This article is by Elliot O’Reilly from our partner site Football Fancast. Make sure to check out the latest football blogs and news at FFC – ed
Liverpool have as their Director of football, Damien Comolli, who previously occupied the position at Tottenham, and the general consensus emanating on this former relationship is one of debate. The position, having been experimented with in English football, is relatively new, whereas in Europe it is an accepted position that compliments the structure of the club. There have been many instances of a Director of football and a manager coming to blows over issues of authority. Why is it that the European model that applies itself so well can’t be translated to English clubs? Will Liverpool be able to disprove this assertion with Comolli?
The Director of football, in the case of Comolli, is the person who implements the strategy of the club, trying to create a raison d’être that everyone can relate to and that will provide for future needs. Thankfully Comolli doesn’t appear to have a managerial agenda and so he’ll leave the tactics, coaching and team selection to Roy Hodgson. This will be beneficial for Hodgson because he can focus on his task unhindered by extraneous concerns that may otherwise cloud judgement or realign priorities. The long-term development of youth is of the utmost importance for Liverpool’s new owners, the NESV, with their public statements consistently reiterating this point and Comolli has been entrusted with guiding this philosophy to fruition.
All of the characters involved in the structural hierarchy at Liverpool are firm adherents to the sabermetrics philosophy as expounded by Billy Beane, which brought great success to the Oakland A’s in baseball. This statistically driven formula will look to be implemented in assessing transfer targets and aid the process whereby value is extracted from the market without paying overtly high prices. Hodgson must have been converted to this system or at least in principle, otherwise he wouldn’t have felt comfortable in continuing his role.
Transfer dealings on the continent are traditionally the domain of the president and sporting director, with the coach or manager having to deal with whatever is imparted to him by these benefactors. The question of who will hold authority over transfer dealings at Liverpool is interesting, for Hodgson, you would believe, would wish for the final say, otherwise he receives derision for a poor player purchase. Yet Hodgson has worked abroad and must have encountered this structural set-up, so it won’t be a culture shock to him. There is much debate over Comolli’s legacy at Spurs, with players he identified and sold, and how much credit can be bestowed upon his decisions.
Liverpool will benefit from the firm stance the new regime is taking on youth development, with resources being allocated to this end and the experience Comolli has in this field. He helped to enact and design Tottenham’s Bulls Cross training ground, and he’ll no doubt be looking at the same sort of venture for Liverpool in order to make youth player’s stars of the future.
What is necessary for Comolli and Hodgson is that they form a reciprocal relationship, one that maintains clarity of definition over authority and what is expected from each. For this is where previous attempts at this structure have imploded, Newcastle saw Kevin Keegan resign with Dennis Wise attributed the majority of blame. Is Comolli’s appointment advantageous, I would say yes.
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