Martin Bain Interview on Safc.com


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I don't think that's the problem though, we signed 3/4 for decent money and brought in squad fillers like Pienaar and Anichebe. Unfortunately neither the money signings or the fillers have improved us much if at all.
Let's be fair to Piennar, he's looked decent at times, certainly not first 11 quality but a good squad player, plenty of experience and knows Moyes well, it was a decent signing on those grounds, so not one to moan about. Ndong looks good, but once again, partly due to injuries and partly due to poor recruitment, we don't have a midfield to support him. M'Vila managed to show his class all season last year when we were lacking in numbers and quality, Ndong isn't as good as M'Vila, but he's capable and youthful, alongside Catts and Kirch, Ndong will look ok given time to settle, right now he's being asked to do too much with too little support. The rest of our summer recruitment is the issue mind. McNair could be ok, versatile and young and a current international, bit too expensive in my view, but then again EVERY signing has been expensive this summer. Januzaj is the poorest signing we have made for years, he's up there with Graham for me, totally the wrong player at totally the wrong time.

Had we managed to keep the squad fit and settled we'd be doing ok, we'd probably have 5-6 points, not fantastic but decent enough. Injuries and under financing the recruitment has been the biggest issues for me. You cannot buy 10 players, 3-4 of whom will cost 8 figures a piece, AND bring in 5 squad players for just £27M, ESPECIALLY not this summer when prices went through the roof thanks to the new TV deal. The fact the board expected we could just spend the same amount we have done(mostly) for the past few seasons shows just how incompetent they have been, Bain wouldn't have had the ability to change the budget this summer, not by too much anyway.
Instead of focusing on volume Moyes needed to focus on smaller numbers and quality. The youth players would have been good enough as squad fillers.

Allardyce bought well on a shoestring in the last window while in a dog fight. I understand Moyes didn't have that much time but he couldn't do the same.
Impossible for Moyes to not go for numbers. Imagine we signed the 3-5 'quality players' but still had the same level of injuries, we'd literally have between 9 and 11 fit first 11 players. Granted we aren't much better off currently, but at least we can put a bench out.
 
We didn't need an injured one man, if Defoe gets injured we are still left with Asoro. No he wasn't the only one available, He's hardly been available himself

Name another one that was available who would have been a better option and was willing to come.
 
Let's be fair to Piennar, he's looked decent at times, certainly not first 11 quality but a good squad player, plenty of experience and knows Moyes well, it was a decent signing on those grounds, so not one to moan about. Ndong looks good, but once again, partly due to injuries and partly due to poor recruitment, we don't have a midfield to support him. M'Vila managed to show his class all season last year when we were lacking in numbers and quality, Ndong isn't as good as M'Vila, but he's capable and youthful, alongside Catts and Kirch, Ndong will look ok given time to settle, right now he's being asked to do too much with too little support. The rest of our summer recruitment is the issue mind. McNair could be ok, versatile and young and a current international, bit too expensive in my view, but then again EVERY signing has been expensive this summer. Januzaj is the poorest signing we have made for years, he's up there with Graham for me, totally the wrong player at totally the wrong time.

Had we managed to keep the squad fit and settled we'd be doing ok, we'd probably have 5-6 points, not fantastic but decent enough. Injuries and under financing the recruitment has been the biggest issues for me. You cannot buy 10 players, 3-4 of whom will cost 8 figures a piece, AND bring in 5 squad players for just £27M, ESPECIALLY not this summer when prices went through the roof thanks to the new TV deal. The fact the board expected we could just spend the same amount we have done(mostly) for the past few seasons shows just how incompetent they have been, Bain wouldn't have had the ability to change the budget this summer, not by too much anyway.

Impossible for Moyes to not go for numbers. Imagine we signed the 3-5 'quality players' but still had the same level of injuries, we'd literally have between 9 and 11 fit first 11 players. Granted we aren't much better off currently, but at least we can put a bench out.
Well it's difficult to judge until we get a full squad or at least closer to it, I agree there.
You can imo, you just have to recruit well. 2/3 signings for decent money, a couple of loans and 2/3 cheap free/cheap squad fillers. You aren't going to make huge leaps forward admittedly but we could have moved the squad/team forward and been more competitive.
How much would be enough?
 
There you have a man who is talking as a professional who has been taken on to sort out a situation. Dispassionate, grounded, and focussed.

He's not a supporter or fan, and although he'll want the team to win, he won't be pissed off like we are when we lose, he'll be pissed off on an different ethereal plane: a business plane.

IIRC he is well-known for being employed as an iceman (cost-cutter) who increases "efficiency" and makes his employing club "leaner". What this means in practical effect remains to be seen. It may lead to the scaling-back of the "Club In The Community" stuff, or The Fanzone as mentioned.

At least he appears to know what he's about. Time will tell.
 
There you have a man who is talking as a professional who has been taken on to sort out a situation. Dispassionate, grounded, and focussed.

He's not a supporter or fan, and although he'll want the team to win, he won't be pissed off like we are when we lose, he'll be pissed off on an different ethereal plane: a business plane.

IIRC he is well-known for being employed as an iceman (cost-cutter) who increases "efficiency" and makes his employing club "leaner". What this means in practical effect remains to be seen. It may lead to the scaling-back of the "Club In The Community" stuff, or The Fanzone as mentioned.

At least he appears to know what he's about. Time will tell.

He took absolutely no shit from that Philpot bloke from Everton. Bain Hardly sat his arse down and was sending him on gardening leave.
 
Bain spoke really well in that interview though there were times where he looked nervous at some of the questions some of which he didn't want to give too much away.

Basically, if high bids come in for Pickford and Kone in January then we'll be selling them.
 
Did she mentioned a Mr Rodwell?
Serious thought, he is on £50k a week for the next 3 years even though he is absolutely useless to us. We are now looking at laying off club employees, imagine how many people we lay off who earn half of what Rodwell earns in a week over the course of a year.
 
Fwiw I was being facetious initially, I like the sound of him, hopefully he will do well. However he will make mistakes along the way and at the moment Big Vic looks like being one of them
 
Bain hammered the fact over and over in this interview that this was a "rebuilding" job from the get go.

We ended last season on the front foot, only beaten once in the last 11 games and playing some of the best football we'd seen in years.

Why did that need to be torn down and rebuilt immediately?

Why couldn't we build on last year's second half success, team cohesiveness and confidence and build on that continuity? (at least in the shorterm whilst they plan and execute whatever their longterm vision is??)

Defoe politely indicated in his interview that all that good work from last season has been pissed away this season and he's obviously irritated by that fact.

Bain and Moyes need to answer these questions.

I hope someone asks them and gets a real answers in an upcoming supporter's branch meeting...

They are valid questions and the root of much dissatisfaction for many with what's been done this season and the position its put us in.
 
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"Back to basics" what exactly does that mean?
Ian Murtagh on Daily Star toneet saying it was 'vote of confidence' from Bain. To be honest neither him or Moyes inspire you with anything they have said so far.

Fwiw I was being facetious initially, I like the sound of him, hopefully he will do well. However he will make mistakes along the way and at the moment Big Vic looks like being one of them
...and Pienaar,Manquillo, Djillibodji, Mcnair,Love....
 
He took absolutely no shit from that Philpot bloke from Everton. Bain Hardly sat his arse down and was sending him on gardening leave.

That's
Ian Murtagh on Daily Star toneet saying it was 'vote of confidence' from Bain. To be honest neither him or Moyes inspire you with anything they have said so far.


...and Pienaar,Manquillo, Djillibodji, Mcnair,Love....

Really? He doesn't sound as though he'd even entertain the thought of getting rid of Moyes.
 
Others weren't bought back and replaced with players that are either shit or will need a minimum of a season or two to even be up to par.
4 from the squad really. Although N'Doye wasn't up to much. He would still be in our squad now though.
Yedlin was ok but should have been easy enough to replace. M'vila no idea we should have had him signed.
 
So you don't have one, then? OK.
Yes that's right, Adebayour, Bendtner, they weren't available either. They might not have been the answer but in response to your question a better option because they would have spent more than 10 minutes on the pitch. We've paid him a fortune and got fuck all back, you don't have to be the governor of the Bank of England to understand it is poor business. He was signed unfit and remained that way for a month, he plays 10 minutes and is injured again, how the fuck can you claim any difference and how the fuck is he an option if Defoe is injured as you previously stated. I'm not and have never said he shouldn't have been an option I'm saying we signed him when unfit and continued to pay him, why could he not train with us and prove his worth like many others have done in the past. It beggars belief.
 
I watched that and I dunno what to think. He speaks well but surely in any business you need to speculate to accumulate and we haven't done this.
If we are successful to an extent on the pitch ie: winning some games. The business side will be better but we haven't invested enough. He didn't mention that.
I Nearly fell ower when he mentions "thinking outside the box " ! A bit David Brent I think.
Those who have seen it what's your views?
That's our trouble we think outside the opposition box and never think inside our own box. Thought he contradicted himself a fair bit
 
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