The Ultimate Super Ayr Thread

[GuyIncognito]

7 minutes ago, United1973 said:

So there both to blame for the crap on show then ? 

Mathie isn’t to blame for how the team is set up or the style of play. That’s on the manager. Another manager could absolutely have this squad in mid table but we’re in a relegation battle now due to Bullen.

Bullen should go but Mathie should stay imo.

[malkyshotton]

36 minutes ago, 1nickydevlin said:

Whoever recruitment was down to they've made a rip roaring c**t of it .

Got to agree, I’ve never seen so many out of their depth players in one team and this was against a weakened team from the league below. I get that the midfield were only a week or so into their Ayr United careers but they don’t look like they’ll cut it at this level. Felt like Ahui should’ve been hooked at halftime as he was hopeless although most of the rest of them weren’t much better. Bullen leaving him on when we had McCallister on the bench was wrong. Hope I’m wrong as if not it’s buckets and spades for us.

Edited September 6, 2023 by malkyshotton

[UpInTheAyr]

3 minutes ago, GuyIncognito said:

Another manager could absolutely have this squad in mid table

Aye, I'm not so sure about that.

[GuyIncognito]

1 minute ago, UpInTheAyr said:

Aye, I'm not so sure about that.

The squad absolutely isn’t up to much, but there is at least enough there to give a league one team half a game. Which we didn’t do last night.

[D'Jaffo]

7 minutes ago, United1973 said:

So they’re both to blame for the crap on show then ? 

The issue to me is that the way Bullen wants his team to play cannot be implemented with this group of players but I’m also not sure if he actually knows how to go about implementing it. It’s not just a midfield issue. The defence as it is is so unsuited to playing out from the back. 
 

The recruitment is what it is as we ultimately have no idea what our budget was, who was realistically available on that budget and who was interested in coming to Ayr. This is why I find it hard to get so worked up over not signing a particular player as it isn’t as cut and dry as it is on Football Manager.

At the end of the day it’s Bullens job to get the best out of what he has but to do that he has to know the limitations of the squad and not ask them to do things they aren’t capable of doing. You cannot play this style of play with Sean McGinty, Paddy Reading and Nick McAllister in defence and 3 holding midfielders in the middle. Ahkeem Rose also looks unsuited to playing as a lone striker. So yes, there have been failings in recruitment in terms of not signing adequate full backs or a striker suited to how we want to play. However I find it hard to blame the club for signing signing the experienced midfielder Bullen was apparently after as no one on here knows the ins and outs of who was available to us. At present it’s looking like a bigger failing that we didn’t get a creative midfielder of some sort rather than an older pro. Even if one of Senga or Syla had been a number 10 on loan it would’ve been more acceptable than this. 
 

I think if we could add another different type of forward then there is a group of players there that could potentially finish 7th although it remains to be seen how the three midfielders do in the long run at this level. It will also require Bullen to change his approach and not demand that we play a way that we aren’t able to. 

[itzdrk]

Quote

"My role is just one small cog in that wheel and I'm here to offer as much support as I can."

"There can be a bit of a misconception when it comes to the title 'Head of Recruitment'.  A lot of people get hung up on it and think you're being brought in to sign players above the manager's head, but nothing could be further from the truth. It goes back to what I was saying about buy-in...from day one Lee [Bullen] has been hugely engaged with the process when it comes to my job."

"I'm here to offer detailed reports on players and targets - give the management team the clearest picture I can on their strengths and weaknesses. From there it is over to them and further due diligence is done in terms of video footage or players being watched in the flesh."

"It's a very detailed process and nothing is left to chance."

"My role is purely that of a support"

Had a look into the explanation of how head of recruitment was supposed to work at Ayr.  For anyone wanting to absolve Bullen (or Mathie) of blame from the process it's pretty clear that isn't possible.  

[Thumper]

22 minutes ago, GuyIncognito said:

Bullen should go but Mathie should stay imo.

Again: it is not even in Smith's gift to say that "Mathie should go". He is not a club employee.

[Rb123]

So Bullen ain't getting sacked then?

[Dauntless]

8 minutes ago, Rb123 said:

So Bullen ain't getting sacked then?

Not at the moment . I think he'll resources to adjust the playing squad . He may even get told to get another pair of hands into the coaching team .

[mugen_power]

1 minute ago, Dauntless said:

Not at the moment . I think he'll resources to adjust the playing squad . He may even get told to get another pair of hands into the coaching team .

He doesn't need an assistant, he's 52

[No_Problemo]

39 minutes ago, D'Jaffo said:

The issue to me is that the way Bullen wants his team to play cannot be implemented with this group of players but I’m also not sure if he actually knows how to go about implementing it. It’s not just a midfield issue. The defence as it is is so unsuited to playing out from the back. 
 

The recruitment is what it is as we ultimately have no idea what our budget was, who was realistically available on that budget and who was interested in coming to Ayr. This is why I find it hard to get so worked up over not signing a particular player as it isn’t as cut and dry as it is on Football Manager.

At the end of the day it’s Bullens job to get the best out of what he has but to do that he has to know the limitations of the squad and not ask them to do things they aren’t capable of doing. You cannot play this style of play with Sean McGinty, Paddy Reading and Nick McAllister in defence and 3 holding midfielders in the middle. Ahkeem Rose also looks unsuited to playing as a lone striker. So yes, there have been failings in recruitment in terms of not signing adequate full backs or a striker suited to how we want to play. However I find it hard to blame the club for signing signing the experienced midfielder Bullen was apparently after as no one on here knows the ins and outs of who was available to us. At present it’s looking like a bigger failing that we didn’t get a creative midfielder of some sort rather than an older pro. Even if one of Senga or Syla had been a number 10 on loan it would’ve been more acceptable than this. 
 

I think if we could add another different type of forward then there is a group of players there that could potentially finish 7th although it remains to be seen how the three midfielders do in the long run at this level. It will also require Bullen to change his approach and not demand that we play a way that we aren’t able to. 

I think this is pretty much spot on. 

I actually think we are probably three key players away from being very good, but we won’t get what we need. 

The recruitment of three more defensive midfielders is just weird, given Bullen appears to have switched from a 4-2-3-1 to a 4-3-3 - in the two we needed two more defensive guys, whereas in the three we needed a Kerr McInroy/Connor Smoth type as the third midfielder. I don’t know what the issue is - but it’s just a bit of a shambles across the board. You then also have two of our only players of quality in Murphy, Chalmers, Amartey and McGeady sitting on the bench while we don’t even have starting quality players in several other positions. 

[AnonGuy7991]

4 minutes ago, mugen_power said:

He doesn't need an assistant, he's 52

Age is irrelevant. There’s managers in their 30s who have more first team managerial experience than Bullen. 
 

What he really needs is a first team coach who is capable of drilling a style of play into the squad. Bullen’s main attribute is motivating the squad and managing personnel. If he focuses on that and has a coach to do direct training things would instantly improve imo. 

[Richey Edwards]

6 minutes ago, mugen_power said:

He doesn't need an assistant, he's 52

I don't understand why I need to do a university course to become a mental health nurse. I'm 33.

[ComradeDiego]

20 minutes ago, mugen_power said:

He doesn't need an assistant, he's 52

He’s needed an assistant since day dot.

We could really be doing with a Sandy Stewart type.

[Dauntless]

6 minutes ago, ComradeDiego said:

He’s needed an assistant since day dot.

We could really be doing with a Sandy Stewart type.

Or even Mark Kerr back as a coach .

[eez-eh]

22 minutes ago, AnonGuy7991 said:

Age is irrelevant. There’s managers in their 30s who have more first team managerial experience than Bullen. 
 

What he really needs is a first team coach who is capable of drilling a style of play into the squad. Bullen’s main attribute is motivating the squad and managing personnel. If he focuses on that and has a coach to do direct training things would instantly improve imo. 

It’s a joke because that’s literally what Bullen responded with when asked about getting an experienced assistant at the Q&A.

[Oceanlineayr]

9 minutes ago, ComradeDiego said:

He’s needed an assistant since day dot.

We could really be doing with a Sandy Stewart type.

Same here. Bullen strikes me as being good at coaching but struggles hugely with tactics, especially if the need for a plan B occurs.

Edited September 6, 2023 by Oceanlineayr
Spelling

[Dauntless]

Just now, Oceanlineayr said:

Same here. Bullen strikes me as being good at coaching but struggles hugely with tactics, especially if they need for a plan B occurs.

Correct ...

[Iain]

3 minutes ago, Oceanlineayr said:

Same here. Bullen strikes me as being good at coaching but struggles hugely with tactics, especially if the need for a plan B occurs.

How do you measure coaching?

[Oceanlineayr]

Just now, Iain said:

How do you measure coaching?

McGinty going from a complete bombscare infamous at his previous two clubs to becoming an entirely acceptable starter for us would probably be the example best to highlight that.

Unless there is another behind the scene factor for that.