Director Of Football

[James]

This is in The People today:

Randy Lerner wants a director of football at Aston Villa - and Damien Comolli is in prime position for the job.

I know there have been discussions in various manager threads about a DoF but it didn't seem appropriate to post this in those.

Is the message getting through or is this just paper talk as usual?

What do you think of this idea?

[Drummond]

Well we need someone who understands football at the club.

[Irish villain]

I'd like it to be true. Firstly, it shows that the board are still committed to making Aston Villa a footballing success and are not happy to just tread water in the Premier League. Secondly, it'd show that they realise they have messed up the footballing side of things.

Who knows what discussions may already be underway.

Of course, it could just be paper talk. Time will tell.

[Nelly]

I'd be very encouraged if they were looking at this. Not specifically the name, but the role.

[Villafirst]

Well we need someone who understands football at the club.

Yes, agree, because between them, Lerner, Faulkner and McLeish haven't got a clue about football! Complete clowns all of them!

Someone like Sir Graham Taylor would be ideal as a Director of Football at the club.

[cdbearsfan]

Sounds good to me.

[claret and blue blood]

It could be a good financial option as ,sack McLeish , and promote from within or appoint a coach with a DOF = save money ?

[Villafirst]

It could be a good financial option as ,sack McLeish , and promote from within or appoint a coach with a DOF = save money ?

Don't suggest that to RL. With his current austerity strategy the club is only going in one direction......down! To be anywhere near successful in the Premier League it takes serious investment. Lerner needs to be more imaginative - perhaps he needs a serious business partner with money, or sell 49% of his shares back to the fans?

[ozzjim]

I like Comolli, and think the role is one that with our board structure and knowledge is actually needed at Villa Park. He was on Keys and Gray on Thursday, and I was enthralled with the way he talked. I certainly think that IF the relationship between the head coach and the Director of Football is a good one, it can work very well. Indeed, if Comolli has does come in and then has a say in the future manager, it could be excellent IMO.

[nigel]

It could be a good financial option as ,sack McLeish , and promote from within or appoint a coach with a DOF = save money ?

Don't suggest that to RL. With his current austerity strategy the club is only going in one direction......down! To be anywhere near successful in the Premier League it takes serious investment. Lerner needs to be more imaginative - perhaps he needs a serious business partner with money, or sell 49% of his shares back to the fans?

If this is true then it could mean the end of AMcL, with, maybe, the appointment of a young up and coming manager or promotion within the club.
Regarding investment: has anything else been said of QIA interest?

[Billy Walker]

I'd be very encouraged if they were looking at this. Not specifically the name, but the role.

I agree.  My worry about Comolli would be that he has just been kicked out of his current job because of a transfer policy that has been ridiculed the length and breadth of the football world.  Add to that his stints at Spurs and Arsenal, which produced mixed results to say the least, and the picture of a of a journeyman spoofer emerges.  He's the Alex McLeish of DoFs.

I would be very pleased if the club did recruit a suitable person for a DoF role, but I would be  slightly unsettled if that person ended up being Comolli.  Should Randy be lining him up it would suggest to me that, yet again, he has a blind spot for recruiting personnel.  For me - and it sounds harsh - it would be a lazy, ill-researched appointment begging the question, once more, of why on earth would we want to recruit such a controversial figure for such an important role?

Cast the net wider Randy, do some serious research and get a hungry ambitious talent on board who buys into Aston Villa Football Club.

[Mazrim]

Sorry, I think that's nonsense. Comolli is a very credible character in the game whereas McLeish is utterly incompetent.
I agree almost word for word with Ozzjim.

[Nev]

I like Comolli, and think the role is one that with our board structure and knowledge is actually needed at Villa Park. He was on Keys and Gray on Thursday, and I was enthralled with the way he talked. I certainly think that IF the relationship between the head coach and the Director of Football is a good one, it can work very well. Indeed, if Comolli has does come in and then has a say in the future manager, it could be excellent IMO.

Let's face facts, the low hum of an electrical transformer would sound enthralling on Keys and Gray such is the vacuous nature of the show.

[ktvillan]

Sorry, I think that's nonsense. Comolli is a very credible character in the game whereas McLeish is utterly incompetent.
I agree almost word for word with Ozzjim.

Not sure about that - I thought Comolli was fingered as the main reason 'The Mighty Reds YNWA' paid ludicrous fees for the likes of Henderson, Downing and Carroll.  Could be wrong though. 

[Stu]

Sorry, I think that's nonsense. Comolli is a very credible character in the game whereas McLeish is utterly incompetent.
I agree almost word for word with Ozzjim.

Not sure about that - I thought Comolli was fingered as the main reason 'The Mighty Reds YNWA' paid ludicrous fees for the likes of Henderson, Downing and Carroll.  Could be wrong though. 

If he negotiated the fees paid then he needs his head looking at. But I'm not sure about how involved Comolli was at Liverpool, the methods in recruitment at Liverpool seem to be completely different to his previous record; previously he'd signed players from all over Europe, yet suddenly when working with KKKenny, Comolli limits his horizons to over expensive English players that play a winger/big man up front style of football. It says more about old Ku Klux than Comolli IMO.

We can only wait and see.