Director of Football Coming In?

[fleckagainagainagain…]

If you don’t thing a DoF makes a difference, look at Sunderland’s transfer activity since Wembley. They have had a sporting director since League 1 days and went straight out and got Roma’s director of football as well, as their first signing after promotion.

Now they’ve managed:

• 10-11 first team signings
• €150m spent
• All brought in in good time before the season starts, giving them a decent chance in the opening games
• Players bought from across all the top European leagues, not championship contacts books or sticking to a single country comfort zone
• Where they needed to sell due to players not renewing (Bellingham, Watson), got it done early, banked good money and reinvested it
• Only one loan, which they got done early

Compare that to us this summer and time we were in the PL, and it’s night and day. Sunderland will probably still go down, but at least their off field infrastructure gives them a chance and doesnt completely undermine them before a ball is kicked. On the pitch we had the better squad but in everything off the pitch they were far more PL ready than us, which is inexcusable given the resources we’ve had.

I understand we can’t just ‘copy Brighton’ etc without an owner putting hundreds of millions in, but Sunderland put this off-field infrastructure in place in league 1, without an owner putting much of his own money in. It’s crazy that we aren’t even trying to compete with modern clubs in this area, it’s such an obvious and cheap thing to invest in, versus the costs of getting it wrong and falling behind, which we’re seeing in front of us now.

 

[Youngand70]

If you don’t thing a DoF makes a difference, look at Sunderland’s transfer activity since Wembley. They have had a sporting director since League 1 days and went straight out and got Roma’s director of football as well, as their first signing after promotion.

Now they’ve managed:

• 10-11 first team signings
• €150m spent
• All brought in in good time before the season starts, giving them a decent chance in the opening games
• Players bought from across all the top European leagues, not championship contacts books or sticking to a single country comfort zone
• Where they needed to sell due to players not renewing (Bellingham, Watson), got it done early, banked good money and reinvested it
• Only one loan, which they got done early

Compare that to us this summer and time we were in the PL, and it’s night and day. Sunderland will probably still go down, but at least their off field infrastructure gives them a chance and doesnt completely undermine them before a ball is kicked. On the pitch we had the better squad but in everything off the pitch they were far more PL ready than us, which is inexcusable given the resources we’ve had.

I understand we can’t just ‘copy Brighton’ etc without an owner putting hundreds of millions in, but Sunderland put this off-field infrastructure in place in league 1, without an owner putting much of his own money in. It’s crazy that we aren’t even trying to compete with modern clubs in this area, it’s such an obvious and cheap thing to invest in, versus the costs of getting it wrong and falling behind, which we’re seeing in front of us now.

Very good points but be aware the Archaeopteryx will swoop down on you!!!

 

[Blade56]

Think we need Snek out first. If he’s the go between with our owners he’s doing a reyt good job! Communications have never been so good

 

[robbiez666]

Once again, surely we have to have a DoF with power to make decisions? I have no idea how the recruitment works but having several people involved is clearly not working.

 

[Aston max]

Personally I think Bettis either needs moving on ( he's had a good run after initially getting the job through the old boys club , seen this mentioned on here a few times ) or the football side needs taking away from him ?
Would we need a DOF or just someone who knows how to get the most out of the coaching and recruitment side with his own budget .it needs to be someone who would take the dore project away from Bettis as well.
I'm pretty pissed off like most people at the lack of movement in defensive additions.
But !! And these points are a mixture of negative and positive
(1) COH have only had control for 8 months so probably still looking at budgets.
(2) agreed the lack of communication with the fans is poor just some indication of budgets and plans for the future would be appreciated.
(3) I hope selles gets backed those comments last night weren't great .
(4) I actually get the thinking of buying young players and developing them for the first team or a profit but theres a lot of blades who are in the "I want it now gang "



Feel free to attack, ridicule or whatever you want

 

[Espania blade]

Personally I think Bettis either needs moving on ( he's had a good run after initially getting the job through the old boys club , seen this mentioned on here a few times ) or the football side needs taking away from him ?
Would we need a DOF or just someone who knows how to get the most out of the coaching and recruitment side with his own budget .it needs to be someone who would take the dore project away from Bettis as well.
I'm pretty pissed off like most people at the lack of movement in defensive additions.
But !! And these points are a mixture of negative and positive
(1) COH have only had control for 8 months so probably still looking at budgets.
(2) agreed the lack of communication with the fans is poor just some indication of budgets and plans for the future would be appreciated.
(3) I hope selles gets backed those comments last night weren't great .
(4) I actually get the thinking of buying young players and developing them for the first team or a profit but theres a lot of blades who are in the "I want it now gang "

View attachment 219230

Feel free to attack, ridicule or whatever you want

Why have a dig at Bettis? He's a very good CEO and has a lot of respect throughout football

 

[Aston max]

Why have a dig at Bettis? He's a very good CEO and has a lot of respect throughout football

My personal thoughts "apologies" it wasn't really a dig at him as you said he's a good CEO but I don't think he's getting the support from the owners he needs , I think it's might be time for him to relinquish the football side and let him concentrate on commercial.

 

[Snowflake]

Why have a dig at Bettis? He's a very good CEO and has a lot of respect throughout football

Surely we can have both a good CEO and a DoF. They should compliment each other and allow better quality decisions to be made. If we only have one the workload in modern football is too great.

 

[Sean Thornton]

Surely we can have both a good CEO and a DoF. They should compliment each other and allow better quality decisions to be made. If we only have one the workload in modern football is too great.

Of course we can. And should. But Bettis appears to be an easy target in all this but based on what? He’s an employee and will do his employers bidding.

We’ve got one “Captain of Industry” claiming he’s anti DoF based on a comment about “no DoF” but failing to say it was in March 24 when Chris Wilder, a man dead against a DoF, was in charge. Pointed out to him but just ignored. Which says something about the claimant - whose hilarious* attempt at a new nickname for Snek - and shows what we’re dealing with.

The vast majority of posters won’t, understandably in some cases, know what his full role is, so the tendency is to blame him for everything. And very few of the “l’ve run my own business and l’ve got a few quid” are unlikely to have overseen a turnover of £130m plus. It’s as if Magic Mike is back with a different boast.

So yes, a DoF and any other specialists re Dore or whatever. But first and foremost, players. The owners will give the thumbs up or down to fees and contracts, because they hold the keys to the petty cash, not Bettis.

Sean Thornton
Official Club Plant and Defender

 

[Espania blade]

My personal thoughts "apologies" it wasn't really a dig at him as you said he's a good CEO but I don't think he's getting the support from the owners he needs , I think it's might be time for him to relinquish the football side and let him concentrate on commercial.

I'sure I heard it said (by him) he doesn't have much to do with the football side of things other than contracts etc, and player sales and incoming transfers but again only on the financial side of things, he certainly doesn't get involved in choosing players, he's not interested and leaves all that stuff to the footballing gods, ie the recruitment team and manager.

 

[Sean Thornton]

I'sure I heard it said (by him) he doesn't have much to do with the football side of things other than contracts etc, and player sales and incoming transfers but again only on the financial side of things, he certainly doesn't get involved in choosing players, he's not interested and leaves all that stuff to the footballing gods, ie the recruitment team and manager.

Stop with the realities. The flies on his office walls who post on here know more……

 

[robbiez666]

Stop with the realities. The flies on his office walls who post on here know more……

When James Bord whips his mask off it will reveal Stephen Bettis...

 

[Slim Man]

Having a big push on data/AI driven signings, so not requiring manager input anyway, and then not having a DOF to oversee the signings is just so incredibly stupid

 

[CPB]

Speaking of a role like this.
I know Des Taylor wasn't officially a director of football role but isn't it interesting to think about what has occured this summer vs last?

My understanding was Des Taylor came on board to help aid and facilitate between the Prince and the new Owners. At COH request.
And he helped to work with the recruitment team and CW to identify targets as well.

Makes you wonder if our activity this summer whilst also being "AI-Data" driven has been hindered by a change of personnel.
Also makes you wonder why they let Des Taylor go too? Unless he didn't agree with changing manager or the like?

 

[Macfarlane21]

Wouldn't surprise me if they are using sofifa as their AI recruitment tool

 

[SRBlade]

If you don’t thing a DoF makes a difference, look at Sunderland’s transfer activity since Wembley. They have had a sporting director since League 1 days and went straight out and got Roma’s director of football as well, as their first signing after promotion.

Now they’ve managed:

• 10-11 first team signings
• €150m spent
• All brought in in good time before the season starts, giving them a decent chance in the opening games
• Players bought from across all the top European leagues, not championship contacts books or sticking to a single country comfort zone
• Where they needed to sell due to players not renewing (Bellingham, Watson), got it done early, banked good money and reinvested it
• Only one loan, which they got done early

Compare that to us this summer and time we were in the PL, and it’s night and day. Sunderland will probably still go down, but at least their off field infrastructure gives them a chance and doesnt completely undermine them before a ball is kicked. On the pitch we had the better squad but in everything off the pitch they were far more PL ready than us, which is inexcusable given the resources we’ve had.

I understand we can’t just ‘copy Brighton’ etc without an owner putting hundreds of millions in, but Sunderland put this off-field infrastructure in place in league 1, without an owner putting much of his own money in. It’s crazy that we aren’t even trying to compete with modern clubs in this area, it’s such an obvious and cheap thing to invest in, versus the costs of getting it wrong and falling behind, which we’re seeing in front of us now.

This sums up how I feel as well. I'm frankly fucked off that we seemingly don't have a fucking idea about how to approach transfers or the long term for the club.

I can accept data driven targets so long as we have a means for improving the team before we're 5 games into the season and likely to have dropped valuable points.

 

[SufcBilly]

Thanks for clarifying that scouts work in the scouting department Danny

 

[A Storm of Blades]

Look - it’s really quite simple. We’ve had the best part of decade largely shopping in the UK market. We are absolutely now showing our inexperience and naivety in trying to serve a manager that wants to pool from a wider net. The club needs to learn, and fast.

 

[Kona]

Look - it’s really quite simple. We’ve had the best part of decade largely shopping in the UK market. We are absolutely now showing our inexperience and naivety in trying to serve a manager that wants to pool from a wider net. The club needs to learn, and fast.

I think this is a fair point.

I have nothing against Bettis and it always surprises me the hate he gets on here, as I doubt many know anything about him or his performance. That being said, it feels like we are (slowly) widening our net/reach and someone with experience of this would be a sensible appointment, either in addition or as replacement.

 

[Sean Thornton]

I think this is a fair point.

I have nothing against Bettis and it always surprises me the hate he gets on here, as I doubt many know anything about him or his performance. That being said, it feels like we are (slowly) widening our net/reach and someone with experience of this would be a sensible appointment, either in addition or as replacement.

Agree it is a fair point. However l don’t think appointing a scout/football man as CEO, if that’s what you’re suggesting.

Liverpools CEO is US based, but they have a UK based CEO of football AND a managing director.

 

[Sean Thornton]

Thanks for clarifying that scouts work in the scouting department Danny

Lay ni final, get yer lay ni final*

Exclusive!


*one for the older members

 

[Nagima]

A DOF is very much required. With new owners with limited experience in the game. Someone is needed to set out our long term football philosophy. A philosophy that can be tweaked by the manager but not discarded.

AI is not the silver bullet that is claimed by some. It should be used to highlight players we may not have considered previously and then assessed by scouts.

Moneyball works in baseball as individual performance is more prominent that team performance. In football, it is the other way around. Skills and ability, development trajectory etc of an individual are specifics that can be assessed easily and worked on.

Team performance is more difficult as communication, alignment, collaboration, unity, respect and leadership play a big part. Everybody needs to be clear about where we are and about where we are going. You can throw all the money at it if you like, but take a look at Man U. Ralph Ragnick saw and understood and was told get lost when they didn't like what he said. He was right. Brighton and Brentford use complex AI models but they also scout, assess and decide in a consistent fashion. The manager changes, players get sold and the replacements hit the ground running.

 

[Weasel]

I think this is a fair point.

I have nothing against Bettis and it always surprises me the hate he gets on here, as I doubt many know anything about him or his performance. That being said, it feels like we are (slowly) widening our net/reach and someone with experience of this would be a sensible appointment, either in addition or as replacement.

Not sure there is any 'hate' on here for Bettis. If there is, I've not read it mysekf on here. A few (including myself at times) have been known to throw some light hearted banter on here about him (calling him the 'Snek' etc) but thats all it is. A few question his abilities and what he does. That's perfectly acceptable and we are all accountable in our performances in our professional lives. That said, personally though I don't know the man/snek, my perception is that he does a very good job for United and we would be a lot poorer as an organisation of he went. I do think he probably needs to lighten the workload though on the footballing side. In my thoughts he should be the CEO who is the man who answers to the the board nd sorts.out the general day to day runnjng of the club and the club infrastructure such as training ground, hotel, legal requirements etc, whilst there should be a footballing man in place who is in charge of sorting out and negotiating the football and the transfers. I actually think Bettis is generally respected and liked by the fans.

 

[Maidenhead]

Think we need Snek out first. If he’s the go between with our owners he’s doing a reyt good job! Communications have never been so good

Personally I think Bettis either needs moving on ( he's had a good run after initially getting the job through the old boys club , seen this mentioned on here a few times ) or the football side needs taking away from him ?
Would we need a DOF or just someone who knows how to get the most out of the coaching and recruitment side with his own budget .it needs to be someone who would take the dore project away from Bettis as well.
I'm pretty pissed off like most people at the lack of movement in defensive additions.
But !! And these points are a mixture of negative and positive
(1) COH have only had control for 8 months so probably still looking at budgets.
(2) agreed the lack of communication with the fans is poor just some indication of budgets and plans for the future would be appreciated.
(3) I hope selles gets backed those comments last night weren't great .
(4) I actually get the thinking of buying young players and developing them for the first team or a profit but theres a lot of blades who are in the "I want it now gang "

View attachment 219230

Feel free to attack, ridicule or whatever you want

Bettis is going nowhere. He has become a shareholder in the consortium and is on the board!

 

[Sean Thornton]

Bettis is going nowhere. He has become a shareholder in the consortium and is on the board!

A shareholder in the Delaware based company which owns the UK COH set up?

 

[Scoips]

Bettis will have to work with the budget -or lack of it - or when it is deemed to be on stream he is given / has to juggle .

Last season he oversaw one of the best tw we have had - between opening day and end of August he recruited some real gems having to work within the framework provided by the Prince who wanted out and other competing teams .

Be a bit more respectful and have some facts to back up insults .

I would agree with you that last summer was the best transfer window we've had in the last 5/6 years, but it achieved that by not being a disaster like the previous summer, January just gone and, as it stands, the current one. Don't forget that this 'fantastic transfer window' brought us:
Shackleton - not fit to lace Ben Osborn's boots and much less available.
McCallum - man on a pogo stick, but not a great footballer.
K Moore - everyone on here couldn't wait to drive him to Wrexham.
JRS - good on his day, but inconsistent and a defensive liability. Frozen out by Wilder at the business end of the season.
Gilchrist - played out of position, also disappeared from view later in the season.
O'Hare - busy, sometimes inventive, but often overplays and is very easily knocked off the ball. Dropped by Wilder at the business end for Brewster in midfield.
Burrows - good going forward and a decent delivery, but poor defensively as he demonstrated to such stark effect at Wembley and against Brizzle.
Cooper, Souttar and Campbell were all really good signings, but risks because of their previous injury record. We lost Souttar unfortunately and Campbell couldn't go past 60 minutes.
I can't rate this as a really good transfer window as I still can't work out whether Wilder had planned to go 4-2-3-1 and recruited to that formation or we just picked up the best players we could and then tried to fit a formation to the mix of players we ended up with.

 

[ATL Recs]

I would agree with you that last summer was the best transfer window we've had in the last 5/6 years, but it achieved that by not being a disaster like the previous summer, January just gone and, as it stands, the current one. Don't forget that this 'fantastic transfer window' brought us:
Shackleton - not fit to lace Ben Osborn's boots and much less available.
McCallum - man on a pogo stick, but not a great footballer.
K Moore - everyone on here couldn't wait to drive him to Wrexham.
JRS - good on his day, but inconsistent and a defensive liability. Frozen out by Wilder at the business end of the season.
Gilchrist - played out of position, also disappeared from view later in the season.
O'Hare - busy, sometimes inventive, but often overplays and is very easily knocked off the ball. Dropped by Wilder at the business end for Brewster in midfield.
Burrows - good going forward and a decent delivery, but poor defensively as he demonstrated to such stark effect at Wembley and against Brizzle.
Cooper, Souttar and Campbell were all really good signings, but risks because of their previous injury record. We lost Souttar unfortunately and Campbell couldn't go past 60 minutes.
I can't rate this as a really good transfer window as I still can't work out whether Wilder had planned to go 4-2-3-1 and recruited to that formation or we just picked up the best players we could and then tried to fit a formation to the mix of players we ended up with.

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