The Ultimate Super Ayr Thread

[Guest]

1 minute ago, No_Problemo said:

I’m not sure we want a thick head coach tbh...

As long as he's passed his coaching badges and know's how to train players and get the best out of them then that's good enough for me.

We'd just need to hope that following our amazing run to the Premier followed by clinching a European place (against all the odds), that he didn't get invited to an edition of "Celebrity" Eggheads / Chase / Pointless / Mastermind etc as that could reflect badly on the club.

[Ayr23]

I have to say the communication has been night and day since he came on board. Such an easy thing to change but I'm grateful he has as I was starting to resent the positives happening off the field as a result of the blackout of comms on the playing side. 
As others have said, I'm actually feeling optimistic for the first time in over a year with all things Ayr United. Long may it continue.

This is exactly how I feel too. I actually started to hate the club which is something I never thought would happen. I feel part of the club again now that Mathie is on board and we're now moving in the right direction. Stay up this year, and I'm buzzing to find out where we can go next season.

[BukyOHare]

30 minutes ago, rgreig said:

I think he comes across OK actually, you can at least tell he does some preparation for the games he is commentating on. Of course, have zero clue if he would be a good coach based on that!

And if we are comparing him with other pundits, then compared with Kris Boyd he is AJP Taylor and Richard Feynman combined.

You won't be surprised to know that I agree. Each to their own though. 

We had some steadfast in their support of Duffy until nearing the end of his reign and those who don't quite see what Maxwell currently and McCowan, Forrest, Conway previously, offered to the team. 

Its all about opinions. 

[ayrunitedfw]

I’m pretty sure the new manager/head coach will be Marvin Bartley. Not really any other names doing the rounds. 

[No_Problemo]

3 minutes ago, WATTOO said:

As long as he's passed his coaching badges and know's how to train players and get the best out of them then that's good enough for me.

We'd just need to hope that following our amazing run to the Premier followed by clinching a European place (against all the odds), that he didn't get invited to an edition of "Celebrity" Eggheads / Chase / Pointless / Mastermind etc as that could reflect badly on the club.

Passing coaching badges, developing players and knowing how to work with different groups of players all requires intelligence...

I don’t think James McFadden is thick regardless, I was thinking more Ryan Stevenson style thick. I also wouldn’t be judging someone based on tv appearances! 

[Trogdor]

4 minutes ago, ayrunitedfw said:

I’m pretty sure the new manager/head coach will be Marvin Bartley. Not really any other names doing the rounds. 

I'd be happy with Bartley. I don't think its a done deal though.

Is @rb123!watching the comings and goings at Somerset this week? 

[BukyOHare]

Anyone shortlisted you'd think would be in attendance at Firhill tonight.

What better way to sell yourself at interview with your goals and plans as you see them, basing them on what you've seen in person at the most recent match. 

[Guest]

A bit off topic but anyone who was there on Sunday, I just wondered if you saw O'Connor warming up prior to the kick off where he was doing some amazing things with the football and it immediately reminded me of a player from yester year who was almost identical both in stature and ball skills, namely Andy Willock.

I'm sure he held records for keepy uppys and stuff but was just too easily pushed off the ball and never really achieved anything like he could / should have but was still a joy to watch when on the ball.

I still think O'Connor has a big part to play for us, as if we play like we did on Sunday then that would be ideal for his style and reckon he could run riot.

Say what you like but Football NEEDS ball players like O'Connor as it is the entertainment business after all !!!

[Hawk89]

4 minutes ago, ayrunitedfw said:

I’m pretty sure the new manager/head coach will be Marvin Bartley. Not really any other names doing the rounds. 

I think I'd be a little disappointed at this stage if it wasn't Marvin. Have heard him talk a few times on the TV and listened to the podcast after it was brought up here. Really seems to know his stuff and comes across extremely well. 

[Iain]

There's usually a reason why certain names get out and others don't. I don't think it's always because the right guy has been identified, but it makes sense for Mathie to steer journalists in the right direction and build up a good relationship in case he ever needs it.

[ayrunitedfw]

18 minutes ago, Hawk89 said:

I think I'd be a little disappointed at this stage if it wasn't Marvin. Have heard him talk a few times on the TV and listened to the podcast after it was brought up here. Really seems to know his stuff and comes across extremely well. 

I’m still hoping for a Jack Ross, Ian Murray or Neil McCann however have accepted it will probably be a ‘rookie’ 1st time appointment we’ll be making. Out of that list Bartley is by far my favourite. 

[eez-eh]

43 minutes ago, No_Problemo said:

I’m not sure we want a thick head coach tbh...

I’ve no idea why people are dismissing it like it’s irrelevant. In order to be find a good system, outwit other managers and have the respect of your players you need to have some footballing intelligence.

Whenever McFadden has been on Sportscene his “analysis” amounts to spouting cliches and stating the bleeding obvious. It would be a hard pass from me.

I’ll prepare myself for a sarky reply about Eggheads or Mastermind.

[No_Problemo]

3 minutes ago, eez-eh said:

I’ve no idea why people are dismissing it like it’s irrelevant. In order to be find a good system, outwit other managers and have the respect of your players you need to have some footballing intelligence.

Whenever McFadden has been on Sportscene his “analysis” amounts to spouting cliches and stating the bleeding obvious. It would be a hard pass from me.

I’ll prepare myself for a sarky reply about Eggheads or Mastermind.

I haven’t seen enough of McFadden on tv, but yeah their analysis definitely gives you an insight into their abilities. 

Yup, good football managers are intelligent people. 
 

 

[Superhursty7]

My only issue with Faddy would be as a high profile ex player would he be getting asked to do punditry and commentary on Scotland games etc his full focus should be the super.

[rb123!]

9 minutes ago, Superhursy7 said:

My only issue with Faddy would be as a high profile ex player would he be getting asked to do punditry and commentary on Scotland games etc his full focus should be the super.

Uncle Iain did his fair share of media work while in charge of the super and to be fair i think that had its advantages of raising the club profile as he was constantly on the radio banging on about us, helped too when we were on top of the world scudding each team every week.

 

1 hour ago, Trogdor said:

I'd be happy with Bartley. I don't think its a done deal though.

Is @rb123!watching the comings and goings at Somerset this week? 

I'll have my ear to the ground

[diegomarahenry]

Its early days yet with Mathie and co, Duffy leaving and a win against Raith have been positive, hiring staff to try to improve the squad and performance is also an improvement. 

It'll all come down to results on the park inevitably. Mick McCardle was supposed to be a progressive coach and analyst but the blend of the team and performances were worse than when an old school "fitba" guy like Sandy Stewart was assistant. So there are no guarantees that what is happening will work. 

A month ago, all these changes seemed a million miles away and it didn't look like there was any plan to turn us around. All the work by McCall and Cameron had almost been undone.

Now it looks like we have a strategy to have us as a fully functioning full time club. Mathie seems to have a grasp of what is needed and is important in terms of player identification and development. Hopefully he didn't arrive to late to have things lined up for January and we will get decent players in the door. 

I have followed Ayr for far to long to expect good things to happen, The Barr era showed that a chairman willing to spend money on players has pitfalls, but spending money on infrastructure can benefit the club for decades. As long as we continually improve on and off the park, supporters will allow progress to be a slow burn, so hopefully this will be the start of a new era and an end to damaging mistakes that can write off full Seasons. 

[ComradeDiego]

McBookie aren’t putting odds back up for the Ayr manager post so Bartley must be a done deal 

[Iain]

16 minutes ago, ComradeDiego said:

McBookie aren’t putting odds back up for the Ayr manager post so Bartley must be a done deal 

That may or may not be the case, but I'd be surprised if mcbookie had any information that isn't in the public domain.

[diegomarahenry]

14 minutes ago, ComradeDiego said:

McBookie aren’t putting odds back up for the Ayr manager post so Bartley must be a done deal 

Probably the only one they know about. If you look at some of the other appointments recently from teams following the same approach - 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/59480176

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/59480180

 

Its not a case of It'll be one of these 5 folk because they are out of work and are the correct shape and fit of that club like it normally would. Currently we would be wondering if it would be Jack Ross, even Tommy Wright or if Ian Murray had a clause in his contract. 

Bartley is the only one mentioned as being interviewed, nothing from the club to back that up though. There was an initial list of 4 names given to the board plus some applicants to consider, then interviews. 

I'd still like Peter Murphy, still a young manager but with an extensive playing history. Maybe a head coach role would suit him. 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, diegomarahenry said:

Its early days yet with Mathie and co, Duffy leaving and a win against Raith have been positive, hiring staff to try to improve the squad and performance is also an improvement. 

It'll all come down to results on the park inevitably. Mick McCardle was supposed to be a progressive coach and analyst but the blend of the team and performances were worse than when an old school "fitba" guy like Sandy Stewart was assistant. So there are no guarantees that what is happening will work. 

A month ago, all these changes seemed a million miles away and it didn't look like there was any plan to turn us around. All the work by McCall and Cameron had almost been undone.

Now it looks like we have a strategy to have us as a fully functioning full time club. Mathie seems to have a grasp of what is needed and is important in terms of player identification and development. Hopefully he didn't arrive to late to have things lined up for January and we will get decent players in the door. 

I have followed Ayr for far to long to expect good things to happen, The Barr era showed that a chairman willing to spend money on players has pitfalls, but spending money on infrastructure can benefit the club for decades. As long as we continually improve on and off the park, supporters will allow progress to be a slow burn, so hopefully this will be the start of a new era and an end to damaging mistakes that can write off full Seasons. 

I don't think there's any guarantees of success in this game, irrespective of whether you go for the progressive analytics or the old school "Dinosaur", look at Arbroath as a prime example, I'd be very surprised if the Campbell brothers were right into the modern stuff and by the same token someone like Warburton should be managing at Real Madrid as opposed to QPR if it was all certain success.

I will buy into anything that helps / works so if hiring a witch doctor got us wins then I'd be up for it as well !!!