Damien Comolli

[Red Nick]

Our proposed new manager won 7-0 tonight away from home in the CL a record on its own.

 

Might not be as easy to get him as we thought

[nimrod]

Just listen to Red Nick, he's already told you whats going to happen 10000 TIMES OVER

Honestly, Hodgson got a reprieve from me because of the way the team is picking up a little but I want him to go tomorrow just to shut Red Nick up. The man is a bleedin parrot.

 

No offence Nick.

 

Come back Colin Crapsray, all is forgiven.

[dirk grout]

My main worry with having new american owners was that 'yanks know nothing about football'. It would appear, however that NESV do know 'sports'. With the red sox, their first major appointment was an expert in the position of general manger, baseballs equivalent of a director of football. I must say i'm delighted that they've done the same here and its a huge diference from sticking their sons on the board (common practise amongst clueless texans). Whether or not comolli is the right man only time will tell but thinking short term at least roy, (if he is still here in january that is) won't be able to waste any more money. Long term the new manager will know the situation beforehand and hopefully we can find someone who can work well with a director of football. Comolli comes highly recommended by wenger and spent seven years with him and we all know how good some of the players signed during that time are. He also signed some good young players at spurs, some of them for big money, which ultimately led to him being sacked which is pretty amazing considering one of them is Bale. As for those who feel that this not the Liverpool way, football is not what it was. The days of the bootroom and promoting managers from within are gone and will never be back unfortunately. I have to say i'm quite exited by this as well as Henrys statement today. The future is certainly looking brighter than it was 6 months ago, all we need now is a new manager.

 

p.s. apologies for the length of that, ain't written that much since school!

[Dr Arthur De Sabre]

Apologies if anyone's posted anything similar to this - I admit I haven't read every post in this thread, but here goes: 'Director of Football Strategy'? Am I missing something, but isn't that supposed to be the manager? Who was 'Director of Football Strategy' under Shankly, Paisley, Fagan, Dalglish and even Roy, Gerard and Rafa? Strategy? What, like, try and buy players at least as good as your opponents with the ability to pass the ball to a red shirt, to move and support the man in possession and who can put the ball into the opposition's net more than they do in ours? Am I just out of tune with LFC or with modern football in general, because this doesn't sound like LFC to me?

I hope I'm wrong - very wrong - but this all sounds a bit like like 'fiddling while Rome burns'.

 

Genuinely, good luck, Monseiur Comolli.

 

Dalglish had Bob as a sounding board during his start as manager. I really don't think the whole DoF is as bad as some are suggesting, if there is an agreement on how the relationship between the manager and DoF works: Eg Frank says to Damien, coming windows I'd be looking for a ball playing centre back, pacy left winger, and striker who is good in the air. Damien goes away with his scouting network, checks out relevant statistical bollocks, players are watched, I'd presume Frank is made aware of possible targets, allowed some input, the board then sit down and agree the deals they will try to make for the players identified. Sure as shit ain't shinola, that's got to be better than "roy's eye", with a lot more "football people" involved in the assessment of a player. I'd hope if a manager advises that a specific player is not somebody he feels he could work with, that the board would take this and look at other players, the manager must have an input in how he sees the team playing, how he sets them out, and how a player will fit the system, otherwise why bother bringing a manager in?

[myrlas]

BBC Sport - Football - Damned lies, statistics and sabermetrics

 

 

Much like Rafael Benitez's time as Liverpool manager the arrival of Damien Comolli at Anfield as the club's director of football strategy is likely to divide opinion both with fans and pundits - good or bad, genius or idiot?

The position of director of football has become almost a dirty word within English football and it is hard to think of an example in the Premier League where it has not ended in tears.

The 38-year-old Comolli, who has been recruited from St Etienne, is a prime example. His time as Tottenham's director of football ended acrimoniously when he was dismissed along with manager Juande Ramos after the club's dreadful start to the 2008-09 season.

Across the Channel the picture is very different and most top European clubs have a director of football overseeing the club's strategy.

"The English model hasn't worked because chairmen haven't matched the right types," European scout Tor-Kristian Karlsen, who has worked for German clubs Hannover 96 and Bayer Leverkusen, told BBC Sport.

"Structurally, it always makes sense that the director of football arrives before the head coach or manager, so he can have a hand in appointing a person who shares his vision.

 

Sabermetrics is a bit of a red herring in relation to football

European scout Tor-Kristian Karlsen

"It's key that the director of football has no coaching ambitions and that the training ground is the manager's domain - the areas of responsibility must be clearly defined as grey areas just create conflicts."

When Norwegian Karlsen was working for Leverkusen, the Bundesliga club's transfer operation was so profitable that it funded the BayArena outfit's entire operation.

Key to the success of Leverkusen, who reached the Champions League final in 2002, was then general manager Reiner Calmund, who was an ever present figure at the club as coaches came and went.

 

Liverpool owner John W Henry wants some bang for his buck in the transfer market

Leverkusen had 20 international scouts, five of them working full-time - one each in Brazil and Argentina - earning 50,000 euros (£44,000) a year.

"The philosophy was to be self sufficient and to buy up-and-coming young exciting players, often from Brazil, which Leverkusen could develop and sell on," the 35-year-old Karlsen added.

"Players like Dimitar Berbatov, Lucio, Juan, Ze Roberto and Emerson are good examples of this strategy."

Some of the players Comolli brought to White Hart Lane - Gareth Bale, Tom Huddlestone, Michael Dawson, Aaron Lennon, Jermain Defoe and Jermaine Jenas - provide a clue as to the Frenchman's modus operandi; buy young English talent to ensure maximum resale value if they are to be sold on.

"Big wages and relatively high fees for players in their late 20s and early 30s does not fit with New England Sport Venture's vision," said writer Paul Tomkins, who recently met John W Henry for lunch after Liverpool's owner contacted him on Facebook, having read his books.

"Sometimes you need to pick up a canny older player as a bargain, but the average age of Joe Cole, Christian Poulsen, Raul Meireles and Paul Konchesky, plus the re-signed Fabio Aurelio, is 30," Tomkins continued.

"So far, only Meireles of those five has impressed Liverpool fans this season. I hope it can get back to how the likes of Pepe Reina, Fernando Torres, Javier Mascherano, Daniel Agger and Xabi Alonso, who were all bought when they were in their early 20s."

Liverpool's takeover by NESV prompted a swathe of newspaper articles suggesting that the Boston Red Sox's owners wanted to introduce the principle of sabermetrics to the Premier League.

Using statistical analysis to recruit players rather than rely on the subjective judgement of coaches and scouts, sabermetrics was an idea developed by baseball fan Bill James.

 

French academy row - Football Focus investigates

 

It was an idea put to the test with some success by the Oakland 'A's general manager Billy Beane and author Michael Lewis wrote the book "Moneyball" about the story, which is now being filmed, with Brad Pitt starring.

In the past Comolli has talked of his friendship with Beane, who Henry tried to bring to the Red Sox before hiring James as a consultant, while Chelsea's performance director Mike Forde is a disciple of sabermetrics.

Tomkins' latest book "Pay As You Play", which has been talked of as the football equivalent of "Moneyball", looks at the relationship between money and success in the Premier League.

"The data shows that it wasn't purely money behind [sir] Alex Ferguson's success at Manchester United, but that in some seasons - particularly the first few years, and at times when rivals posed a greater threat - it played a more pronounced role," wrote Tomkins and his co-authors Graeme Riley and Gary Fulcher.

That conclusion suggests that as much as NESV want to obtain more 'bang for their buck' in the transfer market if Liverpool are to win the Premier League in the future plenty of greenbacks will be needed. That is the size of the task facing Comolli.

Karlsen, however, remains sceptical about the application of statistical analysis to the business of talent identification.

"Baseball consists of set pieces, so it's perfect for cricket," argued Karlsen. "But football has too many variables, cultures and styles. It's difficult to rate players merely on statistics. Sabermetrics is a bit of a red herring in relation to football."

For Karlsen, who has described identifying talent as like "detective work", the key principles to transfers are timing, the ability to target cheaper and developing markets and to always have a resale value in mind.

"In addition to possessing the trained eye, what's really important is to understand the relationship between value and quality so you can compare players from different countries or even continents and their respective attributes and measure up which player represent best value," he commented.

The Norwegian pointed to his recommendation to German team Hannover to buy Hungarian international midfielder Szabolcs Huszti from French club Metz for £200,000, who was then sold to Russian team Zenit St Petersburg for £2.5m.

"Huszti might not be a household name but this transfer illustrates that you can create value and a business model out of shrewd player transactions," said Karlsen, who worked under Graham Taylor at Watford between 1998 and 2000.

"It's about knowing the world wide markets, prices and sniffing out an opportunity."

Another top European scout, who works for a top-four Premier League club, has also questioned whether statistical analysis would ever be able to evaluate a player's character.

"It's very important to consider a player's mentality. We have a very good spirit at our club, so you have to be very careful. If you bring two or three players with a bad attitude it could be disastrous," the scout, who did not want to be named, told BBC Sport.

"You don't have to have been a player to excel as a scout, but when you've played it's almost as if you can smell a good player. That's why it is important to watch players over a long period."

Key for this scout, who has been working for his club for eight years, was to build a long-term, trusting relationship with the manager and to be always watching and analysing.

 

606: DEBATE

Seems split on here as to whether it's a good appointment

brian

"I love my life and football is my passion. I watch football all the time, even when I'm home, sometimes three games in an evening on televsion. My girlfriend hasn't watched a movie in six months," he added.

Like Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, there is a little that Comolli does not know about the French market but Karlsen has suggested Liverpool's new football strategist should also elsewhere as he goes about the business of reshaping Anfield's transfer operation.

"First and foremost Liverpool should devote a minimum 25% of their resources to exploiting their local area. There's nothing that excites a Liverpool fan more than when a local academy kid pulls on that red strip," Karlsen said.

"He should also keep a close eye on the German market. It's undervalued if you compare the quality to the going rates, even compared to France. Holland, Spain and Italy are also expensive markets with great domestic competition for the best talent."

There are just over 50 days to the opening of the January transfer window. No pressure then on Comolli.....

[Nathanzx]

daily mail has hodgson quoted saying he will still have the final say on transfers....what's the point in hiring comolli then?

[dirk grout]

daily mail has hodgson quoted saying he will still have the final say on transfers....what's the point in hiring comolli then?

 

Two questions, why are you reading the daily mail? Do you believe everything you read in the daily mail?

[WaltonRed]

Two questions, why are you reading the daily mail? Do you believe everything you read in the daily mail?

 

a pole with swine flu wearing a turban just nicked his job while giving all his power to the EU

[dirk grout]

a pole with swine flu wearing a turban just nicked his job while giving all his power to the EU

 

Ha!

[Guest PurpleNose]

Its political correctness gone mad.

[WaltonRed]

sabermatics?

 

Mr.Henry dont do it to me please

[The Dude Abides]

daily mail has hodgson quoted saying he will still have the final say on transfers....what's the point in hiring comolli then?

 

That's the way it should be imo. Comolli will identify targets, and the manager then signs off on which one he wants.

 

The DOF and coach are going to be working alongside, with each other. People seem to have this idea that the DOF will just go out buying player x,y and z and the manger have no say. Communication is key in this working.

[Unrighteous]

That's the way it should be imo. Comolli will identify targets, and the manager then signs off on which one he wants.

 

The DOF and coach are going to be working alongside, with each other. People seem to have this idea that the DOF will just go out buying player x,y and z and the manger have no say. Communication is key in this working.

 

Truth. I think that we'll have a lot more success in the transfer market than with the last three managers. Granted all of them had roaring successes paired with unmitigated disasters.

[23CARRAGOLD]

Have these ways ever worked in English football?

 

I've heard of a few directors of football being at clubs and its always gone wrong as far as I can remember. Unless hes just being used as a tactic to force Roy out.

[marcus50bucks]

daily mail has hodgson quoted saying he will still have the final say on transfers....what's the point in hiring comolli then?

 

I have just read the article, and unless my eyes are playing tricks he didn't mention anything about who will have the final say on transfers.

[dirk grout]

Have these ways ever worked in English football?

I've heard of a few directors of football being at clubs and its always gone wrong as far as I can remember. Unless hes just being used as a tactic to force Roy out.

 

I've always felt that statements like these are a bit daily mail. Football is football. The styles of football may be slightly different but the fundamentals are the same. Why would something that works for real or barca, inter or ac not work here?

[fowler9]

Have these ways ever worked in English football?

 

I've heard of a few directors of football being at clubs and its always gone wrong as far as I can remember. Unless hes just being used as a tactic to force Roy out.

 

haven't heard anything bad about Frank Arnesen at Chelsea I dont think?

 

as long as he doesn't appoint himself as manager when Roy goes as that usually goes tits up

[23CARRAGOLD]

haven't heard anything bad about Frank Arnesen at Chelsea I dont think?

 

as long as he doesn't appoint himself as manager when Roy goes as that usually goes tits up

 

Good point there pal. Hes just one thats gone under the radar. They must just get wider exposure when they're failures and thats why I have this opinion that they dont work.

 

In the past there have been more failures than successes in English football though I think. Dennis Wise, Damian Commoli at Spurs and Arnesen at Spurs have all encountered more minuses than plus points like. I cant think of more off the top of me head.

 

If things are to be believed Rick Parry used to act in more or less this role in days gone by.

[aladdinsane]

So he'll basically be a glorified scout?

[acks]

Can a Director of Football ever work in the British game? - Just Football

 

With English football continuing it’s soul-searching post-World Cup failure, Gregg Carter takes a look at the Director of Football managerial model and wonders if it can work in England after all.

 

It’s a question that often stirs up fierce debate. “A Director of Football doesn’t work in the British game” & “we do things differently here” are often heard whenever the subject is broached. I must admit, I do not understand the hostility. It always comes across as either xenophobic nonsense or ridiculously insular narrow-mindedness. An approach to the game that suggests “it’s worked for us how it is for x years, why change?”

 

The director’s role is one that works both at home and abroad in various sports, yet is treated with suspicion by the football fraternity in this country. The system does work. It just needs to be implemented correctly. There have been occasions where it could have worked and indeed delivered limited results before being unfairly aborted. Damian Comolli (and before him Frank Arnesen) at Tottenham Hotspur are good examples. It was deemed “not working” too soon.

 

We have a media that operates under the opinion that the manager’s word is final (except of course when they’ve decided to get the knives out for said manager). So if a manager complains about the Director of Football, the media is far more likely to attack that person than look to get his side of the story. Much easier to defend the manager when there is somebody more senior they can stick the knife into.

 

The media and former pros talk about how unacceptable it is that a DoF template is implemented and how “our system works fine, what’s wrong with it” but then, they change their tune when it comes to youth development. They talk about how utterly broken the system is, that things need to change. Many of them seem to lack the intelligence to put two and two together and figure out that maybe their beloved management structure contributes to the problem.

 

Youth development requires long term planning and stable structures. Instability can only hinder development. Unfortunately a manager’s role in the modern game, by its very nature (barring exceptions like Ferguson & Wenger) is always going to be short-sighted. The manager has to live in the here and now if they wish to keep their job. They cannot commit to long term stability. This is why a Director of Football role can and should be of vital importance for clubs now working in a climate of short term goals.

 

For this to succeed though, the structure needs to be right from the start. You cannot parachute a Director of Football in above the manager, you cannot have a Director of Football working underneath a manager – indeed it would only be in the topsy-turvy world of British football where people would honestly suggest somebody with the role of director should be expected to work underneath a person with the role of manager. Neither of these options are viable & only work towards “proving” how unworkable the system is.

 

A director in most businesses is expected to oversee all aspects of the department they are responsible for. They should be the person driving it forward. So a DoF should be responsible for all footballing aspects of the club. Players, coaching team, scouting team, medical & other support staff should all be sourced & appointed by the DoF. The playing philosophy, the coaching of the senior side & the development of the young players should all be overseen by the DoF. That’s not to say that the manager/Head Coach should not have input, of course they should, but the final decision on all of these things should always lie with the DoF.

 

That being said, there needs to be a clear process when appointing a DoF. Outlined below is how I personally see it working in an ideal scenario:

Stage 1: Forming the “Vision”.

 

Before anything else can happen, when the board are looking at this structure, they first need to identify what vision they have for the club. What kind of club do they want to be? What style of football do they want to see? What type of playing staff do they wish to have in the squad? These are the questions that need answering before starting any recruitment process. Their vision should not be fully formed, it should be a very rough outline with room for refinement.

Stage 2: The Appointment of the Director of Football.

 

Once the vision has been outlined, the recruitment process can start. The board need to identify through a proper interview process a person who is qualified to formulate that vision into a reality, and who they have faith will be able to deliver on it. It is absolutely imperative that the person they appoint shares their vision, whatever that may be. He may have ideas beyond their own, but they should all work to one goal.

Stage 3: Application of the “Vision”

 

The Director of Football needs to be the person who provides a cohesive “road-map” by which the club needs to work to for the plan to have any chance of success. Once appointed, he should outline what he is looking for in the various areas so that when short-listing applicants they ensure they’re looking primarily at staff who meet those requirements. He should be the main person responsible for all recruitment within his department. The vision provided by the board should become a fully fleshed out system with clear tasks and goals for each of the departments that the DoF is to be responsible for. This will include the senior playing squads, youth squads, the Academy, player recruitment & the medical & health staff.

Stage 4: Recruitment of the Manager/Head Coach.

 

The issue that will always cause the most consternation in this country is the role of the manager/head coach. In some setups, the title given may be just that, a title. In others, it may allow for the manager to have a little more autonomy than if they were head coach. Either way, if the system is to work correctly, they should always be answerable to the DoF. That is not to say they should not have a role to play – indeed their position is the second most important one to get right after that of the DoF. It is absolutely imperative that the two are able to work together. Any good DoF would want the manager to have input into where they feel the vision may need tweaks or modifications. That is not to say they should be allowed to change things without discussion, but they should be making suggestions to the DoF for consideration.

Stage 5: Recruitment of Support Staff

 

As the DoF should be involved in recruiting a manager, so should the manager have a say in the coaching staff. It is important that he can trust them, so the two should be working alongside each other to identify the right people for the roles. The first team staff need to work alongside the manager, but must also be able to buy into the overall project.

 

The remaining areas, the medical teams, the player recruitment & the youth setups, should be the responsibility of the Director of Football. He is the one who will be responsible in the long term for any issues with their performance. A manager should be able to provide constructive input, but each of these roles should really be considered as different departments within the same directorate.

Stage 6: Working within the system.

 

This is the area that many struggle with and the media love to play on “how can it work?” “why is there so much interference?”. A correctly implemented structure should not have problems. A manager should work within the scope of the vision. He should be setting up tactically to meet the requirements and remit of the playing style that is desired by the DoF. His coaching staff should be coaching the players to get the most out of that. The youth & reserve sides and coaching teams should all be receiving coaching that will allow for their eventual inclusion in the first team and the scouts should be looking for players within financial reach who fit the system.

 

The long term planning provided by the DoF should ensure that those youngsters progress through the side. There should be no need to buy a right back the manager covets so much if there is a player that has graduated from the youth team of similar ability. Of course, players will still need to be bought, but again, the DoF, the scouting team & the manager should be able to identify together when that is indeed necessary and what players they should be looking to bring in to ensure that money is not wastefully spent.

Implementation / Problems

 

However, it would take a brave board to implement such a system and be determined to stick with it. It is likely to be derided and criticised, particularly in a sport that lives in the short term more than ever before, but in my opinion, provides a solid base from which a club can build and ensure continued success.

 

Managers come and go, either because they’ve done well enough that they get a move elsewhere, or because they’ve failed and are relieved of their duties. These changes will often result in the club being thrown into turmoil. A DoF offers continuity & stability during those periods. That does not mean that they are immune from the sack themselves. On the contrary, they are just as susceptible as a manager, it is just that they should be judged over a longer period.

 

No one system is ever any more right or wrong than the others. But in a time when lovers of the game are calling for stability & the development of youth, it baffles me that they would be so opposed to a system that provides the best opportunity for doing so.

 

Currently, a player retiring has several options open to him when he hangs up his boots. Instead of being sceptical of the Director’s role, it is time that they embraced it like many of their colleagues in different parts of the world already do. It is another option for them. If looked at as an opportunity and a challenge, maybe then we would see some have a desire to go into that work in the same way as others choose now to be managers, coaches & scouts.

 

For me, the answer to my opening question, is an unreserved “yes”. I just wish more people would see it.

[Il Fenomeno]

Good point there pal. Hes just one thats gone under the radar. They must just get wider exposure when they're failures and thats why I have this opinion that they dont work.

 

In the past there have been more failures than successes in English football though I think. Dennis Wise, Damian Commoli at Spurs and Arnesen at Spurs have all encountered more minuses than plus points like. I cant think of more off the top of me head.

 

If things are to be believed Rick Parry used to act in more or less this role in days gone by.

 

Promoted West Brom proudly sit sixth in the Premier League after a magnificent point at Old Trafford.And one man behind the scenes at The Hawthorns should rightly be feeling particularly pleased with himself.Head coach Roberto Di Matteo and the club's stars like Peter Odemwingie and Chris Brunt have got most of Albion's plaudits this term.But the contribution of Baggies' sporting and technical director Dan Ashworth should not be underestimated.

 

For Albion are one of the few English clubs that have successfully appointed a hands-on football director who can work in tandem with a manager.Other examples when the likes of Damien Comolli and Velimir Zajec have gone into Tottenham and Portsmouth respectively as director of football with a similar brief haven't worked.But Ashworth has been given the funds and freedom by Hawthorns chairman Jeremy Peace to scour the globe for value-for-money signings.And I firmly believe Albion's excellent recruitment on a comparatively modest budget has been the main factor behind their impressive start to the season.So low-profile Ashworth, appointed in December 2007 after previously serving Albion as academy director, deserves a lot of the credit after a string of astute purchases this summer.And whereas Albion have struggled to retain their best players in the past, actually hanging on to Ashworth this season could be a good achievement.Several people in the game I know speak extremely highly of Ashworth, who is regarded as one of the best in the business at scouting players and compiling information on them, including background checks.The team that drew 2-2 at Manchester United last weekend included several little-known foreign players that Ashworth has brought to the club on the cheap like Odemwingie, Gonzalo Jara, Gabriel Tamas, Youssuf Mulumbu, Marc-Antoine Fortune and Jonas Olsson.And Ashworth should rightly take a huge amount of satisfaction at seeing players he plucked from relative obscurity abroad now thriving in the Premier League.Indeed, on Ashworth's advice, Albion have deliberately changed their entire recruitment policy from when they were last promoted.This summer they have targeted more experienced proven performers with a physical stature like Somen Tchoyi, Paul Scharner and Steven Reid.Last time the club came up under Tony Mowbray they were too naive and concentrated mainly on attractive football.They were lightweight and leaked goals and finished bottom despite blowing the rest of the Championship away to win the title en-route to the Premier League.But Ashworth has learnt from Albion's mistakes and their recent buys have added some much-needed steel and resolve to their first team.The results have been extremely impressive after just two defeats in eight games away at Chelsea and Liverpool under Di Matteo.Di Matteo's men also beat Man City in the Carling Cup to progress.And Ashworth again deserves respect for bringing in the rookie Italian in the first place.He was a key figure in drawing up the club's short-list of candidates to replace Mowbray when he quit for Celtic in June 2009.Ashworth astutely spotted Di Matteo's potential as a coach after just one season at MK Dons in League One when he personally sounded out the candidates.The pair now seem to be working well together with Ashworth providing a vital buffer between the manager and chairman to ensure cordial relations.Previously Mowbray, Bryan Robson and Gary Megson have all quit The Hawthorns moaning a lot about Peace.But Peace now appears to have made a conscience decision to retreat a little from his involvement at the club and give even more responsibility to Ashworth.It is another vote of confidence in the former Norwich City player who later moved into non-league football before working his way up the youth coaching ladder via Peterborough, Cambridge and Norwich.

[marcus50bucks]

Roy Hodgson remains unmoved despite Damien Comolli’s Anfield entrance

 

Tony Barrett Last updated November 4 2010 12:01AM

 

Roy Hodgson accepted the appointment of Damien Comolli as the Liverpool director of football strategy with a dignified determination not to allow it to affect his position.

 

Cynics may suggest that the manager could do little else because the decision to impinge on his areas of responsibility had been taken by New England Sports Ventures (NESV), the club’s new owner, without his input.

 

In what amounted to a vote of no confidence in the transfer strategy or, more particularly, the scouting system, NESV’s first significant move since taking over last month was to gamble on Comolli, a controversial figure who has fallen foul of a number of managers, being the man who can identify and recruit players of the standard required to revitalise the club’s fortunes.

 

The Frenchman’s arrival raised questions about the potential erosion of Hodgson’s influence, particularly because the two men most responsible for bringing the manager to Anfield no longer have any power at Liverpool, with Christian Purslow, the managing director, having been forced out and Martin Broughton present only in a transitional role as chairman. But rather than see the change in Liverpool’s managerial structure as a threat, Hodgson prefers to view it positively.

 

When asked whether he proposed Comolli’s appointment, Hodgson confirmed he had not. “No and there is no reason why I should,” he said. “The structure is a structure the owners made clear to me when they came to this club and that makes perfect sense.

 

“If I was the owner of a club, I don’t know if I would say I want to appoint that man and give him every single responsibility to use my money as he wants. I would want more responsibility and a bit more management structure, just like Mohamed Al Fayed wanted at Fulham and quite rightly so. I was more than happy working with it. I’m used to having to justify my decisions, I’m not used to saying, ‘Listen, I want your money and I will spend it how I like and get on with it.’ ”

 

His analysis was calm and reasoned, but from his knowledge of European football he will know that Comolli and managers do not always mix. Two years ago this week, the former Monaco youth player was appointed director of football at Saint-Étienne, a role he quit on Tuesday to move to Liverpool, and the French club dismissed Laurent Roussey, the coach, the next day.

 

It was his three-year spell at Tottenham Hotspur and more particularly his fractious relationship with Martin Jol that is most likely to cause concern for Hodgson, however. After his sacking as Spurs manager, Jol said Comolli had signed players without his consent, but, for now, Hodgson, who experienced a similar managerial structure at Inter Milan, maintains he has no reason to envisage such a scenario at Liverpool.

 

“That is looking at something which I think is a positive appointment in a negative way,” Hodgson said. “Trying to imagine a scenario where all of a sudden the owners insist on Damien’s say-so that we must bring this player to the club and he must play in the team is a very negative scenario. I can’t imagine it happening, but who knows? It’s not the idea behind his appointment, I know that for certain. When you work closely with people you don’t necessarily agree over every single player, but that happens at every club.”

 

NESV is known to be concerned about Liverpool’s squad and Comolli’s recruitment is likely to lead to the departure of Eduardo Macia, the club’s chief scout, who has been the subject of much criticism. But the appointment will also raise questions about Kenny Dalglish’s role four months after Hodgson said he was to offer him a new position as head of football development.

 

For John W. Henry, the co-owner, Comolli’s appointment is the start of a revolution he hopes will make Liverpool contenders again and one that will be modelled on the scouting structure at Arsenal, which Comolli helped to implement more than a decade ago. “This is the first step in creating a structure designed to build and sustain a club able to compete at the highest level in European football,” Henry said.

 

Scout’s report

• Damien Comolli was a coach of Monaco under-16s for three years before spending seven years as the European scout for Arsenal. He was credited with finding players such as Kolo Touré and Emmanuel Eboué.

 

• At Tottenham Hotspur he was in charge of scouting and recruiting players. His knowledge of French football is his strongest suit.

 

• He can point to Spurs’ acquisition of Gareth Bale for £10 million from Southampton as arguably his best piece of work in the transfer market.

 

• There were also a number of failures, however, with Darren Bent, Kevin-Prince Boateng and Adel Taarabt falling short of expectations at Tottenham despite costing in the region of £25 million combined.

 

Words by Tony Barrett

[dirk grout]

Good point there pal. Hes just one thats gone under the radar. They must just get wider exposure when they're failures and thats why I have this opinion that they dont work.

 

In the past there have been more failures than successes in English football though I think. Dennis Wise, Damian Commoli at Spurs and Arnesen at Spurs have all encountered more minuses than plus points like. I cant think of more off the top of me head.

 

If things are to be believed Rick Parry used to act in more or less this role in days gone by.

 

Comolli at arsenal - success

Comolli at spurs - failure

 

Arsenen at chelsea - success

Arnesen at spurs - failure

 

Bit of a pattern there.

 

I do think you're right about the exposure they get though. Its typical of the xenophobic nonsense spouted by the english press that we only hear about the failures. If the english press are to be believed, hodgson is a better manager than benitez.

[23CARRAGOLD]

Comolli at arsenal - success

Comolli at spurs - failure

 

Arsenen at chelsea - success

Arnesen at spurs - failure

 

Bit of a pattern there.

 

I do think you're right about the exposure they get though. Its typical of the xenophobic nonsense spouted by the english press that we only hear about the failures. If the english press are to be believed, hodgson is a better manager than benitez.

 

And Zonal Marking will never work and squad rotation is not the English Way. Rafa was slated for the zonal but in the last few weeks we have seen Liverpool and Everton backlines linking hands at corners to hold the zonal line together and not a peep out of our beloved commentators who so ripped into the person who tried to teach us the system first.

 

They can fuck off if we end up with joint managers again though. :whistle:

[Wor Horse]

NESV is known to be concerned about Liverpool’s squad and Comolli’s recruitment is likely to lead to the departure of Eduardo Macia, the club’s chief scout

 

Result!