I'm getting that your misdirected question was born out of hurt Redford.
I've not been right for a couple of days either, some would say longer!

Still a very good question tho & I imagine he might have an opinion on it

Last edited by smedDUm (06/3/2019 9:57 am)

B_Bombscare wrote:

Where is Laurie Ellis ?

Are you looking at why the players aged 8 to 11 are in the main choosing Dundee FC to sign pro youth?  

Maybe the attraction of the Campy New?
 

Chaps,

Final questions for Tony have to be submitted by 10pm tonight.

Thanks.

How can we start to win big games again would the management team consider 2 up front with added psychologist sessions pre match?

Tony,

I am concerned (with the current squad) that if we were to get promoted this season that we would be in danger of dropping back down from the Premiership next season.

I am sure (as usual) there will be players leaving Tannadice in the Summer and more coming in the other way.

Have we a list of players for both outcomes i.e. Championship and Premiership football?

If so, if we are playing Premiership football in August, just how many players do you envisage being signed in the Summer transfer window?

Will there be an effort to sign some players with pace? Because I feel this is a quality in our play we really lack (and have done for some time).

Where do you see Dundee United in 5 years time?

And is Tony Asghar still part of the furniture at Tannadice in 2024, all being well?

Tek wrote:

Thanks for all the questions, everyone.

I will send them to Pat Reilly who will email them over to Tony, who will respond in the next few days.

 
When are we expecting Tony's response? He's had the questions for 6 days. Is he sitting with his "collective" or are the questions so demanding they have had to form a "silo" and pass them down the "hierarchy" to Southern or even Jig?

Believe it or not, Tony and I got on quite well. He's a nice guy. Stealing my sweets I would have got over, it's destroying my club that bothers me

Macbonzo wrote:

Believe it or not, Tony and I got on quite well. He's a nice guy. Stealing my sweets I would have got over, it's destroying my club that bothers me

Ok..

So you register on here around the time Tony became involved with Utd and you are concerned about him ruining the club... Why do you think that he will destroy Dundee Utd? 

Remembering here that he is a sporting director of the club. Tony has alot to do with the player side of things where as Mal Brannigan is more involved in the business side day to day running of the club overall. Both under the owners who can make the axe fall on either or both at any time if they dont think they are doing what is best for the club.



  

bowers wrote:

Macbonzo wrote:

Believe it or not, Tony and I got on quite well. He's a nice guy. Stealing my sweets I would have got over, it's destroying my club that bothers me

Ok..

So you register on here around the time Tony became involved with Utd and you are concerned about him ruining the club... Why do you think that he will destroy Dundee Utd? 

Remembering here that he is a sporting director of the club. Tony has alot to do with the player side of things where as Mal Brannigan is more involved in the business side day to day running of the club overall. Both under the owners who can make the axe fall on either or both at any time if they dont think they are doing what is best for the club.



  

 
Fair question.

Tony has completed a course in Masters in Sporting Directorship. Personally, I have looked at the content of the course and the course teaching staff. What struck me was that many of the teaching staff were not published at all. The content of the course: psychology, business, organisational theory, legal seems to me a mismatch of subjects cobbled together designed to appear innovative. The rest of the course seems to be a glorified networking opportunity.

On the organisational side, Tom Peters, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Peter Drucker, Michael Porter have been leaders in this field for the last three decades. They are all American. On the psychology side apart from Professor Steve Peters at Liverpool Uni the leaders in performance psychology are predominantly American.

While I have no doubt that Tony will give it his all, his position is at best experimental and he is applying a lot of theory to a Championship football club. Can you think of any other club in Scotland who have a Sporting Director, General Manager and Someone else (Southern) whose job description I am unclear of?

What do you think of the MSD course content?

TheShed wrote:

blackandtangerine wrote:

Macbonzo wrote:

Believe it or not, Tony and I got on quite well. He's a nice guy. Stealing my sweets I would have got over, it's destroying my club that bothers me

Fuck Thompson near destroyed the club. Ashgars only in the door.
 

 

So many folk said fuck all when Thompson and Martin spent 5 years wrecking us, but some folk are accusing the new guys of destroying us 5 months.  Unbelievable.

Yes the new guys need to earn trust and the support should be vigilant and vocal if it’s heading the wrong way, but ffs give them a chance to earn that trust, they’ve got a lot to fix.

 
Correct.

 Q1) Why do we keep bottling it when we are live on tv? Has anyone asked the manager? Serious question btw. - Lifesanocean

This question has followed on from our last-minute loss to Inverness Caley Thistle, and while you have taken the viewpoint that the players are not able to play to the best of their ability during TV games then I would disagree. We have made a lot of changes in January, and, as with any sporting organisation undergoing a process of change, we need to adapt quickly to these changes or this will lead to defeats and poor performances.

However, we are working on these things and are improving every day. From an external viewpoint, I would also express that the support can also play a huge role during games as the frustrations and quick criticisms of DUFC supporters can create negativity in the players. I’m not saying this is a main factor but it’s all part of the small things that together effect performance. This can be a clear advantage to opposing teams and something we all have to work together to change. On Saturday at Firhill we were booed off at half time and whilst the fans have every right to their opinion and vent their frustration it is possible that this is not good for the bigger picture. If you look at both the  St Mirren game and the home game at Morton the lift the players got from the fans backing was superb. This is something the Head Coach has said this in a number of interviews - the power of the 12th man.That said, every player in the current squad knows the level we are trying to achieve.We are all here to win games and be successful and secure promotion.

Everyone plays their part: From the Groundsman to the Chairman and this includes our support. I understand that the last few years have been difficult, but my challenge is to improve performance at Dundee United and during match days we need the fans to have that same vision and believe in what we are doing

Q3) What are your thoughts on how things have progressed since you started working for the club and in your opinion what are the most important/beneficial changes that have been made (outwith the January transfer activity) since you, Mal Brannigan and the Ogrens have arrived at Tannadice? - Macho Man

We are nearly three months in and certainly from a performance side I feel that we are making gradual improvements. My job is to oversee performance and look at the long-term strategy - Recruitment, Academy, Sports Science and Medical and First team along with the head coach but another part is the performance culture, creating a DUFC player DNA, coach and football staff education and development.

We are an elite sporting organisation that historically have played in European finals and won top leagues and cups and had international players grace Tannadice. My job is to create this again but it’s not an overnight job and working with one of the best coaches in Scotland to create that is making it easier, however we still have the short-term task of promotion to deal with, and Robbie is currently laser-focused on that along with his coaching staff and football dept staff.

Therefore, the expectations of media, supporters and others when a new owner comes in, and they expect instant success is slightly naive, it can be a harder challenge because you need buy-in from the existing players and staff and then try to implement new methods and processes which may be different to how they worked before.

The main thing is to obtain TRUST among everyone.So the positivity surrounding our new signings in January saw a change and this led to good results, so that was a change but possibly some supporters now lack belief, and that is not a good change and one that we need to rectify. What I will say is from a performance side that to put in good practices, and mindset you need to invest in the best talent that can fit into the vision and values.

The changes in coaching and recruitment and Academy were identified and fitted into our new methodology, and this does not detract from the people they replaced, but we have a clear intention of the type of personnel we need to lead the Club in the various departments who are now in post.