WHILE “news flashes” and “breaking news” reports stalked our television screens in the hunt for our new manager FSG’s other pressing matter was to replace the disposed of Sporting Director Damien Comolli with someone who could oversee footballing matters at the club.
A few were linked with the job but the most interesting one was the granite faced Dutch task-master Louis van Gaal.
Up to last week the former Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich supremo has been tipping himself to be appointed at the club. To potential suitors for the management role, this may have made them think twice whether they wanted to work with a man who is famed for his strict disciplinary methods and head teacher like abruptness. He has handled players, the press and owners he has worked with in the past with a mixture of contempt and arrogance and is notorious for being very blunt with members of the media for asking “stupid” questions.
The pageant style in which our owners have gone about the business of finding the right set up for the club has its pro’s and con’s; it shows that FSG respect us fans by keeping us in the picture of what is happening at our club but it also weakens our pulling power, with targets perhaps put off by not being perceived as their first choices for the job. Managers have large books of contacts within the game and may have been warned of the possible consequences of working with a controlling yet highly experienced Sporting Director with urges to step back into management. A battle of wills would have been inevitable as van Gaal would want to input his knowledge potentially to the detriment of the managers ideas.
When Brendan Rodgers was eventually appointed last week he showed impressive tenacity to the owners eloquently expressing his desire to take the job on his own terms, which meant full control over team affairs:
“When you are at a club of this size and status there’s no one person in charge of everything and that’s no different to any other top manager. They will have a chief scout and heads of recruitment who will identify targets.
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“Then you will make the decision as the manager because it’s absolute madness if you are the manager and someone else tells you to have a certain player, it doesn’t work. I’ve had total clarity with that from the guys. I didn’t want to say what I’ve said and then in three weeks’ time van Gaal walks in. It does not work. If you want to have a sporting director, get him in and then pick your manager. But if you do I won’t be the manager.”
Rodgers has put down his marker now, which should earn him instant respect as he is willing to take the responsibility himself, knowing he will live and die by his decisions over the next few years. This has put the long running saga of replacing Damian Comolli to bed making his old role defunct and allowing the manager to bring in his own staff who he knows and trusts rather than looking over his shoulder to see what the director is doing or if he is plotting for his job.
Could this bright young manager create a dynasty at the club? With attractive possession-based football, we will certainly be entertained, but whether it works out or not you can be sure that it will be on his terms.
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All well and good but what we didn’t get told was what he had to agree to for getting the job. I believe he was told he had to agree to curtailing the buying of new players and to pacify the fans by saying all our problems are just in the WAY we play and not the players! Time will tell.
It’s a good thing YOU believe that Chunky.
Fsg don’t want to waste £120m on players that are inconsistent again so I’m glad no one outside of the boardroom knows what available cos you get a situation like when Newcastle knew we had £50m from torres’ sale and basically said- well we want £35m. We might be able to uncover some value for money signings for once.