Head of recruitment

No. Such direction comes from above the manager. If they don’t comply, they walk.

If you set a style and sign players to suit that style, you make that style work and get the most out of those players or, as the manager, you will be replaced

 

A recipe for disharmony in the club

 

Yes i can see why it could easily fall apart.

that said, we dont necessarily need a DoF we just need a new CEO who understands football and/or a chairman who isnt so passive. Lets bring some accountability back to the clubs structure.

 

You would think a Director is someone who has earned that status on merit. Someone who no longer wants to run the day to day stuff like a manager, but who has plenty to contribute at a slower pace with a longer term view.

Someone who oversees the running of the football side of the business.

Why aren't they a manager?

Because they've been there, done that, and moved on.

 

Or in most cases failed at manager level or are past it. Not many would have turned their noses up at Hughes for that role a couple of years ago. Why should we be tied to one person philosophy even if it isn’t working

 

Park, no offence, but that makes no sense.

We are currently tied to a one person philosophy, only that person is a random former intern with no experience or success.

Bringing in a DoF with tremendous experience is the exact opposite of what you're describing. It's an extra person at the club, not a sole individual.

 

With respect to you John we have a DOF now if not in name in Hughes he controls all things football except for his own appointment. He has “tremendous” experience and employs Hodges as coach. I have long argued on here on the appointment of new managers there should be a different approach more in the way people are interviewed for the top jobs rather than only their usually failed experience in the past. Sparks by now has plenty of experience and contacts in the game and their is nothing wrong in tapping in to them in doing full research on the prospective employee. An extra level if management with the drain on finances it brings as well as scope for disagreement and disharmony is not needed

 

Who?


I thought of one earlier, not that I propose we employ one, who meets the criteria you desire and it would fit for him to become a somewhat part time role M-F on reduced hours.

Neil Warnock.

Ticks all the boxes…yes?

 

Whilst agree with the principle Park and I don’t envisage a DoF either, however, Mr Hughes is blowing it now, and I doubt he will recover.

 

Yes but he enjoys the day to day working with the players

 

No we don’t , we have been through all this charade for the last umpteen weeks. BL, it’s been done to death. Show me “a football person” that knows business, marketing and commercial activity and how to run a business on a day to day basis? Less than a handful in the entire English game from top to bottom. Sparks hasn’t done anything wrong no matter how much some need a scapegoat . The whole playing side is the responsibility of one person, that’s what he or she is employed to do.

They can’t have all the attributes of a CEO AND football nous/ knowledge.

Really can you think of more than a handful currently operating as a CeO that would meet your criteria. Baldwin perhaps……Then I start to struggle.

 

So he’s out of the window already?

 

You're right that Hughes fits the mould of an ideal DoF, but the fact is: he isn't our Director of Football. He is our day-to-day manager directly in charge of games.

A Director of Football isn't in charge of individual games, and therefore isn't responsible for every tactical decision, substitution, etc.

An extra layer of management will impact finances directly - but having any management impacts finances directly. You could get rid of Hughes and let the players pick themselves, but it would be counterproductive - just like it's counterproductive not to have a DoF in place.

We are currently experiencing how counterproductive it is by getting absolutely nowhere year after year.

 

Spot on

 

You won’t find one person with all those attributes, no, but thats the point! Chairman delegates footballing strategy to a DoF and focussses on the business aspect themselves. We have Sparks in a CEO role, which is fine for commercial purposes, but neglects any football input.

Rhodes groomed him for the role didn’t he

 

So we are back to an argument of needing a DoF. , which I don't agree with in all honesty, however I have set my stall for just one individual who would meet that criteria. Not one person , from recollection has put forward a suggestion, yet clamour for one……?

This debate , which is pretty good to be honest, is masking the issue though. The manager, coach, head of recruitment , arent performing. A DoF will not solve that problem, today, tomorrow, next season , or in the next 20 seasons.
I’ll leave you with this….most Prem clubs have DoF ….yet still change managers like I change my underpants. Having one may get you a gem of a manager just 1 in 50 recruitment sessions.

 

Never suggested him as ours
Was comparing as to why he might be more successful than Gent in searching for league 2 promotion winning players.

 

Yep.

It's obvious Sparks needs a Lawn-type figure, just like Rhodes did.

We were dog shit under Rhodes, no question. Then Lawn came in with a bit of hustle on the football side, and things improved. Lawn wasn't a renowned footballing man, neither was Richmond, but they were proactive on the football side.

But if Rupp and Sparks are waiting for that figure to be an investor, they're wasting everybody's time when they could just employ somebody, which is the more normal/likely route.

 

Well we have put people forward, and the obvious 2 right now are Stuart and Hughes, but you've suggested Warnock which is also fine.

There are many, many other candidates out there, but exactly what situation each of those individuals is in isn't really ours to say.

We could pick names out of hats, though:

Aidy Boothroyd?

He's a Bradford lad.

 

Ok , I get you now. But who has Russ actually discovered .Nakhi maybe ?