Just wondering what people's opinions are on this as I'm sure it's something the potential new owners will be considering. For me it's always made great sense in theory; someone comes in, they have overall control of the transfer side of things which brings stability and continuity, you select a style of play and bring managers (or head coaches) in that suit the chosen style. If it goes wrong you're not worrying about the next manager wanting a vastly different style, you just bring another head coach in. It's a benefit for the coach because they can concentrate on man management and tactics without being distracted by transfer negotiations and the likes. In our case it would give us that "football person" who could advise the board on where we're going wrong. That theory seems decent, but in practice it's never really taken off, at least not in England. My concern has always been that is simply brings another layer, at least if it's down to the manager you can criticise him if the team are poor; whether it's the players or the tactics, it's on them. When there's a DoF there's more of a grey area, has the DoF overseen poor recruitment or is it the manager not getting the most out of a good enough squad? It's vital you get the right person in the job, but is it hard to accurately assess their performance and does that make it a bit of an easy life for someone who might be underperforming? I'm sure the new owners will consider it; they presumably don't know much about football, the current owners haven't exactly nailed the football side, the recruitment has been questionable. So, do you think we should go down that route? Give us something to discuss cos I'm about to get a train and I'll be bored!
Either a DOF or a Technical Director to oversee every aspect of the football side of the club would be top of the list for me
I think that Jack Ross is more suited to the role of First Team Coach and should be left to deal with the players, who appear to enjoy his training methods. Then again that might mean he's being too soft with them, didn't we all like the teacher who let us out 5 minutes early etc. He may benefit from having a more experienced " father figure" for the want of a better phrase to bounce ideas off and discuss purely football matters. IIRC Pochitino (SP) at Spurs is classified as the first team coach so it need not be seen as any sort of a demotion, particularly if he was involved in an early stage in the discussions as to who the DoF / Tech Dir was to be
Wasn't Brian Marwood in a similar type of role at Man City a while back then replaced by someone from Barca?
I think on balance I'm probably in favour of it like, albeit my opinion has been somewhat soured by our experience with De Fanti and Congerton. De Fanti was always an odd one like, not sure why giving an agent that level of power was ever seen as a positive but I thought Congerton was meant to be fairly well respected when we got him? It also annoyed me that it is meant to be a more long term role, keeping continuity even when managers naturally leave, but typically we went through them quicker than many clubs go through managers which further negated any positives. We'd need to keep going for younger coaches in the main I'd imagine, could never imagine someone like BSA working in that structure, and of course Rafa up the road seemed to want control, but maybe younger coaches are more used to it. Must be a hard appointment to get right though, feel that a lot of chancers would try their luck and then blame the coach if things don't work out, but we definitely need more football knowledge in the upper echelons of the club regardless of whether the takeover goes through
Im not convinced it should be an ex manager like BSA etc, but someone who can look, advise and drive on everything from kids coaching through the medical side to the first team. The problem I see with an ex manager is they would put undue pressure on the coach as everyone knows they are there if things start going awry on the pitch
It can work if you have a head coach who chooses the playing style,works with the players,picks the team and is totally responsible for on-pitch performances,and who,along with his assistants and scouts,identifies any potential recruitment before sitting down with the DoF ( Technical Director?) to explain the thinking,and then for the DoF to go off and do the recruitment deal in accordance with the budget he has been given from the Board. The coach and the DoF need to be on the same page. In some instances,it has been the case where the DoF has introduced players to the coach that the coach hasn't necessarily wanted,and told to get on with it. That,imo,is when it falls apart.
My concern is really over how you pick that person. I agree with chunk that having an ex-manager there could be an issue, but other than that I don't see how you can easily ascertain whether you think someone will be any good at putting all the things in place that we require. I suppose we'd poach from elsewhere, it is a lot of power to give someone though, especially when you can't easily judge on results like you can with a manager
I think the complete opposite. The DoF would set up the playing side of the club, select the playing style and then select the coaches to fit into that style. It is these two opposite views which give an indication of where the tensions may arise in whatever set up is decided upon. It's an interesting thought
Aye, I think the DoF sets everything up, similar to England u21s they probably want one style right throughout the age groups (so if there's injuries it's easy to put someone in). If you want a passing style you'd go for a Poyet type and replace him with a, I don't know, Martinez if he left (obviously talking about clubs higher up the chain than us!). They might think a more direct style suits us better and you'd get head coaches in that mould. They task the recruitment with getting the right type of player, they prioritise that type of player at academy level etc It can cause an issue if there's a really good manager out of work and interested who doesn't fit the system mind, you'd have to overlook them, which might not be popular. Equally they have to be long term and almost set a culture in the club, not moving on straight away like De Fanti and Congerton (rightly I suppose!) did.
I agree that such issues can arise. I feel that this is why the DoF should be a person of some standing that everyone respects and has some authority. They should have a seat on the board of directors to ensure that everyone is moving in a similar direction on both the football and corporate side of things.
I agree,the right appointment can't be easy to find. It needs to be an experienced and shrewd businessman,with top negotiating skills, who also knows how to operate in the football world with the complete confidence of both the coach and the owners. There aren't too many David Deins or Daniel Levys around. As far as judging on results,the best way to do that is to set sensible targets for achievement within certain time frames and see how close the performance gets.
It is interesting,but I beg to differ mate. The coach has to be the one who sets up the playing style....he's the one who's getting the players to perform in it. At Man City,they play as Pep wants them to.....he's played that way at his previous clubs. He knows the attributes the players need for the system and his recruitment team go out and get the right players for him once he's identified what he needs. He also liases with the Academy coaches to see which younger players are going to be ready within his system for first team selection......it's much more conducive to proper squad planning. At Man City,for example,it's a constant work in progress to replace the aging players in his current squad,not this season perhaps or even the next,but it's happening all the time.
Didn't Swansea as they came up through the leagues have an approach where the whole set up was geared around the first teams system? The youth teams all played the same way as the first team, coaches all preaching the same things? A Man City lite that they dropped when they got to the Premier league and they didn't do as well, then reverted to the sack manager scatter gun approach like everyone else?
Not in my opinion guzzler. BSA proved that if you have a clear idea of the type of player you want, you can then recruit to fit your team. His is the only window I can remember where recruitment was good. Khazri at the time performed well, as did kone and Kirchhoff (despite the first game shocker)
We both agree it's interesting but here's another thought. Who recruited Pep and why? Yes he was a very successful manager, but, had the DoF already agreed that Man City were looking to play a more possession based game whilst moving forward and identified that Pep was the best candidate to execute that plan. I honestly don't know the answer to that but it is a thought. Sorry mate I'm getting a bit carried away here, we appear to be having a rational discussion about football and no one is slagging anyone off, how refreshing.
Couldn't agree more,it's great to have a chat without snidey comments coming in all the time. I must confess that I know someone who knows someone who is in the know at Man City,hence why I was able to give them as an example. They recruited Pep because their owners said they wanted the best there was...money no object....to win European trophies. Pep's style came with him. Having said that mind,the DoF is ex Barcelona and must have been instrumental in the appointment,but I don't think the style. I don't know what the set-up is with the DoF at the Etihad,they work very closely together,but,I do know that Pep has the final say in recruitment. They have scouts all over the world working to his instructions of what it is he thinks he needs,....this season,next season and the season after that. The scouts do the due diligence on character,lifestyle as well as the skills and they report back. I know he spends hours and hours reading the reports and watching videos of players before deciding who to go and watch in person,which he does regularly.He's often travelling to watch matches on the continent. He already knows who will need replacing in his squad this season and the next and they're working on it. He also knows who is likely to be able to make the move up from the Academy.....a bit tricky to predict. Once he's happy with a target,I guess it's then over to the DoF to try to do a deal,I don't know from there. It's an excellent set-up,which,if we could emulate.....although not on the same level,I know........, would be brilliant for us.
