Hasn't that always been the case though, MD?
Even the late, great Manager was held to some sort of account by the board to some degree.......Celtic Pools anyone.
Celtic and the dead club bucked the trend for almost a century by potentially giving jobs for life, but that had changed by the time the 80's came round and many clubs now change managers as often as they change kits.
As events of the last week have shown, that's not a one-way street. Managers (and their backroom staff) will pursue their own ambitions and bolster their own bank account. I don't see where a DoF can alter that scenario?
Whoever any potential DoF is, he/she is still going to be a placeman/woman for the board and their agenda is going to be driven by the values and philosophies of the board.
I work in employment mediation. One of the extremely common features is that there appears to be a major disconnect between the frontline employees and senior management/trustees/boards. The decision to take disciplinary action is generally undertaken by the upper end of middle management and therein lies the problem.
Up until the point of mediation (and often right up until the Tibunal itself) the head honchos are invariably unaware of how compromised they may be because of the poor and personal interpretation of codes of conduct by HR and lower management. This is the reality of having too many tiers and when you throw other variable factors into the melting pot (fans, media, players etc...) then it only adds to the confusion!
As stated previously, I'm sure there are many great examples of this system that can be cited, but by saying that it's an effective system in The States or Mainland Europe and is therefore easily transferable, is like saying that Scotland can emulate the Nordic economic infrastructure should we ever gain independence.
The theory and reality are two completely different things. The various Nordic models have been operational for centuries and are designed to be self-sustaining economic models. It's as much cultural, as it is economic.
SP, you’ve made some good points.
The cultural issue isn’t really an issue anymore. Maybe 10-15 years ago it might have been. But most of the top clubs across Europe now have a DoF, and it’s even becoming more common in England. One of the Mourinho’s parting shots with ManU when he was let go was that he didn’t have the support that a DoF would have given him(!!!).
And part of the whole point of a DoF is that they ensure continuity even when managers change every couple years. I mean, look across the river and see how that club has rotated its entire squad every time they change managers. It’s not productive nor is it financially prudent. And that is not uncommon in places without a DoF. Having a DoF means that the structure and philosophy of the club and the playing style remains even when the manager/coach leaves. It’s also what allows clubs the opportunity to promote coaches like Guardiola to 1st team manager rather than spend a ton of money bringing in an outsider.
Also, one thing that has been lost in the discussion is that a DoF is not just a glorified title for head of recruitment. Player recruitment is part of the job description, but the job is a lot bigger than that.
Lastly, while a lot of clubs even in England have DoF’s, they are almost always low profile hires who stick around for a very long time. Someone on another thread mentioned David Moyes as a possibility, and that may or may not be a good idea (I honestly have no idea how he’d do as he wouldn’t be in direct charge of the players or the matchday tactics, and that’s all we have to judge him by). That would be a VERY high profile signing by industry standards. Another really good candidate, though totally unrealistic as he’d never accept, is Sir Alex Ferguson. I mean, he basically was the DoF at ManU for two decades with the amount of power and control he had and the influence on EVERYTHING that went on there in football operations. Getting him to come in with the understanding that he’s not the manager and wouldn’t have any direct oversight on the 1st team would be a perfect job for him at this stage of his career if he would ever accept another role.
But the idea here is that whoever the DoF is should be well steeped in the culture of the club, or the culture the board is trying to create anyway. And think of it as a cross between a CEO of the football operations (no sales, marketing, or admin departments) and a philosopher king.
There’s a good reason most of the top clubs around the world now have a DoF — because it works regardless of local culture or customs. The management of clubs has become so much more complex than it used to be that having a single person coordinate everything just makes a lot of sense, and there’s two very good reasons clubs don’t allow their managers to have the same control anymore - (1) managers come and go way too frequently, and (2) clubs want the manager to focus on the 1st team results and not get distracted with scouting, academy, the women’s team, etc etc.
