Oh FFS Rio Ferdinand Director Of Football

Originally Posted by Switching Off

But will he be unearthing gems or will he be saying "that De Ligt is a mad ting man, sign him up"?

Reported.

Brap.

Originally Posted by Switching Off

But will he be unearthing gems or will he be saying "that De Ligt is a mad ting man, sign him up"?

Is the former not the actual job of the numerous scouts we employ?

Originally Posted by Clownbones

Any chance we could hire a director of football as director of football?

Bit difficult when the job title doesn’t really exist

I think it could be a very good move by the club tbh

Rio clearly knows a lot about business which would only help him in the role, he’s a charismatic bloke that would be able to handle the egos of agents and players.

Of all the names mentioned recently I think he sounds the best fit.

Originally Posted by AK14

I think it could be a very good move by the club tbh

Rio clearly knows a lot about business which would only help him in the role, he’s a charismatic bloke that would be able to handle the egos of agents and players.

Of all the names mentioned recently I think he sounds the best fit.

This. Stick Fletcher in there as well and you've two guys in the hierarchy who understand the standards required, are passionate reds and want the best for the club above all else.

Rio's personality is something the club has missed horribly.

Originally Posted by dunk

This. Stick Fletcher in there as well and you've two guys in the hierarchy who understand the standards required, are passionate reds and want the best for the club above all else.

Rio's personality is something the club has missed horribly.

You could say the same about Ole tbf and we seemed to try everything else and it hasn’t worked so why not.

Originally Posted by believe

You could say the same about Ole tbf and we seemed to try everything else and it hasn’t worked so why not.

Ole has done well to get the shower of shit he picked up to where he has tbh.

Originally Posted by AK14

I think it could be a very good move by the club tbh

Rio clearly knows a lot about business which would only help him in the role, he’s a charismatic bloke that would be able to handle the egos of agents and players.

Of all the names mentioned recently I think he sounds the best fit.

If the dof is going to be the one negotiating the deals, (are they?) then anyone we employ has to be extremely skilled at it, considering the @#%&!s they’ll be negotiating with. Ferdinand may have all the other attributes, as do loads of ex united players, but does he have that key skill?

Neville said he wasn’t qualified for the job. Is Rio more qualified than Neville?

Originally Posted by Coracao

Is the former not the actual job of the numerous scouts we employ?

Youd think. But if Derek Langley is to be believed we spotted De Ligt and de Jong 2 or 3 years ago and did nothing.

Originally Posted by Switching Off

Youd think. But if Derek Langley is to be believed we spotted De Ligt and de Jong 2 or 3 years ago and did nothing.

State of the club.

Originally Posted by Clownbones

Any chance we could hire a director of football as director of football?

Nobody is anything until they are. David Gill had never been chief exec of a football club until we gave him the job. I have no problem giving talented people a chance so long as we’re honest about how they do. Gill did well; Woodward not so much.

Edwin seems to be doing a pretty good job.

Originally Posted by Switching Off

Youd think. But if Derek Langley is to be believed we spotted De Ligt and de Jong 2 or 3 years ago and did nothing.

One of hundreds of reports, probably. We seem to lack someone who can then take things further in deciding where to go from there.

Didn’t the scout say he recommended them to woodward? There’s the problem. He has no idea how to decide whether to sign those two or the 50 others that have been recommended to him. All he is capable of deciding between is players who already have commercial importance.

Should be director of football and the manager between them who the scouts report to, and they take things from there. Deciding on the shortlist according to the team’s needs and investigating character etc. With the manager having final say once the dof has done due process. The benefit of the dof being involved is continuity. But definitely not woodward ffs.

My concerns regarding Fletcher, Rio, "not being continental enough" and the rest on here are twofold:

1. As a club we have never employed a DoF before. I would prefer to hire someone that has actually done the job elsewhere at least for our first DoF so as a club we can better understand the role. It's not fair to either the manager or Rio nor does it give us the best chance of success if we just throw in an ex-player to a new role neither they nor the club have any experience of.

2. As for what works for Ajax, Bayern etc, for starters they operate in one and two team leagues, they are not up against some of the best funded clubs on the planet just to reach top 4 in the league. They have long employed DoF's and have a clear remit of what the job entails. Also it doesn't take Rinus Einstein to poach Dortmund's best players at the end of every season.

Regardless of who we do hire my bigger concern is what their spec will and won't be. As Jammy alluded to, if the role is just someone to head up the football structure (scouts, manager, academy) then it will still be Woodward and Judge dishing out £400k a week contracts which wouldn't really solve one of our bigger problems regarding wages and retaining players because they're here.

He'd be able to hold frank discussions with Ole, and there'd be a mutual respect there, which is not to be sniffed at.

He'd probably be able to accept Ed's frequent bad news on transfers thanks to his own experience in business. Which would suit Ed down to the ground, but won't lead to real change at the club.

The money will be there one minute, but not the next. Making it impossible to plan for the future (the whole point of a DOF, you would've thought). But when a star name crops up, that player will be foisted on the DOF and manager 'for business reasons'.

So not much will change.

Originally Posted by Cream

He'd be able to hold frank discussions with Ole, and there'd be a mutual respect there, which is not to be sniffed at.

He'd probably be able to accept Ed's frequent bad news on transfers thanks to his own experience in business. Which would suit Ed down to the ground, but won't lead to real change at the club.

The money will be there one minute, but not the next. Making it impossible to plan for the future (the whole point of a DOF, you would've thought). But when a star name crops up, that player will be foisted on the DOF and manager 'for business reasons'.

So not much will change.

Depressingly, the crux of it.

It's a step in the right direction, but only if the DoF is backed properly - i.e. can actually sign the players necessary.

The club is still hamstrung by the owners constraints and lack of investment so it's hard to see what will change. That said, at the very least it might stop us signing utter shite like Sanchez. Where was the due dil on that ffs?

Originally Posted by Whip Hubley

Depressingly, the crux of it.

It's a step in the right direction, but only if the DoF is backed properly - i.e. can actually sign the players necessary.

The club is still hamstrung by the owners constraints and lack of investment so it's hard to see what will change. That said, at the very least it might stop us signing utter shite like Sanchez. Where was the due dil on that ffs?

Funny thing is (isn't it's depressing...) When we signed Sanchez Rio called him 'absolute Dijon'

He's more Gijón

Originally Posted by andyroo

He's more Gijón

An absolute £#%&!ing Gujon.

Originally Posted by Bunker Buster

Funny thing is (isn't it's depressing...) When we signed Sanchez Rio called him 'absolute Dijon'

dijon is an acquired taste pal.

Originally Posted by Whip Hubley

Yeah but it's not cool to actually like Rio


What had Overmars done before become SD of Ajax? Basically £#%&! all. Shareholder of go ahead eagles

And VDS? Ditto, although he went from marketing director ( ) to CEO.


I'm all for criticising the way the club has handled things but surely this is at least a step in the right direction, even if it doesn't work out.

Surely the most important thing isn't hiring an ex player. It's hiring someone you reckon would do a good job.

Loved Rio as a player, but he doesn't come across great imo. And he never says anything interesting about the game.