With the recent debacle over the Dempsey and Carrol transfers and the seeming lack of communication between all levels of the Liverpool hierarchy, the criticisms coming from SOS and the negative press coverage we seem to be attracting, does this add more weight to our need for a DOF? I was shot down when I suggested we needed a DOF before Rodgers was appointed and even more so when I criticised the u-turn when he was given reign over his own aquisitions. Surely this is exactly the sort of bridge between the board and manager that has been sadly lacking? All the problems that SOS are talking about can be fixed with a DOF, somebody who knows football, can work to budgets, is aware of the psychological aspects of picking players, can negotiate with other clubs and between board and manager! Imagine for example a Cruyf was DOF and he knows how important Dempsey is to Rodgers plans. He could have spoke directly with Henry/Werner and communicated just how crucial adding a striker was to the squad and he could also have explained how ridiculous the policy of only buying young players is in REALITY. For someone like Cruyf(or Dein) to impart their knowledge and explain the reasons why experience needs to be added to compliment the youth could have made the difference of the 1-3mil that swayed the deal! Not only this but the likes of Dein and Cruyf and possibly quite a few others are very media savvy and astutue. Already we have seen Rodgers make a number of errors in his talking to the press, which is something a DOF could be alert to and coach Rodgers in. It would allow Rodgers to for example say when enquired about potential players something along the likes of "yes me and Yohan have talked about the playing squad and the requirements and he is dealing with it as we speak, any further questions would need to be directed at him" etc...... It would also help Rodgers I feel in dealing with the increased pressure and media scrutiny that he is no longer immune to being at a club like Liverpool to have a mentor who has achieved at the highest level or in Deins case has good connections at the FA and in media. As an addition for me the importance of the DOF is as much about sustainability between managers as anything else, well as much as you can have that. With our stricy budget and frugal playing investment for me the DOF is the ONLY way our policy makes ANY sense at all! What the DOF brings is a meta-analysis of the targets that a manager proposes; so for instance Rodgers may say look Johan I really need a striker and here is 3 that I am interested in, can you try to get me one of them. What Cruyf would then do is make a decision on what is best for the club long term within those choices, for instance he would with the meta-view take into account the style of football, his age, his adaptability, budget etc... but CRUCIALLY he would also perhaps take into account the longer term perspective of the players attributes ACROSS DIFFERENT MANAGERS!
I was happy to see Rodgers come in as manager provided we had a big name Director working with him. This is because LFC are slowly losing their appeal with each season without Champions League football, and our poor league positions. We can only rely on our brand and history for so long until it becomes redundant. Our appeal is based on success on the pitch during the 70's and 80's. Without success on the pitch, the appeal will continue to decline. I felt that by bringing in a small name manager such as Rodgers may make it more difficult to attract the foreign players, whereas Rafa has extensive links mainly in Spain and his reputation could help attract those players. To help Rodgers, I believed having a man like Txiki would have been ideal - a Sports Administrator at Barca could have used his links and his own rep to bring in players without having the high profile of someone like Cruyff and Van Gaal who seem to have large egos and would would want to take over the team. However, this Director of Football is just a small cog in the big wheel who would be working with the manager and the board to find and buy our targets. We need something more than that. We need a CEO who can be based with the manager and DoF. If they have any questions, they have the CEO in the next office - instant communication and clarity. No need to arrange a video conference for our owners in the States and no time differences. I have seen a lot of communication from Ian Ayre, Werner and Henry - what we need is a CEO who says it all, a clear leader who has the final say but his strategy and philosophy is aligned with the manager and his vision. I really do hope the Board take the SoS's letter seriously and into consideration.
I think it really depends on who the DoF is. They have to be good and experienced, but they also have to share Rodgers vision. They cannot meddle and sign players Rodgers doesn want, or dismiss important Rodgers targets because they personally dont like them.
http://www.thisisanfield.com/2012/09/being-liverpool-the-soap-opera/ I like this piece which discusses it and appears to be the most balanced overview of events and worries we all have (well, maybe not the extremes on either side but I don't think they can be accommodated without bloodshed) Some other interesting proposals, like fan investment etc.
Must admit I was never fan of the DOF in the past and even now it has to be done correctly. However I do think it is possible to get it right, but of course the mix has to be spot on. I can see the reluctance not to want to go down that route because I think people feel its too much of a risk. I see it slightly different and actually believe its a bigger risk in not employing a DOF under the current model. Our model only work with continuity; look at whats happening now with Kenny's signings and how the change in manager is setting us back with regards to budget. Now look at the odds that a manager who is in his first big job with expectations, with a media that will now crucify him for every mistake, little to no budget, rivals who are both established and have far better squads, rivals who can attract better players both in terms of challenging and finances and all in all the chances of Rodgers succeeding are very slim, the chances of him even lasting long enough to truly implement his ideas are probably evens. Arsenal are probably the team we are most similar to; but even they have a better chance of attracting players, have a manager who is a genius, stability in management and structure, and possibly THE BEST manager at turning a 2mil player into a 20mil player..........and yet they are still way off challenging for the title! Make no mistake without Wenger they would be outside the top four right now with the budget they have, we are expecting Rodgers to be better than Wenger without any of the resources that Wenger has through years of stability. Don't get me wrong I want Rodgers to be a success, but I am a realist and based on percentages the odds of it happening are extremely low. My worry is what happens if it doesn't work out? Perhaps Allen will be utilised by the new manager but then again perhaps the new manager like Rodgers has is own midfielder that he wants, Borini on current form would likely be another Carrol, surplus to requirments and once again we cannot replace him until we get rid. I know this sounds rather pessimistic, this is not the intention its more like intuition! Our current model is not designed for success and mounting a realistic challenge, the only way in my view that it ever could be is through the continuity that a DOF would bring. Anyway only time will tell! If I am wrong i'll sure to be the first to admit it!
What i really want to know is who was on rodgers list of targets. Was there ever anyone but dempsey o nthe list and why did he let carroll go? if we knew that 2/3 players were listed and the club basically failed to get any of them its not be so bad..... the worry is amateur hour is well and truely in situ in our club and has been since 2008. we need to know if there were genuine forwards o nthe list in may or was borini the big answer rodgers had... if thats the case we've a babe i nthe woods in charge and its all going to get too much for him quickly. I for one would like to hear that rodgers had actual targets before carroll was let go... that were not DEMPSEY for 3mil or STURRIDGE who was not approached before carroll left. if we let a player go before even apporaching a replacement those pople upstair rodgers was on about and rodgers are very cupable and deserve the enivitbale results.
Well exactly, the whole thing was embarrassing to be honest. Like you say, in some ways lets hope BR was let down because if so thats easier to rectify. If not then god help us really because its pretty basic management 101 to know you need to make sure your target is signed! But the way BR is talking I think he was let down in some capacity, whether he is blameless too remains to be seen.
One name - Damien Comolli - DoF Result - we were taken for stupid money for Carroll and Henderson. I accept the fees for Downing, as he was supposed to be a peak-professional and therefore you have to pay a premium (although his performances didn't live up to the tag, the tag was warrented). On the plus side - Enrique, Bellamy, Coates
Damien Comolli is not a DOF though, certainly not a very good one! He was here more for the skills he brought to the moneyball idea
Problem with him is that he is likely to want to have more control over the signings and possibly have a say in the first team matters. I can imagine a conflict of interests there ... But I definately would love to see him back at the club one day...
Only joking but have to say when we were looking at who could be manager, I would have loved it to be him. Just think his personality would conflict too much with FSG, not that we are broke but because we wouldn't want to release certain funds yet. Rafa would have had a field day with the last two transfer windows though.
Hell yeah! Rafa would have loved having £120mil to spend over two seasons. Then we would have seen more of his vision for the club.
Rafa would want a space to do his hand signals. I wonder if you can strike a transfer deal purely through the use of hand signals.
Like I said before any appointment was made Rafa for me was the best choice for getting the best out of the squad we finished with last season. Would have found a way to use Carrol and the best manager to get the best (or re-invent) Gerrard, hell he may even have found a way to get something from Downing!
Why did Carroll leave Liverpool? Rodgers pushed him out - and that is so unlike Rodgers because he tries to improve everyone in the Club. I heard an interestindg story today. In the last game of last season the Swans beat Liverpool 1-0 at The Liberty. BR always stands on the pitch applauds/shakes hands with the players, gives a wave to the crowd and then goes down the tunnel. When he went to shake hands with AC, apparentl AC told him to "F*** off u NI pric*". Don't know if it is true, but I heard it today off a reliable source and have no reason to doubt. It would explain a lot.
There was no need for Carroll to mention Rodgers homeland, so can you also confirm that Carroll is anti Irish/anti Catholic? Link to Carroll or Rodgers confirming your yarn?
To me though this is the beauty of a DOF. Managers will always have 2 or 3 targets for a position(at least good managers will), what the DOF will be able to do is prioritise his focus on the one that he perhaps feels will benefit the club long-term and in the event that the current manager leaves. We are not just talking about a manager getting sacked here, look at how Rafa was targeted when we were doing well in Europe. The DOF can work IF he can balance the relationship with the manager and the committment to the clubs future and overall policy. I admit it perhaps is not straightforward, but for me its no riskier than the current policy of low budget = no continuity.
