Tony Asghar

[GUNBOAT]

Got to love MB, more comebacks than Frank Sinatra

Sinatra never made a c unt of himself on Sportsound though

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCW9...=MyFavMusic123

[tHeArAb]

"Tony Asghar interview: Sporting Director outlines his ambitious vision for the club"

https://www.dundeeunitedfc.co.uk/new...-THE-CLUB.html

[shedka]

Really good interview from TA, plenty insight and topucs addressed,including bits on Fulham link up and stuff

[RogerTheAlien]

Instead of him pretending not to gloat and screaming I told you so to the fans, I’d prefer he just did his job and made some decent signings.

[DUFCstokie]

Thought it was a good interview. If he is true to his words then positive times lie ahead. Liked how he briefly raised the issue of some parts of the media having a dislike for United.

[Jim_Jam]

I thought it was an excellent interview.

He addressed a lot of the issues including the negativity last summer.

A lot of hope for the future.

No more "United for Change" in the near future.

C'mon United!

[Shedboy1971]

Decent honest interview is my thoughts. Aye he had a pop at some aspects but who can blame him. If hi wife doesnt feel safe in tannadice ffs we all need to rectify that - seriously. Personal abuse is not on. Yup think skinned and looking for sympathy but c'mon we are better than that. He has done a great job as i predicted at start of season aye ok i thought we were doomed. i did dislike him but now i dont care if i like him. Keep this up in euorpe and playing sh!te. Imagin if we play well

[TerryTheTerror]

Some folk have made their mind up about him and it doesn't matter what he says or does they'll never have anything good to say.

[Steve Finan]

At the start of the season just past, I had talks with United about writing a behind-the-scenes book. The initial idea was to detail the inner workings of the club and try to explain some of them and the reasoning behind them.
This idea was treated seriously by all concerned, and given outline assent. But for various reasons — none of which were really anyone’s fault and some of which were unforeseen life changes, such as me leaving my full-time job — the project didn’t get going. Which was a pity. It is an idea I’d like to revisit at some point.
However, while we were kicking ideas around I interviewed Mark Ogren over the phone and spent a day at St Andrews, during which I had a lengthy discussion with Tony.
It’s not my place to reveal the minutiae of that discussion. But it would have been my job (while writing the book) to explore and perhaps analyse some of the concepts he talked about in the interview just released. I recognise many of the words and phrases Tony used: strategies, pathways, calculated risks.
I have to say I was hugely impressed with Tony. He is a highly intelligent man.
I believe that intelligence isn’t measured by things like powers of recall. A “Chaser” on TV wouldn’t, necessarily, be described as intelligent. Being able to store and recall facts is merely an indicator of knowledge retention. Intelligence goes deeper than that.
Intelligence, in my opinion, is better measured by how quickly a person can assimilate new information, process it, and understand all the nuances. You give them new info and they instantly calculate factors A, B, and C, then extrapolate that X, Y, and Z will be the consequences.
Tony is one of those people. Fire an idea at him and he instantly understands. He understands the structure, the execution, and the consequences 1, 5, 10 years down the line. I went into our meeting with some preconceived ideas on how a book might pan out, but came away with very different ideas. This would be a book about the structure of a football club, but also a book about personalities within that football club.
I surmised, for instance, that Tony and I wouldn’t ever become friends in the accepted meaning of the word. The relationship couldn’t have been as friends, it would have to be a bit more distant. A bit more analytical. Both of us quickly understood that.
My reason for posting this is that I feel Tony is often misrepresented. I’d hoped to do some exploration of this, and explaining of it, in the aborted book. Perhaps by interviewing social media or forum posters. Perhaps not. Perhaps I’d have been told to gtf.
As I say, I’m very sorry the book didn’t happen. Might have been interesting.
Tam Courts, too, would have required some exploration as a person. He comes across differently in TV interviews than he does in person. I didn’t get to know him well enough to winkle out why he is doing this, or even fully understand how he does it — perhaps it is his choice of words, or a side-effect of his tactic of appearing upbeat in every interview. I’d have done some digging into Tam’s character. His career in recruitment at Insights L&D on Kingsway, perhaps. The record of how many (or how few) red and yellow cards he accumulated in his playing days . . . that sort of thing.
Anyway, too long a ramble. I’ll try to do this book at some point.
In summation, Tony Asghar doesn’t (in my opinion) merit the flak he gets in some quarters.
You can agree or disagree as you see fit.

[DUFCstokie]

At the start of the season just past, I had talks with United about writing a behind-the-scenes book. The initial idea was to detail the inner workings of the club and try to explain some of them and the reasoning behind them.
This idea was treated seriously by all concerned, and given outline assent. But for various reasons — none of which were really anyone’s fault and some of which were unforeseen life changes, such as me leaving my full-time job — the project didn’t get going. Which was a pity. It is an idea I’d like to revisit at some point.
However, while we were kicking ideas around I interviewed Mark Ogren over the phone and spent a day at St Andrews, during which I had a lengthy discussion with Tony.
It’s not my place to reveal the minutiae of that discussion. But it would have been my job (while writing the book) to explore and perhaps analyse some of the concepts he talked about in the interview just released. I recognise many of the words and phrases Tony used: strategies, pathways, calculated risks.
I have to say I was hugely impressed with Tony. He is a highly intelligent man.
I believe that intelligence isn’t measured by things like powers of recall. A “Chaser” on TV wouldn’t, necessarily, be described as intelligent. Being able to store and recall facts is merely an indicator of knowledge retention. Intelligence goes deeper than that.
Intelligence, in my opinion, is better measured by how quickly a person can assimilate new information, process it, and understand all the nuances. You give them new info and they instantly calculate factors A, B, and C, then extrapolate that X, Y, and Z will be the consequences.
Tony is one of those people. Fire an idea at him and he instantly understands. He understands the structure, the execution, and the consequences 1, 5, 10 years down the line. I went into our meeting with some preconceived ideas on how a book might pan out, but came away with very different ideas. This would be a book about the structure of a football club, but also a book about personalities within that football club.
I surmised, for instance, that Tony and I wouldn’t ever become friends in the accepted meaning of the word. The relationship couldn’t have been as friends, it would have to be a bit more distant. A bit more analytical. Both of us quickly understood that.
My reason for posting this is that I feel Tony is often misrepresented. I’d hoped to do some exploration of this, and explaining of it, in the aborted book. Perhaps by interviewing social media or forum posters. Perhaps not. Perhaps I’d have been told to gtf.
As I say, I’m very sorry the book didn’t happen. Might have been interesting.
Tam Courts, too, would have required some exploration as a person. He comes across differently in TV interviews than he does in person. I didn’t get to know him well enough to winkle out why he is doing this, or even fully understand how he does it — perhaps it is his choice of words, or a side-effect of his tactic of appearing upbeat in every interview. I’d have done some digging into Tam’s character. His career in recruitment at Insights L&D on Kingsway, perhaps. The record of how many (or how few) red and yellow cards he accumulated in his playing days . . . that sort of thing.
Anyway, too long a ramble. I’ll try to do this book at some point.
In summation, Tony Asghar doesn’t (in my opinion) merit the flak he gets in some quarters.
You can agree or disagree as you see fit.

A very informative and impressive post - thank you.