Something Has To Change

We've had a lot of discussion over the last few weeks about who is to blame for the season as a whole and what we need to do going forward. The manager has come in for a lot of criticism with many losing faith with him, many never had that faith to begin with, and many who have the opinion that he is working with his hands tied behind his back and that he is doing the best in the current set up.

I think we can all agree though that something has to change this summer and I wanted a thread to have a discussion about what that should be and if we have any faith that what should happen will happen. I'm talking about from a structural viewpoint more than individual transfers etc etc.

What can we expect to change?

There are three key areas where changes could be made:

Owners
Manager/coach
MD/Transfer committee

The least likely, I'd say 100% likely, to change is the owners moving on and I'm sure everyone on here would agree even if they don't want them here. FSG are here to stay in the short to medium term so even if 'we' think they have made the most mistakes they are not something that can change. I would add that I don't think they will change from their transfer policy either, give or take the odd signing, and we will have to accept that they will broadly look to signing younger players with an eye on the future and players who have their best years ahead of them.

If FSG are here to stay and the policy won't change, and there is little evidence to suggest it will, then what changes will they make moving forward? If they think we have failed this season, and it's not even a given that they do, then who will they identify as being responsible? If not the manager then someone or some part of the football structure within the club hasn't functioned as it should have done. If they don't see this season as a failure then we won't see any changes and the same again will happen this summer and into next season.

Conversely if FSG do think we have failed in our objectives for the season I would expect changes to be made to either, or both,of the other areas I mentioned above. The manager and/or the structure above him and what he works with in recruiting players.

I'm of the opinion that the people in the transfer committee are working to the guidlines set by the owners and we 'miss' many players because they aren't given more freedom to be more flexible in how the money available for transfers is used. But maybe there is arguement that there are too many grey areas within the structure and no one person is performing well enough within their role to get deals done.

Should we appoint an experienced Sporting Director to come in and implement all football policy from top to bottom? An experienced operator who will shape transfers, youth policy and basically everything football wise at the club. Someone who will be in charge fo the transfer committee and who has experience dealing with transfers, scounting players, getting transfers over the line etc. Someone like Monchi at Sevilla or example.

This would leave Brendan as simply the head coach and leave him to coach and set up the first team. It could lessen his remit at the club but also give him a more focussed approach and allow him to get on with the job of coaching the side to win football matches.  There would be no grey areas where signings are concerned as they would be taken out of this hands. It could also lessen the role and influence Ian Ayre has over transfers and leave him, if he is still here, to either move roles or we move him on and possibly gives some of Ayre's jobs to others withing the structure such as Billy Hogan.

If, on the other hand, FSG are 100% happy with how we recruit players and who we recruit if they still see this season as a failure then the person to blame is the manager as he has failed to get the best out of players they have brought in. In this instance we would expect to see a change of manager, and an upgrade, to someone they feel will be able to get more from both the players we have here and make best use of the policy that is in place. I would expect that is this is the case that they should be looking at the top managers that seem to be on the market this summer such as Jürgen Klopp, Rafa Benitez and Carlo Ancelotti. Or looking at other coaches in Europe who have possibly exceeded expectations and worked under similar polices such as Unai Emery, Diego Simone etc.

I think we as supporters all agree that something has to change moving forward although we aren't united in what that should be. I'm sure the vast majority of us want transfer policy to change, at the very least, while some more feel we need to change the manager, or others feel we need to overhaul the committee.

We need a clear strategy for the coming season and people appointed within that strategy who are the very best at their jobs if we are to bridge the gap and exceed expectations.

What is FSG's attitude to success and what is success to them?

Will they act swiftly to ensure we exceed the par or are they happy to drift along and be the team that stays in it's place?

In my opinion we need a true dyed in the wool Director of Football that answers to nobody except the owners. If he wants a committee for transfers that is fine but the final decisions, responsibilities, credit and blame belong to him and him alone.

If Brendan cannot work under such leadership then he should be let go and somebody brought in that will.

To many years now things have gone wrong and there is nobody held accountable; I wan't somebody to say "We did not get this transfer done because XYZ" I want somebody to say "this player did not get a new contract because of ABC" or "We are not going to pay XXX to player because he is not worth it"

Somebody needs to take this club, build it based off of the vision of play-style, history & constraints and run with it.

We have people owning, running, managing, playing for this club with zero accountability; all running around in circles doing nothing like they are afraid to confront what actually needs to be done.

In my opinion we need a true dyed in the wool Director of Football that answers to nobody except the owners. If he wants a committee for transfers that is fine but the final decisions, responsibilities, credit and blame belong to him and him alone.

If Brendan cannot work under such leadership then he should be let go and somebody brought in that will.

To many years now things have gone wrong and there is nobody held accountable; I wan't somebody to say "We did not get this transfer done because XYZ" I want somebody to say "this player did not get a new contract because of ABC" or "We are not going to pay XXX to player because he is not worth it"

Somebody needs to take this club, build it based off of the vision of play-style, history & constraints and run with it.

We have people owning, running, managing, playing for with zero accountability; all running around in circles doing nothing like they are afraid to confront what actually needs to be done.

If there are to be no changes to the manager then I 100% agree AZ.

The transfer committee consists of the main compenents of what you need to recruit players and is no different to what most top clubs have in place. The problem is I think Ian Ayre has too much influence on that committee and like you I'd take the manager right out of the equation and remove Ayre and appoint a  proper Sporting Director/DOF.

That guy will have the remit to shape the football club from topto bottom and will be experienced enough and have enough contacts in world football that he will make the best from FSG's recruitment policy.

That guy will have the remit to shape the football club from topto bottom and will be experienced enough and have enough contacts in world football that he will make the best from FSG's recruitment policy.

This is what I believe FSG wanted all along but really sidetracked themselves in doing...the whole David Dien type guy that was to be here at the offset.

The idea was that no matter the manager or players the club had a direction and style from the children to the u-18's all the way to the starting XI that would not change.

None of this happened or what did happen has been in bits and pieces.

Biggest failure of FSG is not about spending what we make; its about having zero consistency and flip flopping ideas every couple of years; they have themselves in a "paralysis by analysis" mode and we are just going sideways.

This is what I believe FSG wanted all along but really sidetracked themselves in doing...the whole David Dien type guy that was to be here at the offset.

The idea was that no matter the manager or players the club had a direction and style from the children to the u-18's all the way to the starting XI that would not change.

None of this happened or what did happen has been in bits and pieces.

Biggest failure of FSG is not about spending what we make; its about having zero consistency and flip flopping ideas every couple of years; they have themselves in a "paralysis by analysis" mode and we are just going sideways.

I agree.

I'm almost at a point now where there is nothing to be gained by debating the policy as I see no real evidence that it will change or that FSG want to change.

I have said that if that is the case I'm not convinced Brendan is the guy to make the most out of that policy but if the manger isn't to change, and I think he won't be replaced, then like you I think the best and only option is to appoint the very best Sporting Director we can get and let him control all football policy at the club.

I agree.

I'm almost at a point now where there is nothing to be gained by debating the policy as I see no real evidence that it will change or that FSG want to change.

I have said that if that is the case I'm not convinced Brendan is the guy to make the most out of that policy but if the manger isn;t to change, and I think he won't be replaced, then like you I think the best and only option is to appoint the very best Sporting Director we can get and let him control all football policy at the club.

Nothing to add to this other than it needs to happen.

In my opinion we need a true dyed in the wool Director of Football that answers to nobody except the owners. If he wants a committee for transfers that is fine but the final decisions, responsibilities, credit and blame belong to him and him alone.

If Brendan cannot work under such leadership then he should be let go and somebody brought in that will.

To many years now things have gone wrong and there is nobody held accountable; I wan't somebody to say "We did not get this transfer done because XYZ" I want somebody to say "this player did not get a new contract because of ABC" or "We are not going to pay XXX to player because he is not worth it"

Somebody needs to take this club, build it based off of the vision of play-style, history & constraints and run with it.

We have people owning, running, managing, playing for this club with zero accountability; all running around in circles doing nothing like they are afraid to confront what actually needs to be done.

I'm not sure there is much if any evidence to suggest that this has worked at any club in English football though has it? We had a go with Commoli and we still wasted a ton of money on poor players. I'm not really sure how it will solve anything? And you seek to be suggesting the DOF has absolute power and final say, how many of the top managers in European want to work in that sort of environment? Particularly if they know we will never be in for the top players. Not many I shouldn't think.

I'm not sure there is much if any evidence to suggest that this has worked at any club in English football though has it? We had a go with Commoli and we still wasted a ton of money on poor players.

An intersting article from John Gibbons on Comolli and also the possible need for 'a Comolli'.

  LIVERPOOL: IS IT TIME TO THINK AGAIN ABOUT DAMIEN COMOLLI? TUESDAY’S COLUMN

by John Gibbons // 12 May 2015 // 27 Comments

Gibbons Ident (1)

STEVE Hothersall recently interviewed Damien Comolli about his time at Liverpool for City Talk 105.9 and it got me thinking about Anfield’s former director of football strategy and later director of football.

I thought about him while watching Luis Suarez for Barcelona. I thought about him when Memphis Depay decided to go to Manchester United after Liverpool’s earlier interest in the player. And I thought about him when Jerome Sinclair made his Premier League debut on Sunday at Stamford Bridge aged 18, with 19-year-old Jordan Ibe joining him on the pitch soon after.

All the time I wondered whether it was time to have a look at Comolli’s time at Liverpool again.

The Frenchman, who has also worked with Monaco, St Etienne, Arsenal and Spurs, was sacked by FSG just 18 months after being appointed in November 2010.

Don’t worry. I’m not going to try to convince you that Andy Carroll was worth £35million, or that Charlie Adam was ever the right fit for the club. But here are the signings most attribute to his hand during his time at the club:

    Andy Carroll: £35m
    Luis Suárez: £22.7m
    Jordan Henderson £20m
    Charlie Adam £8.5m
    Stewart Downing £20m
    Doni: Free
    José Enrique: £7m
    Sebastián Coates: £7m
    Craig Bellamy: Free
    Jordan Ibe: £500k
    Danny Ward: £100k
    Sheyi Ojo: Undisclosed
    Jerome Sinclair: Free

Like at Spurs, his record reads a superstar, a couple of notable successes, some fantastic youth players and plenty who leave you scratching your head. But forget the players for a moment, instead it’s the strategy and implementation during Comolli’s reign that I believe is worth some fresh consideration.

I will touch on the Suarez transfer though. It seems Comolli is part of the growing number of people who don’t get any credit for what Luis Suarez did at Liverpool.

Football - Preseason Friendly - Valerenga v Liverpool FC

Earlier in the year, in an attack on Comolli, Ian Doyle of the Liverpool Echo called the Suarez transfer ‘something of a no-brainer’ which seems ridiculously harsh considering every other club in Europe knew about him and didn’t put a bid in. For example, here is Harry Redknapp:

“We looked at Suarez. He was a player who we  probably should have taken, looking back on it. We just weren’t sure.”

And that was for bloody Tottenham! We’re not talking Real Madrid here. Comolli was part of the team that identified the player as someone who improved us and, crucially, he then got the job done.

This is what I want to focus on: Comolli as a man who got sh*t done. In January 2011, less than three months after joining Liverpool, he managed to negotiate a fee of £50million for a striker who didn’t want to play for Liverpool and bring in two who did. This was during the January transfer window – a time when Liverpool haven’t managed to sign anyone for the last two seasons because apparently it’s impossible.

So back then, against all the odds, we managed to lose one of the most highly thought of strikers in Europe and, for a few extra quid, come out better off. And he still found time to sell Ryan Babel, too.

There has been plenty written and said about the players brought in during the summer of 2011, but from a director of football point of view it must be said that the club seemed to have a clear strategy and managed to secure most of their first-choice targets.

A focus on midfielders who created chances might not have been the best strategy in the world; I would argue that any system that values Charlie Adam above Xabi Alonso is ultimately flawed, while I also doubt how many of Stewart Downing’s floated balls into the box a striker probably wants.

But it was a clearer strategy than the one which sent us from Sanchez to Remy to Balotelli in the summer. And I’d have fancied Comolli over anyone at the club now to at least manage to a chat with Alexis Sanchez.

Away from the headline-grabbing deals, there was also a recruitment strategy of poaching the best teenage talent in the country for nominal fees. Comolli helped secure Sinclair, Ibe and Sheyi Ojo in a short space of time. Since he left we either haven’t been as successful at this, or we simply haven’t bothered with it.

Also under the radar, and less referenced in print and online, are  the players Comolli helped shift on during the summer of 2011. He got a healthy £12m for Raul Meireles, a generous £4m for David N’gog, a ‘tops off’ £1.5m for Paul Konchesky and a champagne popping £1m for Christian Poulsen. SERIOUSLY, SOMEONE GAVE US MONEY FOR CHRISTIAN POULSEN.

He also got notable amounts for a few young players who were never going to make the grade, including Gerardo Bruna (once hailed as the ‘new Lionel Messi’), who was recently seen playing for Whitehawk in the sixth tier of English football before moving to Accrington Stanley. Whitehawk? Yeah, me neither. They sound like a metal band from Wolverhampton.

Jovanic with Hodgson and Cole of England

On top of all that, Comolli managed to get the eye-watering £120,000-a-week salary of Milan Jovanovic off the wage bill.

He did much of this, by all accounts, by not being terribly nice to footballers Liverpool didn’t want anymore. A much underrated Comolli quality — and another which might be lacking from the club at the moment.

The Fabio Borini situation is a good example of this. Last summer the manager clearly wanted him gone, but in the back of his mind he is thinking, ‘If he doesn’t go, I might need him’. He also might be thinking, ‘I might end up at another club in a few years’ time and he might be playing there’. This is a tough one for managers all over the country. How much can you truly ostracise a footballer?

What was needed then was Damien Comolli flushing Borini’s head down the toilet and shoving a National Express bus ticket in his back pocket.

As Liverpool fans, it was our first real experience of a director of football, and it was always going to be an uneasy one, especially with someone with a limited experience of playing and coaching. “Who is this fella to tell Kenny Dalglish who he should and shouldn’t be buying?”

But Kenny spoke highly of Comolli both during and after their work together. In late April 2012, when Comolli had been sacked but Dalglish was just about hanging on, Kenny said:”The director of football role in this country is much maligned. I think people just have something against the job title or the principles.

“For me, the role Damien played was a fantastic help. I think it would be for any manager, as long as everyone knows the lines that they cannot cross, that’s fine.”

Dalglish spoke of the need to replace Comolli, but the club never did, instead moving towards a committee of men, some of whom make Comolli’s footballing career look like Johan Cruyff’s.

Is it time to replace him now? Would we as a fan base be more welcome to it?

The manager famously refused to work under one, telling the media on his appointment as Liverpool boss in June 2012: “One of the items I brought up when I was speaking to the club was that I wouldn’t directly work with a director of football.

“I feel that if you are going to do that as a club you have to do that first. That was my recommendation. If you want to have a sporting director, get him in and then you can pick your manager from there but if you do I won’t be the manager.”

Rodgers’ hand could be weakened after a disappointing season. Or, if it makes him feel any better, maybe we can call it something else.

I’m not advocating the return of Comolli. He’s still the fella who spent £20m on Stewart Downing. I just want someone who is out there getting deals done. Moving players on. Committed and able to ensure the best young talent in the country is moving to our academy. Making sure that, when top talent is looking to move, Liverpool are at least part of the conversation.

I think we’d all welcome that individual at the club. Whoever they may be.

http://www.theanfieldwrap.com/2015/05/time-reassess-damien-comolli/

I'm not sure there is much if any evidence to suggest that this has worked at any club in English football though has it? We had a go with Commoli and we still wasted a ton of money on poor players. I'm not really sure how it will solve anything? And you seek to be suggesting the DOF has absolute power and final say, how many of the top managers in European want to work in that sort of environment? Particularly if they know we will never be in for the top players. Not many I shouldn't think.

I was under the impression Scott that most big clubs had a sporting director or President Sammer (Bayren), Paratici (Juventus)...etc etc...Commoli never had any power at all.

I think the main thing it does is put a face and a name on who is responsible and it should give more consistency in all of our polices.

As the article above states:

I just want someone who is out there getting deals done. Moving players on. Committed and able to ensure the best young talent in the country is moving to our academy. Making sure that, when top talent is looking to move, Liverpool are at least part of the conversation.

This is what we need.

The only thing that needs to change is fans insatiable lust to have PSG style billionaire owners who will throw money at the club. Its not realistic at this point in time.

I was under the impression Scott that most big clubs had a sporting director Sammer(Bayren), Paratici (Juventus)...etc etc...Commoli never had any power at all.

I think the main thing it does is put a face and a name on who is responsible and it should give more consistency in all of our polices.

As the article above states:

I just want someone who is out there getting deals done. Moving players on. Committed and able to ensure the best young talent in the country is moving to our academy. Making sure that, when top talent is looking to move, Liverpool are at least part of the conversation.

This is what we need.

I don't know that it really does give you the accountability that you are looking for though? Commoli gets the blame for players such as Downing and Carroll but Kenny has always said he fully endorsed all of our transfer moves. And if you take someone like Sammer at Bayern, I don't for one minute imagine that players come in without the full and total endorsement of Pep Guardiola, what do you think?

The model at Spurs with Baldini and Villa Boas looked pretty iffy to me, it did seem very much a case of Baldini bringing in players that the manager didn't particularly want to work with and it didn't end well. Do we want something similar at LFC, I'm not convinced.

I was under the impression Scott that most big clubs had a sporting director Sammer(Bayren), Paratici (Juventus)

I think they do AZ. It is almost common practise on the continent and I'm one on here who has always seen merit in that system.

Even Kenny always praised the job Comolli did while he was here and felt it was essential in the modern game.

'The Director of Football role in this country is much maligned. I think people just have something against the job title or the principles. For me, the role Damien played was a fantastic help. I think it would be for any manager, as long as everyone knows the lines that they cannot cross, that’s fine.’

I don't know that it really does give you the accountability that you are looking for though? Commoli gets the blame for players such as Downing and Carroll but Kenny has always said he fully endorsed all of our transfer moves. And if you take someone like Sammer at Bayern, I don't for one minute imagine that players come in without the full and total endorsement of Pep Guardiola, what do you think?

The model at Spurs with Baldini and Villa Boas looked pretty iffy to me, it did seem very much a case of Baldini bringing in players that the manager didn't particularly want to work with and it didn't end well. Do we want something similar at LFC, I'm not convinced.

Honestly Scott, I don't know why FSG does not do this; it is what they are most familiar with.

They have a general manager of the baseball team, in the end he is charged with hiring the manager and implementing the recruitment of players while the manager handles the ins/outs on the field and in training.

I would want a strong DoF or Sporting Director and have him be responsible for not only the players brought in but also for the manager.

That is my feeling anyway..right now we have Ian Ayre and a bunch of nameless dudes on a committee and they all seem to be going in different directions.

Honestly Scott, I don't know why FSG does not do this; it is what they are most familiar with.

They have a general manager of the baseball team, in the end he is charged with hiring the manager and implementing the recruitment of players while the manager handles the ins/outs on the field and in training.

I would want a strong DoF or Sporting Director and have him be responsible for not only the players brought in but also for the manager.

That is my feeling anyway..right now we have Ian Ayre and a bunch of nameless dudes on a committee and they all seem to be going in different directions.

Yeah it's what they know, and of course in the states it Is very much the norm to have a GM and an HC, no one questions it, it's just the way it is. I'm a big NFL fan and the HC has an input on draft day but many of them simply work with what they're given. But it s the complete opposite to the culture in football and I don't think the idea will ever truly be embraced in this country, or in football in general. Football is a more organic game than American sports, they are all pieces on a board in the NFL, or in baseball. Football is different and the managers live with the pressure, they want to be able to bring in their own players.

And as for the DOF brining in there own Manager, that also echoes what we see in US Sport and certainly (if your going to go down the DOF route) it is probably the best way to make it work with the DOF in post first and then the manager follows suit. Are you American by any chance!?

Yeah it's what they know, and of course in the states it Is very much the norm to have a GM and an HC, no one questions it, it's just the way it is. I'm a big NFL fan and the HC has an input on draft day but many of them simply work with what they're given. But it s the complete opposite to the culture in football and I don't think the idea will ever truly be embraced in this country, or in football in general. Football is a more organic game than American sports, they are all pieces on a board in the NFL, or in baseball. Football is different and the managers live with the pressure, they want to be able to bring in their own players.

And as for the DOF brining in there own Manager, that also echoes what we see in US Sport and certainly (if your going to go down the DOF route) it is probably the best way to make it work with the DOF in post first and then the manager follows suit. Are you American by any chance!?

I actually don't see why it can't be embraced Scott and as I said I'm one who see's the merit in a Sporting Director.

An intersting article from John Gibbons on Comolli and also the possible need for 'a Comolli'.

  LIVERPOOL: IS IT TIME TO THINK AGAIN ABOUT DAMIEN COMOLLI? TUESDAY’S COLUMN

by John Gibbons // 12 May 2015 // 27 Comments

Gibbons Ident (1)

STEVE Hothersall recently interviewed Damien Comolli about his time at Liverpool for City Talk 105.9 and it got me thinking about Anfield’s former director of football strategy and later director of football.

I thought about him while watching Luis Suarez for Barcelona. I thought about him when Memphis Depay decided to go to Manchester United after Liverpool’s earlier interest in the player. And I thought about him when Jerome Sinclair made his Premier League debut on Sunday at Stamford Bridge aged 18, with 19-year-old Jordan Ibe joining him on the pitch soon after.

All the time I wondered whether it was time to have a look at Comolli’s time at Liverpool again.

The Frenchman, who has also worked with Monaco, St Etienne, Arsenal and Spurs, was sacked by FSG just 18 months after being appointed in November 2010.

Don’t worry. I’m not going to try to convince you that Andy Carroll was worth £35million, or that Charlie Adam was ever the right fit for the club. But here are the signings most attribute to his hand during his time at the club:

    Andy Carroll: £35m
    Luis Suárez: £22.7m
    Jordan Henderson £20m
    Charlie Adam £8.5m
    Stewart Downing £20m
    Doni: Free
    José Enrique: £7m
    Sebastián Coates: £7m
    Craig Bellamy: Free
    Jordan Ibe: £500k
    Danny Ward: £100k
    Sheyi Ojo: Undisclosed
    Jerome Sinclair: Free

Like at Spurs, his record reads a superstar, a couple of notable successes, some fantastic youth players and plenty who leave you scratching your head. But forget the players for a moment, instead it’s the strategy and implementation during Comolli’s reign that I believe is worth some fresh consideration.

I will touch on the Suarez transfer though. It seems Comolli is part of the growing number of people who don’t get any credit for what Luis Suarez did at Liverpool.

Football - Preseason Friendly - Valerenga v Liverpool FC

Earlier in the year, in an attack on Comolli, Ian Doyle of the Liverpool Echo called the Suarez transfer ‘something of a no-brainer’ which seems ridiculously harsh considering every other club in Europe knew about him and didn’t put a bid in. For example, here is Harry Redknapp:

“We looked at Suarez. He was a player who we  probably should have taken, looking back on it. We just weren’t sure.”

And that was for bloody Tottenham! We’re not talking Real Madrid here. Comolli was part of the team that identified the player as someone who improved us and, crucially, he then got the job done.

This is what I want to focus on: Comolli as a man who got sh*t done. In January 2011, less than three months after joining Liverpool, he managed to negotiate a fee of £50million for a striker who didn’t want to play for Liverpool and bring in two who did. This was during the January transfer window – a time when Liverpool haven’t managed to sign anyone for the last two seasons because apparently it’s impossible.

So back then, against all the odds, we managed to lose one of the most highly thought of strikers in Europe and, for a few extra quid, come out better off. And he still found time to sell Ryan Babel, too.

There has been plenty written and said about the players brought in during the summer of 2011, but from a director of football point of view it must be said that the club seemed to have a clear strategy and managed to secure most of their first-choice targets.

A focus on midfielders who created chances might not have been the best strategy in the world; I would argue that any system that values Charlie Adam above Xabi Alonso is ultimately flawed, while I also doubt how many of Stewart Downing’s floated balls into the box a striker probably wants.

But it was a clearer strategy than the one which sent us from Sanchez to Remy to Balotelli in the summer. And I’d have fancied Comolli over anyone at the club now to at least manage to a chat with Alexis Sanchez.

Away from the headline-grabbing deals, there was also a recruitment strategy of poaching the best teenage talent in the country for nominal fees. Comolli helped secure Sinclair, Ibe and Sheyi Ojo in a short space of time. Since he left we either haven’t been as successful at this, or we simply haven’t bothered with it.

Also under the radar, and less referenced in print and online, are  the players Comolli helped shift on during the summer of 2011. He got a healthy £12m for Raul Meireles, a generous £4m for David N’gog, a ‘tops off’ £1.5m for Paul Konchesky and a champagne popping £1m for Christian Poulsen. SERIOUSLY, SOMEONE GAVE US MONEY FOR CHRISTIAN POULSEN.

He also got notable amounts for a few young players who were never going to make the grade, including Gerardo Bruna (once hailed as the ‘new Lionel Messi’), who was recently seen playing for Whitehawk in the sixth tier of English football before moving to Accrington Stanley. Whitehawk? Yeah, me neither. They sound like a metal band from Wolverhampton.

Jovanic with Hodgson and Cole of England

On top of all that, Comolli managed to get the eye-watering £120,000-a-week salary of Milan Jovanovic off the wage bill.

He did much of this, by all accounts, by not being terribly nice to footballers Liverpool didn’t want anymore. A much underrated Comolli quality — and another which might be lacking from the club at the moment.

The Fabio Borini situation is a good example of this. Last summer the manager clearly wanted him gone, but in the back of his mind he is thinking, ‘If he doesn’t go, I might need him’. He also might be thinking, ‘I might end up at another club in a few years’ time and he might be playing there’. This is a tough one for managers all over the country. How much can you truly ostracise a footballer?

What was needed then was Damien Comolli flushing Borini’s head down the toilet and shoving a National Express bus ticket in his back pocket.

As Liverpool fans, it was our first real experience of a director of football, and it was always going to be an uneasy one, especially with someone with a limited experience of playing and coaching. “Who is this fella to tell Kenny Dalglish who he should and shouldn’t be buying?”

But Kenny spoke highly of Comolli both during and after their work together. In late April 2012, when Comolli had been sacked but Dalglish was just about hanging on, Kenny said:”The director of football role in this country is much maligned. I think people just have something against the job title or the principles.

“For me, the role Damien played was a fantastic help. I think it would be for any manager, as long as everyone knows the lines that they cannot cross, that’s fine.”

Dalglish spoke of the need to replace Comolli, but the club never did, instead moving towards a committee of men, some of whom make Comolli’s footballing career look like Johan Cruyff’s.

Is it time to replace him now? Would we as a fan base be more welcome to it?

The manager famously refused to work under one, telling the media on his appointment as Liverpool boss in June 2012: “One of the items I brought up when I was speaking to the club was that I wouldn’t directly work with a director of football.

“I feel that if you are going to do that as a club you have to do that first. That was my recommendation. If you want to have a sporting director, get him in and then you can pick your manager from there but if you do I won’t be the manager.”

Rodgers’ hand could be weakened after a disappointing season. Or, if it makes him feel any better, maybe we can call it something else.

I’m not advocating the return of Comolli. He’s still the fella who spent £20m on Stewart Downing. I just want someone who is out there getting deals done. Moving players on. Committed and able to ensure the best young talent in the country is moving to our academy. Making sure that, when top talent is looking to move, Liverpool are at least part of the conversation.

I think we’d all welcome that individual at the club. Whoever they may be.

http://www.theanfieldwrap.com/2015/05/time-reassess-damien-comolli/

that was actually a great read. How do people see if a past player was success or a flop. Resale value? their stats while playing for us? Doesnt matter how you see it, if you take a look at the list of the players comolli/kenny brought in. They have to be success.

Not individuals but all the players they brought while their time with us. We paid too much for majority of the players, but we did get our money back. Sinclair, ibe and hendo are still with us.

 Suarez carried our team to second place, in the champions league. We sold him for alot of money (not saying it was the right choice), we got a bit off the flop, add that money to what we got for landing 2nd and CL money. SO all that money we recouped, if it is invested in new players, then they did a good job. didnt they?

so overall it wasnt too bad. now i am not sure if damien/kenny partnership was as bad as i first thought it was. Maybe going for a DOF isnt a bad idea.

BR & Gerrard have told FSG what is needed this summer in terms of transfers, so let's see if they come up with the goods.

If not then the nail is in the coffin for FSG.

BR & Gerrard have told FSG what is needed this summer in terms of transfers, so let's see if they come up with the goods.

If not then the nail is in the coffin for FSG.

Have you got any proof of this mate, I mean apart from the recent interview Gerrard gave. Is there something new you know, as you just stated Gerrard is to shadow Rodgers after his venture in LA is over.

Source please?

Something only needs to change if your objective is to seriously challenge for titles and honours. If on the other hand your objective is to maximise profits and build up the value of the club before selling on for an absolutely massive wedge of cash, nothing whatsoever needs to change because we are progressing beautifully.

The synergy between what the fans want and what the owners want has never been further apart.

Something only needs to change if your objective is to seriously challenge for titles and honours. If on the other hand your objective is to maximise profits and build up the value of the club before selling on for an absolutely massive wedge of cash, nothing whatsoever needs to change because we are progressing beautifully.

The synergy between what the fans want and what the owners want has never been further apart.

That is just about spot on Mick only difference between the last two is that these fckers are very smart and deceptive.

The key fact is:-
You can't fix something, without duhhhh taking steps to fix something.

I mean some Summers our net spend was ZERO. Which, after natural annual depreciation means  a deterioration, not improvement. Various wage cuts were brutal so its clear what they're setting us up for.

I think most fans can see the deception now, atleast much of it. So many of the debates are becoming irrelevant.

I think we have too many hands in the cookie jar.

First off, it would be great if the owners had an insatiable lust to make this club similar to Barcelona on the pitch. I don't know if that's financially possible at this point but I feel like the owners want the club to progress, but they don't want to have to make any hard decisions or do any heavy lifting to get it there.

Second, I think the transfer committee needs to be disbanded. For me, the manager should be alerting scouts to either a) specific players he is interested in or b) a "type" of player he wants to bring in.

Once those have been identified, the scouts go and do their job (yes they'd actually have to leave England occasionally) and actually scout the players and report back.

Third, the manager decides who he really wants in his side (within some semblance of reason...he can't ask for Messi and Ronaldo every time) and this list of players is then provided to the DoF whose job it is to go and make the transfers happen.

If the transfers can't be completed for one reason or another, the DoF moves on to the manager's next target or backup plan, but there would be no substituting of players that aren't wanted by the manager.

This would require a very close and good working relationship between the DoF and the manager and trust would be paramount to the success of this setup. These two would have to feel like they each had each other's back.

A by product of a setup like this is accountability. If the manager is getting the players he wants but not getting consistent results, then he's accountable. If the manager isn't getting the players he wants because the DoF can't close deals with any of them then you know the DoF needs replacing. If the DoF can't close deals because we can't compete financially, then you know the owners are the issue. It's cut and dry and pretty straightforward.


I don't think there is any way that FSG would implement this approach though.

I think most fans would accept that if you pay 300 million quid for a club/business, it's only fair if you make a profit out of your investment. Whether or not this is in the form of regularly taking money out (which cleverer people than me have assured the forum doesn't happen), or by increasing the value of the club so it can eventually be sold as a profit, I think most people would go along with it.

That is IF however all reasonable steps are taken to allow the club to actually compete for honours on the football pitch. I mean, I don't mind them making money out of the whole thing WITHIN REASON as long as each and every decision is not taken solely with the objective of increasing that eventual windfall.

Our transfer strategy is a case in point. Yes I get that we can't compete financially with some other clubs, but what I definitely do not get is the idea that we will not spend big wages to get proven players who are often available for next to no transfer fee, simply because they don't carry with them a future sell on value. We can afford it, we have the means, but we don't have the will. This is what needs to change .

Our transfer strategy is a case in point. Yes I get that we can't compete financially with some other clubs, but what I definitely do not get is the idea that we will not spend big wages to get proven players who are often available for next to no transfer fee, simply because they don't carry with them a future sell on value. We can afford it, we have the means, but we don't have the will. This is what needs to change .

I don't think you'd find many, if any, who disagree Mick.

I think its a given that we would all like to see transfer policy change.

If however FSG don't want to, or won't, change it then is there anything else we can change to make better use of that policy?

Can they employ better people to scout better players within the budget?

Can they employ better people to identify players early and get deals done in a more timely fashion?

But as you say it all hinges on how much importance FSG place on success on the pictb and whether or not then even think we are 'failing'.

The key fact is:-
You can't fix something, without duhhhh taking steps to fix something.

I mean some Summers our net spend was ZERO. Which, after natural annual depreciation means  a deterioration, not improvement. Various wage cuts were brutal so its clear what they're setting us up for.

I think most fans can see the deception now, atleast much of it. So many of the debates are becoming irrelevant.

Chelsea's net spend this Summer was negative. In other words they made more on player sales than they spent on player purchases. They've won the title. The difference is in transfer policies. We spend £25 million on Lallana, they spent £27 million on Fabregas. They needed goals after last season, and so did we, but for what they spent on Costa we spent on Markovic and Origi, the latter of whom hasn't even kicked a ball in a red shirt yet and hasn't shown he's anywhere near ready to do so. For £2.8 million more than we spent on Moreno, they spent on Luis and I know who I'd sooner have at left back. The difference is that all of their players would demand higher wages than the players we bought. Net spending has nothing to do with our lack of success, it's our refusal to pay players what they're worth.

I actually don't see why it can't be embraced Scott and as I said I'm one who see's the merit in a Sporting Director.

I'm not completely against it but it doesn't really matter what you or me think, the issue it seems is that the Managers are not fans. I can understand that, they are under incredible pressure, the lack of patience from fans and media compared to 15-20 years ago means it win today or gone tomorrow. In that situation, if I was a Manager I would not want players thrust upon me without my complete backing given that it will be my neck on the line if they don't perform.

That was an interesting article on Commoli's time at the club, and without a doubt, a few years on it looks like he did a pretty decent job doesn't it BUT the same could be said of Brendan and the transfer committee. In three years time we could be talking about the £60 million the club received for Raheem Sterling, Coutinho could be the world's best player, Can could be the Captain of Germany and some Sheyi Ojo might be the latest young star to come off the Melwood factory line. But it won't make a blind bit of difference to any of the fans if we aren't winning today, and tomorrow.

Chelsea's net spend this Summer was negative. In other words they made more on player sales than they spent on player purchases. They've won the title. The difference is in transfer policies. We spend £25 million on Lallana, they spent £27 million on Fabregas. They needed goals after last season, and so did we, but for what they spent on Costa we spent on Markovic and Origi, the latter of whom hasn't even kicked a ball in a red shirt yet and hasn't shown he's anywhere near ready to do so. For £2.8 million more than we spent on Moreno, they spent on Luis and I know who I'd sooner have at left back. The difference is that all of their players would demand higher wages than the players we bought. Net spending has nothing to do with our lack of success, it's our refusal to pay players what they're worth.

Nail on head there mate. I'd much rather we spent the same money (or less) on a few top top quality players than the scatter gun approach we see at the club. It is the anti-thesis to the whole FSG approach but it is the way the club should be going about their business. I am certain that this is what Brendan wanted when he made comments on the matter last summer. He talked about buying a few top players to improve the first team.

We could still do that this summer, we have the basis of a good side but we won't. That's what disappoints me and that is also what tempers my criticisms of the manager. It amazes me that his critics seem to sweep this under the carpet. He deserves criticism, much of it justified but hand in hand with that should come an acknowledgement that the club see fit to do business in a way that hampers our chances of buying the best players. 

Nail on head there mate. I'd much rather we spent the same money (or less) on a few top top quality players than the scatter gun approach we see at the club. It is the anti-thesis to the whole FSG approach but it is the way the club should be going about their business. I am certain that this is what Brendan wanted when he made comments on the matter last summer. He talked about buying a few top players to improve the first team.

We could still do that this summer, we have the basis of a good side but we won't. That's what disappoints me and that is also what tempers my criticisms of the manager. It amazes me that his critics seem to sweep this under the carpet. He deserves criticism, much of it justified but hand in hand with that should come an acknowledgement that the club see fit to do business in a way that hampers our chances of buying the best players.

The thing is, it's a fundamentally self defeating business model and I simply cannot understand why it's employed. Whether you're fattening up the asset for a sale or simply want to reap the dividends it provides, keeping running costs down at the expense of increased income is limiting profitability. With the exception of Milan these last two seasons, all the clubs above us in the top 10 rich list are perennial Champions League qualifiers. By spending proportionally more than those outside of their Champions league places they secure the increased competition money, TV revenue and marketing opportunities that come from showcasing your product on a global stage. We could still keep costs under control because our income would be significantly higher than it is now.  In short, FSG's transfer policy is limiting our potential as a club on field and a brand off field.

The thing is, it's a fundamentally self defeating business model and I simply cannot understand why it's employed. Whether you're fattening up the asset for a sale or simply want to reap the dividends it provides, keeping running costs down at the expense of increased income is limiting profitability. With the exception of Milan these last two seasons, all the clubs above us in the top 10 rich list are perennial Champions League qualifiers. By spending proportionally more than those outside of their Champions league places they secure the increased competition money, TV revenue and marketing opportunities that come from showcasing your product on a global stage. We could still keep costs under control because our income would be significantly higher than it is now.  In short, FSG's transfer policy is limiting our potential as a club on field and a brand off field.

This is one of the key aspects of it all. Just 60m extra spend on players when they took over would have had huge effects on future Champs Lge income, sponsors, commercial income, even merchandising income (IF they had also shown the fans respect re share offers, ticket prices etc).

These tw*ts minds are so distorted by greed. If we'd set up a top team in 2010 or 2011, we wouldnt even NEED new players in 2013- 15. Once you sign a player and treat him fairly and challege for silverware, you might have him for 6,8 even 10 years. THAT was always the Liverpool way. Not this "buy a cheap unproven kid, develop him, F**k him over on a wage rise and sell him to your rivals or watch him fade into obscurity".

So now teams with a fraction of our fanbase have leapfrogged us. In the future, no one will travel to Anfield from Ireland/Sweden/Bham and choose LFC as their favourite team. Because it will be a team without stars, and a club without a soul.

The rot has to stop.

Chelsea's net spend this Summer was negative. In other words they made more on player sales than they spent on player purchases. They've won the title. The difference is in transfer policies. We spend £25 million on Lallana, they spent £27 million on Fabregas. They needed goals after last season, and so did we, but for what they spent on Costa we spent on Markovic and Origi, the latter of whom hasn't even kicked a ball in a red shirt yet and hasn't shown he's anywhere near ready to do so. For £2.8 million more than we spent on Moreno, they spent on Luis and I know who I'd sooner have at left back. The difference is that all of their players would demand higher wages than the players we bought. Net spending has nothing to do with our lack of success, it's our refusal to pay players what they're worth.

There needed to be A net spend substantially beyond the purported ie bullshit Shamway figures. We'd lost 3 top players under G&H, and needed some more depth to challenge for the title and Champs Lge. We still had much of the core of a top team, but not enough in Oct 2010.

But after that replenishment that was needed, wages would be the key aspect.

There really is no earthly reason why we could expect 4th given our net spend over the past few yrs and the wage bill thats actually gone down quite a bit once "football inflation" is taken into acct.

This is one of the key aspects of it all. Just 60m extra spend on players when they took over would have had huge effects on future Champs Lge income, sponsors, commercial income, even merchandising income (IF they had also shown the fans respect re share offers, ticket prices etc).

These tw*ts minds are so distorted by greed. If we'd set up a top team in 2010 or 2011, we wouldnt even NEED new players in 2013- 15. Once you sign a player and treat him fairly and challege for silverware, you might have him for 6,8 even 10 years. THAT was always the Liverpool way. Not this "buy a cheap unproven kid, develop him, f**k him over on a wage rise and sell him to your rivals or watch him fade into obscurity".

So now teams with a fraction of our fanbase have leapfrogged us. In the future, no one will travel to Anfield from Ireland/Sweden/Bham and choose LFC as their favourite team. Because it will be a team without stars, and a club without a soul.

The rot has to stop.

See you think it's greed but I truly think it's cluelessness. They (FSG) have no idea how to create success in football, only in baseball which is a completely different sport.

They aren't trying to con anyone, they just aren't smart enough to know how to be successful in this league.

See you think it's greed but I truly think it's cluelessness. They (FSG) have no idea how to create success in football, only in baseball which is a completely different sport.

They aren't trying to con anyone, they just aren't smart enough to know how to be successful in this league.

I tend to agree.

I'm not convinced they are 'greedy' and I actually do think they maybe believe they want 'success' but don't know how to go about getting it.

Not sure I can see us spending the money needed to bring in some top players, with some experience. Which is a REAL worry. That is what I think needs to change the most. Cause that is a player bracket we need to be able to shop in, but currently can't.

We'll probably have a fair few fringe players leave, but also replacing experienced first XI guys is a concern - SG going, maybe Sterling (even though young is experienced relative to a fair few of the squad), even Jonno who gets a lot of stick is still someone who starts a lot of games, and will need someone coming in.

First order of business imo should be to move on Mario, Borini & Lambert (3) and sign a top striker and a Remy type backup (2). Keep Studge, and Origi is probably coming in (though doesn't seem to be ripping up trees anywhere).
Next up, a replacement for SG, someone with experience.
Maybe cash in on Marko and get someone like Milner for maybe same cash (15-20mil?). BTW, I'm not huge Milner fan, but reckon he'd be a lot more effective that Marko.

Basically identify our weaknesses and prioritise signings accordingly. Like Chavs did last season (strikers/creative CM is what they really needed).
We don't make some ballsy signings up top, then I'd expect years around the same level ie. until FSG decide they can make the margin they're after and sell...

See you think it's greed but I truly think it's cluelessness. They (FSG) have no idea how to create success in football, only in baseball which is a completely different sport.

They aren't trying to con anyone, they just aren't smart enough to know how to be successful in this league.

Sorry mate I dont buy that , I think we are and have been conned , you say they aren't smart enough , they are plenty smart even a half wit could tell you that to be successful you need star quality , and thats the same in any team sport , now they may not understand football but they've been here almost five years , they could have employed top people to advise them they haven't ,

They havnt sprinkled any stardust on the team , we've won one trophy in their tenure and the guy who got it they go and sack there is no logic to it what so ever  they are building up the corporate side of things and the revenues but what about the team .

Sorry mate I dont buy that , I think we are and have been conned , you say they aren't smart enough , they are plenty smart even a half wit could tell you that to be successful you need star quality , and thats the same in any team sport , now they may not understand football but they've been here almost five years , they could have employed top people to advise them they haven't ,

They havnt sprinkled any stardust on the team , we've won one trophy in their tenure and the guy who got it they go and sack there is no logic to it what so ever  they are building up the corporate side of things and the revenues but what about the team .

So they make more money by dooming us to mediocrity? You can't have it both ways, if they are only in it for the money then it only follows that the more successful we are on the pitch the more money they make. Billionaires don't ever say "well we just want to make a little money". No they want to make IT ALL.

So if they are only here for the money then it would make no sense to do some of the things they have done. No, they think they can apply these baseball moneyball principles to soccer and create a new success model. Problem is its unproven and they have no football acumen to realize it isn't going to bring any success in the field.

So if they are only here for the money then it would make no sense to do some of the things they have done. No, they think they can apply these baseball moneyball principles to soccer and create a new success model. Problem is its unproven and they have no football acumen to realize it isn't going to bring any success in the field.

So they make more money by dooming us to mediocrity? You can't have it both ways, if they are only in it for the money then it only follows that the more successful we are on the pitch the more money they make. Billionaires don't ever say "well we just want to make a little money". No they want to make IT ALL.

So if they are only here for the money then it would make no sense to do some of the things they have done. No, they think they can apply these baseball moneyball principles to soccer and create a new success model. Problem is its unproven and they have no football acumen to realize it isn't going to bring any success in the field.

Well you would think mate that being as we are dealing  with intelligent men who happen to hsve made sh*t loads of money they would see its not working and stop ploughing the same furrow , I really don't think they are that dull , I believe they think the global name and fan base , will keep it ticking along nicely until such time they decide the time is right to sell and then make the money they  want to , by the way I have no issue with them making money its business after all , I would just like them to make the team successful before they do ,

So they make more money by dooming us to mediocrity? You can't have it both ways, if they are only in it for the money then it only follows that the more successful we are on the pitch the more money they make. Billionaires don't ever say "well we just want to make a little money". No they want to make IT ALL.

So if they are only here for the money then it would make no sense to do some of the things they have done. No, they think they can apply these baseball moneyball principles to soccer and create a new success model. Problem is its unproven and they have no football acumen to realize it isn't going to bring any success in the field.

They've already made £300 million on their investment mate, I'd say they'd be pretty happy with that! I think they'll be here until they decide "The Franchise" has reached it maximum value, I just hope they can get there quicker by building a squad that has a chance of bringing in money through being successful, because at the minute this slow growth plan, is not doing us any favours on the field
They will almost certainly be here until the Stand (or stands) are built and the loan has been paid back.

I do believe FSG started out with good intentions, believing that they could make money and build a successful team, they thought that FFP rules would have more effective than they have, now I think they are less interested in the on field success, and are solely focused on increasing the club's value.

They have this transfer window to prove me wrong, then again, they've already had a few Windows to do just that, and have failed.

Definitely got to be about the transfer policy and people from the TC who have the ear of the owners on the final choices. Are our scouts working wonders? I've seen some crap players wear the badge in recent times and bad players left in the reserves or us paying them to play for other clubs.
Ok once in a while a manager can work against the odds and build such a team moral and self belief that they can totally shock everyone and win big things, Like maybe Simeone recently or Brian Clough in the past.
where it starts though is the scouts and then the committee then the final negotiation and having the conviction to pay that bit extra in wages if that's what it takes to get your man.
If you don't get him, he'll go to your direct competitors most likely and that very thing that made him onto the 1st choice list will be one of the reasons you finish lower than your opposition.
Because they'll do the same thing time and time again unless you make a secret transfer of some unknown superstar.
Plus for all the talk of the way BR uses our youth players from the reserves, I fail to see how he actually is using them that much, where are the 19, 20, 21 & 22 year olds from our academy, why are we after some player who is of the same age position like this igloo meow or whatever he's called? If our academy elders aren't up to it then time we got better.
We need players progressing through the ranks but with purpose not to play a couple of games so we can buy someone elses academy wonder kid when he's older.
Something is broken but I don't think it's badly broken, just needs tuning.

I would love a complete overhaul from owners,CEO,manager,committee,players.

The F***ing lot.

I would love a complete overhaul from owners,CEO,manager,committee,players.

The F***ing lot.

Everything Has To Change.

An intersting article from John Gibbons on Comolli and also the possible need for 'a Comolli'.

  LIVERPOOL: IS IT TIME TO THINK AGAIN ABOUT DAMIEN COMOLLI? TUESDAY’S COLUMN

by John Gibbons // 12 May 2015 // 27 Comments

Gibbons Ident (1)

STEVE Hothersall recently interviewed Damien Comolli about his time at Liverpool for City Talk 105.9 and it got me thinking about Anfield’s former director of football strategy and later director of football.

I thought about him while watching Luis Suarez for Barcelona. I thought about him when Memphis Depay decided to go to Manchester United after Liverpool’s earlier interest in the player. And I thought about him when Jerome Sinclair made his Premier League debut on Sunday at Stamford Bridge aged 18, with 19-year-old Jordan Ibe joining him on the pitch soon after.

All the time I wondered whether it was time to have a look at Comolli’s time at Liverpool again.

The Frenchman, who has also worked with Monaco, St Etienne, Arsenal and Spurs, was sacked by FSG just 18 months after being appointed in November 2010.

Don’t worry. I’m not going to try to convince you that Andy Carroll was worth £35million, or that Charlie Adam was ever the right fit for the club. But here are the signings most attribute to his hand during his time at the club:

    Andy Carroll: £35m
    Luis Suárez: £22.7m
    Jordan Henderson £20m
    Charlie Adam £8.5m
    Stewart Downing £20m
    Doni: Free
    José Enrique: £7m
    Sebastián Coates: £7m
    Craig Bellamy: Free
    Jordan Ibe: £500k
    Danny Ward: £100k
    Sheyi Ojo: Undisclosed
    Jerome Sinclair: Free

Like at Spurs, his record reads a superstar, a couple of notable successes, some fantastic youth players and plenty who leave you scratching your head. But forget the players for a moment, instead it’s the strategy and implementation during Comolli’s reign that I believe is worth some fresh consideration.

I will touch on the Suarez transfer though. It seems Comolli is part of the growing number of people who don’t get any credit for what Luis Suarez did at Liverpool.

Football - Preseason Friendly - Valerenga v Liverpool FC

Earlier in the year, in an attack on Comolli, Ian Doyle of the Liverpool Echo called the Suarez transfer ‘something of a no-brainer’ which seems ridiculously harsh considering every other club in Europe knew about him and didn’t put a bid in. For example, here is Harry Redknapp:

“We looked at Suarez. He was a player who we  probably should have taken, looking back on it. We just weren’t sure.”

And that was for bloody Tottenham! We’re not talking Real Madrid here. Comolli was part of the team that identified the player as someone who improved us and, crucially, he then got the job done.

This is what I want to focus on: Comolli as a man who got sh*t done. In January 2011, less than three months after joining Liverpool, he managed to negotiate a fee of £50million for a striker who didn’t want to play for Liverpool and bring in two who did. This was during the January transfer window – a time when Liverpool haven’t managed to sign anyone for the last two seasons because apparently it’s impossible.

So back then, against all the odds, we managed to lose one of the most highly thought of strikers in Europe and, for a few extra quid, come out better off. And he still found time to sell Ryan Babel, too.

There has been plenty written and said about the players brought in during the summer of 2011, but from a director of football point of view it must be said that the club seemed to have a clear strategy and managed to secure most of their first-choice targets.

A focus on midfielders who created chances might not have been the best strategy in the world; I would argue that any system that values Charlie Adam above Xabi Alonso is ultimately flawed, while I also doubt how many of Stewart Downing’s floated balls into the box a striker probably wants.

But it was a clearer strategy than the one which sent us from Sanchez to Remy to Balotelli in the summer. And I’d have fancied Comolli over anyone at the club now to at least manage to a chat with Alexis Sanchez.

Away from the headline-grabbing deals, there was also a recruitment strategy of poaching the best teenage talent in the country for nominal fees. Comolli helped secure Sinclair, Ibe and Sheyi Ojo in a short space of time. Since he left we either haven’t been as successful at this, or we simply haven’t bothered with it.

Also under the radar, and less referenced in print and online, are  the players Comolli helped shift on during the summer of 2011. He got a healthy £12m for Raul Meireles, a generous £4m for David N’gog, a ‘tops off’ £1.5m for Paul Konchesky and a champagne popping £1m for Christian Poulsen. SERIOUSLY, SOMEONE GAVE US MONEY FOR CHRISTIAN POULSEN.

He also got notable amounts for a few young players who were never going to make the grade, including Gerardo Bruna (once hailed as the ‘new Lionel Messi’), who was recently seen playing for Whitehawk in the sixth tier of English football before moving to Accrington Stanley. Whitehawk? Yeah, me neither. They sound like a metal band from Wolverhampton.

Jovanic with Hodgson and Cole of England

On top of all that, Comolli managed to get the eye-watering £120,000-a-week salary of Milan Jovanovic off the wage bill.

He did much of this, by all accounts, by not being terribly nice to footballers Liverpool didn’t want anymore. A much underrated Comolli quality — and another which might be lacking from the club at the moment.

The Fabio Borini situation is a good example of this. Last summer the manager clearly wanted him gone, but in the back of his mind he is thinking, ‘If he doesn’t go, I might need him’. He also might be thinking, ‘I might end up at another club in a few years’ time and he might be playing there’. This is a tough one for managers all over the country. How much can you truly ostracise a footballer?

What was needed then was Damien Comolli flushing Borini’s head down the toilet and shoving a National Express bus ticket in his back pocket.

As Liverpool fans, it was our first real experience of a director of football, and it was always going to be an uneasy one, especially with someone with a limited experience of playing and coaching. “Who is this fella to tell Kenny Dalglish who he should and shouldn’t be buying?”

But Kenny spoke highly of Comolli both during and after their work together. In late April 2012, when Comolli had been sacked but Dalglish was just about hanging on, Kenny said:”The director of football role in this country is much maligned. I think people just have something against the job title or the principles.

“For me, the role Damien played was a fantastic help. I think it would be for any manager, as long as everyone knows the lines that they cannot cross, that’s fine.”

Dalglish spoke of the need to replace Comolli, but the club never did, instead moving towards a committee of men, some of whom make Comolli’s footballing career look like Johan Cruyff’s.

Is it time to replace him now? Would we as a fan base be more welcome to it?

The manager famously refused to work under one, telling the media on his appointment as Liverpool boss in June 2012: “One of the items I brought up when I was speaking to the club was that I wouldn’t directly work with a director of football.

“I feel that if you are going to do that as a club you have to do that first. That was my recommendation. If you want to have a sporting director, get him in and then you can pick your manager from there but if you do I won’t be the manager.”

Rodgers’ hand could be weakened after a disappointing season. Or, if it makes him feel any better, maybe we can call it something else.

I’m not advocating the return of Comolli. He’s still the fella who spent £20m on Stewart Downing. I just want someone who is out there getting deals done. Moving players on. Committed and able to ensure the best young talent in the country is moving to our academy. Making sure that, when top talent is looking to move, Liverpool are at least part of the conversation.

I think we’d all welcome that individual at the club. Whoever they may be.

http://www.theanfieldwrap.com/2015/05/time-reassess-damien-comolli/

Suarez isn't a player that Comolli identified or anything like that, he was a player that Rafa was heavily linked with and apparently wanted to bring to the club so the club as a whole knew about him before Comolli even came along.

Suarez isn't a player that Comolli identified or anything like that, he was a player that Rafa was heavily linked with and apparently wanted to bring to the club so the club as a whole knew about him before Comolli even came along.

True mate but Comolli still got the deal done and brought him here.

True mate but Comolli still got the deal done and brought him here.

Yeah but I still think that transfer would have happened anyway regardless of him being at the club.

It's not greed, because if it was, you'd want to maximise the amount the club is making so you can take more out of it. Rather, I think they are the type of businessmen who are used to doing business in a certain way; a business model involving hedging their bets to limit risk. It may work fine in baseball but risk is what determines success in football. I think they are so utterly convinced that their business model will work that they are blind to the reality that it's not, that it's actually limiting the potential they can make from the club. The question is, when are they going to realise they're wrong?

It all comes down to wages. If you look at all the players signed during their tenure, all of them command less wages than an established star. We spent £35 million on Andy Carroll when £35 million was still a lot to spend on a player and we could have bought a top class player for that. We could have spent the entire £50 million of Torres money on a replacement but any replacement in the £35-£50 million bracket would have commanded wages far in excess than Carroll did.

Until they are prepared to take a risk and pay big wages for a big name player we will continue to be an also-ran. We may get the occasional season like last year but invariably it'll be seasons (in terms of league position) like this year. 5th may be par for the course but unfortunately FSG show little desire to hit a birdie.

From a fans pov something has to change but from the owners pov it doesn't. 

I don't think they're unhappy with where we are, or with Brendan or with the recruitment.  The Club is where they want it to be for now and they're convinced that given time most of the players bought will be a success.  Either financially or playing wise.

It will cost too much money, money we don't have yet, to take that final step into regular CL qualification and even more to be regular Title contenders.  There's some stats floating around the web relating to cost per point in terms of squad value for any PL team.  The first £100m of added value, not spent, will get you up and around the European places (4th to 7th) but it takes a further £150m of added value to get you regularly challenging for the Title and there's still no guarentee of dominating the League.

We haven't even added the first £100m yet we challenged for the Title last season and we should qualify for Europe this season so their plan of "doing things differently" appears to be working.  I believe for them it's too early to say it's not working and something needs to change.

From a fans pov something has to change but from the owners pov it doesn't. 

I don't think they're unhappy with where we are, or with Brendan or with the recruitment.  The Club is where they want it to be for now and they're convinced that given time most of the players bought will be a success.  Either financially or playing wise.

It will cost too much money, money we don't have yet, to take that final step into regular CL qualification and even more to be regular Title contenders.  There's some stats floating around the web relating to cost per point in terms of squad value for any PL team.  The first £100m of added value, not spent, will get you up and around the European places (4th to 7th) but it takes a further £150m of added value to get you regularly challenging for the Title and there's still no guarentee of dominating the League.

We haven't even added the first £100m yet we challenged for the Title last season and we should qualify for Europe this season so their plan of "doing things differently" appears to be working.  I believe for them it's too early to say it's not working and something needs to change.

I honestly don't see any changes happening in the Summer. As you say FSG will be happy with the things are ticking along financially, why should the change something when it isn't broken.

I honestly don't see any changes happening in the Summer. As you say FSG will be happy with the things are ticking along financially, why should the change something when it isn't broken.

I can't see it but who the hell knows mate.

It will cost too much money, money we don't have yet, to take that final step into regular CL qualification and even more to be regular Title contenders. 

That is a smokescreen they have been very successful in peddling. The club chose to buy Lallana and Markovic rather than Fabregas but between them not only is the transfer fee more than Chelsea spent on him but their combined wages are more than he receives at Chelsea. From their perspective though, by hedging their bets, if one of the two is unsuccessful, they can move them on and reduce the wage bill by £60K a week. We are able to compete with most of the teams in the Champions league but they refuse to do so on a single target, preferring to spread the risk over multiple targets. It's the wrong approach to football. The best players win you things, not the highest number of mediocre players.

That is a smokescreen they have been very successful in peddling. The club chose to buy Lallana and Markovic rather than Fabregas but between them not only is the transfer fee more than Chelsea spent on him but their combined wages are more than he receives at Chelsea. From their perspective though, by hedging their bets, if one of the two is unsuccessful, they can move them on and reduce the wage bill by £60K a week. We are able to compete with most of the teams in the Champions league but they refuse to do so on a single target, preferring to spread the risk over multiple targets. It's the wrong approach to football. The best players win you things, not the highest number of mediocre players.

Of course it is because they don't want to play the same as every other Club, they want to prove it can be done differently.  They've said so since day one and the last 2 seasons won't have changed their minds that it's impossible.

Those low risk assets we've invested in haven't had time to mature yet and they don't have enough knowledge of the game to realise most never will.

Can someone more tech smart than me post the new Hitler Reacts youtube video please, it's funny as.....

Title is hitler reacts fsg's end of season review.

Can someone more tech smart than me post the new Hitler Reacts youtube video please, it's funny as.....

Title is hitler reacts fsg's end of season review.

Wetting myself Debs.

Especially when FSG talk about the new stand and say ..

"Speed it up. I'm beginning to see through our own bullshit now!

Wetting myself Debs.

Especially when FSG talk about the new stand and say ..

"Speed it up. I'm beginning to see through our own bullshit now!

There's some crackers in there mate but yeah that's a classic!

Can someone more tech smart than me post the new Hitler Reacts youtube video please, it's funny as.....

Title is hitler reacts fsg's end of season review.

For some reason it won't embed but here's the link.

==http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKY3scPIMd8#ws]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKY3scPIMd8#ws==

Just don't copy the ==

Can someone more tech smart than me post the new Hitler Reacts youtube video please, it's funny as.....

Title is hitler reacts fsg's end of season review.

Too bad it was made by that fat c**t who runs craptalk.

I do love those Hitler reacts videos, though. Probably the best one I've seen as it relates to LFC is "Hitler is informed of Andy Carroll's transfer fee." I cried from laughing the first time I saw it.

youtube   /watch?v=0l2QsNAgh68

"I haven't been this angry since Benitez went behind my back and signed Andriy Voronin"

Let's be honest with ourselves and I hope FSG would do the same and ask ourselves a question; "will the fair play rules comes into full force." The answer  is most probably no, it wont be and it will never be. FIFA thrives on CL and FIFA needs to create the excitement in the competition by having these creme a-la-creme dream teams in the competition to churn out the revenue.

Would FIFA like to see a CL final between two lesser known clubs? What happened to Chelsea and Man City is just a slap on the wrist. So, if FSG thought in their very own naive way that the fair play ruling will come into full force, then they will have to continue to wait because that won't happen and we, the fans will continue to live with the illusion that it will, because FSG said so.

To Change :

Inept Manager.

Inept Transfer Committee.

Mr Ayres.

Can someone more tech smart than me post the new Hitler Reacts youtube video please, it's funny as.....

Title is hitler reacts fsg's end of season review.

"you don't get this sh*t with baseball".

what we can change is very little whilst Anfield sells out each game. Roy got the boot when the crowds fell. just changing the manager will not make too much difference whilst the current philosophy is in place.
We could have really dented UTD by keeping them out of the CL and its a once in a lifetime chance gone.
the signings have been a disaster the team looks clueless at times and the manager is at the centre of both problems .
Bring in Klopp and four world class players and we will see but I just dont see that happening for many reasons.
I see Rodgers being given until December before the axe falls and I think the players smell his vunerability hence the poor perfromances.
What we need is a magic wand and go back to Athens 2007 and tell Hicks and Gillette to F**k off and stick with DIC.Must thank David Moores and Parry for that one.

To Change :

Inept Manager.

Inept Transfer Committee.

Mr Ayres.

how many of our current squad would get into a chelsea or man city team or even Arsenal.
Only one or two if I am being generous so how can we even expect to be challenging for the title next year there is absolutely no chance.
At best we might challenge for top 4 but in reality anything from 8th to 5th will be the reality.
The whole club is now average in everything it does.

Right looks like this is where we are at

. Owners have to go
. Manager has to go
. Back room staff have to go
. About a dozen players need to go
. A load of fans need to go
. Stevie G is going

Hmmm not much of a club left after that roll on next season

When you walk.....

Right looks like this is where we are at

. Owners have to go
. Manager has to go
. Back room staff have to go
. About a dozen players need to go
. A load of fans need to go
. Stevie G is going

But as always, we'll still be here!   

This isnt a Manc attack  a Cockney critique or anything like it. No outsiders having a go.

Its from our very own.

The Anfield Index.

http://anfieldindex.com/14256/broken-wounded-next-liverpool.html

BROKEN OR WOUNDED

As grief compounds the world of most Liverpool supporters; the melancholic sense of a worthless season hangs in the rear-view mirror; only heightened by the departure of the one dependable thing Liverpool had left in Steven Gerrard.
Gerrard symbolised everything Liverpool stood for; even in the toughest of adversity, even when everything looked bleak, he was the spark.
He was the one to depend on.
Without him, Liverpool look a shell, a discombobulated mess incapable of putting on a show like they did last season.

Liverpool Football Club is stuck in limbo.

The memories of last season; so fresh in those eager, smiling faces littered throughout the Kop when Brendan’s men walked out against Southampton on the first match-day of the season are now torn with the same anguish and bleakness that was felt when the side were left in tatters are the behest of Roy Hodgson; the same side that included Christian Poulsen, Paul Konchesky and Joe Cole.

Readers may say exaggeration is rife in this scenario. It isn’t.


In 2011, despite Kenny Dalglish’s slight resurgence towards the latter stages of the season, Liverpool finished 6th with 58 points. They were 22 points adrift of title winners Manchester United, and 10 points away from the final Champions League place; occupied at the time by Arsenal.

Four years on in 2015, despite numerous individual chances to narrow the gap between Liverpool and the four richer clubs above them, Liverpool sit 5th with one game to go.
If results go as expected, Manchester United will sit 9 points above their closest Champions League rivals in fourth spot. Chelsea will sit 25 points adrift at the top of the table.


What’s worse is the points tally.

Brendan Rodgers’s side; one which had £120 million pounds injected into it in the summer, currently sit only four points better off than the Liverpool side which lost Javier Mascherano and Fernando Torres, and was classed as “not being too big for relegation” from its own mediocre manager.

Four points.
One really has to wonder what the progress is ?

So without attempting to draw readers into a pit of despair; to which the only light is vanishing as it drifts towards Los Angeles, where exactly do Liverpool go next? How can the side that finished 2nd last season reinvigorate themselves?

To many, the most realistically necessary option is to sack Brendan Rodgers.
Put plain and simple; there are much, much better options out there.

No matter your opinion, the fact is that Brendan’s weaknesses have been exemplified and exploited this season.
Despite the positives on show for all to see last season; brought about by the mercurial magician that was Luis Suarez, certain trends are telling of Rodgers’ tenure as manager.

Though the manager holds the key to unlocking success from a side, there are multiple factors which offset a season. Circumstances, injuries, and more importantly; individual moments that occur throughout the season. Football is not played on paper; it is played throughout a series of ninety minute intervals, all of which require acute preparation and in-game manoeuvring. Affecting these ninety-minute intervals is what matters; changing the variables, stacking the odds, increasing your chances, that’s how football works.

So with that in mind, the real question to be asked, as the reflection of this tattered season hovers in the background and the prospect of accepting a “par” Liverpool team lingers in the foreground, is what’s next?
How can Liverpool change? More importantly, how can they fix a broken machine?

Statistical anomalies are hard to predict, and even harder to create.
Yet last season was the perfect example of a statistical anomaly; “The perfect storm”, if you will.

One season later, it’s as if the events of 2013/14 didn’t happen; as the same flawed back line continually leaks goals; only without the firepower to carry them along. Gone is the need to rely on Suarez and Sturridge; not because of the lack of need, but rather the opposite.
The need has only gotten greater, but the solutions have vanished amidst a flurry of injuries and a dream move to Barcelona, and Liverpool have been left relying on a twenty-year old asking for more money than he knows what to do with and a Brazilian puppeteer without any strings.

Where Liverpool has been left too reliant upon an ageing Steven Gerrard to create the spark – that same spark he’s been creating for his entire career – they should be planning for a time when they no longer have to rely on statistical anomalies or legends of the game carrying the team. They should be attempting to implement a squad capable of challenging the big guns; and more importantly, capitalising on their failings.

This very season was the perfect time to take advantage of a sub-par Manchester United team in transition, yet the inability to show up on the big games has cost Brendan Rodgers, and cost him dearly.
Considering how poor the form has been on the side of Liverpool; Manchester United’s was easily worth capitalising on. The fact that there was an opportunity for Liverpool; who were the team in form at that point in time, to take the edge in the race for Top Four is emblematic of the state of the Premier League at this point in time.
Yet it was the inability to take advantage of the shocking state of the league which has lead Liverpool to this point.

Dig deeper; and the pre-requisites of a squad worthy of challenging the “Big Four” are there. All it takes is the right business, the right philosophy, and the right manager to make it all click together.

The likes of Phil Coutinho and Raheem Sterling (well if he’s still around) simply need a front-man capable enough to feed off of their service and combine with them as Luis did. Mauro Icardi, Alexandre Lacazette and Luciano Vietto all come to mind when considering a realistic talisman to target.

Lazar Markovic and Jordan Ibe are two immense talents that simply need nurturing and grooming to flourish. Being played out of position on a consistent basis is stifling the development of what could be an explosive young attack; complemented by one more attacker to fill the ranks should Raheem Sterling seek pastures anew. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Felipe Anderson. Roberto Firmino. These names aren’t being pulled out of a fantasy hat; they’re ripe for the taking, and have been linked to Liverpool in the last month or two.

Finding a replacement for Steven Gerrard is impossible, but ensuring that Liverpool have a mobile midfield capable of overrunning the Premier League is not as arduous as one might think; after all, the ingredients are already there. Jordan Henderson and Emre Can have been the life of this Liverpool side for most of the season; and complemented with the immense talent of Mateo Kovacic, Granit Xhaka or Geoffrey Kondogbia, they can be tasked with being the engine of a Liverpool side filled with the quick movement and blistering pace.

Meanwhile, most people seem to be forgetting the balance Liverpool possessed earlier in the season on the flanks. The Spanish duo of Javier Manquillo and Alberto Moreno fit each other perfectly; balancing out defensive solidity on the right with marauding flair on the left. Add the stable presence of Mamadou Sakho and experience of Martin Skrtel, and suddenly the prospect of defending: especially with a defensive midfielder to provide solidity (see Victor Wanyama, Maxime Gonalons or the aforementioned Geoffrey Kondogbia as potential candidates for the role) is fraught with much less danger.

All of this, however, is postulating and pondering over hypotheticals.
What is real is the 62 points we’ve amassed so far this season.
What’s real are the three points dropped at home, supposedly in form, to a Manchester United team that was ready for the taking.
What’s real are the 8 points out of 9 dropped against West Bromwich Albion, Hull City and Crystal Palace in the last month.

This season will undoubtedly be remembered as a defining moment of Liverpool Football Club’s recent history; not necessarily regarding their choice of manager come the summer-time, but regarding how they fix a broken machine. The parts – as I hope to have illustrated in this article – are there, they just need putting together, coupled with a few new additions.

It is obviously more complicated than has been made out in this article; questions of financial status, a competitive market and whether or not Liverpool currently possesses the correct system are all important factors.

But take a step back, and maybe it is as simple as putting the parts together and seeing what happens. Football’s not won on paper, after all.

How does this post make you feel?

   
   

Long article is really long.

The owners aren't going anytime soon, so for me they either have to change their policy on transfers/wages (or even just relax it in some instances) OR if they aren't going to change their policy then they have to employ the absolute best possible staff around to work on the transfer committee and as manager.

The policy effectively ties one hand behind the back of the manager, so to maximise our chances of winning it stands to reason that those involved with the committee must be absolutely brilliant at what they do in order to offset that, and a manager who is going to extract the absolute maximum from the players. Based on the evidence since the committee has been in place I'd that has quite obviously not the case in terms of them being anything close to 'brilliant'.

Secondly, we all know FSG aren't going to go out there and get the best scouts in the world (aren't ours all from Blackburn?) or the best manager in the world, because that would cost them a considerable sum of money, although I'd say it's less risky from their perspective then the alternative.

The alternative is changing the policy, allow the manager greater freedom in the market to get the players he wants and also go above and beyond at times what we define to be the 'value' of a player for the sake of getting in a quality player that the manager wants. I'd also say the incentivised contracts that we apparently offer need to stop and fall back in line with the market, based on the last 2 years or so where we seem to be in negotiations forever and a day, before inevitably losing out on the player. We'd be able to once again attract quality players, whilst the name of Liverpool still has some pull, before we slip too far away. Another advantage here is that it also gives increased accountability, which from our fans perspective would make everything a lot easier, but we don't know the internal workings of the club, so that accountability may already exist internally.

Bottom line is, FSG have spent the last 5 years cutting costs, but now there's nothing left to cut, they need to start spending and spending big.

How about another thing which needs to change is the way we support our club as well? In the ground it's like a f*cking morgue, every single set of away fans that visit Anfield outsing us. On the forums as soon as we lose a game we berate the manager like screaming bitches, lambasting him for so-called tactical misdemeanours that we in our wisdom are aware of but which have totally missed his notice. Players who suffer a dip in form during the match suffer howls of derision, you can visibly see them retreating into their shell under the pressure of the whole thing. We have been caught and overtaken i the boardroom, caught and overtaken in the financial steaks, caught and overtaken in league titles won, caught and overtaken on the pitch, caught and overtaken in spending, and caught and overtaken on the terraces and in the way we show support for our team.

We cannot control any of the above other than the last one, and if we are fifth best in the league come the end of the season it is a safe bet that the players are outperforming the fans in terms of where we sit. 

..... caught and overtaken in the financial steaks .....

"Have you been to a Harvester before Mick "?

 

 

How about another thing which needs to change is the way we support our club as well? In the ground it's like a f*cking morgue, every single set of away fans that visit Anfield outsing us. On the forums as soon as we lose a game we berate the manager like screaming bitches, lambasting him for so-called tactical misdemeanours that we in our wisdom are aware of but which have totally missed his notice. Players who suffer a dip in form during the match suffer howls of derision, you can visibly see them retreating into their shell under the pressure of the whole thing. We have been caught and overtaken i the boardroom, caught and overtaken in the financial steaks, caught and overtaken in league titles won, caught and overtaken on the pitch, caught and overtaken in spending, and caught and overtaken on the terraces and in the way we show support for our team.

We cannot control any of the above other than the last one, and if we are fifth best in the league come the end of the season it is a safe bet that the players are outperforming the fans in terms of where we sit.

Think we should F**k it off Michael and start again , make a new club . Its not ours anymore mate .

"Have you been to a Harvester before Mick "?

 


 

All the right letters, not necessarily in the right order.

All the right letters, not necessarily in the right order.

Qua ?  SVP .

Steaks & stakes.

Bigmick's fingers were faster than his brain…