Will a director of football help Arsenal going forward? by Konstantin Mitov
Hello guys and straight off the bat, it’s another protest! This time at the training ground and honestly, these actions are the only thing giving me any hope for this football club, because listening to Arsene is like listening to a broken, out of date record on repeat.
Now, I read some rumours around the papers that Ivan Gazidis has met some fans where he ‘intimated’ that a ‘mutual decision’ will be made, but we will take some action and a director of football was being mentioned. Now listening to Ivan say anything is like listening to a politician. He’s here to put empty promises out to get our money, we’ve seen it before!
For me a director of football is a must-figure in our post apocalyptic (post-Arsene) era. I believe that hiring such a figure means, we put somebody who’s in charge of taking action if the footballing results don’t match our actions, something that Arsene does right now and he doesn’t do it very well.
Introducing a director of football, but keeping Wenger doesn’t really add up. It means that either Wenger has to be accountable to him and we all know even God bows to Arsene’s will at Arsenal, or we put another yes-man to the list of Steve Bould, what Pat Rice was, and what all the other coaching staff and most of the players here are.
For me if we introduce such a figure, he needs to build a plan for success. What are we going to improve on the footballing side, to achieve our targets (if we even have any). He also has to help with the transfers. The manager’s job should be to manage the squad and the team selection. Regarding the transfers, it’s not Arsene’s job to manage the books. He should just get a list of A, B and C players he wants, and it should be somebody else’s job to go and acquire the best of these players that we can.
But this would only interfere with the Wenger way which has become the same as the Arsenal way. So I don’t really see how such a figure would fit our structure which again is just one man who gets to decide even his own future. In my opinion if we trust anything the board says, we are doomed. I also heard rumours that Wenger will be given money to rebuild, but it’s not really about the money and if this still isn’t clear for you, than you’re probably okay with Arsene.
Missing the top 4 will set us back a lot. Especially in the way of signing good players. But what’s even more setting us back is Wenger. We have a massive rebuilding job ahead of us and a director of football that actually does his job would be a welcome addition to the personnel that will deal with it. I don’t want to see the transition period going again into the hands on one person, because this is the reason we are where we are now.
The only way I see progress happening is constant expression of fans opinion until Wenger is gone, and proper people who will take us back to winning ways are appointed at the top of this football club and a director of football could be one of the missing pieces.
Konstantin
A director of football, yes, but anyone but Wenger.
Wenger should only be given a club ambassador role or something like what Fergie has so that he does not clash or directly interfere with the new management team.
Wenger would never be a Director of Football. His distaste for one as a manager suggests he will never get on with any manager as a TD.
However a TD is crucial for a post Wenger Arsenal. It is unlikely we will find another manager to last 10 years (let alone 20) again. Going by other clubs, it will be every couple of seasons until we find the right one. A TD would be instrumental in making sure the club remains focused and on the right track.
I don’t get it. Look how far ManU has fallen since Fergie left even though they were getting new top managers and superstars…
Haha how are you getting thumbed down!?!?
Di Maria, Depay, Falcao, Fellaini, Shaw, Mata, Pogba, Zlatan, Blind, Bailley, Martial, Herrera.. Moyes was bad but LVG and Mourinho have as big resumes as you’re likely to find. The prem is hard man…
Director of football would make zero difference with Wenger in charge, because they will have no say whatsoever in terms of the consistently poor decisions being made on a match day, such as: team selection, players in their correct positions, mentality, man-marking, formations, tactics, substitutions, fitness, and in-game management. These are all the responsibility of Wenger, or whoever is the manager.
One could argue that a director of football would take some of the pressure off Wenger, and allow him more time to focus on a match day. But as I’ve already said, because Wenger makes so many basic mistakes, it wouldn’t matter who was helping him. I would like to see a director of football with a new manager for sure, because we need to try something different, but just not with Wenger. He’s too far gone! We could tinker with everything in and around Wenger, but the main problems steam from Wenger, thus these problems will remain, as long as Wenger is still the manager.
We could have the most supportive board, and director of football in the world, who are all rich Arsenal fans at heart, that don’t mind putting their hands in their own pockets to help Wenger out, and it wouldn’t make a difference. Because they could give Wenger the best tools to work with, but it’s Wenger, and no one else, that chooses HOW to use these tools.
Less time on tactics etc because the board was happy to sit back and not hire extra people when they already had someone they could leave it too.
If Wenger is as bad as you say then how on Earth did we go a season unbeaten? How did Wenger win the EPL? He couldn’t have if the support means nothing and he would fail anyway.
He would have failed.
Wenger wasn’t always bad. He was once good, a very, very, long time ago when the league wasn’t as competitive. And even when Wenger was supposedly that good, he still couldn’t do anything in Europe. You have to accept that Wenger has never been a top draw manager, and you also have to accept that people can change, sometimes for the worse. Graham won three major trophies like Wenger, and he delivered in Europe, in half the time! Should he be considered better?
But as I said before, we’re talking basic mistakes. The formation doesn’t work, so why doesn’t he try a different one, like other managers do? Hull were losing the other day, Marco Silva changed the system at halftime, and they won the game. When does Wenger ever do that? Putting players in the correct positions. Why does Wenger refuse to sell any deadwood? These are basic errors.
“He should just get a list of A, B and C players he wants, and it should be somebody else’s job to go and acquire the best of these players that we can.”
I agree K, when Wenger was winning the EPL with Arsenal he had Dein who would go and get players like you said.
Wenger and Dein built a great friendship from reports and quotes that have been made many years ago when they was working together.
“But this would only interfere with the Wenger way which has become the same as the Arsenal way.”
I disagree, Wenger and Dein built a good relationship and Dein wasn’t a yes man, he was a shareholder and on the board, the difference I can see is that Dein had the power to spend what he wanted as it was his job on the board.
After Dein leaving have a look if we have competed with transfers?
Have a look at the volume of players Wenger has spoken about missing since Dein left… Obviously showing some displeasure.
I actually think Wenger would welcome a good Sporting Director, someone who would show ambition in getting the players he puts as his main target, someone Wenger could trust to point at a player and see that player come in… Like it was with Dein.
If Wenger stays it a director of football would make no difference. Knowing Kroenke he would even give Wenger input on the hiring of such a director immediately creating a power dynamic in favor of Wenger.
David Dein would be the only guy to be able to handle Wenger.
By the way, did you guys know Spurs have a policy of never letting a player’s contract run below 2 years?
“… because listening to Arsene is like listening to a broken, out of date record on repeat.” – are you sure you’re talking about Wenger, Konstantin, and not about yourself?
Is funny to hear Mitov moaning about finishing top 4 but saying now that missing on this one will set us back a lot. What a peach.