Director of Football
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Carlo Ancelotti probably.
Might be true. He is probably still the best we can get.
Who are these mate and why are they decent?
I'll do it.
BR said he would never work with a DoF. If that's true then I hope we appoint one.
Monchi has been Director of Football at Sevilla since 2000 and has been an integral part of setting up the youth system and building a competitive squad. Has a massive network of scouts and have seen them sign the likes of Alves, Adriano, Julio Baptista, Kondogbia, Bacca etc etc.
Getting him wouldnt be easy mind.
Sabatini has overseen the rebuilding at Roma. They've built an impressive squad and made some great signings fitting in with Rudi Garcias tactics and approach.
I'm guessing this aswell wouldnt be easy.
Appoint a whole bunch of them if that is what it takes.
Agreed. What I *can* see, though, is him wanting back into football twelve months from now and Rodgers being retained till then to avoid still more upheaval meanwhile. Just a thought, wishful or otherwise.
You think Carlo will get us back to PL on first attempt?
Can somebody explain to me what exactly a director of football does? Serious question.
Joe Kinnear.
Not sure if this has been posted before but here's how the committee works allegedly - from the blog of a self-declared FSG insider, Mike Bernard http://mikebernardboston.com/
Reads like it could have been written by Ian Ayre or his old man!
Posted on 20 Apr, 2015
A point that crops up over and over again is the Committee and the roles the members play within it. I often read how the Committee has failed and this person is to blame for this and that person is to blame for that and it is quite alarming the finger pointing that goes on from fans and on Twitter. So I thought why not break it down properly. I will highlight who the members of the Committee are and their specific roles. So lets begin.
Brendan Rodgers – Manager
As manager, Brendan Rodgers sets out where he needs the team strengthened. He picks out quite specific positions in the team that need strengthening and then feeds this back to the Committee and the process begins of selecting 3 targets for that position. Rodgers may indeed say who he would like to fill the role and name players but there is absolutely no guarantee that this player will automatically appear in the shortlist.
When presented with the shortlist, Rodgers is then asked to choose which player he prefers, the second choice and finally third choice. Of course, there may be times where he does not agree with a any of the players presented (Loic Remy, Mario Balotelli and Samuel Eto’o is a prime example where Rodgers had pinpointed Wilfried Bony and Jackson Martinez as his preferred choice when the Alexis Sanchez deal failed to materialise) and there have been times where the Committee have come back with a couple more choices but that is a very rare occurrence. Even though Rodgers will select his preference of the players on the shortlist, the other members of the Committee do likewise (excluding Ian Ayre) and then its a case of working out who is the prime target.
Dave Fallows – Head of Recruitment
Dave Fallows was approached prior to the appointment of Brendan Rodgers as manager of the club. Brendan Rodgers, in his dossier and following meetings with FSG when interviewed for the position of manager, was unwilling to work with a Director of Football and actually said he was open to work with Dave Fallows in some capacity as an alternative. I do not know of their specific relationship prior to them working together at Liverpool but they did know each other before they were appointed at the club.
Fallows’ specific role is to work with Barry Hunter and pick 6 suitable players for each role that Rodgers has pinpointed to be strengthened. Now 4 of these players must be under 23 years of age and 2 can be of any age (which is to do with moneyball and for which I will not bore you with now). These players are then comprehensively scouted, reports compiled and statistics drawn up and then presented to the next man in the chain, Michael Edwards.
Fallows is also responsible for meeting with the players’ agents on the 3-man shortlist. His job is to effectively sell the club to the agent along with Ian Ayre who carries out the financials such as contract terms and wage structures.
Michael Edwards – Head of Performance & Analysis
Perhaps the most important person in the chain. Michael Edwards’ role is to work on the 6 players who Dave Fallows presents to him as the specific targets on the long list and compile it down to the most suitable 3. He is the numbers man who works on stats and only stats. He is unaware of the players Brendan Rodgers prefers and simply works on what he is given. I will not go into his workings in detail as it would take a huge amount of time and typing but he effectively cuts 3 players from the 6 presented to him based solely on statistics.
Ian Ayre – Managing Director
The man who appears to get the flack when everything goes wrong – and unfairly too. Ian Ayre has the most demanding role in the setup. He is set a transfer and wage budget by FSG and then has to work on implementing the same whilst trying to capture the players presented to him on the shortlist for each role. However, when targets are missed he then has to reassess his whole approach, work on new numbers and also factor in other targets proceeding or failing. The circumstances are always changing and if a player is sold, FSG’s stance is that money goes straight into the budget which means Ayre is continually fighting an ever changing budget.
Ian Ayre is also one of the best negotiators around. The way he seals deals is brilliant and the work he does goes unnoticed by fans. He undeservedly takes it on the nose from supporters when signings fail to materialise. However, you have to take into account that he works to a budget, has to juggle numbers almost 24 hours a day and if I’m being absolutely honest – he works miracles. There are a number of rumours going around that he will leave his role this summer to work elsewhere. There is truth to that rumour but it is not of FSG’s choosing – the sponsors for whom he has bought into the club are constantly headhunting him which says it all really. Its no surprise that FSG have kept faith with Ayre since they took over the club in October 2010.
All members of the Committee are responsible for coming together and pricing a player and setting aside an initial wage from the budget they are given. Ian Ayre has next to no input in this respect but simply hands over the report to the owners and the work begins. When fans go on Twitter and question why we do not offer an extra few million onto a few and and an extra thousand on the weekly wage, this is simply down to the figures that are put in front of the owners by the Committee. This has nothing to do with Ian Ayre. If any blame is to be angled in that respect, it is at the rest of the Committee including Brendan Rodgers.
CHANGES
Upon FSG’s last visit to Liverpool, there were questions raised as to why the summer transfer window yielded such a low level of success. I will not bore you with the ins and outs of that extensive meeting (which involved all members of the Committee, Colin Pascoe, Mike Marsh, Tom Werner and John Henry) but the following changes will come into force in the summer:-
– When Brendan Rodgers highlights a position he is also able to highlight a particular player and that player will form part of the 6-man list presented to Dave Fallows and Barry Hunter
– Michael Edwards role will continue to exist, however, a 4-man shortlist will now be drawn up rather than 3
– Brendan Rodgers will accompany Dave Fallows at all final meetings with agents and potential signings on the 4-man shortlist
– FSG will allow slight movement on player fees and wages (something they were wholly against when setting up the Committee when it came to pricing a player’s value)
In summary, Rodgers will have a greater say on whom he wants on the 6-man shortlist although there is still scope where the said player may not appear on the final shortlist and FSG will allow more leeway with negotiation of player fees and wages.
Reads like it could have been written by Ian Ayre or his old man!
Posted on 20 Apr, 2015
- By mikebernard
A point that crops up over and over again is the Committee and the roles the members play within it. I often read how the Committee has failed and this person is to blame for this and that person is to blame for that and it is quite alarming the finger pointing that goes on from fans and on Twitter. So I thought why not break it down properly. I will highlight who the members of the Committee are and their specific roles. So lets begin.
Brendan Rodgers – Manager
As manager, Brendan Rodgers sets out where he needs the team strengthened. He picks out quite specific positions in the team that need strengthening and then feeds this back to the Committee and the process begins of selecting 3 targets for that position. Rodgers may indeed say who he would like to fill the role and name players but there is absolutely no guarantee that this player will automatically appear in the shortlist.
When presented with the shortlist, Rodgers is then asked to choose which player he prefers, the second choice and finally third choice. Of course, there may be times where he does not agree with a any of the players presented (Loic Remy, Mario Balotelli and Samuel Eto’o is a prime example where Rodgers had pinpointed Wilfried Bony and Jackson Martinez as his preferred choice when the Alexis Sanchez deal failed to materialise) and there have been times where the Committee have come back with a couple more choices but that is a very rare occurrence. Even though Rodgers will select his preference of the players on the shortlist, the other members of the Committee do likewise (excluding Ian Ayre) and then its a case of working out who is the prime target.
Dave Fallows – Head of Recruitment
Dave Fallows was approached prior to the appointment of Brendan Rodgers as manager of the club. Brendan Rodgers, in his dossier and following meetings with FSG when interviewed for the position of manager, was unwilling to work with a Director of Football and actually said he was open to work with Dave Fallows in some capacity as an alternative. I do not know of their specific relationship prior to them working together at Liverpool but they did know each other before they were appointed at the club.
Fallows’ specific role is to work with Barry Hunter and pick 6 suitable players for each role that Rodgers has pinpointed to be strengthened. Now 4 of these players must be under 23 years of age and 2 can be of any age (which is to do with moneyball and for which I will not bore you with now). These players are then comprehensively scouted, reports compiled and statistics drawn up and then presented to the next man in the chain, Michael Edwards.
Fallows is also responsible for meeting with the players’ agents on the 3-man shortlist. His job is to effectively sell the club to the agent along with Ian Ayre who carries out the financials such as contract terms and wage structures.
Michael Edwards – Head of Performance & Analysis
Perhaps the most important person in the chain. Michael Edwards’ role is to work on the 6 players who Dave Fallows presents to him as the specific targets on the long list and compile it down to the most suitable 3. He is the numbers man who works on stats and only stats. He is unaware of the players Brendan Rodgers prefers and simply works on what he is given. I will not go into his workings in detail as it would take a huge amount of time and typing but he effectively cuts 3 players from the 6 presented to him based solely on statistics.
Ian Ayre – Managing Director
The man who appears to get the flack when everything goes wrong – and unfairly too. Ian Ayre has the most demanding role in the setup. He is set a transfer and wage budget by FSG and then has to work on implementing the same whilst trying to capture the players presented to him on the shortlist for each role. However, when targets are missed he then has to reassess his whole approach, work on new numbers and also factor in other targets proceeding or failing. The circumstances are always changing and if a player is sold, FSG’s stance is that money goes straight into the budget which means Ayre is continually fighting an ever changing budget.
Ian Ayre is also one of the best negotiators around. The way he seals deals is brilliant and the work he does goes unnoticed by fans. He undeservedly takes it on the nose from supporters when signings fail to materialise. However, you have to take into account that he works to a budget, has to juggle numbers almost 24 hours a day and if I’m being absolutely honest – he works miracles. There are a number of rumours going around that he will leave his role this summer to work elsewhere. There is truth to that rumour but it is not of FSG’s choosing – the sponsors for whom he has bought into the club are constantly headhunting him which says it all really. Its no surprise that FSG have kept faith with Ayre since they took over the club in October 2010.
All members of the Committee are responsible for coming together and pricing a player and setting aside an initial wage from the budget they are given. Ian Ayre has next to no input in this respect but simply hands over the report to the owners and the work begins. When fans go on Twitter and question why we do not offer an extra few million onto a few and and an extra thousand on the weekly wage, this is simply down to the figures that are put in front of the owners by the Committee. This has nothing to do with Ian Ayre. If any blame is to be angled in that respect, it is at the rest of the Committee including Brendan Rodgers.
CHANGES
Upon FSG’s last visit to Liverpool, there were questions raised as to why the summer transfer window yielded such a low level of success. I will not bore you with the ins and outs of that extensive meeting (which involved all members of the Committee, Colin Pascoe, Mike Marsh, Tom Werner and John Henry) but the following changes will come into force in the summer:-
– When Brendan Rodgers highlights a position he is also able to highlight a particular player and that player will form part of the 6-man list presented to Dave Fallows and Barry Hunter
– Michael Edwards role will continue to exist, however, a 4-man shortlist will now be drawn up rather than 3
– Brendan Rodgers will accompany Dave Fallows at all final meetings with agents and potential signings on the 4-man shortlist
– FSG will allow slight movement on player fees and wages (something they were wholly against when setting up the Committee when it came to pricing a player’s value)
In summary, Rodgers will have a greater say on whom he wants on the 6-man shortlist although there is still scope where the said player may not appear on the final shortlist and FSG will allow more leeway with negotiation of player fees and wages.
Mostly directs the football.
And there in lies the problem.
Executive Director of Football: Les Reed
Ex-Head of recruitment and Analysis: Paul Mitchell went to Tottenham
(New appointment) Director of Scouting & Recruitment: Ross Wilson (from Huddersfield)
Tim Sherwood:
[article]I know one of the key figures in recruitment at Southampton and the way they work is effective but simple. They ask the manager to identify the kind of player he wants and then offer him a range of options they believe fit the bill. For example, if you are after a quick, dynamic striker, there is no point being offered a big, slow target man simply because he happens to be available.
To achieve the number of successful signings that Southampton have made, you need a recruitment head who knows the English game well and has an intimate understanding of the club itself. That does not mean he only buys English or British players, quite the contrary. But it does mean that he knows which kind of player will thrive in the Premier League and which will not.
Equally, those in charge of recruitment will have to know exactly what quality of player they already have in the club’s academy, and where those players are in terms of their readiness to step into the first team. There is simply no point spending millions of pounds acquiring players who are inferior or only fractionally better than the players the club are already developing.[/article]
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