Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: James on May 13, 2012, 09:43:37 AM
-
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?
-
Well we need someone who understands football at the club.
-
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.
-
I'd be very encouraged if they were looking at this. Not specifically the name, but the role.
-
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.
-
Sounds good to me.
-
It could be a good financial option as ,sack McLeish , and promote from within or appoint a coach with a DOF = save money ?
-
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?
-
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.
-
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?
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
I agree.
-
So, could somebody explain how this would work in our situation?
Would this mean keeping McLeish? Or would we appoint someone such as Kevin MacDonald as 'head coach' with Comolli as Director of Football?
-
I think there is some merit in trying out the DoF approach, and Commoli does have an impressive record. I'd even go as far as to say that although those signings at Liverpool haven't worked out yet, they may well prove to be very useful (although clearly they significantly overpaid for them) - Carroll is a very good striker, Henderson isn't as bad as some make out, and Downing is a decent winger (as well as a treacherous oik).
Commoli as DoF, with MacDonald as Head Coach, with Cowans supporting? Risky, but much better than keeping McLeish.
-
I would presume you would hire Comolli (or somebody like that) who sets up an infrastructure at the club including scouting, development, partnerships, contacts and so on and recruits a manager (head coach) to compliment that.
There is no scenario where McLeish should be kept.
-
So, could somebody explain how this would work in our situation?
Would this mean keeping McLeish? Or would we appoint someone such as Kevin MacDonald as 'head coach' with Comolli as Director of Football?
No. We get Comolli in as DoF, then, as has already been suggested on another thread, Hulk Hogan in as manager. Even if I believe the Ultimate Warrior would provide the younger members of the squad the intensity needed to hack it in the Prem, you just cannot knock Hogan's record.
-
So, could somebody explain how this would work in our situation?
Would this mean keeping McLeish? Or would we appoint someone such as Kevin MacDonald as 'head coach' with Comolli as Director of Football?
No. We get Comolli in as DoF, then, as has already been suggested on another thread, Hulk Hogan in as manager. Even if I believe the Ultimate Warrior would provide the younger members of the squad the intensity needed to hack it in the Prem, you just cannot knock Hogan's record.
Ooh yeah! We're gonna get into Europe, Brotha'!
-
I can hear all the Villamaniacs singing "I am a real Astonian" as he makes his way to the dugout.
-
Forget the manager, I just hope the Iron Sheik comes in as our middle-eastern oil tycoon billionaire.
-
Jimmy 'Mouth from the South' Hart can be the fans liaison on the message boards. It'd be great.
(https://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQwsHUxPCOaJZ2afc64RgpzUABz6PXiNxijIEp0kRa3XWt7eutR)
-
We missed a great chance by not appointing Houlier as DoF (unless he was offered and didn't want it)
He has a great wealth of knowledge with in the game. We could have then appointed a young up and coming manager or promoted Kevin Mac.
-
We missed a great chance by not appointing Houlier as DoF (unless he was offered and didn't want it)
He has a great wealth of knowledge with in the game. We could have then appointed a young up and coming manager or promoted Kevin Mac.
A wealth of knowledge that led to him signing Diouf, Pongolle and Cheyrou. No ta.
-
Full list of GH transfers when he was at racist FC
http://www.liverweb.org.uk/houllier.asp
-
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.
I appreciate what you guys are saying but I'm struggling to think of a situation where Comolli has come out of any job in English football smelling of roses.
I think he talks a very good game but I see very little evidence that he actually does a decent job (hence my McLeish comparison). What is undeniable is that he has just lost his job after overseeing some significant Scouse transfer dealings - one assumes he is paying the price for Liverpool's botched transfer policy,though maybe he was let go simply because he failed to build a decent working relationship with Dalglish. Either way he has a track record of leaving his posts under a cloud. He strikes me as damaged goods, a guy whose stock is falling.
To be honest, I'd be happier if we looked elsewhere for a DoF as opposed to being the latest club to fall for his charm. The bottom line -as with McLeish- is that he doesn't really get results despite his protestations to the contrary. I am more than happy to be proven wrong on this and would love to see any tangible evidence of anything positive that he has brought to any football club. (I know he claims he was behind some astute signings for Arsenal back in the day but Wenger's version of events is significantly different.)
-
Full list of GH transfers when he was at racist FC
http://www.liverweb.org.uk/houllier.asp (http://www.liverweb.org.uk/houllier.asp)
Backs up what I say. Decent signings like Hamann and Henchoz came from other Premier League sides, so weren't discovered by Houllier. Most of his foreign signings were absolute shite. £24m for Diouf and Cisse? Good lord.
-
comolli is a total chancer. wenger's description of him is the most accurate I reckon.
If we wanted a director of football/technical director then someone like nicky hammond was done well at reading working with a board that hadnt a clue about football.
-
Comolli's just another scapegoat (like the Comms Director who got the boot on Friday) for Dalglish's failings. Does anyone think if he'd had the final word in their transfer policy that an old-school manager like KKK would have stood by and just watched?
-
It would make sense and be a good move seeing as we don't look to have a lot of football knowledge higher up on the board.
The DOF is essentially a GM's role and that would attract Randy I imagine.
-
To my mind Dalglish's transfer was very much his own. It had all his hallmarks and very little of Comolli's but that of course is unlikely to come out in the wash.
Somebody had to take the fall for Mr Liverpool's failings.
-
Don't want Comoli but would like someone in DOF football role it got to be someone like BL or SGT in the role.
-
Comoli would be an improvement but I am not sure he is *the* man, primarily based on Wenger’s opinion on the guy. Similarly his legacy at Spurs does not appear to have materialised (youth players coming through etc), however - in his defence - I do not think he can be blamed for the recent signings by Liverpool.
Personally I think a DoF is vital for Villa to start again. We need a man who’s sole job is to look at the long term vision of Villa as it appears clear that Randy will not do it. Faulkner does not have the skills or knowledge and I do not think a traditional manager would be able to do the job without neglecting first team affairs.
-
Sir Graham DoF with Lambert or Rogers as manager?
-
Sir Graham DoF with Lambert or Rogers as manager?
As much as I like Graham Taylor, I really think we need someone who has a comprehensive knowledge of foreign transfer markets. We have been left behind in that particular area and for me, one of the main roles of an incoming DoF would be to set up a worldwide scouting system which identifies top foreign talent.
-
There are a couple of things to remember about Sir Graham. 10 He's 67. 2) He's chairman of Watford, who have always been his real love. He doesn't need or want another full-time job.
-
We need some football nous in there. Someone with some kudos and styanding in the game - worldwide, not just England either. The club's in a mess and needs urgent attention.
-
I'm not keen on the idea of a director of football. A top manager who commands respect is what i want to see not a long line of people who can blame each other when things go wrong.