Plaantik Exclusive: Jamie Day

PART 1: THE BANGLADESH JOB

Plaantik: For those watching, we're recording this a few days after our opening loss to Palestine in the BangabandhuBongo Gold Cup I thought we did okay we had more of the ball we had goals were down to individuals what was your take of the game?

JD: Yeah. I think we passed the ball a lot better than we had done recently. I think that we had good possession. I think for the first time for a while we had 57% possession, which is good for us in recent games, but I think we made individual errors which cost us goals at silly times of the game which was disappointing but we knew it's going to be a tough game. We knew that Palestine were a good team, so we were happy with how we played with the ball. There's obviously areas we need to work on. We didn't create as much as we would have liked and that the one or two chances we did have top-rated good chances to score and should have scored but we didn't take it. So, that’s something we need to look at and going into the game tomorrow, we know we have to get a good result to qualify.

Plaantik: Some say that some of the positive energy that was built up during the qualifiers of the World Cup from last year is beginning to fade away a little bit especially after the results of the South Asian games. Personally, I feel it was a strange tournament fixed to congestion like four games in the space of six- seven days, not a lot of pre-planning and then a lot of a whole host of logistical issues. Do you think people are kind of overreacting to the results?

JD: Yeah, I think from my point of view, we've had a really good 16 months. I think that the boys in that time have not had a break and for us, the South Asian games come at the wrong time, the boys should have been resting, ready for this tournament and for the league. I think probably looking back, there was a lot of pressure from Bangladesh people to get a gold medal and in football, that doesn't work like that. We said to the boys beforehand that Nepal will be the favorites. They are the home nation, they know the environment. I'm disappointed we didn't get into the final because that was what we targeted to do. I think if you look at Nepal and Bhutan, both play in higher altitude environments. We got into the finals, so for us, we got a medal which was the minimum requirement. I think there was a lot of pressure and overreaction on the players in that tournament. I don't think the facilities were very good, preparation wasn't like it was or has been before, we didn't get the players when we needed them which was no fault of the clubs. It was down to us, so I think it was a whole combination of things and that probably affected you know, where we finished in the tournament.

Plaantik: Last year, you gave an interview with The Guardian where you shared a lot of interesting insights about coaching the national team, especially around diet and fitness regimes., No Bread, Daal, Curry everywhere and more time in the gym. How have the players reacted with that?

JD: Yeah, the players have been fantastic. We let them at the start for a good 14 weeks, so we were able to implement how we wanted things to be done and it was down to the players to take on board that and if they did, then they would see the benefits of that and the ones that didn't was told they wouldn't be part of the squad. We knew it was a long term process of getting these boys in condition we wanted them in. And in fairness, credit to them,. They all took on board what they wanted to do. And if you look at their body shape from when we first had them to now, the fat content of what they eat is a lot lower. They still have their moments but they understand the benefits of looking after your body and looking after eating the right foods will improve their performance. I think credit to them and the task now for them is to keep that going and not get sloppy or get distracted when they're not with the national team.

Plaantik: In the same interview, you talked a lot about the infrastructure behind the scenes, for example not having enough hotel rooms when you're traveling to other logistical problems, have you seen any improvements on that that front ? 

JD: Yeah, I think we've made improvements. When you've done reasonably well, then people can see if you start to put things and do things correctly, then you can benefit and get results from that. I think there's still a long way to go and there are still areas that we need to look at and work on if we want to try and improve again. If we don't, then we'll stand still. So, we've done small improvements and if we want to get better, we need to make bigger ones

Plaantik: You've been Coach for over a year now, what do you think has been the biggest improvement in the side since you took over?

JD: Looking back from when I first got the team to now, the improvement individually of every player has been massive and that's something we're really proud of. When I when I first set up my first session at BKSP and watched the group of players that we had, I was tempted to turn back home and go back to the UK, but credit to them, they worked extremely hard and I think we've got a team now that is a lot better than it was 16 months ago. We have shown in results that we can compete with better nations, but like I say we're at a stage now where we need to make more improvements if we want to get further up the people ranking and improve further. 

Plaantik: I'm sure you keep a close eye on the domestic league here, what are your thoughts in general on the domestic structure here?

JD: I've set in the past and I will stick with it is I think that me personally, we need to bring the forum all down not because I don't like foreign players. I'm a foreign coach and I think foreign coaches have had an impact in the Bangladesh League, but I think from a national team point of view, we need eight or nine Bangladesh players playing every week at their club teams, hopefully in the correct positions. I think facilities need to improve in the Bangladesh League such as training grounds. Bashundhara kings are the club that are trying to drive forward and the club that are trying to provide the players with this environment, which is great, but we need all 12 to 14 clubs should be looking to do that and then you'll see the benefits with the players they'll have better training facilities, they'll get better equipment to work with and that will only improve the national team. That’s an area that we need to look at. It's easy for me to say no, I'm not the one that's got it organised or implement all these different rules, but I think if we want to improve, then there's one of the areas that we need to look at and make changes in.

Plaantik: We've had quite a few foreign coaches of the past coaching the national team and there’s always been a number of issues both on and off the bench, how has your experience been so far with the Bangladesh Football Federation?

JD: I think in any federation, wherever I mean as in England or in Asia and Bangladesh, you always have issues and you always have problems and as a coach you always want the best and sometimes you have to realize that you're not always going to get the best equipment, the best training facilities and you have to adapt to what you have which we've had to do and as I've said, that now is the key timing that if we want to improve, then we need to make some changes to go on and kick on and if we don't, I think we'll stay where we are for a little bit and then time will tell whether we can progress again.

Plaantik: How did this job come about? You were in England before this, so tell us about the recruitment process?

JD: Yes, I was working in England. I had or still have an agent who's in Australia and he found up and said that Bangladesh needed a coach, would you be interested? Then I said, yeah, it's a chance to manage abroad and internationally as well would be something I'll be interested in. We had a brief conversation and then I went to London to meet Nabil. We had a good chat in London and spoke about the outlines and what they wanted to do, how and what to play, what my philosophy was, how and what to do things. It was a good meeting and we came back and he said look at the job’s yours drawers and see if you want it. I spoke to my family and then we decided that it would be a good opportunity for me and then within four or five weeks, I was in Bangladesh and started the job. 

Plaantik: Let's move to tactics for a little bit. The result against India last year in Kolkata was a tactical masterclass especially considering that India had drawn against Qatar a few days prior to the game. How did you set up the team? and wWhat was your game plan going into that game?

JD: We knew that it was going to be a really tough game, with 80,000 people in the crowd, they were expected to win. They had had a really good result against Qatar and and battled really well, so we knew that. Wwe had to defend really well that day and we knew that we had to counter when we could and we had to make sure that we countered with pace and be ruthless when we had opportunities. I felt that everything clicked into place [on that day]. We defended really well, we were unlucky not to get a penalty in the first five minutes, had one off the line and probably the only downside was not getting a second goal to kill the game off. The work rate and energy from the boys was fantastic and I was just disappointed that they scored near the end but I felt that we showed great determination to hang in for the last five or six minutes of the game and then trying to get the winner. So yeah, it was a fantastic experience, really proud of the boys. We would like to have got three points but I think it showed people how far we have come and we could compete against good teams if we played really well. 

Plaantik: How did you get your players to follow your instructions so perfectly?

JD: In India, we had good training facilities. We worked on the system for a good three to four days to get a solid understanding of how we wanted to play and how we felt we could hurt India and frustrate them. When the preparation was put in, the boys took on what we wanted to do but any teams don’t always carry out the tactics to the (fall)?, but that day they did and it'll be a game that I remember for a long time.

Part 2 – Moving to Dhaka

Plaantik: How are you liking Dhaka?

JD: Dhaka is a very busy place and different to, obviously, the UK and London. It's been a fantastic experience. I've been to Sylhet. I am living in Dhaka for now. We get out and see a few places. My driver has been fantastic and he takes me to different areas. Yes, Dhaka is a very hectic and busy place but I think after the initial period,  you get used to it and it's normal now.

Plaantik: Do you like our food over here?

JD: Yeah, I don't eat too much spicy foods. They serve buffet food where I am so we have a selection of stuff. The staff and I have tried different little bits but we don't overindulge in Bengali food.

Plaantik: Do you have any favorite dish?

JD: Well, we love naan breads and chapatties. It is probably our main favorite food, obviously the curries, our staff Bobby, eats you know, a lot of curry and stuff but for me generally because of spice other than that the chapatis and naan bread get a good bashing.

Plaantik: So you're talking about how you had to talk to your family before you chose this job, before you came over here. What was that conversation like?

JD: It's a difficult one because I have four children and knowing that I would leave them for long periods of time, it was going to be tough. But we feltBut me and my family felt that from a coaching point of view and a professional point of view, it is a good job to take and a great experience to move.  I moved away in England, and obviously you can go back on weekends to the family but here I'll be out for a long periods of time. But we felt that this was a great opportunity and if I did well, then it could lead to other things further down the line. So yeah, it was difficult and it is still difficult now to leave my family but I've had a great experience and a great time so far and learned a lot in that time and I think it's only made me a better coach and manager.

Plaantik: Have they visited Bangladesh yet?

JD: No, not yet. The school timings are different from the UKfrom UK to here, so it's tough to get them over. The BFF havehaveve allowed me at certain stages to go home this year more frequently than last year, so I've gotten back more this year than I did in the first year. 

Plaantik: Okay, that's great. What do you do outside of football in Dhaka?

JD: If I'm honest, I don't do a lot. I’m sort of around the hotel. I've been to a couple of the league clubs just to have a look around of how they do things. I have been to Gulshan(coalition) a couple of times. I think it's difficult but I don't really go out in the evenings too much. MeI and Stuart live in the hotel and we spend a lot of time together and just discuss football and what we need to do, and focus on work.

Plaantik: Let's talk a little bit about your playing days. I'm an Arsenal fan and I feel a bit starstruck(star) right now. You joined the club when you were nine years old, right?

JD: Yeah, so from nine it's a little bit different than over here. you have academies from eight, nine years of age.

Plaantik: How did you get into football?

JD: My dad's played football and he got me and my brother into football. We joined a Sunday league team and we played on the weekendsa weekends. In the UK, the professional clubs will watch the Sunday league teams and they will pick the players that they like and then you'll go and train with that club for a period of time and then they will sign you at that age. You then stay there for asfor as as long as you can. Some players unfortunately get released at certain ages, but I was lucky enough to go all the way through the system.

Plaantik: You're part of the FA’s Sschool of Eexcellence and you played alongside players like Wes Brown and Michael Owen?

JD: Yes, in the national school, each year 16 players got picked between the ages of 14 and 16 and you live there for two years and you play for England. It's a fantastic experience. There were some very good players in my age group like Michael Owen, Wes Brown, Michael Ball. These are players who have played in the Premier League and played for England.

Plaantik: Did you ever have to mark Michael Owen?

JD: Well we would obviously do so in training and he was a fantastic player. I think at that age you could see that he wasis going to be a big star. Obviously, we all dreamt that we were going to be big stars at that age. But I think looking back now, he was a little bit better than everyone else along with Wes Brown. I think they were the two that I would have picked out to go on and have the career that they've had.

Plaantik: You came into Arsenal when Arsene Wenger had just taken over. Any particular memories with him?

JD: Memories of Arsene is that he changed the whole philosophy of the club. He improved players because of doing different techniques. He brought new techniques over to England, especially the English players benefited from having him, and he changed the diets and he changed the whole structure of the club and made the club what it is now. In fairness to him changing this football. I think we're very grateful for what he did when he first came over and I won’t forget the ideas that he put in place and how he structured certain things that got the best out of players that were coming into the end of their careers.

Plaantik: You once said that you had to compete with the likes of Emmanuel Petit and Patrick Viera for your position, so you were're never going to play. what was it like actually training with them?

JD: It's a fantastic experience. And as aThe 18 to 19 year old players that I used to train with, Viera, Petit, Overmars and Anelka were fantastic. You learn a lot from them and you have to raise your game when you're playing in training. Unfortunately the downside is that I knew that I'm not going to get ahead of them players, they're World Cup players, won the World Cup and world class players so I had to make a decision. At the age of 19-20, I had to figure out what I wanted to do. I knew it was time to move away from Arsenal and Bournemouth came in and made an offer and I felt that it was the right decision to make at that time. 

Plaantik: Our team could use you right now! You're actually on the bench once in a league game against Palace. What was that like and do you feel bad that Arsene didn't put you on for your debut? 

JD: I went to training in the morning with the reserve team and the first team coach came over and said look, you will be with the first team this afternoon. So for me, I was just happy to be involved in the first team squad and it was a fantastic day. I would have liked to have got on but it was a really close game. It was nil-nil and I think George (command?) might have scored near the end to make it one-nil. I knew I wasn't going to be brought on. I knew it's going to be a tough game, but it would have been nice if we were three or four nil up. Just to get on and play at Highbury would have been really good. But yeah, great memories. I won't forget a day like that and it’s something that I'll always remember.

Plaantik: When you did leave Arsenal and when you're going to Bournemouth, was it a difficult decision?

JD: Yeah, I think it was a difficult decision in terms of moving down the leagues. I think it was the right decision at the time. When I went to Bournemouth, I didn't really adapt to the change of how football was played. At Arsenal, it was not as physical and it was more technique and then moving to Bournemouth, it was League One. There was more pressure because it was results business and if you were thrown into the first team, you had to perform and if you didn't perform, you were out and I didn't really adapt to that quick enough or well enough in dropping down. I did enjoy Bournemouth. It was a really good club. I didn't play as many games as I should have but that was partly my own fault as well and now I'm looking back in hindsight, I am not saying it was my fault that I didn't play too many games but then again, I enjoyed my time there and found it difficult to start with and didn't really recover from that. 

Plaantik: While we were doing our research, we actually found that you actually played a game for England at youth level against Ronaldinho. Do you remember what that was like?

JD: Yeah, very good. We played at Wembley and we played Brazil. There was a good crowd with about forty thousand people there, so it was good. It was a very good experience and Ronaldinho was the standout player for them on that day due to his fantastic ability.

I think we won one-nil, Michael Owen scored and it was a great occasion. Again, it was another great memory for me to have as a young kid at the age of 15, playing in front of 40,000 at Wembley, the home of football for us in the UK against Brazil was fantastic, and again, another great experience that I’ll treasure.

Part 3 - The Hard Hitting Questions

Plaantik: Jamie, recently you said that football has the potential to be bigger than cricket in Bangladesh and knowing the context, what made you say that though?

JD: Well I think since I have been here in Bangladesh, I have seen lots of people playing football. I think at the minute, there's a lot more funding in cricket and financially, the rewards are bigger than in football. I think that if the sponsorship improves in the league and with our players, there's so many people in Bangladesh that love football, there is an opportunity for it to develop further. Hopefully, if that does happen and we get better facilities and more people can enjoy playing football in better areas. I understand cricket is massive in Bangladesh, everyone loves cricket. I watch the cricket league myself over here but I think that there is massive potential to develop football further.

Plaantik: So you did mention that you have watched cricket over here, so which game was that?

JD: I went to a Ttwenty-20 match last year. I watched Gayle bat a couple of times. It's very good. I watched four games in two days which was good. The crowds were very good and there were good games. I wanted to watch Gayle play because I didn't see him bat live before, you knowit felt like 16 and 17 a gamegain, so it was really good.

Plaantik: Who is your favorite Bangladeshi Cricketer?

JD: When I went to the game, Tamim was batting exceptionally well in the two games that I watched. He’s played in England before as well, so he's the one I’ve recognized before I came out and knew that he plays for Bangladesh, so he's the one that I've been keeping an eye on to see how he’d done.

Plaantik: In terms of football, it didn't come home for England in 2018, but it did come home for England in 2019 when Stokes, ButlerButtler and all won the World Cup. Where were you when England won the World Cup?

JD: I was at home with my family and everyone around England had the cricket on. It was such a good tournament and being held in the UK was really good, so everyone was caught up in watching it. And to get to the finals was amazing and to win it the way in that fashion. I think that luck was on our side on that day in the final but I was so pleased for everyone involved in that and everyone in England was very very happy.

Plaantik: Herschelle Gibbs, one of the ex-cricketers of South Africa, came to Bangladesh for the BPL.  He had an interesting comment where he said that the language barrier makes it difficult for him to coach the local cricketers. Have you faced a similar sort of situation over here? 

JD: I think when you first come over, it is very important to have a good translator. It’s because information can get taken the wrong way or given out to players differently from how the coach wants it. I've been very lucky to have Kaiser with me who's been at Sheikh Raussel and been with the national team. Over a period of time, he knows how I want things to be done and he knows how I want my coaching translated to the players. I've been very lucky on that side of it. He gets across the point in the way that I want to put it and of course, he does that very well. I've been lucky but I can see in other countries that translation can get lost and it can cause a problem.

Plaantik: Coming back to football, I would say that Jamal Bhuiyan has been a revelation for us in the recent few years which shows that expat players can actually come in here and cut it. Do you have plans to bring more expat players here into the national setup?

JD: That’s something we've looked at previously and we'll continue to look at. I think one of the issues is that the seasons in other countries are different to Bangladesh and that causes a problem. In England, it is not like here, clubs wouldn't allow their players out if it's not in your international window, so that would cause unrest within the squads but, we have players that we've looked at and there's has been some overseas players coming over now like Tariq Kazi signing for the Bashundhara Kking's and (police). They are players that we've spoken to in the past. Jamal, in fairness to him, has come over and played in Bangladesh and that has obviously helped us and makes it easier for me to pick. Hopefully one of these players in our national team can go and play abroad, that would be the next step for us to try and do that. 

Plaantik: As the Bangladesh national team coach, what would be success for you? What would you consider success?

JD: When I first came, the first target was to try and make it to the Asian Olympics and we did that. Then the next target you know was to get into the semi-final of the SAFF which we didn't quite do. To win two out three games and not qualify was a big disappointment for doing so well. The main objective was to qualify for the World Cup as a target and we've managed to do that so I was extremely pleased we managed to do that. We knew that in the group stage, we will be playing against teams that are hundredth, sixtieth in the world. For us, it was going to be a good experience, for these young players to play against these players and hopefully further down the line, make them better and improve them as players. We're looking forward to the next lot of games again in the World Cup and we want to try and get some points. If we can get a win and a draw in the next four games, I think that'll be a fantastic achievement for this group stage and use that experience to go further forward.

Plaantik: We've seen a lot of former players becoming managers in the Premier League. Solskjaer we talked about, Arteta too, Lampard. What are your thoughts on that? Without having a lot of experience, these guys are taking the big jobs?   

JD: I think you know in fairness to Lampard, Arteta has been a number two for a long time at Man City. He's worked with one of the best coachescoach in the world. Frank Lampard and [Steven] Gerrard, I think have earned the right to be able to take them jobs at the top. Coaching is different to playing but I think that they've played in England or brawled for a good period of time. They've worked with fantastic managers, they know if they want to be a coach or not and once they've made that decision, they're going to get offered the higher jobs which is acceptable and it's down to them and how well they do.

Plaantik: What about you? Do you have aspirations to go back to England and manage a Premier League team in the future?

JD: That'll be a dream. If I go back to the UK, I’d try and manage in the league. I think that would be the next challenge for me and see if that, these experiences coming away from the UK and going back in, whether that  was beneficial to me. I think that would be the next step. Again, I enjoy what I'm doing now, but it'd be good to maybe look at coaching a club team in Asia and then having a big team. But, right now the focus is on finishing the World Cup campaign really well and see what the rest of the year holds once we've finished that.

Plaantik: Do you have any advice for people who are trying to become professionals or even people who know that they can make it as a player but they want to be a coach one day?

JD: As a player, I knew I wanted to coach at a certain stage.

Plaantik: Was it pretty early?

JD: When I was about 24-25, I knew that I wanted to become a manager and through that time I made notes of all the good points about managers that I worked for and the things that I liked and the negatives put down as well so that I wouldn't use them when I was coaching. I think as a player you need to identify what kind of coach you want to be and you need to do yoursee coaching badges now which is massive. You need to make sure you've got the different licenses if you want to go and manage. Learning from all the experiences of the coaches that you had and become your own coach in how you want to do things.

PART 4 - Quickfire Round

Plaantik: So Jamie, this is the quick fire round. I'm going to ask you a bunch of questions very fast and you have to reply as quickly as you can!

Here We Go!

Q1: Who's the best manager in the world right now?

JD: I think the best manager right now is Jurgen Klopp. I think he’s done very well.

Q2: Which footballer do you enjoy watching most of the current lot?

JD: De Bruyne, for the way he plays.

Q3: If you could manage one retired pro, who would that special player be?

JD: Dennis Bergkamp

Q4: Pie and mash or fish and chips?

JD: Pie and mash.

Q5: Henry or Bergkamp?

JD: Bergkamp.

Q6: Best retired player in the world?

JD: Ronaldo.

Q7: The least favorite Bangladeshi food?

JD: Anything spicy.

Q8: If you could have dinner with one manager, who would that be?

JD: Guardiola

Q9: Player you modelled your game around when you were a young pro?

JD: Stefan Schwarz. 

Q10: Who do you think will win the Champions League this season?

JD: Liverpool.

Q11: Who do you think will win the Euros this year?

JD: England.

Plaantik: Before we close, there are three special questions from our top fans who are let's say the creme de la creme of Plaantik who make Plaantik what it is.

So they have three special questions.

Q1: So, the first one is, when are you getting Hamza Choudhury to Bangladesh?

JD: (Laughs) I don’t think that is going to happen! He has played for England and I think he wants to play for England, so it’ll be very difficult to get him over here.

Q2: Where do you see Bangladesh football going in the next 10 years?

JD: I like to think that if we can start putting the correct structure in the next six months or a year of getting facilities better, looking after the players that are in the national team and changing a few things and I'd like to think that we can get a lot further up in the FIFA ranking. But that's going to take time and a lot of money.

Q3: Now, this is a question for generations, we've had this question for the last 20 years, I think. Who's the GOAT? Messi or Ronaldo?

JD: Yeah, it's very tough. I would go for Messi. But I think Ronaldo's an exceptional player.

(This interview was taken in 2019)

BY NAFIS IMTIAZ ONISH