Comolli buys

[moof]

It would be nice to conclusively know who it was who chose to sign some of our players.

 

Why? What difference does it make?

[dirk grout]

Why? What difference does it make?

 

Was going to ask the same thing. Is it so we can make sure we're booing the right person?

[Ginny]

This is all speculation right?

 

People are saying "i think Kenny should take responsibility" and others are saying "Comolli should take it responsibility"... So what do you want to happen?

 

Do you just want someone to blame for whats happening?

 

I have no doubt that they are not deliberately trying to fuck this up. Some of the shit on this thread is absolutely unbelievable. The signings have been shit, our current form is shit and theres lots of other outstanding tales of woe, but c'mon try and see the big picture.

[Scott_M]

It would be nice to conclusively know who it was who chose to sign some of our players.

 

Maybe we could have it on the players profile on the club website:

 

First Name - Luis

Surname - Suárez

Squad Number - 7

Position - Forward

Height - 1.81m

Weight - 81 kg

D.O.B. - 24 Jan 1987

Town of Birth - Salto

Country of Birth - Uruguay

Nationality - Uruguay

Signed by - Dalglish

 

etc etc etc

[piscinin]

Maybe we could have it on the players profile on the club website:

 

First Name - Luis

Surname - Suárez

Squad Number - 7

Position - Forward

Height - 1.81m

Weight - 81 kg

D.O.B. - 24 Jan 1987

Town of Birth - Salto

Country of Birth - Uruguay

Nationality - Uruguay

Signed by - Dalglish

 

etc etc etc

 

That's a start. We could have a Hall of Blame. Each week we could nominate who should be blamed for our general misfortune. That way we can the net wider, snare an MD from time to time etc. Save having to post Lucas and Henderson every week. Share the load like.

[Hooch]

Why? What difference does it make?

 

Well if Commoli signed them off I'd reserve a lot of my ire at Dalglish for how crap most of the signings have been?

 

Basically I want to know who signed these donkeys.

[LFC64]

A good example of what?

 

of...

 

Carling Black Label Advert Dambusters

[Bjornebye]

Comolli’s legacy at Tottenham doesn’t paint the REAL picture

 

Upon browsing the news online today, it became clear that revisionist history is not a concept confined to the world of academia. The Daily Telegraph and the Sun, in response to the comments made by former Tottenham Hotspur director of football Damien Comolli, have both published articles offering a revised appraisal of relative success of the man once ‘vilified’ (to quote the Sun) at White Hart Lane.

 

For those that have not yet read Comolli’s comments, the 37 year old Frenchman sounds genuinely pleased for the Lillywhite half of North London after back to back victories over Arsenal and Chelsea. Comolli told the Sun:

 

 

“I don’t think of this as some sort of revenge that the players we bought are doing so well – I’m very pleased it has worked out.

 

“I said this would be the first team to have been bottom in October that could go on and qualify for Europe and they nearly did.

 

“I give Harry full credit for adding a resilience which wasn’t there before but he had very good players to work with.

 

“I was very disappointed to have lost my job, I still am. I was in love with the club.”

 

Whilst there is a subtle hint of ‘I told you so’ in his words, Comolli’s purchases have certainly appeared, rather belatedly, to have come good. In an interesting piece written by Duncan White of the Daily Telegraph, White highlights that of the team that started and defeated Arsenal and Chelsea in the Premier League this month, no fewer than seven had been signed by Damien Comolli. It thus raises the question; was Damien Comolli really a failure at White Hart Lane?

 

Let us consider some of Comolli’s signings. Gareth Bale has become one of the best left fullback/wingers in the country (or Europe if we believe some of the hyperbole), whilst Benoit Assou-Ekotto has generally proven himself a capable defender in the Premier League. Younes Kaboul has improved dramatically after attaining first team experience at Portsmouth, and Luka Modric is proving his worth equally from the left of midfield or in the centre. Roman Pavlyuchenko, perhaps most surprisingly, has managed to turn his Tottenham career around, and now appears to be first choice in attack. The signing of Heurelho Gomes could be the best of the bunch however, his rapid improvement so marked, he is considered one of the league’s best goalkeepers at present.

 

Damien Comolli’s time at Tottenham thus looks less like a blot on the Frenchman’s curriculum vitae and more a confirmation of the man’s expertise. However, a closer analysis arguably delivers a more damning appraisal of Comolli’s achievements at Tottenham.

 

Comolli was brought to Spurs to unearth hidden gems. At Arsenal, Comolli was famed for signing Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Eboue and Gael Clichy for pittance. However, whilst Kaboul and Benoit Assou-Ekotto were relatively unknown to the laymen in England, they still cost Spurs over £11m to buy. Luka Modric, although just 22 when he signed for Tottenham, was already renowned in Europe, as was Roman Pavlyuchenko, and they cost Tottenham around £30m in transfer fees. Gareth Bale was one of the hottest prospects in England when Spurs swooped, and whilst Comolli deserves credit for selling the club to the youngster, his signature was hardly a stroke of genius scouting. Further, Spurs are still waiting for other youngsters Comolli brought in (Danny Rose, John Bostock and Dean Parrett et al) to reach the first team.

 

Comolli oversaw a huge turnover of players during his tenure at White Hart Lane, and generally Tottenham got their money back even on acquisitions deemed relative failures. One of Comolli’s most obvious coups in the transfer market was the £10.9m signing of Dimitar Berabtov. Berbatov made Daniel Levy £20m pure profit, and was thus a shrewd piece of business by Comolli.

 

However, in Darren Bent (£16.5m), Alan Hutton (£8m), David Bentley (£15-17m) and Jonathan Woodgate (£7.5m) (Woodgate’s career appears severely threatened by injury) the £20m profit Comolli made on Berbatov is probably balanced out by the losses Tottenham have, or will make on these players.

 

A further consideration that must be highlighted is that, contrary to the reports demonising Daniel Levy for the sacking of Martin Jol, Comolli was very much involved in both the Dutchman’s departure and the search for his successor. Juande Ramos was appointed on the recommendation of Comolli, and Comolli therefore set the club back dramatically by getting the appointment so very wrong. The compensation the club paid to both Jol and Ramos, and the amount Levy then spent on compensating Portsmouth for Harry Redknapp, equated to approximately £12m. Spurs were a shambolic mess by the time Ramos left the club, and Comolli was as culpable as anybody.

 

Redknapp’s statement upon his arrival, that the Tottenham squad was a ‘mish-mash’, was perfectly true. Comolli had failed to replace the outgoing Berbatov and Robbie Keane in attack. Tottenham’s most obvious shortcoming in the centre of midfield, where Comolli had failed to replace the ineffective Didier Zakora, also left Spurs a soft touch in the game’s most vital area. Further, whilst King and Woodgate remain quality centre halves, both were, and are, ticking time bombs in terms of fitness.

 

The spine of Tottenham’s side this season (Heurelho Gomes, Michael Dawson, Wilson Palacios, Tom Huddlestone and Jermain Defoe) includes just one Comolli signing; the goalkeeper. Had Redknapp not signed the likes of Bassong, Palacios and Defoe, the side would still be too unbalanced to challenge the top four, whilst Dawson, Huddlestone, King and Lennon et al, were not Comolli purchases.

 

Duncan White’s aforementioned article in the Daily Telegraph raises some interesting points about how Tottenham will continue to develop their youth policy without the guidance of a technical director equipped with Comolli’s expertise and experience. Comolli worked especially hard on the Tottenham academy, and turned it into arguably one of the best in the country. Aside from undertaking the initiative to build a new training complex, Tottenham have some very talented youngsters in Danny Rose, John Bostock, Andros Townsend, Dean Parrett, Paul-José M’Poku and Jon Obika. However, although Rose scored a screamer in the North London derby, only time will tell on the astuteness of Comolli’s young signings, as none have gotten close to consistent first team appearances.

 

Tottenham have a young, exciting team, and in Bale and Modric, Tottenham have two extremely viable assets. Therefore, is it fair to argue that history should remember Comolli’s time in North London as a relative success? Were supporters and the media alike too blinkered too see the bigger picture? In a word, no.

 

Historical revisionism may at present be kind to Comolli after the week the likes of Gareth Bale and Luka Modric have just had. However for those that witnessed the Martin Jol and Juande Ramos debacle, they’ll take ‘Arry over Comolli every day of the week.

 

You can find me on Twitter at Mark Salazar Turner (@mark0turner) on Twitter

 

Below is the list of players signed byDamien Comolli believed to have cost Tottenham over £1m, starting with the most recent…

 

1. Vedran Corluka, Manchester City, £8.5m

 

2. Roman Pavlyuchenko, Spartak Moscow, £14m

 

3. Cesar Sanchez, Real Zaragoza, Undisclosed

 

4. David Bentley, Blackburn Rovers, £15m-17m

 

5. Heurelho Gomes, PSV Eindhoven, £9m

 

6. Giovani dos Santos, Barcelona, £4.7m

 

7. Luka Modric, Dinamo Zagreb, £15.8m

 

8. Gilberto, Hertha Berlin £1.9m

 

9. Alan Hutton, Glasgow Rangers, £8m

 

10. Jonathan Woodgate, Middlesbrough, £7.5m

 

11. Chris Gunter, Cardiff City, £2m

 

12. Kevin-Prince Boateng, Hertha Berlin, £5.2m

 

13. Danny Rose, Leeds United, Undisclosed

 

14. Younes Kaboul, Auxerre, £8.2m

 

15. Darren Bent, Charlton Athletic, £16.5m

 

16. Adel Taarabt, RC Lens, Undisclosed

 

17. Gareth Bale, Southampton, £5m – £10m

 

18. Ben Alnwick, Sunderland, Undisclosed

 

19. Ricardo Rocha, Benfica, £3,5m

 

20. Mido, AS Roma, £4m

 

21. Pascal Chimbonda, Wigan Athletic, £4m

 

22. Steed Malbranque, Fulham, £3.5m

 

23. Didier Zokora, St Etienne, £6.5m

 

24. Benoit Assou-Ekotto, RC Lens, £3.5m

 

25. Dimitar Berbatov, Bayer Leverkusen, £10.9m

 

26. Hossam Ghaly, Feyernoord, Undisclosed

 

27. Danny Murphy, Charlton, £2m

 

 

 

 

 

get rid

[Guest davelfc]

Well if Commoli signed them off I'd reserve a lot of my ire at Dalglish for how crap most of the signings have been?

 

Basically I want to know who signed these donkeys.

 

I bet you're first in the queue for a spare for the semi though, eh?

[Hooch]

I bet you're first in the queue for a spare for the semi though, eh?

 

I don't see your point dave.

Am I hypocritical because I would want to watch Liverpool Football club even though I think some of our signings are shite?

 

Really?

 

I'd want to be there if it was 11 Salif Diao's.

[Rafiagra]

None of our signings bar Suarez have been a total success. Enrique was looking like one but his drop in form is alarming.

 

His speciality is supposedly to be identifying under-valued players. However, not one player he is responsible for signing has ever been genuinely world class. If anything, Rafa did a better job with that philosophy signing the likes of Alonso, Mascherani and Pepe.

 

Whilst Comolli might be a disciple of money all, maybe he's just not very good at it?

 

Newcastle seem to be doing a far better job at practising its principles, ironically with a fraction of the cash we recklessly overpaid them.

 

However, whilst Comolli is failing to deliver, the the same has to be said of Dalglish, who will have sanctioned the signings of blatantly average players. I don't really blame Kenny for overpaying for them but surely the fact we did so is an indication that they were our prime targets. The fact they were asks massive questions over the judgement of the manager.

[WaltonRed]

Stop bringing Newcastle up, they get these players on ridiculous contracts

 

They're no better than McKay at Doncaster trying to showcase players then moving them on for big fees

 

Look at Ba, he can go for 3m, its a joke

[Jairzinho]

Hope we buy Ba for £3m.

[ritchie]

We need to sack off this buy British crap. Far better players and better value abroad. Cabaye, Ba and Ben Arfa cost Newcastle a combined £10m. And we're signing Downing for £20m and Carroll for £35m allowing Newcastle to rebuild their whole team and still bank half the money.

[Bjornebye]

fuck newcastle, we will finish above them anyway and next season they will be fucked when cabaye, tiote and ba have swevred them.

 

to us. for 120 million and suarez.

[WaltonRed]

Which kids has he bought for us? Ibe is one

 

Did we sign Sam Magrhi?

 

These might come good in the future you just never know

[Whelan]

We need to sack off this buy British crap. Far better players and better value abroad. Cabaye, Ba and Ben Arfa cost Newcastle a combined £10m. And we're signing Downing for £20m and Carroll for £35m allowing Newcastle to rebuild their whole team and still bank half the money.

 

Do you mean stop buying British crap, or stop this buying British crap? I agree with the first one, although I think we used to be criticised for buying foreign crap.

 

We need a striker and a right winger, there is no British options for those two positions so we have to go abroad.

[coop]

Dalglish has the final say on every single transfer.

[Bobby Hundreds]

Did we sign that texiera lad if so has he played in any youth/reserve games.

[Bobby Hundreds]

Dalglish has the final say on every single transfer.

 

Would dalglish make a limit on how much he's prepared to pay or is it a case of these are the targets and Comolli decides the value to the club based on finances Kenny doesn't really have access too or understand. If you catch my drift. I'm not sure I do now but I do somewhere in my mind.

[PaulMcC]

Stop bringing Newcastle up, they get these players on ridiculous contracts

 

They're no better than McKay at Doncaster trying to showcase players then moving them on for big fees

 

Look at Ba, he can go for 3m, its a joke

 

If we signed some of the same players they wouldn't want release clauses cos we're a far bigger club than Newcastle would likely be in CL.

[redsoxs]

Dalglish has the final say on every single transfer.

 

Would that be after Comolli himself as created that list, from which Kenny picks?

 

Caiazzo said: 'You need some humility in football and Damien was convinced he was right 100 per cent of the time. There was never any question of dialogue.

 

'Damien enjoyed total power in his first year with us. His was the last word on all transfers and that is how he wanted it.

 

'The manager at the time, Alain Perrin, had not even seen some of the players he was given. Damien was his boss.

 

'His powers were much reduced in January after the failure of his transfer policy the previous summer and he was not pleased.

 

'I would have fired him then but my co-chairman defended him for months, even when results were poor. It was a mistake bringing him back to the club.'

 

St Etienne attack on Liverpool FC Damien Comolli - News - Liverpool FC - Liverpool Echo

Comolli on Kenny, Suarez & Carroll

 

23rd Mar 2011 - Latest News

FREE or read the text transcript below.

 

 

Congratulations on your promotion to Director of Football at Liverpool FC - what remit does this new title bring with it?

 

It covers pretty much all of the football side. Obviously I'm not getting involved in anything to do with team selection or training, that's the manager's remit. 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.

Comolli on Kenny, Suarez & Carroll - Liverpool FC

 

 

 

 

Edited March 28, 2012 by redsoxs

[Cardie]

Would that be after Comolli himself as created that list, from which Kenny picks?

 

I'm sure theirs a reason why you've left out all the bits that go into what his job actually is and things he's said such as

 

The manager's decision and the manager's opinion on a player is absolutely crucial. As far as I am concerned, and the way I have always worked in this job, is do not bring a player in who the manager doesn't like because there's no point. Talking in very basic terms, if you bring a player in who the manager doesn't like you are just wasting money, that's the bottom line.

[clangers]

Sorry but I didn't want this guy anywhere near the club in the first place. His reputation is for self-promotion more than anything else. His claims are often exaggerated e.g. his contribution at Arsenal, a mixed record at Spurs and the less said the better about St Etienne.

 

He's a classic case of power without responsibility.

 

Little wonder that FSG with little understanding of football would be taken in by his slick and often ambitious self-aggrandising presentation.

 

Apart from that he's great.

[ritchie]

Do you mean stop buying British crap, or stop this buying British crap? I agree with the first one, although I think we used to be criticised for buying foreign crap.

 

We need a striker and a right winger, there is no British options for those two positions so we have to go abroad.

 

I agree with what you've said there basically.

 

But my point was about the targetting of British players last summer, when there would have been better players abroad available for less. You sign the best player you can get for the best price, if he's English or from anywhere else then who cares? It's the player that counts, not his nationality.