Hendrik Almstadt

[DB]

I hope Tim still has full power on who he brings in....

Not a fan of these Sporting Directors to be honest, another foreign myth that British football thinks it must have.

Have they really worked here though...just an open question.

[aj2k77]

A complete set of coaches.
A Sporting Director.
A CEO with a grounding in football.
Marketing Director.
Spending money again.

This is how is should have been over the last few years. I'm glad to see Randy and the whole club have awoken from a coma. 2 or 3 clever additions and I will really be looking forwards to next season.

[manic-road]

Welcome to the Villa Hendrik.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Aston Villa Football Club is pleased to announce the appointment of Hendrik Almstadt as the Club's first ever Sporting Director.

The 40-year old German joins the Club from Arsenal where he spent the last four years in the football department working with the chief executive and manager in the areas of technical scouting, data analytics, financial budgeting and contract management, the academy and athletic development.

Chief executive Tom Fox said: "I'm really pleased to welcome Hendrik to Aston Villa.

"I was able to see first hand the excellent work he did at Arsenal and he will add tremendous value across our entire football set-up."

Almstadt begins work officially at Bodymoor Heath on Monday and is looking forward to the new challenge.

He said: "I can't wait to start my new role at Aston Villa.

"It is a club with huge potential, a rich history and deep roots in Birmingham, the Midlands, and within English and European football.

"I look forward to working again with Tom Fox and to establish a close relationship with the manager, Tim Sherwood."

Manager Tim Sherwood said: "I'm really excited Hendrik is joining.

"We have a lot of work to do at the football club and Hendrik will make the job I have here easier."

If only we'd had somebody with those skills under O'Neill when Pubehead was looking to sign Heskey.

"31 years old, 3 and a half year contract at £65K a week.  Computer says no."

"Frenchman at Wigan, handful of good games, can't cross, £9.5m fee, £40k a week, 5 year contract. Computer says are you fcuking joking."

[Ron Manager]

Hendrick.The ball was over the line! You need to come to terms with it.

[Tuscans]

I hope Tim still has full power on who he brings in....

Not a fan of these Sporting Directors to be honest, another foreign myth that British football thinks it must have.

He's hardly a Sporting Director, more like a swot that will do Sherwood's homework for him.

Say's his role is a "Sporting Director".

[Tuscans]

I hope Tim still has full power on who he brings in....

Not a fan of these Sporting Directors to be honest, another foreign myth that British football thinks it must have.

Have they really worked here though...just an open question.

Personally don't think they have worked. Spurs springs to mind, now Liverpool....

[Toronto Villa]

Aston Villa Football Club is pleased to announce the appointment of Hendrik Almstadt as the Club's first ever Sporting Director.

The 40-year old German joins the Club from Arsenal where he spent the last four years in the football department working with the chief executive and manager in the areas of technical scouting, data analytics, financial budgeting and contract management, the academy and athletic development.

Chief executive Tom Fox said: "I'm really pleased to welcome Hendrik to Aston Villa.

"I was able to see first hand the excellent work he did at Arsenal and he will add tremendous value across our entire football set-up."

Almstadt begins work officially at Bodymoor Heath on Monday and is looking forward to the new challenge.

He said: "I can't wait to start my new role at Aston Villa.

"It is a club with huge potential, a rich history and deep roots in Birmingham, the Midlands, and within English and European football.

"I look forward to working again with Tom Fox and to establish a close relationship with the manager, Tim Sherwood."

Manager Tim Sherwood said: "I'm really excited Hendrik is joining.

"We have a lot of work to do at the football club and Hendrik will make the job I have here easier."

If only we'd had somebody with those skills under O'Neill when Pubehead was looking to sign Heskey.

"31 years old, 3 and a half year contract at £65K a week.  Computer says no."

"Frenchman at Wigan, handful of good games, can't cross, £9.5m fee, £40k a week, 5 year contract. Computer says are you fcuking joking."

Goalkeeper, 35 years old, best days behind him, can't catch crosses, maybe 6ft tall, £60K a week, 5 year contract. Computer says, "are you trying to go bankrupt?"

[pauliewalnuts]

Aston Villa Football Club is pleased to announce the appointment of Hendrik Almstadt as the Club's first ever Sporting Director.

The 40-year old German joins the Club from Arsenal where he spent the last four years in the football department working with the chief executive and manager in the areas of technical scouting, data analytics, financial budgeting and contract management, the academy and athletic development.

Chief executive Tom Fox said: "I'm really pleased to welcome Hendrik to Aston Villa.

"I was able to see first hand the excellent work he did at Arsenal and he will add tremendous value across our entire football set-up."

Almstadt begins work officially at Bodymoor Heath on Monday and is looking forward to the new challenge.

He said: "I can't wait to start my new role at Aston Villa.

"It is a club with huge potential, a rich history and deep roots in Birmingham, the Midlands, and within English and European football.

"I look forward to working again with Tom Fox and to establish a close relationship with the manager, Tim Sherwood."

Manager Tim Sherwood said: "I'm really excited Hendrik is joining.

"We have a lot of work to do at the football club and Hendrik will make the job I have here easier."

If only we'd had somebody with those skills under O'Neill when Pubehead was looking to sign Heskey.

"31 years old, 3 and a half year contract at £65K a week.  Computer says no."

"Frenchman at Wigan, handful of good games, can't cross, £9.5m fee, £40k a week, 5 year contract. Computer says are you fcuking joking."

Goalkeeper, 35 years old, best days behind him, can't catch crosses, maybe 6ft tall, £60K a week, 5 year contract. Computer says, "are you trying to go bankrupt?"

Request for proposals: potential methods to reduce wage bill. Proposal: Take group high earning players, ostracise them, hope they magically go away. REJECTED

[Dave]

I hope Tim still has full power on who he brings in....

Not a fan of these Sporting Directors to be honest, another foreign myth that British football thinks it must have.

Have they really worked here though...just an open question.

Personally don't think they have worked. Spurs springs to mind, now Liverpool....

It needs the right setup. If the club is geared around that and manager is basically a head coach who turns up, trains and picks the team then it'll work fine. Swansea manage perfectly well doing it this way, West Brom have had their best years in a generation doing similar and Southampton seem to be coping. As do Chelsea.

It should be a setup where the manager is basically an interchangeable figurehead who can slot in and work within the processes in place, rather than the rip-it-up-and-start-again nonsense of the past decade.

That's my only issue with this - if we're having a 'Sporting Director' then their remit should include picking the manager that they feel is right for the club, rather than working around what is already in place. Otherwise you just end with Martin O'Neill making sure that half a dozen Sporting Directors are fired just because he has to be the one in charge.

The reason it's got a bad rep in this country is there's this idea that if something is wrong, all you need to do is make a former player the 'Director Of Football' and all will be fine. That's not what the role is there to do. (edit - as Mark expands on below)

[Rudy Can't Fail]

I hope Tim still has full power on who he brings in....

Not a fan of these Sporting Directors to be honest, another foreign myth that British football thinks it must have.

He's hardly a Sporting Director, more like a swot that will do Sherwood's homework for him.

Say's his role is a "Sporting Director".

It can only be an English version of a Sporting Director. And you wonder why people, yourself included, don't think we need them. Over here, where clubs have multi sports and players from infant to former players teams, it's a very powerful role. Obviously the football is priority and the SD would be responsible for the hiring/firing of the coach/manager, the recruitment and sale of players. In fact, everything except coach the team and even then, he'll turn up to cast an eye to see how things are going.

Our lad with help Tim with his sums.

[Percy McCarthy]

Takeover well dead and buried if appointing new roles. Welcome Hendrik

My theory is that we are about to become the richest club in the world and are getting all our deals in place while everyone thinks we've got no money.

Delph chose us over Man City - spooky - so Tim had to throw a red herring to the press before they put two and two together and got four for a change.

[Dante Lavelli]

I agree with Dave ^^^^^

The role of running a football club is too big for one individual so other people need to be given power somewhere somehow.  So simply it is a case of deciding where the power lines are drawn.  In Dave's system there is continuity between managers and the club avoids the waste associated with flip flopping between managers like McLeish and Houliier.   

[cdbearsfan]

This sounds good to me. A forward-thinking move, for once.

[andyh]

To think it was only a few months ago when Lambert was running the whole show.

We look a bit like a football club now.