Ross Wilson Joins Nottingham Forest - Confirmed

[Johnstone Burgh 1,658]

44 minutes ago, Smile said:

A long post but who cares what everyone else has in various other clubs as I said they do not have it and are winning trophy after trophy.

A manager will  know who he wants or what he wants through his scouting team. Football a simple game.

 

Nonsense. If you’d read the article you’d understand the need for it in modern sport. 

[Davy Vandenbroucke 26,438]

2 minutes ago, esquire8 said:

Hasn't he got one of the biggest player agencies in Europe?

It does appear Robertson is getting his lists from fan forums again....

He’s got a few decent Bundesliga players on his books (Neuhaus and Henrichs are probably the biggest names), the rest are pretty average. In any case, doubt we’d be able to afford many players from there so it doesn’t seem a particularly useful asset.

[esquire8 43,628]

Just now, BlueSuedeSambas said:

 

Paul Mitchell? He’s one of the most in demand DOF’s in world football. There’s zero chance we could get him now.

If we are insisting on keeping the role then may aswell do it right 

[Hadron Collider 31,333]

57 minutes ago, Johnstone Burgh said:

Virtually every single major club operates using this model now. We’ve had a Director of Football on and off for about 20 years now. Dick Advocaat was basically a DoF once McLeish came in, Gordon Smith was DoF. This might give you a bit more clarity on why.

The transfer window of players has closed, but a feature of this football season has been how the permanently open market across other levels of a club continues to gather momentum.

Arsene Wenger very memorably reacted last year to a query about directors of football by asking whether it was someone who “stands in the road and directs play right and left” but even he could not defy the tide. Job titles can sometimes only confuse. Whether it be director of football, sporting director, technical director or even Raul Sanllehi’s initial and rather awkward ‘head of football relations’ title alongside Wenger at Arsenal, the basic job and rationale is the same.

It is to provide one overarching vision and strategy across football departments that is sufficiently coherent and resilient to ensure continuity amid the inevitability of managerial or even ownership change.

Lee Dykes, who became Bury’s first sporting director last year, believes that every club in the English Football League pyramid will have a comparable position within the next five years. It is already the norm throughout football in Europe, north America and just about every other major sport.

“We have to be self-sustainable as a football operation,” explains Dykes. “Gone are the days where you just have the first team and a youth team. What you have now is the coaching, the medical, the sports science, the analytics, the recruitment, the women’s team, the youth team operation. You are managing seven or eight individual businesses.

“We cannot be self sustainable if, every time there is a change of manager, all of the plans go out of the window, a big chunk of staff leaves and half the playing squad is considered a cost because the new manager wants to bring his own players in. It would just plough the football club into debt.

“Ryan Lowe (Bury’s manager) is doing very well, but just say he gets a move to a higher level of football. We hope he is with us for a very long-time, but we need to be in a position where we are recruiting maybe one or two members of staff to go again and everything else stays the same.” Dykes says that his job, in consultation with the various other departments, is to provide pioneering best practice across every specialist area for the very purpose of giving the manager the best possible opportunity.

The increasing recruitment of sporting directors following rigorous and independent processes is perhaps the best indicator of how this area has been professionalised.

Brighton, for example, added Dan Ashworth this season from the Football Association to what was already a very well functioning team with a respected chief executive in Paul Barber, head of recruitment in Paul Winstanley and first team manager in Chris Hughton.

The FA were in turn keen to continue with a model that has helped inspire a shared identity across the various age group teams. They appointed Les Reed, whose work at Southampton has itself greatly helped to popularise the structure. The successes both of Liverpool and Manchester City have also been in large measure down to a consistent and comparable off-field strategy, respectively led by Michael Edwards and Txiki Begiristain. The role has become a specialism in its own right and one that is regularly transferred across other sports.

Dykes, for example, is currently studying for a Masters degree in sporting directorships at the University of Salford and has no interest in being a manager himself.

Where problems have often occurred previously in football is where an owner, chairman or manager simply recruited a director of football figure through having some sort of past friendship. Even worse was when it was someone who might then be a contender for the manager’s job.

Arsenal’s internal frictions, where recruitment chief Sven Mislintat and Sanllehi were appointed independently by former chief executive Ivan Gazidis who, himself then left, also underlines the importance of clarity. Mislintat departed shortly after it became apparent that Sanllehi was very clearly now responsible for the club’s overall sporting strategy as director of football.

Stewart King is the global head of performance at Nolan Partners (a sports recruitment specialist with offices in London, New York and Los Angeles) and is experienced in working with ownership groups and boards of Premier League clubs to appoint sporting directors.

“The sporting director model is very well established across other sports, especially in North American professional sport, who tend to call them General Managers," says King. "It is certainly something that has been growing greatly and becoming standard in the Premier League.

"It is about having someone who will provide that overarching strategic thinking and planning. It is a position that should insulate and support the head coach. The job is just too big in the modern game for managers to oversee all the areas that they once did.”

A new type of club owner appears also to be emerging, especially given the increasing American influence on English football. For them, a longer-term strategy built on the sustained success and growth of their investment is key. That requires a stability in planning but also an off-field figurehead who, in the words of King, “are as fluent, comfortable and credible in the boardroom as they are on the training ground”.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2019/02/01/clubs-have-director-football-now-actually/

 

I’m 67 mate. Fuck reading all that. 

[BlueSuedeSambas 54,440]

6 minutes ago, esquire8 said:

If we are insisting on keeping the role then may aswell do it right 

If only it was as easy as that

 

[Johnstone Burgh 1,658]

2 minutes ago, Hadron Collider said:

I’m 67 mate. Fuck reading all that. 

It would take you no more than 2 minutes to do so. 

[rangersross 6,575]

Seems pretty reasonable to have someone who pulls together the first team, the academy, the medical department, scouting, analytics, etc. given how disparate those departments and skillsets are. The fact we've had the wrong people doing it doesn't invalidate the role. 

[The Specky Forum Organiser 66,194]

Would much rather we had a head of department for every position and a manager who has final say on all footballing matters.

[esquire8 43,628]

7 minutes ago, BlueSuedeSambas said:

If only it was as easy as that

 

Make it simple. He wants to be closer to home but hasn't got any decent offers down south yet. Get in there and see what he says. Can only say no like Nerlinger but at least we are trying to get the best around.

[GersInCanada 7,775]

 No problem with the board approaching him. No problem with him saying not interested. 

But when he putts the phone down and then leaks it to the press. That I have a problem with. Looks to me that we dodged a bullet here.

[Smile 26,622]

27 minutes ago, Johnstone Burgh said:

Nonsense. If you’d read the article you’d understand the need for it in modern sport. 

I like a good copy & paste as much as the next man as I mentioned football a simple game we overcomplicate.

[TEFTONG 60,467]

I've had 6 Forest mates asking about him and checking if I'm raging he has left us. 

Told them they are welcome to the dwarf and I'm sure he will waste plenty of their money rebuilding for the Championship next season. 

[The Specky Forum Organiser 66,194]

17 minutes ago, esquire8 said:

Make it simple. He wants to be closer to home but hasn't got any decent offers down south yet. Get in there and see what he says. Can only say no like Nerlinger but at least we are trying to get the best around.

[bluenoz 31,277]

It sounds like the board has placed extra responsibilities on Beale. I'm ok with that because he has an excellent football brain, but a bit concerned with an overload on overseeing everything. I still think a DOF is the proper route. I said a few days ago, I would like to see an ex-player. Ten years ago, Souness would have been an excellent selection, but not now. Hopefully Davie Weir gets an interview, but I think he left the club in a bad way if I remember correctly.

Whoever it is, I would stop offering 4-year contracts. 3 tops.

[OrangeRab 3,025]

19 minutes ago, bluenoz said:

It sounds like the board has placed extra responsibilities on Beale. I'm ok with that because he has an excellent football brain, but a bit concerned with an overload on overseeing everything. I still think a DOF is the proper route. I said a few days ago, I would like to see an ex-player. Ten years ago, Souness would have been an excellent selection, but not now. Hopefully Davie Weir gets an interview, but I think he left the club in a bad way if I remember correctly.

Whoever it is, I would stop offering 4-year contracts. 3 tops.

Think it depends. If it’s a young player who we really rate to be one of our top players and has an injury free history. You absolutely want a 4year contract. If it’s someone with little sell on value, someone who has an injury history etc. then 3 year plenty. Hopefully with some appearance clauses in there.

There’s no way you’d only want to sign Tillman on a 3 year deal. And have to accept a cut price deal if a Prem club wants to sign him in a few years 

[East Enclosure Row N 2,861]

On 12/04/2023 at 23:14, NeoGeo7 said:

If a player is good enough or has resale value you don’t let their contract expire, you sell with 12 months to go or sign an extension and either play them or sell them a year later.

Kent and Morelos should have signed new deals last summer or be sold, Wilson has let them just run down their deals and we are getting nothing for them and we don’t want to keep them as they are done at the club. Matondo was signed on a 4 year deal by the way so not far off with the 7 years, again that is on Wilson. If you sign someone for 4 years you have to be sure they are going to be worth it or have resale, matondo has neither

4 is nowhere near 7. Not at the proddy school I went to anyway.

You may not want Kent, but you speak for nobody else. Ryan Kent is the most technically gifted player at this club.

[NeoGeo7 10,627]

54 minutes ago, East Enclosure Row N said:

4 is nowhere near 7. Not at the proddy school I went to anyway.

You may not want Kent, but you speak for nobody else. Ryan Kent is the most technically gifted player at this club.

For me Kent had masses of potential, just like kamara, but there is a consistency issue with kent and an attitude problem with Kamara. It’s frustrating as hell and you want to believe they will come good but it’s wishful thinking. Kent isn’t a young lad now, he should be in his prime as an attacking player and his performance last weekend was anything but that. He’s not alone in that regard and for what it’s worth I was hoping earlier in the season both kent and Alfie would sign extensions but now I don’t, we need a clean break from both.

You can have all the skills and tricks in the book but with poor intelligence and decision making in the final third is much worse.

Comapre Candeias and Kent, undoubtedly Kent is more skilful but:

• Kent has averaged 0.26 assists per game, Candeias had 0.25 assists per game
• Kent has averaged 0.15 goals per game, Candeias had 0.14

We have paid considerably more to get Kent and I suspect his salary per week is probably at least double of Candeias and yet the return is almost identical.

There comes a point you just have to accept Kent is not as good as he should or indeed could be and we will be cutting ties with him.

[sassaaaa 11,406]

Kent will be this clowns first signing.

[Negri's lovechild 14,460]

16 minutes ago, sassaaaa said:

Kent will be this clowns first signing.

He'll probably do alright at Forest as well.

Zero expectation on winning trophies and they won't be that bothered if he only turns up every other game. It's probably his level. 

[The Godfather 72,650]

17 hours ago, East Enclosure Row N said:

4 is nowhere near 7. Not at the proddy school I went to anyway.

You may not want Kent, but you speak for nobody else. Ryan Kent is the most technically gifted player at this club.

For the money we spent on him he's been a massive flop.

His numbers are shocking and you can count on 1 hand the good games he's had this season.

 

[SPWF 8,427]

16 hours ago, NeoGeo7 said:

For me Kent had masses of potential, just like kamara, but there is a consistency issue with kent and an attitude problem with Kamara. It’s frustrating as hell and you want to believe they will come good but it’s wishful thinking. Kent isn’t a young lad now, he should be in his prime as an attacking player and his performance last weekend was anything but that. He’s not alone in that regard and for what it’s worth I was hoping earlier in the season both kent and Alfie would sign extensions but now I don’t, we need a clean break from both.

You can have all the skills and tricks in the book but with poor intelligence and decision making in the final third is much worse.

Comapre Candeias and Kent, undoubtedly Kent is more skilful but:

• Kent has averaged 0.26 assists per game, Candeias had 0.25 assists per game
• Kent has averaged 0.15 goals per game, Candeias had 0.14

We have paid considerably more to get Kent and I suspect his salary per week is probably at least double of Candeias and yet the return is almost identical.

There comes a point you just have to accept Kent is not as good as he should or indeed could be and we will be cutting ties with him.

This is mental. Guy is a fucking myth. 

[SeparateEntityMyArse 54,287]

18 hours ago, East Enclosure Row N said:

4 is nowhere near 7. Not at the proddy school I went to anyway.

You may not want Kent, but you speak for nobody else. Ryan Kent is the most technically gifted player at this club.

Lowry and Hagi are more gifted imo.

Kent tho has the ability to impact games more as he has the pace neither of those 2 have, but he doesn't. Imo that's due to decision making as much ss anything. He'd rather do shimmies and step overs than actually get numbers in his game. The still image of Morelos free in the middle free in the middle waiting for a simple pass from him in the OF game being a prime example.

[Ben10 2,294]

I fear he was told to go. 

I never understood the vitriol, he was lauded when he came and he's forced out with insults. 

[NorthernLights 2,526]

51 minutes ago, Ben10 said:

I fear he was told to go. 

I never understood the vitriol, he was lauded when he came and he's forced out with insults. 

Probably the shit signings, letting contracts run down, and never replacing the ageing players we have 

[Loyal72 12,140]

22 hours ago, Johnstone Burgh said:

Virtually every single major club operates using this model now. We’ve had a Director of Football on and off for about 20 years now. Dick Advocaat was basically a DoF once McLeish came in, Gordon Smith was DoF. This might give you a bit more clarity on why.

The transfer window of players has closed, but a feature of this football season has been how the permanently open market across other levels of a club continues to gather momentum.

Arsene Wenger very memorably reacted last year to a query about directors of football by asking whether it was someone who “stands in the road and directs play right and left” but even he could not defy the tide. Job titles can sometimes only confuse. Whether it be director of football, sporting director, technical director or even Raul Sanllehi’s initial and rather awkward ‘head of football relations’ title alongside Wenger at Arsenal, the basic job and rationale is the same.

It is to provide one overarching vision and strategy across football departments that is sufficiently coherent and resilient to ensure continuity amid the inevitability of managerial or even ownership change.

Lee Dykes, who became Bury’s first sporting director last year, believes that every club in the English Football League pyramid will have a comparable position within the next five years. It is already the norm throughout football in Europe, north America and just about every other major sport.

“We have to be self-sustainable as a football operation,” explains Dykes. “Gone are the days where you just have the first team and a youth team. What you have now is the coaching, the medical, the sports science, the analytics, the recruitment, the women’s team, the youth team operation. You are managing seven or eight individual businesses.

“We cannot be self sustainable if, every time there is a change of manager, all of the plans go out of the window, a big chunk of staff leaves and half the playing squad is considered a cost because the new manager wants to bring his own players in. It would just plough the football club into debt.

“Ryan Lowe (Bury’s manager) is doing very well, but just say he gets a move to a higher level of football. We hope he is with us for a very long-time, but we need to be in a position where we are recruiting maybe one or two members of staff to go again and everything else stays the same.” Dykes says that his job, in consultation with the various other departments, is to provide pioneering best practice across every specialist area for the very purpose of giving the manager the best possible opportunity.

The increasing recruitment of sporting directors following rigorous and independent processes is perhaps the best indicator of how this area has been professionalised.

Brighton, for example, added Dan Ashworth this season from the Football Association to what was already a very well functioning team with a respected chief executive in Paul Barber, head of recruitment in Paul Winstanley and first team manager in Chris Hughton.

The FA were in turn keen to continue with a model that has helped inspire a shared identity across the various age group teams. They appointed Les Reed, whose work at Southampton has itself greatly helped to popularise the structure. The successes both of Liverpool and Manchester City have also been in large measure down to a consistent and comparable off-field strategy, respectively led by Michael Edwards and Txiki Begiristain. The role has become a specialism in its own right and one that is regularly transferred across other sports.

Dykes, for example, is currently studying for a Masters degree in sporting directorships at the University of Salford and has no interest in being a manager himself.

Where problems have often occurred previously in football is where an owner, chairman or manager simply recruited a director of football figure through having some sort of past friendship. Even worse was when it was someone who might then be a contender for the manager’s job.

Arsenal’s internal frictions, where recruitment chief Sven Mislintat and Sanllehi were appointed independently by former chief executive Ivan Gazidis who, himself then left, also underlines the importance of clarity. Mislintat departed shortly after it became apparent that Sanllehi was very clearly now responsible for the club’s overall sporting strategy as director of football.

Stewart King is the global head of performance at Nolan Partners (a sports recruitment specialist with offices in London, New York and Los Angeles) and is experienced in working with ownership groups and boards of Premier League clubs to appoint sporting directors.

“The sporting director model is very well established across other sports, especially in North American professional sport, who tend to call them General Managers," says King. "It is certainly something that has been growing greatly and becoming standard in the Premier League.

"It is about having someone who will provide that overarching strategic thinking and planning. It is a position that should insulate and support the head coach. The job is just too big in the modern game for managers to oversee all the areas that they once did.”

A new type of club owner appears also to be emerging, especially given the increasing American influence on English football. For them, a longer-term strategy built on the sustained success and growth of their investment is key. That requires a stability in planning but also an off-field figurehead who, in the words of King, “are as fluent, comfortable and credible in the boardroom as they are on the training ground”.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2019/02/01/clubs-have-director-football-now-actually/

 

The very first thing you say is false, so am no reading the rest 👍🏻