existed. He played a central role in the club's bid for A-League status when the FFA was in the process of forming the new national league in 2004.
In the club's formative months, McKinna spent his own time and resources meeting with stakeholders and garnering support for the concept of a Central Coast top flight football club, driving up the freeway from Sydney off his own bat, and effectively acting as the football face of a brand new franchise.
Of course, that bid was successful, etching McKinna's name into the Mariners' - and the A-League's - history books before the club even had supporters.
After successfully selling the bid to key stakeholders and FFA powerbrokers, McKinna's work was only half done. His next task was selling the product of A-League football to a Central Coast public much more inclined towards Rugby League, and one which had never had its own major sporting team.
This is where the affable Scot-turned-naturalised Aussie really proved his worth. Had the Mariners figurehead not been as down-to-earth, genuine, humble and hard-working as the people of the Central Coast, the relationship between club and supporter base may have never got off the ground. It turned out to be a match made in heaven, and McKinna soon became 'Uncle Lawrie' and a genuine member of the Coast community.
On the pitch, McKinna earned himself the inaugural A-League Coach of the Year gong, on the back of a Pre-Season Cup triumph and Grand Final appearance against Sydney FC. He's subsequently collected a Premiership Plate, registered an appearance in the AFC Champions League and made a second Grand Final berth, so his competitive record is hard to question, other than the lack of an elusive Championship.
But potentially more significant than the results McKinna has achieved are the expectations he has established at Gosford. Because Central Coast have formed their supporting culture solely around the McKinna era, their football ideals are aligned to his.
He's a fiercely loyal manager, giving players such as Nick Mrdja, Nigel Boogaard and Matt Simon relative eternities to outlast injuries and form slumps to prove their worth. He's a gracious loser, forever respectful of his opponents, but he will stick up for himself and his players if he feels hard done by. Most importantly, McKinna has demanded full-blooded commitment from his players, and the Central Coast crowds tap into this.
These are the standards by which future managers will be measured by the Mariners' fanbase. The average punter at Bluetongue Stadium might not understand the intricacies of a 4-2-3-1 formation, but they certainly know when their team is having a go. If McKinna's successors fail to get their men giving maximum effort, they will quickly fall out of favour with the locals.
Whether it was his call alone to give up the coaching side of things, or whether there was some pressure from above based on the disappointing results of the past 13 months, it's a testament to McKinna's reputation on the Coast that he was able to leave the dugout on his own terms, and stay on with the club in a role of his choosing.
McKinna was certainly no managerial Messiah - in fact his most ardent backers would admit to their fair share of grumbles about his selections and tactical approach. There was a feeling on the terraces that he had taken the team's football as far as he could in the increasingly sophisticated A-League, and perhaps this notion was reflected inside the club or even inside the man's mind as this resolution was reached.
Regardless, McKinna still commands respect from even his harshest critics, and no one would begrudge the 48-year-old this decidedly civil exit from the coaching spotlight in this modern world where unceremonious sackings are commonplace.
The difference between a club and a franchise is that a club has identity, history and soul. McKinna has helped inject a lot of these things into the Mariners. He's been privileged to build a club in his own identity, and although all things change, it's hard at this moment to imagine the Mariners as anything but McKinna's underdog battlers.
Take a look around at a Central Coast home fixture and you'll notice the abundance of youngsters clad in their yellow and blue gear. These kids might not remember the McKinna years too clearly, but they'll one day be able to tell their children "I was there when it all began".
Wherever the club goes from here, whatever heights it reaches, McKinna's part should be remembered and celebrated. For now, he should be congratulated. Perhaps it will take time, but McKinna will surely go down in Mariners history as its first true club legend.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=740198&sec=australia&root=australia&cc=3436A-LEAGUE IN FOCUS
The making of a legend
By Brett Taylor
February 12, 2010
The special thing about being part of a relatively new competition such as the A-League is that you get to create its history.
The clubs certainly lack tradition by international standards - that's to be expected when the league is only five years old. Some casual observers find it hard to get engaged by teams that feel more like 'franchises' than clubs, and rivalries that at times seem manufactured compared to the world's famous derbies. Many Australians take at least an equal interest in English football, with its infamous characters, its stadia full of history and its clubs founded two centuries past.
History, tradition; these things all take time to build. Club legends, classic fixtures; some of these can only be realised for what they are long after their time, perhaps only after generations have passed and they transform from mere memories to folklore.
But it all has to start somewhere. Later chapters cannot be written in a book that doesn't exist in the first place. In that sense, Lawrie McKinna's contribution to the Central Coast Mariners may not be fully understood or appreciated for years to come.
If history can indeed be likened to a book, then the outgoing Central Coast boss is author, editor and publisher of the Mariners story so far. To overplay his influence on the foundation of the A-League club would be to discount the invaluable contributions of executive chairman Lyall Gorman and others who have been involved either financially or laboriously. But in terms of identity and character, McKinna and Mariners will forever by synonymous after these first five years of the club's existence.
McKinna decided this week to call time on his coaching career - at least for now - to step back into a commercial operations role at the club, leaving Melbourne Victory supremo Ernie Merrick as the only foundation coach still in charge at his A-League club.
McKinna's results have been mixed, particularly in recent times, and his style of play has caused debate since the A-League's inception, but there is no doubting that he will be remembered for his overwhelmingly positive influence. So much more than just another gun-for-hire coach, McKinna has made his mark on the history of the Mariners and the A-League, and his contribution should be celebrated by generations of Mariners fans. Their successes will be possible thanks to the foundations McKinna has played a major role in laying.
After all, McKinna has been hard at work for the Mariners since long before a ball was kicked - in fact, he's been at it since well before the club even existed. He played a central role in the club's bid for A-League status when the FFA was in the process of forming the new national league in 2004.
In the club's formative months, McKinna spent his own time and resources meeting with stakeholders and garnering support for the concept of a Central Coast top flight football club, driving up the freeway from Sydney off his own bat, and effectively acting as the football face of a brand new franchise.
Of course, that bid was successful, etching McKinna's name into the Mariners' - and the A-League's - history books before the club even had supporters.
After successfully selling the bid to key stakeholders and FFA powerbrokers, McKinna's work was only half done. His next task was selling the product of A-League football to a Central Coast public much more inclined towards Rugby League, and one which had never had its own major sporting team.
This is where the affable Scot-turned-naturalised Aussie really proved his worth. Had the Mariners figurehead not been as down-to-earth, genuine, humble and hard-working as the people of the Central Coast, the relationship between club and supporter base may have never got off the ground. It turned out to be a match made in heaven, and McKinna soon became 'Uncle Lawrie' and a genuine member of the Coast community.
On the pitch, McKinna earned himself the inaugural A-League Coach of the Year gong, on the back of a Pre-Season Cup triumph and Grand Final appearance against Sydney FC. He's subsequently collected a Premiership Plate, registered an appearance in the AFC Champions League and made a second Grand Final berth, so his competitive record is hard to question, other than the lack of an elusive Championship.
But potentially more significant than the results McKinna has achieved are the expectations he has established at Gosford. Because Central Coast have formed their supporting culture solely around the McKinna era, their football ideals are aligned to his.
He's a fiercely loyal manager, giving players such as Nick Mrdja, Nigel Boogaard and Matt Simon relative eternities to outlast injuries and form slumps to prove their worth. He's a gracious loser, forever respectful of his opponents, but he will stick up for himself and his players if he feels hard done by. Most importantly, McKinna has demanded full-blooded commitment from his players, and the Central Coast crowds tap into this.
These are the standards by which future managers will be measured by the Mariners' fanbase. The average punter at Bluetongue Stadium might not understand the intricacies of a 4-2-3-1 formation, but they certainly know when their team is having a go. If McKinna's successors fail to get their men giving maximum effort, they will quickly fall out of favour with the locals.
Whether it was his call alone to give up the coaching side of things, or whether there was some pressure from above based on the disappointing results of the past 13 months, it's a testament to McKinna's reputation on the Coast that he was able to leave the dugout on his own terms, and stay on with the club in a role of his choosing.
McKinna was certainly no managerial Messiah - in fact his most ardent backers would admit to their fair share of grumbles about his selections and tactical approach. There was a feeling on the terraces that he had taken the team's football as far as he could in the increasingly sophisticated A-League, and perhaps this notion was reflected inside the club or even inside the man's mind as this resolution was reached.
Regardless, McKinna still commands respect from even his harshest critics, and no one would begrudge the 48-year-old this decidedly civil exit from the coaching spotlight in this modern world where unceremonious sackings are commonplace.
The difference between a club and a franchise is that a club has identity, history and soul. McKinna has helped inject a lot of these things into the Mariners. He's been privileged to build a club in his own identity, and although all things change, it's hard at this moment to imagine the Mariners as anything but McKinna's underdog battlers.
Take a look around at a Central Coast home fixture and you'll notice the abundance of youngsters clad in their yellow and blue gear. These kids might not remember the McKinna years too clearly, but they'll one day be able to tell their children "I was there when it all began".
Wherever the club goes from here, whatever heights it reaches, McKinna's part should be remembered and celebrated. For now, he should be congratulated. Perhaps it will take time, but McKinna will surely go down in Mariners history as its first true club legend.
goingtoadisco
Well-Known Member
huh ?
ryan
Well-Known Member
When my sister passed away late last year my neighbours rang the club. They knew we were big fans and thought the club might send some flowers. Instead Lawrie attended the funeral and arranged for the team to wear black armbands as a mark of respect. This was incredibly moving for us and a gesture that we will always remember and appreciate.
Thank you Lawrie for all that you have done and continue to do for the club and the fans. You will always be appreciated by us.
Thank you Lawrie for all that you have done and continue to do for the club and the fans. You will always be appreciated by us.
LFCMariners
Well-Known Member
One of my best memories of Lawrie would be watching this cougar try to pick him up in a Perth bar a couple of weeks back. She had no idea who he was and Dave Mitchell was having a laugh watching this (clearly intoxicated) woman putting all the moves on one Mr Mckinna!
Blackadder
Well-Known Member
Maybe the major sponsor is for a product that will ease the nausea, that will come with watching the selections and tactics of Arnold? 
LFCMariners
Well-Known Member
Probably a brand of alcohol to get smashed on so that we don't recall much of the games.
goingtoadisco
Well-Known Member
lolLiverpoolMariners said:
midfielder
Well-Known Member
Article and good read on LM page 34 ... great cartoon on the opposite page .. is worth a boo peep..
http://issuu.com/stama/docs/halftimeheroesfebruary2010
http://issuu.com/stama/docs/halftimeheroesfebruary2010
mustapha_beer
Well-Known Member
A bit late replying to this thread, but anyway....Many thanks for the massive contribution you've made to the success of our club over the past 5 seasons. My mates & I followed you - and quite a few of the players and coaches - from Northern Spirit up the F3 when the A-League began and have never regretted that decision.
Good luck with your future role at the club....and if you ever get bored and fancy a bit of coaching, we will always be able to find a role for you in the Baulkham Hills Senior side!
Good luck with your future role at the club....and if you ever get bored and fancy a bit of coaching, we will always be able to find a role for you in the Baulkham Hills Senior side!
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