Do we need a Director of Football?

Success

Borussia Dortmund have extended sporting director Michael Zorc’s contract until 30 June 2019.

”Michael Zorc stands for Borussia Dortmund like no-one else. He’s been at the club since 1978 and has celebrated a great deal of success, first as a player, then as sporting director. That we wish to continue working together for the next five years demonstrates how much we value and trust the high quality of Michael’s work,” said Borussia Dortmund CEO, Hans-Joachim Watzke.

In October 2013, BVB extended the contracts of head coach Jürgen Klopp and his assistants until 30 June 2018.

And the latest move is a further sign of structural and personnel continuity at Borussia Dortmund, German champions in 2011 and 2012, double winners in 2012 and Champions League finalists in 2013. “I sense that we haven’t reached the end of our development yet. I see it as our joint responsibility to build on the success of recent years and establish Borussia Dortmund at the summit of German football and as a permanent fixture in the UEFA Champions League in the long-term,” said Michael Zorc.

The 51-year-old Zorc was born in Dortmund and made 463 appearances in the Bundesliga (scoring 131 goals), 66 in European competition (13 goals) and 28 in the German Cup (10 goals) for BVB. The seven-time German international scored 49 of the 57 penalties he took in his career and is rated as one of the deadliest players from the spot in Bundesliga history. He holds the record for the number of appearances for Borussia Dortmund and only Manfred Burgsmüller has scored more goals in the black-and-yellow shirt.

After a triumphant end to his career, which culminated with the German title in 1995 and 1996, as well as winning the Champions League in 1997, Zorc moved into a management role. In 2005, his job description was adapted to incorporate the extended responsibilities that come with being a “sporting director”.

During Michael Zorc’s reign as sporting director, Borussia Dortmund have celebrated three German championships, two appearances in a European final (UEFA Cup 2002; UEFA Champions League 2013) and a German Cup title. Zorc is responsible for the entire football department at BVB, reaching all the way down to the youth teams.

 

The team that won the 2011 Bundesliga consisted of six players who either came from the academy or were signed on free transfers; the rest of the first XI cost just under €15 million, combined.

 

It is well known that Continental clubs often use The Director of Football Role . To give us one example of a successful German club using The Director of Football won't necessary win many over to your argument . G Portillo gave a number of example of Uk clubs who have found difficulties with the role .
I think at the very least a DOF should be appointed when there is a vacancy for Manager.
By doing it that way the club cannot be accused of imposing someone on the manager .

 

You don't need to be fast to be good in European football, I could give you a list as long as my arm of quality players who are not fast and Mulgrew is not 'pure *', some people have short memories.

 

John Rudge - Stoke

 

On the continent especially Germany, they have had magnificent success without spending billions, taken that they do spend some cash, but their success is across the spectrum.
The EPL is nothing but badly run institutions with masses of cash that need instant success, that's why positions of people with strategic visions and plans don't work. The bottom half of the EPL are like pop up shops, very short success lifespan. Cardiff for instance. Our game plan should be longer term but solid and bullet proof so when we get the opportunity for change (European leagues which are less than 5 years away) we are a popular enterprise.
At the moment we wouldn't be invited to the party.....6 German clubs would be.

 

I'm pretty convinced if you get the right manager, you don't
need another level of bureaucraucy or interference.

 

Do we have the right manager to operate at all levels at a club of our size?

 

I don't know the answer to that yet, but i'm
pretty sure there are plenty of managers out there who
can do it.

Do you know any different? any inside info on Ronny?

 

Yeah, you do. The only way you can get away with no pace is if you have an extraordinary football brain a la Pirlo.

And Mulgrew has been * for the best part of 2 years, that's not a short memory. He was never good enough for top level European football in any case. The only half-decent performances he's ever put in as a centre mid have been covered by Brown alongside him.

 

I agree, and im not too stubborn to admit that it could work. Maybe its just a personal preference of my own that i dont wish to see us with a DOF.

I agree with the point made by another member that its a position that should be filled when the position of manager is vacant, as any manager with a DOF imposed on them may feel misled and undermined. I also think that with one more personality at the head of the table, there is in turn more potential for disruption and difference of oppinion within the club at various levels.

I think that where the change needs to come in our financial strategy. I believe buy to sell can work and i believe that a club can still progress whilst implementing a buy to sell policy. But our policy has seen the club stutter, or even regress in recent seasons with the failure to appropriately reinvest.

I think that we must give Deila some slack in the lack of funds made availible to him so far, a point reinforced by NL.. I think he will begin to get the best out of this group of players.

But given the limited pool of players we can realistically afford and attract, could a DOF really be justified and provide any kind of benefit to us? I think this job is, in effect, carried out by Lawell in the sparce funds he makes availible as the manager has to budget this money to what players he needs.

 

Who would appoint the Director of Football at Celtic and how confident could we be that he would appoint a good director of Football.
When would the supporters know that the man appointed was a good Director of Football ?

 

11

Is that a conundrum^^^:icon_mrgreen:

 

How do you know that European Leagues are less than 5 years away( how much less) ? If it has already been arranged that 6 German teams are going to be
Invited and we arn't then why should we bother ?

 

John park and Pedro are the directors of football.

 

This is where we need a Director of Football, to come out and announce the strategy to the fans. Folk are in despair, folk are contemplating protesting and folk are going to keep their hard earned cash firmly in the pocket.

Where is Lawwell, where is John Park, where is anyone, bar the voice of Ronny Deila?

 

We already have Lawwell who is in the post for me at the moment and it's not * working.

Nor would a director of football work here, we need a manager who can sign his own players from what they have been scouted by his staff.

 

Clearly all managers we have had cannot influence anything at that level! So aye we require one, would the board sanction one, of * course not! They don't want someone reigning on their parade!

 

To add to that;

For all the folk calling for Lawwells head, would it not be prudent to keep him in place for all the work he has done and we know he is capable of continuing.

Instead bring someone in to the top level to support the footballing side more than what we're currently seeing.

We all know its not working just now, as much as our finances look great, our playing side, the reason we're all in this, is in a great mess.

The balance between the shareholders interests and the fans interests is incredibly uneven and as much as the shareholders have a vested interest in this club financially, well so do we, in every pound we spend, on tickets, shirts, bricks, gifts, raffles, dining and anything else you can think of.

The shareholders are winning here financially, money in, money out.

Us fans are money in, poor entertainment value out.

We support this club with everything we can offer, financially and emotionally. Our club is struggling to give back to us because the guys running it are overly interested in satisfying the Brass!

 

Don't agree, no point in having a director of football here. Just my opinion of course.