Bar not getting rid of Hodge sooner I don't think that FSG have put a foot wrong. No promises made, but they have delivered on everything they needed too. Shame this didnt happen 4 years ago.
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*Except Michael, who died. -
Can you give any other examples of a Director of Football being considered subordinate to a manager? It's a new one for me. Commolli left that position at Spurs for precisely the reason that Redknapp wouldn't sign if he was going to be subordinate to himOriginally posted by kris90210 View PostComment
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It works at Chelsea. You never hear of Arnesen getting in the way of the manager. It seems to work all over Europe too. I don't think they are subordinates though. They are equals in my mind. Someone to oversee transfers and policy and someone to oversee the team and tactics. Both jobs compliment each other. Of course there will be butting of heads, but that happens in every job.Originally posted by Redspin View Post
I think the reason it hasn't been to successful in England is because the home-grown managers arnt used to it here. Where as the international ones are, and see it as more of the norm.*Except Michael, who died.Comment
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still dont understand what damien comollis role is at liverpool.
why not just call him director of recruitment or something instead. how is he qualified to be director of football at one of the biggest clubs in the world ?[B]Sir Isaac Newton knew the universal law of karma - any action has its equal and opposite reaction.[B]Comment
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Why does the job title matter? My guess is that if he has responsibilities which go beyond recruitment (such as performance monitoring, which was mentioned) it seems more sensible to call him director of football which is pretty generic rather than recruitment which seems specific and would be inaccurate.Originally posted by el matador View Post
I think the interesting thing is promoting Commolli so quickly after his arrival. Was his initial position seen as a trial? Or have they changed the structure that they envisaged - perhaps giving Commolli more control of day to day matters than he had to accommodate Ayre's skill set as MD?"The man who never alters his opinion is like standing water, and breeds reptiles of the mind."
-- William BlakeComment
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i think commollis 'promotion' has more to do with handing kenny more responsbility over playing matters. directors of football handle more off pitch stuff than on-pitch.Originally posted by dww View Post
recruitment, negotiation, acting as a go between the manager and his playing staff and the owners. So long as he doesnt step on kennys toes because director of football strategy implies that he has a direct impact on the the way the way football things are run off pitch and on pitch. What he says goes and he dictates whats what even to the manager.
Director of football - well theres hundreds of those in european football and none of them are worth a ****.[B]Sir Isaac Newton knew the universal law of karma - any action has its equal and opposite reaction.[B]Comment
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The times they are a changin'.Comment
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Comolli sees a golden sky
Damien Comolli believes that Liverpool's decision to sell Fernando Torres meant that there was a 'bright new sky' over Anfield.
The Premier League side accepted a record-breaking £50million fee in January for the now-Chelsea striker and used the funds to make former Newcastle star Andy Carroll the most expensive British footballer in history.
A deal had already been negotiated for Luis Suarez before Torres left in the winter transfer window, but some of the funds from the sale of the latter will also help in paying Ajax.
Comolli, who was promoted to a role as Liverpool's new director of football on Tuesday, believes that the club benefited from the business decision by improving the atmosphere on Merseyside.
"Getting two players triggered the fact that we could sell one player who didn't want to be here and get two who did want to be here," he said.
"When you have someone who doesn't want to be here and you swap him for people who want to be here the atmosphere changes.
"It's like there is a bright new sky with no cloud over our head from the day that happened. So it's been only positive."
The decision of Liverpool's owners, Fenway Sports Group, to appoint Comolli, initially as director of football strategy, last November was a part of the Americans' rebuilding plan at Anfield.
Principal owner John Henry and chairman Tom Werner bought a club who were on the brink of administration last autumn, but their plan is to restore the glory days to the 18-time champions of England.
It is expected that Kenny Dalglish will soon be handed a permanent contract after the Kop idol's impressive work as manager since succeeding the sacked Roy Hodgson in January, and Comolli feels confident the club are moving in the right direction.
"I know there is still a lot of work to do, we're not where we want to be yet and it'll probably take a few months to do that, but I am totally confident," he said.
"All the signs are very positive and I can see only green lights, no red lights."
Comolli added: "It was a tough decision (to sack Hodgson) made by the club, but we have been looking forward since that and making other appointments with key individuals as we look to restructure the club.
"We are definitely looking forward to a bright future."
Comolli's role has been extended to oversee all football-related matters outside of first-team training and selection.
He said: "It's basically a day-to-day relationship with the manager and his coaching staff, it's also medical and sports science, performance analysis, player liaison, team travel, scouting and negotiating transfer contracts. A big part of it is the Academy."Member #1 of the Luis Suarez fan clubComment
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Our new MD: Unity is the key
After being named as Liverpool Football Club's new Managing Director, Ian Ayre sat down with Liverpoolfc.tv to discuss his new role and his plans for a bright and successful future at Anfield.
What does it mean to you to be Managing Director of Liverpool Football Club?
It's a great honour obviously. You grow up supporting a football club and supporting that football club all your life, and to get the opportunity to take on this role in such an important and special club doesn't get any better. It's absolutely amazing.
What will your role entail?
The best way to look at it is kind of pulling all the different constituent parts of the club together and making sure they operate as one. That's something that has perhaps been an issue in the last few years particularly, so it's great to have the opportunity to create that unity between all the different parts of the club. It's a big challenge and a big responsibility, but one I think we can do well.
Did the owners approach you about the position, or did you offer yourself for the role?
Kind of a bit of both really. At the time when Christian (Purslow) left, I made it clear to them it was something I was interested in and I think, rightly so and with great respect, they wanted to go about a process to understand what sort of people are out there, what they offer and what we need. I think you have to respect the fact they were very new to football and new to this football club, and through that process I think they definitely looked at the type of things Liverpool needs and the type of things this role needs. Very fortunately for me, they felt I ticked all of those boxes and offered me the position.
You are obviously a Liverpool fan from the city, how much of an advantage is that for the club's Managing Director?
I think for this club particularly, it's not essential but it's a good asset to have. As I've said before, this is different to any other football club. More successful than any other football club. A different level of fan engagement across the world than most football clubs. Not only do I have an understanding of what it's like to be from the city and supporting the club all of my life, but I also spent many years overseas so I understand what it's like to be a Liverpool fan living in Hong Kong. I think that mix of things hopefully stands me in good stead to be able to do the job well.
What will be your priorities going forward - long term and short term?
I think short term, it's about creating that unity and galvanising everybody. Bringing everybody together and making sure we've got the right approach to things, that we do it collaboratively and that everybody is rowing in the same direction. Long term it's about many of the things I have already been doing which is continuing to grow our revenue streams. That doesn't go away, that's still very much a responsibility I expect to take on. I talked very recently about the fact that we're at the stage now where we've done a lot domestically and brought in some great partners and other things, now it's about the globalisation of Liverpool Football Club. That's the long-term aim because that feeds the rest of the business, and so it will be focused on those areas really.
To what extent will you play a role in the acquisition of new players?
Very little really. It was a great announcement at the same time about Damien's position, and I think what is evident in most big football clubs these days is that the football management, recruitment, academies and all of those things take up so much time. I think at lots of clubs, we've seen in the past the business almost gets left behind while people focus on them. What we've created now in this structure is the ability for both sides of the football club to be looked after on a 24/7 basis. Of course, I will be involved in what is going on in and around that, be fully up to speed and make a contribution where needed, but we've got a great team of people that will be absolutely focused on that.
You had a lot of success in your role as Commercial Director, what are you most proud of?
I think what people would expect is that it is the big landmark deal with Standard Chartered, which is great. But what I am most proud of, to be honest, is the team we've assembled. It's always hard to find great people in any business, but I feel we have found some great people over the last few years and built a great team. It's that team that got us through the very difficult period we've just been through, but we still had our revenues growing and other things - delivering Standard Chartered and other types of business growth. I am most proud of that because that is something that stays here for the long term, it's something that we'll continue to build on, so I would say that would be my most proud achievement in that area.
Will you be looking to fill your old position or will you still be actively involved in the commercial side of the club?
It's very important to me and John and Tom, that I don't lose sight of the commercial development, so I will still play a very active part in business development. We will probably look at a slightly different structure and bring in some additional resource to support me in that area. Essentially I would hope we end up with more business experience and more resource in that area to help us grow at the rate that we want to.
How would you describe your relationship with the owners of the club - are you in daily contact with them?
Yes, pretty much and it's great. Lots of people have seen them when they're interviewed or seen them at games, and one thing you see is they are everything they say they are. They take their time, they don't dive into things, they listen, and we have a great relationship in the sense that they want to hear what you think and engage with you at all levels. I think that has been evident to many people in the short period of time - it's only been five months. Going forward that's a great asset to have in owners. Because they have such great experience in sport through the Red Sox and other investments, to be able to tap into that is fantastic for all of us, not just for myself. They have that dialogue with everyone at a certain level and that's really good. It means it's not all about talking to Ian Ayre, talking to Kenny (Dalglish) or talking to Damien (Comolli), they talk to everyone across the club. That's great because they get a real sense of what we're all doing and what we're trying to achieve, and it comes back to that thing about all working together.
Going forward, what will you be doing to help Liverpool get back to a position of great strength in English and European football?
What's really important, as I said, is keeping everyone together and keeping everyone rowing in the same direction. This football club is built on a history of people all following a particular methodology and it was built on the back of great success. My role in those two parts will be to feed the pot that feeds the purchase of players that makes us more successful and makes us more successful business wise. It's kind of a virtuous circle, and the role for me will be to make sure that circle keeps moving in the right direction and everybody's involved in it. We've got some great people involved now and with all of things, the opportunity is there and I think we can all go and achieve what we want for this great club.
Your new role wasn't the only one announced on Tuesday. Damien Comolli has been promoted to Director of Football, how does this differ to his previous position of Director of Football Strategy?
When Damien first came in under the role of Director of Football Strategy, it was more focused on things like recruitment and that type of thing. This role takes on really all of the footballing side, which is really important I think and, in my opinion, is the way many big clubs evolve into. It's such a big part of day-to-day business and such a big machine with so many people involved that you need somebody that is thinking about that everyday. What he's not trying to be is the manager. He's not trying to pick the team and those things, but for everything else that sits around that, it is vital that somebody is focused on it day-to-day. Football managers typically aren't really skilled or focused on those things, so it's a great appointment. He's a great guy, I've got to know him very well in the last few months and he's even funny for a Frenchman, so that's quite unique as well!
How closely will you be working with him on a day-to-day basis?
Very much. I think that comes back to that point of unity. The two core elements of a football club are the business and the football, so Damien and I really take that burden on our shoulders collectively and us working together is a vital element.
Supporters will want to know, now that these two positions have been defined, is the manager's position next on the agenda?
I saw a quote from John Henry on TV at the weekend and I think he put it absolutely right in that anything of that nature we do, certainly going forward, at the football club is very private. It's private for everyone, not just private for the club but private for the manager himself and that's the way we'll conduct that type of business going forward. Certainly for the Liverpool fans I know, that's what they're used to, expect and used to prefer - and that's the way we'll conduct it. So when there is anything to report of that nature, our fans will obviously be the first to know.
You have been at the club for nearly four years now, how much have things changed during that time?
I think the most important thing, as I said earlier, is the quality of the team that work here the team on the business side of it. I think we have a great team, a more professional approach and we have a lot of systems in place that support our fans and support the business much more effectively. We've been through a very difficult time in that period - a very, very difficult time - but you come out of it stronger and more equipped to go forward. We're in a great position now to go and truly globalise and reach out to our fans all over the world. We've got investors and owners who now want to fix our football performance and bring that back to the level everybody wants - and they want to win. I remember the first interview they ever did, John said 'We want to win' and if we all hang onto that view and goal, then if we start winning we will win everywhere - on the pitch and off the pitch. That's what Liverpool fans used to be used to, it's what they all want to get back to and that's what we're all trying to achieve.
As a childhood Liverpool fan, could you have ever imagined one day you would be the man charged with running the entire football club?
No, it still hasn't sunk in really. I spoke to my dad and my mum, who both still live in Liverpool, and my kids and it feels like they're more excited than me but I think that's just because it hasn't really sunk in. But as I said, for my family and for myself, it's such a proud moment and I think what is great, and I said this to John on Friday when we spoke, the great thing is for them is that there is a massive insurance policy there because I wouldn't just be letting them down if I didn't do the best I could do in this job, but I'd be letting my family and friends down and they're more important than anything in life. It's a great challenge but I'm very honoured to have it.Member #1 of the Luis Suarez fan clubComment
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Comolli's interview about Kenny and new boys.
Love the part about Suarez and what Suarez said when he was approached by Comolli
Also what he said about the players that we didn't sign in January confirms what Lecter said about Adam and us keeping in touch with him.
Last edited by Mostar; 24-03-11, 03:37 AM.Member #1 of the Luis Suarez fan clubComment
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And how are you qualified to make a judgement about Comolli's role????Originally posted by el matador View Post
Ignorant hypocrite.Comment
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That's a bit harsh calling someone a ignorant hipocrite!Originally posted by Phil_Neal View Post
He's only saying what most people are thinking.I'm not sure people even in football truly understand exactly the role of a director of football.-----------------------------------------------
'Football is a simple game based on the giving and taking of passes, of controlling the ball and of making yourself available to receive a pass. It is terribly simple.'
Bill Shankly.Comment
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Bit of a meaningless statement anyway, isn't that an oxymoron? To be a hypocrite knowledge is required which someone who is ignorant surely wouldn't have.Originally posted by kop-al-74 View PostThat's a bit harsh calling someone a ignorant hipocrite!
He's only saying what most people are thinking.I'm not sure people even in football truly understand exactly the role of a director of football.Comment
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As job titles go, I think Director of Football is probably better.Originally posted by Phil_Neal View Post.
Suppose you have a physicist and a sociologist standing at the side of a field, observing a set of events unfolding on the field. The physicist does [describes] it using the terminology of mass and velocity and frequency of radiation and the rest. And the sociologist does it by describing it as a rugby match.
May the Lord bless this post.Comment
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