BST Meeting with Jose Riga: Members of Blackpool Supporters’ Trust committee met with Jose Riga and his agent at a London hotel on Monday evening 10th November, as part of a media day which saw him interviewed by the BBC, SkySports, Daily Mail and Guardian newspapers. Jose met with BST because he wanted an opportunity to say goodbye and thank you in person to the supporters of Blackpool Football Club - and this face-to-face session with representatives from the Trust was his practical way of fulfilling that intent. We went with a long list of questions ready for a Q&A session but Jose Riga indicated that he preferred to talk. We used the questions as a checklist in the hour-long conversation that followed. This is a summary of the conversation, along with a few observations from the committee. Preamble: Jose Riga expressed his thanks to the fans of Blackpool FC for the consistent support they showed to the team and to the manager during his time at the club. He was very sincere in his appreciation and clearly disappointed that things didn’t turn out as he wanted. He recognised that fans work hard all week and look forward to enjoying watching their team play. He wanted to build something at Blackpool that the fans would be proud to support. He always tried to do the job to the best of his abilities and it was the support from the fans that kept him going during many difficult days. The Premise: Riga was very happy to come to Blackpool. His first taste of managing a Championship side at Charlton was a good one. His experience of Bloomfield Road when he came as Charlton manager was positive, as were his early discussions with Karl Oyston. Jose explained his philosophy, his approach to the game and his intentions to the chairman and Oyston appeared to buy into the approach, promising that Riga would be supported to build an infrastructure and a team pretty much from scratch. Although time was short [eight weeks until the new season], the opportunity was an exciting one. Pre-season: Jose stressed how key it is to build good foundations early and to consolidate the playing style and the team performance in pre-season. He emphasised that pre-season is the most important part of the season for a manager. He wasn’t able to build the foundations in a timely manner because it took far too long to bring players to the club. The result, as we all know, is that Blackpool didn’t have a pre-season to speak of and we are still a club playing catch-up. Team Shape: He stressed that the strength of any team is its spine – from goalkeeper through midfield to strike-force. He understands the qualities that are required in key positions and he looked to bring in the right types of player with the capabilities to build a winning team. Player Acquisition: Riga presented his preferred player targets to the chairman, but was never involved in any of the financial negotiations regarding players’ contracts or wages. [Those were always between the chairman and the players’ agents, clubs or representatives.] When asked specifically about the chairman’s media reference to Swiss bank accounts, Jose reiterated that he only identified the players and anything financial was handled by others. If a player was deemed too expensive for the club’s budget, Riga would be flexible and would identify other players with similar capabilities. There were many such compromises - this process appears to have been repeated frequently. Ultimately, cost seems to be the reason for the influx of predominantly foreign players – put simply, they were cheaper than their British counterparts. It would seem that, although Jose sanctioned all the signings to the club, in many cases they were his second, third or even fourth choices, as the chairman declined to finance most of the first-choice targets. Harrison McGahey: Jose Riga said he had no influence in the matter of Harrison leaving the club. McGahey was not on the list of retained players that he was handed when he took over. It was not his decision that McGahey was not wanted at Blackpool. Potential: Jose’s assessment – which rarely changed over the months he was in charge – was that the team at his disposal was ill-equipped to hold its own in the division. That is not to denigrate the players at the club, who gave it their best shot. The margins between winning and losing are very small in many cases. There were games where Blackpool performed well but didn’t get any points [in ironic contrast to the start of last season where they didn’t perform well but picked up the five wins in six games that would eventually save them from relegation]. That was because crucial chances were not taken, chances that could have turned games and amassed points. There was a lack of quality in some positions and certainly a shortage of confidence but rarely a lack of effort from the players. To emphasise his point, Riga highlighted the Cardiff game. It took all of the Blackpool players’ resources and reserves to battle to their only win against an under-performing Cardiff side. He sounded proud of the players for trying to implement his ideas but despairing that he wasn’t given better support from the chairman. It would seem that Oyston’s policy of delaying contracting players until the last minute in hope of driving the cost down was the real reason for Blackpool’s less than ideal start, was ultimately responsible for an under-strength squad [in terms of quality if not numbers] and was at the heart of Jose Riga’s frustration and the stand-off between chairman and manager. Facilities: Riga claims he was pragmatic and only ever looked to make the best of the facilities that were available. He didn’t think the training set-up itself adversely affected the preparations of the team. He told the players to use the training conditions, the administrative hiccups and the background of unrest as a motivation to do better and to prove a point. It appears that his focus was on working to improve the skills and confidence of the players he had to work with – given that he was starting from a long way behind every other club in the first place. Support and Protests: Jose Riga loved the passion and atmosphere generated by Blackpool fans. He is adamant that the protests never adversely affected player performance or morale. He stressed that everyone understood the sentiment of the fans and the support they gave for the manager and team – and even a half-full Bloomfield Road could generate a passion that lifted the players and made them want to perform for the fans. Why Did It All Go Wrong? When results went against Blackpool, Riga was the first to question himself. Could he have done anything better - a team selection or a substitution? There were minor tweaks that could perhaps have made a small difference, but asked if he would have done anything significantly differently, he said no - he did the best he could according to his principles and the players he had to work with. He didn’t know why Karl Oyston’s attitude changed so early in his tenure. He wasn’t happy with the lack of communication from the chairman. Riga could not see a good reason for the change and consequently had no explanation to offer. He also stressed that he had never encountered such issues in any other football club that he was worked at [including AC Milan, Mons, Standard Liege and Charlton]. It is clear that there are probably things that he is not at liberty or not willing to say and we are left to draw our own conclusions. The Future for Blackpool FC: While his disappointment and frustration were obvious, Jose said it is important for everyone – himself included - to draw a line under past events and to move on. He wishes every success to the Blackpool team, he hopes the new manager does well and that the team succeeds for the benefit of the fans, for whom he will always have the utmost respect. The Future for Jose Riga: He clearly enjoyed the challenge of managing in the English Championship, citing it as one of the best leagues in the word. He would like another opportunity to manage in England. Asked directly if he would ever consider managing Blackpool again in future, were circumstances to change [i.e. change of ownership], he replied that he would be happy to do so because he liked the passion and loyalty that the fans have for the club.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 22:28:54 +0000
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