He can probably more or less start and advise and plan straight away. The gardening leave for that type of role is likely to be at least 3 months up to 12 months depending. The club will most likely buy that clause out. They can’t be waiting for months I wouldn’t have thought.
Hooefully, but it would be dependent on Brighton being prepared to be bought out. Otherwise it would be a breach of contract and we don't want to start going down that route. Brighton have been quoted as saying he will still report to the club on day to day matters where required during the garden leave.
Ah right ok. In that case then it does indeed sound like he may be in place for the beginning of next season? Either way it’s a good appointment.
There's no point yet anyway really because he doesn't know whether he's working from a premier league club level or championship level.
Faith is great but it's not evidence based... I'm in the I don't know position.. I need to see the next 3 or 4 games to get an idea.
Point is, people either rate him or REALLY rate him. This is no tin pot appointment, this guy isn't just rocking up any old place. FA's director of elite development, shortlisted by Man U for DoF role back in August 2018 before he then took on the role at Brighton. Brought in over his tenure the likes of Webster, Trossard, Lamptey but I think it's the philosophy and structure throughout a small club like Brighton that is worth looking at. They grew a really decent loan system, making huge returns on the likes of Ben White and reinvesting in a mix of players. They had something like 15 players out on loan in the 21/22 season, all of them no lower than Championship or foreign top flights. Compare that to Shola's efforts under Ashley. More importantly, it's our first proper senior position of note since forever, our first step into being a proper football club. Can't wait to see who rocks up as CEO.
I must admit I don't think its the exciting appointment but I do think its a very very good appointment. Thee big thing is he is good at is developing youth set ups, and most importantly he has a track record of installing an ethos across a club. He has managed to do that on a shoe string at Brighton. I just think there is no limit with us and our new found wealth. We still need further Director appointments of course in terms of transfers etc, but I think in terms of sitting above them with the whole bigger picture, he's a good appointment. We now have someone to assess the coaching! We've all longed for the this club to harness the football fervour that runs throughout the grass roots game in this region. Not the lip service that Ashley etc paid. This will finally mean having someone who understands how you do that. England's track record at youth level since his introduction there has gone from strength to strength. They compete with the best. I'm confident the coaching will be assessed and if you look at Brighton they've become adept at developing players. We haven't really done that bar on a very small scale with Rafa's unique methods. Now we have a modern thinking director, who understands how to do that in a more forward thinking holistic fashion. I won't lie either. From a personal perspective I think this ends the chances of the looming negative figure of Rafa sitting waiting to take us back 20 years. I'd also love to see Potter here if things don't work out with Eddie. I'm surprised by the reaction on here a little because he is very much an FA man who everyone seems to think produce crap coaches and people...
I'm a huge critic of the FA, I can see the multitude of issues through coaching and low-level badges. It's hugely myopic, it's not inclusive, the FA's stuff is designed to be a sieve where only a few kids remain from thousands who seem decent. But on a non-personal level, you probably need that ruthlessness to drive success. And bear in mind Ashworth was about Elite Development, not coaching qualifications, etc. When you see the kids coming through, he's doing something right. He's not here to make our senior players play as a team, he's here to make sure our recruitment and development is on point. Like Eddie, he'll be under a microscope. We're now pitching to be an elite club, which means he needs to be a roaring success, and fast. If he's DoF in three years time, he's the right appointment. If he's not performing, he'll be gone and replaced within a year or so. I'd imagine he also ticks a lot of political boxes, which works for the Saudis.
He will be responsible for driving the entire ethos mate. That means youth set ups, senior set ups, the whole shabang. Just as he has done at Brighton. The coaching and development of players at senior level will be impacted. For instance if he doesn't think Eddie's philosophy fits with the club ethos, Eddie won't last long - its a brutal world. He'll have an over arching role I would imagine. That won't happen over night and he will need 3 years alone to get it set up. The problem we have is the starting point is not good. So patience will be required at every juncture. The Saudis will get that. However they will expedite things through finance and will expect returns on their investment. The important thing is this is happening, not how long it takes. If we are sat in 5 years time with a clear direction, a clear plans for all our teams from youth to senior (women and men), it'll be a job well done which will give us the framework to grow. Its going to be tricky though because like Man City had to, you have to progress on the pitch at the same time because the PL is brutal. The FA has improved out of sight in recent years. I was always a massive critic. But now it would seem they can't win. "How come our youth teams are so ****?" "How come we never reach the last stages of the Euros or World Cup". Both boxes checked. What's the reaction from some of the public? "Ah they were lucky and got a good run" " The coaching is still ****". Honestly its just modern white noise from social media, they are getting it right. He was behind some of that.
Grassroots is still a mess. FA are heavily reliant on clubs hoovering up and developing talent for their own commercial gain. The FA do very little in that regard. Massive dearth of officiating at a low level, pitches are dreadfully inadequate. I was coaching a team of u'8s on state of the art 4g pitches. Now, 2 years later, games are regularly called off due to waterlogged fields closer to farmland than football facilities. Hence the elitism; there's kids who get picked up by Pro clubs who obviously get all the benefits, but late bloomers will really struggle in this country and subsequently the talent pool may be "elite" but it's woefully thin on the ground. You only need look at the last 30 years and the influx of foreign players, which is driven mainly because most British talent is ****ing rubbish (comparatively speaking). Officiating, similarly, is atrocious. There's nothing good happening with VAR, the standard of refereeing is particularly grotesque and the bias is comical. This is all under the FA's guidance and dubious leadership. So, for me, the two key areas of grassroots and officiating are still light years from where they should be. The FA's failure to effectively govern the sport having sold out to the PL is embarrassing. They may be 'better', but they're still pretty poor.
We're producing winning youth and senior teams. Teams all over Europe are courting our young players. That's all that matters, winning.
Very good appointment for you guys assuming he joins. Been key at Brighton in terms of building a structure there. Sounds like it’s going to cost a bit to get him before his gardening leave ends, although money being no object shouldn’t make a difference really.
