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Managing Director Football: Fabio Paratici

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TOMSPURS

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Nov 24, 2006
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Most of the discussions at the moment seem to be about whether Poch or Levy are at fault for our poor form. Could one of the main problems lie in the fact that we operate without a Sporting Director?

As a club we have taken giant strides forward in the last 5/6 years. Moving into world class training facilities and stadium, becoming a regular Champions League team. Expectation levels have gone from Europa League & League Cup hopes to Premier League & Champions League hopes! Our turnover is now amongst the top 10 clubs in Europe. Is now the time to review, regroup and refocus how this club operates and can progress?

Clubs like Athletico Madrid (Berta - sporting director), Leipzig (Rangnick - sporting director) show how a clear vision & plan can be implemented with the right structure in place. Athletico under a long-term manager have sold key players, reinvested & refreshed their squad while maintaining their competiveness. Leipzig have changed coaches & players while also maintaining their competiveness.

In 2003 Levy & the board employed Frank Arnesen to oversee a complete rebuild of the club, from scouting, youth team to first team. Frank jumped ship quickly but a clear plan & DNA for the club was implemented.

Previously all promising youth players were sent out on loan (Kane, Walker, Rose, Mason, Huddlestone, Caulker etc.), all of whom progressed not only to the first team but achieved international recognition. Poch has limited this approach with very little success. Why is it allowed to persist?

We failed to refresh our squad over several transfer windows. A sporting director's role is to ensure there is a clear vision through out the club, from scouting youth players through to first team recruitment.

Levy is a genius at generating funds & maximising profits. Poch has shown he is a world class coach. John McDermott has done a fantastic job over the past 15 years with our underage teams. We have nearly all the elements to be a very successful club. Are we just lacking a top class Sporting Director???
 

Kiedis

Well-Known Member
Aug 4, 2013
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I think it would definitely be the best way forward. If Poch would want is another thing all together.
 

'O Zio

Well-Known Member
Dec 27, 2014
7,405
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I've said it before but I definitely think we need one, however it needs to be one of the genuinely top level ones. Plenty of clubs have some sort of DoF but if it's just going to be some random ex-player ceremonial role then there's no point, and likewise if we just get some average hit-and-miss type bloke like Commoli. I don't have anyone specific in mind but there are a handful of people in the world who genuinely are gamechangers for the clubs they're involved with and we should pay what it takes to get one of them, whether it be Ragnick, Monchi or whoever. The point is, getting one for the sake of it is just another thing to go wrong. If we're going to do it we need to do it properly.
 

talkshowhost86

Mod-Moose
Staff
Oct 2, 2004
48,101
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It's a role that ultimately only works if both the chairman and manager are on board and let that person do their job.

I'm not sure either our chairman or our manager would be on board right now.
 

spursfan77

Well-Known Member
Aug 13, 2005
46,680
104,956
It's on here somewhere from a couple of years ago where Trix went into detail about what Baldini did and didn't do and what being a sporting director entails. Baldini was different to Commolli for example and I think closer to what Arnesen was like. Heres a few comments re Baldini (ignore the titles, these are links to posts in threads):



 
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Everlasting Seconds

Well-Known Member
Jan 9, 2014
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It's a role that ultimately only works if both the chairman and manager are on board and let that person do their job.

I'm not sure either our chairman or our manager would be on board right now.
Wish this could be pinned down and appear automatically whenever anybody brings up "sporting director" or equivalent.

1. The solution to the present issues at Spurs is not one singular thing that can be simplistically presented. It's not the wrong formation, it's not the lack of a role.
2. I don't believe in more cooks in the kitchen as a general rule.
3. Levy and Pochettino don't want one. See post above.
 

Spurs_Bear

Well-Known Member
Jan 7, 2009
17,094
22,286
It's a role that ultimately only works if both the chairman and manager are on board and let that person do their job.

I'm not sure either our chairman or our manager would be on board right now.

Yep. Hiring a Sporting Director isn't going to loosen the purse strings, and we still wont sign a player until deadline day unless Levy signs off on it.
 

Metalhead

But that's a debate for another thread.....
Nov 24, 2013
25,351
38,294
Most of the discussions at the moment seem to be about whether Poch or Levy are at fault for our poor form. Could one of the main problems lie in the fact that we operate without a Sporting Director?

As a club we have taken giant strides forward in the last 5/6 years. Moving into world class training facilities and stadium, becoming a regular Champions League team. Expectation levels have gone from Europa League & League Cup hopes to Premier League & Champions League hopes! Our turnover is now amongst the top 10 clubs in Europe. Is now the time to review, regroup and refocus how this club operates and can progress?

Clubs like Athletico Madrid (Berta - sporting director), Leipzig (Rangnick - sporting director) show how a clear vision & plan can be implemented with the right structure in place. Athletico under a long-term manager have sold key players, reinvested & refreshed their squad while maintaining their competiveness. Leipzig have changed coaches & players while also maintaining their competiveness.

In 2003 Levy & the board employed Frank Arnesen to oversee a complete rebuild of the club, from scouting, youth team to first team. Frank jumped ship quickly but a clear plan & DNA for the club was implemented.

Previously all promising youth players were sent out on loan (Kane, Walker, Rose, Mason, Huddlestone, Caulker etc.), all of whom progressed not only to the first team but achieved international recognition. Poch has limited this approach with very little success. Why is it allowed to persist?

We failed to refresh our squad over several transfer windows. A sporting director's role is to ensure there is a clear vision through out the club, from scouting youth players through to first team recruitment.

Levy is a genius at generating funds & maximising profits. Poch has shown he is a world class coach. John McDermott has done a fantastic job over the past 15 years with our underage teams. We have nearly all the elements to be a very successful club. Are we just lacking a top class Sporting Director???
We've had them but they never seem to work out - one always gets the impression that DL likes that setup though.
 

dontcallme

SC Supporter
Mar 18, 2005
33,985
81,905
We certainly need to improve our transfer policy. This summer was a big improvement. While we may not spend the huge salaries of some the signing of Ndombele suggests our wages are going up to attract a certain quality.

To improve we don't need to spend ridiculous funds. Plenty of players have been bought in recent times by our competitors that would improve us and not cost the earth.
 
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fecka

Well-Known Member
Jun 24, 2013
2,304
6,349
I think the biggest thing that would change with a DOF is we would have a more coherent and thoughtful transfer strategy.
I think that would propel us further forward than many might realize.
 

Bulletspur

The Reasonable Advocate
Match Thread Admin
Oct 17, 2006
10,690
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3. Levy and Pochettino don't want one. See post above.
And here in lies the problem. Because Poch doesnt want one (Levy has employed them in the past) , does not make having a Director of football a bad call. It would be better for the club if he changed his mind set
 

worcestersauce

"I'm no optimist I'm just a prisoner of hope
Jan 23, 2006
26,891
45,040
The thing about a sporting director is that the manager/coach has to be subservient to him, at the very least equal but that only works if they are friends or completely in tune with each other. The sporting director brings in the players and tells the coach to work with them possibly having brought in the right man for the job in his opinion.
The only way it can work in reverse is if you have Man City money when you can go out and get any player the coach wants.
Personally I am of the opinion that a sporting director needs to be a fantastic salesman to sell the club to prospective recruits.
 

Everlasting Seconds

Well-Known Member
Jan 9, 2014
14,914
26,616
And here in lies the problem. Because Poch doesnt want one (Levy has employed them in the past) , does not make having a Director of football a bad call. It would be better for the club if he changed his mind set
Well yeah, it would be better for all of us if changed his mind about loads of thing. But you like ulterior realities and blue sky thinking. I prefer to see this world as it presently is. :LOL:
 

Japhet

Well-Known Member
Aug 30, 2010
19,232
57,389
And here in lies the problem. Because Poch doesnt want one (Levy has employed them in the past) , does not make having a Director of football a bad call. It would be better for the club if he changed his mind set


i think it's quite dangerous when one person has too much control over things. It's fine when it's all going well but if things take a turn for the worse (like our current situation), we're left in a situation where a Manager who can't get his team playing for him is entrusted with persuading new recruits to sign up. I think we could have a real struggle in the January window if Poch is still in charge.
 

muppetman

Well-Known Member
Jul 29, 2011
8,901
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In principle - yes
In practice - can't see it working here and now

I very much liked the way Swansea and Southampton used to do things but then they stopped so even that wasn't a surefire method of success.

Having a clearly identified way of playing would mean you'd need types of players rather than very specific ones and you're manager would be a very important part of the machine rather than the single point of failure as it is now. You can then have a DoF or Sporting Director who'd work with the scouting team to identify, agree and then get those players.

Sounds simple in concept.
 
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