Ramón Rodríguez Verdejo (AKA Monchi)

[Bent Neilsens Screamer]

https://twitter.com/sidlowe/status/1668318727991877632?s=46&t=tRQc-IrzjqWPKBwYhGZpFw

Apologies, just realised that article is very old

[Tokyo Sexwhale]

We're hoping for some Monchi Magic!

[Scott Nielsen]

He used to be brilliant but that was a fair few years ago now. Looking at his career as a whole the misses have begun to outweigh the hits. Here's hoping he rediscovers his mojo.

Yes. I hope he succeeds obviously but feels like yesterday's man.

And since Emery now runs the club who's reporting to whom? A sporting director that is an underling to the manager seems a novel approach.

[john e]

Yes, from everything you read he does seem to command love and hate in equal measures

I love Emery, but like Scott in the post above says putting almost total control in the managers hands might not be the best move long term for him as well as the club

[Chris Smith]

Yes, from everything you read he does seem to command love and hate in equal measures

I love Emery, but like Scott in the post above says putting almost total control in the managers hands might not be the best move long term for him as well as the club

Is it total control or a case of employing people that the manager trusts in order to create a more harmonious working environment? To use an analogy from on the pitch it’s similar to Tyrone being a better defender when he knows he has Emi behind him rather than the showroom dummy who occasionally stands in.

[algy]

About 5 years ago, I had a conversation with my manager's manager at work (a genetics scientist by trade) about a way that a software project I was working on could be structured, in terms of staffing/management, so that it would work better/more efficiently. That was taken up, and IMO it's been a resounding success.

It might be a similar thing here. Emery's been asked what he needs in place to succeed. Emery has said what that is, and now the club are making it happen.

[darren woolley]

When I have had a few beers I get the Monchi's I'll get my coat lol.

[chrisw1]

Yes, from everything you read he does seem to command love and hate in equal measures

I love Emery, but like Scott in the post above says putting almost total control in the managers hands might not be the best move long term for him as well as the club

Is it total control or a case of employing people that the manager trusts in order to create a more harmonious working environment? To use an analogy from on the pitch it’s similar to Tyrone being a better defender when he knows he has Emi behind him rather than the showroom dummy who occasionally stands in.

It feels like total control to me.  Great whilst we're progressing.  I do fear for us if it goes sour though, it looks like we would lose our entire structure in one fell swoop.

But for now I'm very happy.

[Duncan Shaw]

So is the consensus that Monchi might not be all he's cracked up to be then?

[mallo]

So is the consensus that Monchi might not be all he's cracked up to be then?

He's had a few misses lately - but I think that is because he has started picking senior players and he was good at setting up a big scouting network at Sevilla, which found them younger - plus we don't know how much the manager dynamic didn't work. Certainly if his brief is to set up a big scouting network, I think he'll be fine. If it's just to find transfers, not so sure.

[danno]

I’m ignorant to what a sporting director does and doesn’t do. Maybe the scope of the role varies from club to club. Especially if a club has more than one.

I’m assuming that this chap is coming in to do all of the busywork that mr Emery can’t do all by himself. Negotiating transfer fees with clubs, phoning agents, sorting out players contracts, finding clubs for unwanted players.

[Dave]

So is the consensus that Monchi might not be all he's cracked up to be then?

His big hits were all in his earlier years. Sevilla had been relegated, they brought him in to deal with the youth setup and overhall their scouting - he brought the likes of Sergio Ramos, Jesus Navas, Jose Reyes into the youth team, and the scouting network he created took the likes of Dani Alves, Seydou Keita, Julio Baptista and Ivan Rakitic there.

He basically turned Sevilla in that team that won all those trophies in the early 2000s. He then went to Roma, and bombed. As a glaring example, he thought that spending £10m on Robin Olsen would be the best way for them to replace Allison when he joined Liverpool.

Then went back to Sevilla and has basically been a bit lazy, spending huge amounts of money on not-very-good players. He spent £40m on Rony Lopes and Raf Mir (who couldn't get into the Wolves team at the time) and they've been either out on loan or very poor since joining.

Still some good bits in his second spell though - he took both Diego Carlos and Jules Kounde to Spain which was one of the best centre-half pairings in the league. So it's basically gone from "all really good" in his first spell. To "very bad" at Roma and "hit and miss" at Sevilla.

So he might be great, and maybe he just needs the right infrastruture around him - which you'd think he'd get here. But I do wonder if he's one of those who finds every last bit of value when he's financially constrained but just chucks money around willy-nilly when he has it.

[VILLA MOLE]

oh gosh does that mean we will keep Olsen 😳😃

[Brazilian Villain]

oh gosh does that mean we will keep Olsen 😳😃

No, but it does mean we're bringing back Augustinsson.

[LeeB]

So is the consensus that Monchi might not be all he's cracked up to be then?

His big hits were all in his earlier years. Sevilla had been relegated, they brought him in to deal with the youth setup and overhall their scouting - he brought the likes of Sergio Ramos, Jesus Navas, Jose Reyes into the youth team, and the scouting network he created took the likes of Dani Alves, Seydou Keita, Julio Baptista and Ivan Rakitic there.

He basically turned Sevilla in that team that won all those trophies in the early 2000s. He then went to Roma, and bombed. As a glaring example, he thought that spending £10m on Robin Olsen would be the best way for them to replace Allison when he joined Liverpool.

Then went back to Sevilla and has basically been a bit lazy, spending huge amounts of money on not-very-good players. He spent £40m on Rony Lopes and Raf Mir (who couldn't get into the Wolves team at the time) and they've been either out on loan or very poor since joining.

Still some good bits in his second spell though - he took both Diego Carlos and Jules Kounde to Spain which was one of the best centre-half pairings in the league. So it's basically gone from "all really good" in his first spell. To "very bad" at Roma and "hit and miss" at Sevilla.

So he might be great, and maybe he just needs the right infrastruture around him - which you'd think he'd get here. But I do wonder if he's one of those who finds every last bit of value when he's financially constrained but just chucks money around willy-nilly when he has it.

I think this is crucial to the success of any sporting director/ chief scout, whatever you want to call them. Under the previous manager much of Lange's work looked suspect but under the current incumbent it looks like he'd pieced together one of the strongest midfields in the league for less than he'd flogged an ungrateful academy player for.