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Director of Football: The end of Football Management as we know it?
This week has seen two managers from the English Premier League, Alan Curbishley and Kevin Keegan, leave their clubs (West Ham and Newcastle United, respectively) quit their posts. In both cases the issue appears to be their loss of control over transfers, and perhaps other aspects of the club management.
This has caused a great deal of debate about management, and the role of the Director of Football in particular. Both Curbishley and Keegan had been working in a structure that included a Director of Football. Both are very experienced managers. Importantly both were in position when Directors were appointed 'above' them.
Both men were used to running the football side of the club.
They reported into the board. They had a backroom team, including an assistant manager, that reported to them. Then, they found that their powers were diminished by the appointment of another man, a Director of Football, who took some of their resonsibilities from them.So what is a Director of Football? Dave Bassett, a long-time football manager, described the role as
" ..... a buffer. The director of football is answerable to the board but there to assist the manager. He's experienced in football and there to help the board members who don't have that experience." (Source: Wikipedia)
This description, for me, captures one of the key problems that occurs when a Director of Football is introduced into a British club, particularly when there is an incumbent manager. Fundamentally, the Director of Football should not be there to "assist" the manager, but to manage the football division or function of the club (including "the manager"). Because of changes in the game, professional football clubs are now complex organisations, with huge commercial and match-day operations. One might argue, therefore, that there is a need to create an executive team, like any large corporate, that works together to create and deliver the whole organisation's strategy, who manager their function "down the line". In this respect, the Director of Football should be the equal of, say, the Finance Director, or the Operations Director and creates the Football Strategy. This should include such things as setting the strategic direction for coaching, talent identification, recruitment (transfers) and youth development (the academy).
Different clubs will define the role of the Director of Football and the head coach, or manager, differently, and I would argue that it doesn't matter what titles you use. But one thing should be clear, the manager reports to the DoF. You simply cannot have any confusion, as there seems to have been at both West Ham and Newcastle.
What this says is that the role of manager is also different. They no longerr report straight to the chairman. They don't set the overall strategy, necessarily. They don't oversee the academy, the scouts, and they may not negotiate contracts.
But they might. They might have the final say on who is recruited. They should have some say. After all, they have to manage the team's performance. Just like when I was recruited I was interviewed by my prosective manager, and by her line manager - but my line manager ultimately has to manage me and probably, therfore, made the ultimate decision.
What absolutely must be clear, however, is where the accountabilities and responsibilities lie. Someone has to make the decisions. In my experience, the person that will "get it in the neck" if the decision is wrong, must be allowed to make it.
The relationship must also work to the advantage of the club, too. This is why it ultimately needs to be a manager-report relationship. That does not mean that it should not be collaborative, open and even friendly. It simply means that ultimately, someone is in charge. I would imagine that both Curbishley and Keegan would have a problem with this, and understandably so with their experience, especially given the retrospective nature of the changes made at their clubs.
So, is there a place in the modern game for the likes of Curbishley or Keegan? The manager that does it all?
I'm going to stick my neck out and say no. Not in a top professional cub. I don't think that a senior football manager, whatever you call them, can do everything from strategy setting to coaching the team and leading them out on matchday.
In every career path you have to make a choice. Are you a manager or a doer? To take the step to the strategic level, every manager has to put behind them - at some point - the hands-on skills that got them where they are. In management, it is often the things that mark you out as sucessful at the start of your career that can get in the way of success as you progress. In a large, complex footballing operation I believe that's a choice that has to be made. You can be a coach (maybe the equivalent to a middle manager, as you also have reports - the coaches and players, maybe support staff), or you can truly become a senior manager.
Indeed, that's what Alex Ferguson is. When Carlos Quieroz was assistant manager, Sir Alex left first team training to him. Yes, he took charge on match day, but he'll have made decisions using the input from his "operational" assistant manager. Call them Director of Football and Head Coach, if you like. Sir Alex manages transfers, and built the struture that has become one of the most productive football factories in modern times. But he doesn't do anything.
At lower levels, even in the professional game, I don't think the complexity is there to necessitate having a Director of Football. In many ways the lower tiers of professional games are the SMEs to the corporates that top the Premier League.
So, the football manager isn't dead. Every club needs someone to manage the football operation. Different clubs will use different models. Director of Football and Head Coach, Manager and Assistant Manager, Director of Football and Manager. It isn't the model that ultimately matters, so much as the implementation. And that's what Newcastle and West Ham got wrong.
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Rob Robson
Co-founder, iStadia.com
Michael Vaughan: The cricket captain who only needs two short phrases
After another post-collapse radio interview, I'm convinced that Michael Vaughan, the England cricket captain, only ever has to say two things (at least after a first test, or most one-day matches):1) "It's unacceptable"
2) "we have to bounce back"
After that, it's only variations on a theme.
What is wrong with the England cricket team that they just don't learn?
Rob Robson
Sport and Business Psychologist, WarwickshireWho supports the head coach?
I write this after meeting my second head sports coach or team manager this week, and hearing about the pressure that they are under, the responsibility that they take on to deliver results and to support a team of paid or volunteer coaches, and having to deal with committees, governing bodies and parents.Head coaches of sports teams of all shapes and sizes will recognise many of these. They'll also recognised the unsociable nature of the job - often working when peers are not, and not when their peers are (or just working all of the time). It can be quite isolating, as it can being in charge of any organisation.
Not surprisingly, being a sports coach can be something of a love/hate affair. Most are in it because they are passionate about the sport, but that passion can be hard to maintain when work is stressful.
In sport, the athletes get the most attention, and rightly so. But coaches often lack opportunities to refresh or develop their knowledge and skills, and the head coach arguably gets the least. They are expected to be the ones that know what to do. But we all need to learn and improve.
Many senior managers in the business world have an executive coach, because they don't have the support of colleagues or a line manager that lower level employees do. This tells us that no matter how good we are, most of us need help sometimes.
A sport psychologist with the right kind of experience, or perhaps a peer - a head coach from another sport, or other senior practitioner can provide that kind of support. Someone that can listen, support and, importantly challenge your ideas, perceptions, beliefs and actions. Someone that will call it like it is, hold a mirror up to you, however you want to express it.
All high performance clubs or programmes should incorporate some form of support for their head coach or performance manager/director. Nationally funded programmes can offer this, but what about the rest?
Don't try and do everything on your own. Whether you seek an external professional, or simply develop mutually supportive relationships outside of your own sport is up to you. Just do it...
Rob Robson
Sport Psychologist, Warwickshire | Sports Organisational Development | Sports LeadershipKeegan: A(nother) Case of Hearts over Heads in the Toon?
When Sam Allardyce left Newcastle United last week after less than a year, it became clear that cold, hard analysis wasn't behind the decision. All of the respected commentators agreed that Big Sam needed time, and that given time he would develop a strong team.
But that wasn't the issue, was it? As Alan Green summed up perfectly while commenting on the Man United vs Newcastle match last weekend, Allardyce's failure was not on the field, even though results were unspectacular. He was never the right man for Newcastle. In a city where passions run high, he was never able to make the emotional connection with the Toon Army that Kevin Keegan did. Maybe it was the style of football. Maybe it was his personal style. Maybe both.
Kevin Keegan hasn't been in football for a few years. There's nothing rational that suggests he's really the man for the job (whatever the job actually is) - although he might do well - but he's a hero on Tyneside and has already captured the hearts of the fans. That might be all that the manager needs up there. Certainly any manager needs the good will of the fans at some time or another.
For Big Sam, there is the comfort of a huge payoff, but his pride will be dented. If nothing else, he will hopefully have learned a big lesson in stakeholder management.
What price for Shearer as assistant? (He was pretty cagey on Match of the Day tonight).
Is Keegan the right choice? Discuss the appointment here.
Rob Robson
Sport and Business Psychologist, WarwickshireEnglish Cricket & Capitulation: Worrying Bedfellows
I am amazed to see that England's cricketers have capitulated once again, this time in Sri Lanka.We've talked about this on iStadia before and I honestly have no insider knowledge about the people involved or what they are doing, but it concerns me deeply that the ECB - to my understanding - have widely used sport psychologists but we keep seeing the same problems reocurring.
What's the ROI (Return on Investment) on sport psychology in English cricket to date? Probably hard to isolate it as a variable, but I'm guessing not great....
What can we deduce from this about practice in sport psychology? We can't say that sport psychology is not helping, but it is a concern that the English senior team appears to be so mentally fragile.
My guess might be that the problems may be systemic and caused at an organisational level, while a sport psychologist may only be considered to be part of the team that works with the players and may have little influence. I don't know, I can only speculate that something isn't right, at some level in the ECB.
There certainly seems to be something wrong, rather similar to the football, that successive coaching regimes are struggling to overcome. It is easy to say that we don't have a winning culture in this country, but some sports, such as cycling and rowing, seem to be doing better than others.....
Rob Robson
Sport and Business Psychologist, WarwickshireWhat should we expect from England against Croatia?
In the run-in to big games I quite like to try and work out (because I’m sad like that), from the messages that are coming from the coach and key players, is what the motivational climate in the camp is, and therefore how the team might play.The vibes that I’m getting from England and McLaren in particular are about determination and professionalism – about “getting the job done” and meeting expectations. This suggests that the focus is very much on the result and its consequences, but also on staying in control.
So what? Well, even though the manager has called for an up-tempo approach to the game, we might not expect too much creativity or flair to be on show. It’s going to be about discipline and sticking with the plan, and it could be a pretty nervy affair. So, I would expect it to be tight – maybe only one goal in it.
I guess you could say that’s what most people would predict but still, that’s what I’m picking up from a psychological point of view.
Of course, on the day, the climate could be different, and I think the thing that could do most to change it could be an early goal. No matter who gets it, things could go in all sorts of directions from there!
Rob Robson
Sport and Business Psychologist, WarwickshireWhen goals get in the way....
I've just come back from phase 1 of a management development programme we are running for a multinational client. Part of this programme was for the teams of managers to create a theatre performance. I'm sure that many of you will have come across variations on the theme.What was most interesting was that my team were incredibly focused on their goal - the performance, determined and structured. By the end of the first day they were way ahead. They had planned the whole thing, and were even writing specific lines.
Meanwhile, at 11am the next day (the performance was planned for 6.30pm), one or two teams didn't even have a theme sorted out.
The performances were judged on a number of criteria, chosen by the "festival committee" with reps from each team. As well as the business message etc, on of the criteria was audience reaction (noise).
Which team won?
Certainly not mine. While fairly clever and well structured, their "play" simply had no theatre. There was no creativity, no fun. They even took making people laugh too seriously. They were, however, clearly focused on their "goal". Sure, maybe they could have defined their goal better, but even if they had set out with the goal of making people laugh, they wouldn't have succeeded. In the festival committee meeting they also guarded their idea, and were holding on so tight to their idea that although they were clearly supposed to work together to put on an evening's entertainment with a coherent message, they wee extremely reluctant to adapt. They had also lost sight of the fact that this was a learning experience, and they didn't take any real personal risks.
To be really creative you have to be prepared to put the goal to one side. Have some fun. Kick things around for a while, without being preoccupied by making progress. The team that won in the end put together a reasonable enough play in terms of content, but it wasn't strong. But, they played to the crowd, got everyone involved, and had a whale of a time.
At the end of it (I wasn't allowed to help them with their content), we had a short debrief and it didn't take long for the penny to drop. Hopefully in future when they need to be creative they'll be prepared to take their eye off the goal, at least for a few minutes.
In sport you have to be creative too - whether creating an opportunity to score in a team sport, or simply finding a new way to go faster (which although is a goal, staying focused on the goal isn't likely to be a source of inspiration).
Any thoughts on why the England football team so often struggles to inspire?
Rob Robson is a Sport Psychologist and Business Consultant based in Warwickshire, UK who specialises in helping individuals to and organisations to achieve high performance.
When should a football coach be sacked - is it about results or confidence?
Marting Jol, Tottenham Hotspur's head coach (manager) has an uncertain future at the club. This comes after a 4-0 weekend but two previous defeats. Apparently (according to the BBC) top club officials have "lost faith" in his ability to deliver top 4 finishes on a consistent basis (despite the fact that 5th is their highest spot for many years).When is it appropriate for the club to consider replacing their coach? I've always been critical of chairmen sho panic and sack their coach after a bad run, and believe that the decision should be based on whether or not they believe that the coach has the ability to turn things around - taking a longer term view.
Whether they are right or not in their assessment, that seems to be what Spurs are doing. They aren't going to be swayed by a 4-0 win, rather they are unsure if they have the right man to get them where they want to go. If they are right, then I guess he would have to go, but if not, it would be a costly mistake.....
Rob Robson is a Sport Psychologist and Business Consultant based in Warwickshire, UK who specialises in helping individuals to and organisations to achieve high performance.
