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Louis Theroux – When Louis Met…
Today on our special publication, “When Louis Met” has broken from its traditional subjects and moved into the world of FFO. Normally Louis meets with charismatic oddballs, cultural legends, or factions with deep rooted beliefs.
When we approached Louis about sending him to a manager from the world of FFO management we offered up a few names but only one of them was accepted. That is correct, the FFO head admin and Bayern Munich manager Jon Banks.
Mr Banks has been managing in FFO since early 2008 but took on the role of head admin around 2011 due to the previous incumbent stepping down. There have been many attacks on Mr Banks over the years with people assuming incorrectly that rule changes and transfer dealings have been skewed due to his power at the FFO FA.
Starting at Norwich City the formerly young manager has built a career on promotions from lower leagues but has yet to capture a top league title, save for a ROE1 title when caretaking Bayern Munich. This has certainly to be seen as a failure for the Yorkshireman despite several trophies in his cabinet. He is probably included as a “good” manager but nowhere near the elite level.
His most recent club is the newly reformed Bayern Munich. The Bavarian giants bought the rights and squad to the old Borussia Monchengladbach club, including the contract of Jon Banks. The contract was due to expire in December 2023, but it has recently been confirmed that a new deal was signed on a significant pay decrease until 2025.
With his character called into question and a lack of success on the pitch the once outspoken Banks has shied away from the media in recent times. Even after the club won the EFL Cup he refused any formal interview and was absent from the club’s victory parade. It was rumoured that Banks would leave the club a few weeks about due to personal issues but has since stated that he intends to see out his new contract.
Now the scene is set, lets get to the meat of the matter. Louis takes up the story.
“As I walk down the long drive of this wonderful Bavarian home it is striking what is missing from the usual home of the person, I am due to spend time with. There is no glitz, glamour, fancy cars, gold gates or highly landscaped gardens. This is a simple yet magnificent house but not one you would expect a football manager to live in. The area of Munich this house sits in isn’t one of the highly sought after areas. This is not like Alderley Edge in Cheshire, this is just a normal housing estate you see in most towns and cities in Europe."
Today I am here to meet football manager Jon Banks and I plan to quiz him on his life, career and accusations of the past. As the door opened, I was greeted by Mr Banks with a stern face and a look of trepidation. Recent years have seen him withdraw from public life out with his mandatory responsibilities as Bayern Munich manager.
He introduced me to his family and menagerie of pets before we head to his office to start the interview. As we are about to start his desk phone with the letters “FFO” on is starts to ring. He barely speaks but seems annoyed before barking “just tell them to stop moaning for god’s sake” before slamming down the handset. On the other side of his desk, he as a phone labelled with the Bayern Munich logo.
The first part of our interview was to focus on his start in football management and how he became involved with the FFO FA.
LT - “So, Mr Banks, you came to FFO during its opening season. What brought you to the mad world of football?”
JB - “I had previously done my coaching badges but was never called about any jobs. When FFO opened I had the chance to put in an application but decided that a club should reach out to me and eventually they did. Norwich City came calling, Deliah Smith had heard that I was a fan of her shows and wanted to meet me about their vacant role. The rest is history”.
LT - “You say the rest is history but let’s go back a second. You came into the game with 20 games of the season left and in mid table. What did you say that ensured you got the job and what did you do in those opening weeks to move the club forward?”
JB – “I spoke honestly. I told them they would need to back me in the transfer market, allow me to control the clubs in and outs. I told them I would get the club promoted inside 2 seasons. I told them how I wanted the team to play, how I wanted to change the culture of the club and to expand the stadium. I told them once promoted I would guide the club to the top half of the Premier League.
It was clear that I had impressed them, but they were just words and acting on them was tough. The players knew I would make changes and a few resented that. We had to make deals and decisions quickly in those early weeks. I went on a charm offensive with managers in higher leagues to secure deals or loans for the club. We brought in Defoe on loan, a few players from Italy and just built around that. We already had Gourcuff on loan when I arrived, so we just ensured that we made chances and stayed solid at the back. It worked.“
LT – “Play off winners a few months later. You beat Southampton 8-3 over two legs and won at Wembley against Charlton Athletic 1-0. Do you feel that you deserved this victory and promotion?”
JB – “Of course. Like I said, we get Jermaine in, and he scored the winner in the final and a hattrick in the second leg in the semi-final. We worked hard in training making sure we fed him correctly and it paid off big time. We were ahead of schedule and were expected to struggle in the Premier League.”
LT – “You didn’t struggle, did you? Let’s look at the results that season compared to the other teams that got promoted. Norwich finished 6th, Barnsley 13th and Coventry 17th respectively. Some suggest that had you not left with 6 games to go – Norwich would have finished in the top 4. Correct?”
JB – “I agree. We were on a roll and had found a rhythm. Morten Gamst Pedersen and Ji Sung Park were outstanding, a very young and raw Gareth Bale was standing out and our strikers Baptista and Milito did ok. 100% we get top 4 had I stayed…”
LT – “So why leave? I understand the appeal of Manchester United, but you were building something special in Norwich”.
JB – “That’s just it, I WAS building something special. But the board wanted to cash in on Bale and I didn’t want him to go. The eventually sold him for some goalkeeper and cash to Chelsea. This showed the lack of ambition from that club. I had to go. I would have been sacked before long at the club and would never have that chance again.”
LT – “ Before we speak about Manchester United, its around this time that you started assisting the FFO FA with its duties. What first made you get involved?”
JB – “Chris was struggling with the workload. I had time spare most evenings so asked to help. I never for one minute expected to end up the FFO Head Admin but that’s where we got to in the end. It started with small but manual tasks, and I was happy to help.”
LT – “Some at the time state that your helpfulness was a ploy to get the bigger jobs within the game and that was the only reason you got the United job”.
JB – “Bullshit. They had a manager previously who had sold Ronaldo for a terrible price and then quit. We all know Mr Henson was a master manipulator with things like that but United were in trouble of not reaching the CL. They needed someone who had won more games than lost. That was me. FFO was very young at that stage, and I had been promoted and had Norwich sat in 4th in just over 1 season. The reason I got the job was because I deserved it.”
We broke for lunch at this stage. I got the feeling that Banks was frustrated already with suggestions his influence in the FFO FA has been the only reason his career has been a relatively positive one.
Join us next time where will be speaking to Banks about his time in Manchester and how it all came crashing down around him.
1496 Words
Today on our special publication, “When Louis Met” has broken from its traditional subjects and moved into the world of FFO. Normally Louis meets with charismatic oddballs, cultural legends, or factions with deep rooted beliefs.
When we approached Louis about sending him to a manager from the world of FFO management we offered up a few names but only one of them was accepted. That is correct, the FFO head admin and Bayern Munich manager Jon Banks.
Mr Banks has been managing in FFO since early 2008 but took on the role of head admin around 2011 due to the previous incumbent stepping down. There have been many attacks on Mr Banks over the years with people assuming incorrectly that rule changes and transfer dealings have been skewed due to his power at the FFO FA.
Starting at Norwich City the formerly young manager has built a career on promotions from lower leagues but has yet to capture a top league title, save for a ROE1 title when caretaking Bayern Munich. This has certainly to be seen as a failure for the Yorkshireman despite several trophies in his cabinet. He is probably included as a “good” manager but nowhere near the elite level.
His most recent club is the newly reformed Bayern Munich. The Bavarian giants bought the rights and squad to the old Borussia Monchengladbach club, including the contract of Jon Banks. The contract was due to expire in December 2023, but it has recently been confirmed that a new deal was signed on a significant pay decrease until 2025.
With his character called into question and a lack of success on the pitch the once outspoken Banks has shied away from the media in recent times. Even after the club won the EFL Cup he refused any formal interview and was absent from the club’s victory parade. It was rumoured that Banks would leave the club a few weeks about due to personal issues but has since stated that he intends to see out his new contract.
Now the scene is set, lets get to the meat of the matter. Louis takes up the story.
“As I walk down the long drive of this wonderful Bavarian home it is striking what is missing from the usual home of the person, I am due to spend time with. There is no glitz, glamour, fancy cars, gold gates or highly landscaped gardens. This is a simple yet magnificent house but not one you would expect a football manager to live in. The area of Munich this house sits in isn’t one of the highly sought after areas. This is not like Alderley Edge in Cheshire, this is just a normal housing estate you see in most towns and cities in Europe."
Today I am here to meet football manager Jon Banks and I plan to quiz him on his life, career and accusations of the past. As the door opened, I was greeted by Mr Banks with a stern face and a look of trepidation. Recent years have seen him withdraw from public life out with his mandatory responsibilities as Bayern Munich manager.
He introduced me to his family and menagerie of pets before we head to his office to start the interview. As we are about to start his desk phone with the letters “FFO” on is starts to ring. He barely speaks but seems annoyed before barking “just tell them to stop moaning for god’s sake” before slamming down the handset. On the other side of his desk, he as a phone labelled with the Bayern Munich logo.
The first part of our interview was to focus on his start in football management and how he became involved with the FFO FA.
LT - “So, Mr Banks, you came to FFO during its opening season. What brought you to the mad world of football?”
JB - “I had previously done my coaching badges but was never called about any jobs. When FFO opened I had the chance to put in an application but decided that a club should reach out to me and eventually they did. Norwich City came calling, Deliah Smith had heard that I was a fan of her shows and wanted to meet me about their vacant role. The rest is history”.
LT - “You say the rest is history but let’s go back a second. You came into the game with 20 games of the season left and in mid table. What did you say that ensured you got the job and what did you do in those opening weeks to move the club forward?”
JB – “I spoke honestly. I told them they would need to back me in the transfer market, allow me to control the clubs in and outs. I told them I would get the club promoted inside 2 seasons. I told them how I wanted the team to play, how I wanted to change the culture of the club and to expand the stadium. I told them once promoted I would guide the club to the top half of the Premier League.
It was clear that I had impressed them, but they were just words and acting on them was tough. The players knew I would make changes and a few resented that. We had to make deals and decisions quickly in those early weeks. I went on a charm offensive with managers in higher leagues to secure deals or loans for the club. We brought in Defoe on loan, a few players from Italy and just built around that. We already had Gourcuff on loan when I arrived, so we just ensured that we made chances and stayed solid at the back. It worked.“
LT – “Play off winners a few months later. You beat Southampton 8-3 over two legs and won at Wembley against Charlton Athletic 1-0. Do you feel that you deserved this victory and promotion?”
JB – “Of course. Like I said, we get Jermaine in, and he scored the winner in the final and a hattrick in the second leg in the semi-final. We worked hard in training making sure we fed him correctly and it paid off big time. We were ahead of schedule and were expected to struggle in the Premier League.”
LT – “You didn’t struggle, did you? Let’s look at the results that season compared to the other teams that got promoted. Norwich finished 6th, Barnsley 13th and Coventry 17th respectively. Some suggest that had you not left with 6 games to go – Norwich would have finished in the top 4. Correct?”
JB – “I agree. We were on a roll and had found a rhythm. Morten Gamst Pedersen and Ji Sung Park were outstanding, a very young and raw Gareth Bale was standing out and our strikers Baptista and Milito did ok. 100% we get top 4 had I stayed…”
LT – “So why leave? I understand the appeal of Manchester United, but you were building something special in Norwich”.
JB – “That’s just it, I WAS building something special. But the board wanted to cash in on Bale and I didn’t want him to go. The eventually sold him for some goalkeeper and cash to Chelsea. This showed the lack of ambition from that club. I had to go. I would have been sacked before long at the club and would never have that chance again.”
LT – “ Before we speak about Manchester United, its around this time that you started assisting the FFO FA with its duties. What first made you get involved?”
JB – “Chris was struggling with the workload. I had time spare most evenings so asked to help. I never for one minute expected to end up the FFO Head Admin but that’s where we got to in the end. It started with small but manual tasks, and I was happy to help.”
LT – “Some at the time state that your helpfulness was a ploy to get the bigger jobs within the game and that was the only reason you got the United job”.
JB – “Bullshit. They had a manager previously who had sold Ronaldo for a terrible price and then quit. We all know Mr Henson was a master manipulator with things like that but United were in trouble of not reaching the CL. They needed someone who had won more games than lost. That was me. FFO was very young at that stage, and I had been promoted and had Norwich sat in 4th in just over 1 season. The reason I got the job was because I deserved it.”
We broke for lunch at this stage. I got the feeling that Banks was frustrated already with suggestions his influence in the FFO FA has been the only reason his career has been a relatively positive one.
Join us next time where will be speaking to Banks about his time in Manchester and how it all came crashing down around him.
1496 Words