The Ultimate Super Ayr Thread

[Finlay21]

1 hour ago, Thumper said:

Fair play, that is totally out of the blue and strikes of a hitherto unseen degree of ambition.

What that means for mister we-have-no-right-to-get-a-point-at-cappielow is another story, but you have to imagine that Mathie has at least a passing recent familiarity with what not winning a league game in months means.

 How’s that ? He left Hibs in September when they were playing extremely well 

[BukyOHare]

A fantastic appointment for the club. I hope he's got a huge say on the recruitment side of things and if he does then we're at least going to have the knowledge and experience of making above average signings and players of the right profile to be valuable assets for the club. 

From his time at Hibs he'll be very well connected with other clubs and agents and I'd hope he gets the chance to make an early impact in the January window. 

[Lochwood]

Waiting to see on this one, this smacks of it’s not my fault it we go down I’ve tried this and he certainly won’t be getting players from Hibs then. Similar to the Hopkin appointment Duffy was the  insurancefall back when he came in if it went wrong , I agree he must have a lot of good contacts so we’ll see.

[North British]

 Mathie at MD is a huge move in the right direction and surely proof that funding for new players is in place and ready to be used where there is player availability ? Along with the land purchases this is further proof of a bigger picture at Somerset . We’re not out the woods by any manner but the jigsaw pieces are slowly going in to place . Obviously the new manager is a critical addition , hopefully Mathie can help with that .  

[Roxanne's man]

9 hours ago, Trogdor said:

That seems like a very good appointment. First order of business Graeme - get Jim Duffy into the fucking sea!

P.S. Along with McGinty & Salkeld.

You took the words right out of my mouth!

[Richey Edwards]

I attended a defensive coaching session years ago and it was led by Graeme Mathie.

He'd probably be better than the coaches we have as well.

[Mod1967]

1 hour ago, BukyOHare said:

A fantastic appointment for the club. I hope he's got a huge say on the recruitment side of things and if he does then we're at least going to have the knowledge and experience of making above average signings and players of the right profile to be valuable assets for the club. 

From his time at Hibs he'll be very well connected with other clubs and agents and I'd hope he gets the chance to make an early impact in the January window. 

Totally agree 

[Mod1967]

1 hour ago, Lochwood said:

Waiting to see on this one, this smacks of it’s not my fault it we go down I’ve tried this and he certainly won’t be getting players from Hibs then. Similar to the Hopkin appointment Duffy was the  insurancefall back when he came in if it went wrong , I agree he must have a lot of good contacts so we’ll see.

Negative shite

[rgreig]

41 minutes ago, North British said:

 Along with the land purchases this is further proof of a bigger picture at Somerset.

I think this is the key point. We have managed to attract someone who is at a prime stage in his career (he is just under 40) and has worked in a senior role at a much bigger club that ours - whatever was described to him must have shown that there is not just pie-in-the-sky dreaming but something backed by funding and a strategy. Nobody at that age or stage in his career is taking a job because it is local or because he wants less stress.

There is also the cost of bringing him in - his salary I am sure is not insignificant for a club like Ayr, which also points to solid funding for other parts of the clubs (both infrastructure and squad).

[Mod1967]

Smith may have a fair bit of personal wealth, but surely it doesn't stretch to appointing people to high profile roles just as a possible deflection tactic if things go wrong, if he has that amount of spare to waste I'll expect Shankers on loan in January. 

This is a must long term appointment to drive the club forward ,you'd expect him to be a major influence on who we get as manager, long term training structure and getting far more out our youth system which I believe gets an easy time of it without producing the results required, obviously the most vital short term goal will be using his experience and contacts to get the right 3/4 quality players in early in January to secure championship football, because I don't think any of us trust sleepy Jim in that respect, I also think his appointment will open up a possibly better standard of manager in the summer. 

[diegomarahenry]

Mathie has other interests looking at his profile so this role might allow him To combine them. 
so his wage, while probably still a decent amount may be based on a part time requirement rather than day to day running.

we have a board of directors, a club secretary, a CEO and admin staff. 
it may be a marriage of convenience for both parties.

Either way it is a step in the right direction

[Hawk89]

After weeks of spiraling doom and gloom, I think it is fair to say I'm feeling quite positive again about our position. Bringing Mathie in suddenly makes the trudge towards January feel more bearable, hopefully it is a rocket up the rear for some of the players as well that they are now on notice. He will also have a very good idea about the prospects in the Hibs youth setup, another Bradley quality loan would be grand. His experience at a well established club like Hibs will also help drive the off field side of things. It is probably very good timing for Mathie plus the new commercial manager coming in as it will be a blank slate for them both to work with and develop. 

First time this season I've felt a bit of a buzz. 

[AyrExile]

Creating this role seems a really good move for a number of reasons. Don't know much about Mathie but seems from a good footballing background. Smith can get on with his business interests more while having someone else accountable to take the club forward. Matters on the pitch have been getting a lot of attention recently but a lot of small things away from it also need improved. Along with the new commercial manager starting then we should hopefully see a much slicker operation. Mathie will also know what's expected on the pitch so no hiding place for Duffy any longer. Should also have some contacts in the game that may come in useful 

[diegomarahenry]

I was pleased when Duffy joined, it was obvious that Hopkin was mince and it looked like he knew he needed support. 
Duffy didn’t appear to help Hopkin at all, when he took over I thought he should have left as part of a failing team but the next 3 games it looked like the shackles of Hopkins set-up had been removed and we were playing football again.

after getting pumped of Partick, the shackles were reapplied and it’s not worked since.

To me, I don’t think his heart is in it, his interviews never address the free fall we are in or a desire to get it right, they come across as a - meh, you win some you lose some.

Reading and Murdoch have looked better players under him, better than they did under Kerr or Hopkin. The defence as a whole have looked worse though.

persevering with Afolabi and continually dropping Bradley has cost us points, sitting back with a 3rd of the pitch between the back line and midfield has also cost us because it relies on defenders not making cheap mistakes. Anyone who has watched us in the last 18 months knows that we make them half a dozen times a game.

you can blame the players and the squad Hopkin built but there are ways to compensate and play to strengths and Duffy hasn’t done that

[Thumper]

3 hours ago, Lochwood said:

Waiting to see on this one, this smacks of it’s not my fault it we go down I’ve tried this and he certainly won’t be getting players from Hibs then. Similar to the Hopkin appointment Duffy was the  insurancefall back when he came in if it went wrong , I agree he must have a lot of good contacts so we’ll see.

Bringing in a has-been out-of-work journeyman manager to act as backup to the shite you installed is one thing. Appointing a board-level executive most recently doing the same thing for one of the biggest clubs in the country is quite another. For a start, he'll probably need to be on considerably better money than Duffy is.

To attract managers of any real quality through anything other than raw luck it is vital that the club starts being run more like a business and less like a parish church gardening committee. That applies doubly so if the club does get relegated and both gates and prize money fall significantly.

[itzdrk]

Good move from Smith on this one. 

[Trogdor]

23 minutes ago, itzdrk said:

Good move from Smith on this one. 

Aye, credit where it is due. 

I assume some of this new position will take the role that Lewis Grant used to do. I had wondered who was in charge day-to-day as I think that's one of the reasons everything has been going to hell off the field. Other than the hub.

On that vein, when can we expect the club to officially confirm this?

[No_Problemo]

11 minutes ago, Trogdor said:

Aye, credit where it is due. 

I assume some of this new position will take the role that Lewis Grant used to do. I had wondered who was in charge day-to-day as I think that's one of the reasons everything has been going to hell off the field. Other than the hub.

On that vein, when can we expect the club to officially confirm this?

Hopefully confirmed with an interview with Smith and Mathie!

[honestly united]

Good signing off the park, hopefully he is able to make some goods one's on the park.

Its a positive sign and lifts the mood but only until the end of Jan if we dont get the right players in, but its a big step in the right direction.

You wonder how long Smith has been working on this, given the reluctance to advertise the managers job / let Duffy take the reigns short term. Maybe wanted Mathie on board first to ensure they got the correct long term manager

[North British]

1 hour ago, honestly united said:

You wonder how long Smith has been working on this, given the reluctance to advertise the managers job / let Duffy take the reigns short term. Maybe wanted Mathie on board first to ensure they got the correct long term manager

Bang on the money here . Im guessing we’re in year one of a five year plan . That’s generally how guys like Smith manage projects .  There is a bigger picture . We just need to get to May and still be in the Championship . The window will be key , hopefully Mathie can guide us through the minefield that is the Christmas Window .