From the press box: Silva answers questions about his future
Jack Kelly gives us the latest from Marco Silva's pre-Sunderland presser.
Even Marco Silva himself admitted that today looked like a ‘Premier League Press Conference.” Eight reporters, three for broadcast (Sky, Premier League Productions and BBC) and five for written press. This honest admission summed up things today at Motspur Park where, in my opinion, Silva was open, honest and as transparent as I’ve ever seen. The main bulk of this impression I got came in the embargoed section.
This can be read and digested from 22:30 this evening on my X and Patreon.
He said he expected the amount of bodies in the room, he expected the constant contract questions. It’s an intriguing situation, which over the international break was reported on by multiple outlets.
Don’t get me wrong, Silva didn’t come out and say whether he was staying or leaving. Nothing like that. But, he explained how the club are and need to be on the same page to help develop and progress at Fulham Football Club. Here are some key quotes from the broadcast section:
Silva on contract offer: “Not many things to share. Grateful for the interest from the club. We had some conversations. With the owner, Tony and CEO. I was with Mr. Khan last month too, some meetings, about the situations with Muniz and Jedi.
“They know I love being at the club, they know I’m not an easy guy to deal with all the time. They recognise the job everyone is doing. The will and desire is there, let’s see what the news will be, nothing new for now.
“I know what the club needs to develop, to grow. We have to all be on the same page to help the club progress.”
Silva on rumours around him: “It’s normal. It’s not that I don’t respect your job, but for me to see or read things on tv, it’s not something that’s part of my daily basis. I have other things to focus on. I prefer to not read it.”
Silva on the board: “We don’t agree on everything, but we are on the same page. In some moments, not everything is perfect, the fans too want to progress. Doesn’t mean we don’t have a great relationship. I’m an ambitious manager, I want the best for the club.
“We have always been on the same page as football people. Standing still is not something I believe in. When the news comes, you will hear. Really grateful for the interest again, I know I can be intense in all these years.”
Silva finished: “I’ve given the club enough signs that I don’t want to leave the football club. (Turning down other offers.)”
A lot of quotes there, usually I post two-to-three from the presser in these articles, but every quote above seemed to hold some significance. I type them, and people of course read them as face value. With not enough context, or unaware of tone of voice, or body language.
People will make up their minds based on what they see in those 240 characters. For me, I saw a different side to Silva today. Witty, charming, honest and transparent. Showing a huge amount of respect to the reporters, like he always does. But, in a way that felt like we were his friend, and we felt trusted in what he was saying.
Maybe it’s just me. Maybe because I’m a fan I get wrapped up in what he says more than the average journalist. I have some skin in the game, I want the Fulham x Silva relationship to have another few chapters. I am a Fulham fan too. But I came away feeling almost valued by Silva. He took my question, answered it as honestly as he could and told me he agreed with what I was asking him about.
I doubt Silva will go home tonight and reflect too much on his presser today, but for me, it meant something. I enjoyed it, like I do every week, but I was appreciative of the way he answered questions, looked reporters in the eye and said what was on his mind.
He still kept things to himself, he said some things are private which is what you’d expect from any manager. It was a good press conference with some good lines. That’s my take, anyway.
Onto tomorrow - a big game, I’m excited but nervous. Enjoy it, make the noise and come on Fulham.