NESV or UKSV, as it is now known as, have the made a lot of changes at LFC at the board level and now seem ready in earnest to begin their rein as the owners of Liverpool Football Club. Tom Werner has been appointed the chairman and has recently taken over from Martin Broughton, but the real change they are making is in the footballing philosophy of the club. J. W. Henry and NESV have appointed Damien Comolli as Director of Football for LFC. the post of Director of Football is not well accepted in English football and it is more of a continental concept. in English football the Gaffer has all the say in the footballing matters and not too much help is sought by him, which has changed in recent times.
Damien Comolli has got the job because of J.W Henry’s apparent liking to statistics and their usefulness in the transfer decisions. Damien Comolli was recommended to J. W Henry by Billy Beane the manger of Oakland A’s, a baseball franchisee in America, who revolutionized the way player trading was done in baseball. Damien Comolli’s appointment has been welcomed by almost all associated with LFC and NESV has been commended on his appointment as it will provide a long term vision and structure at the club even with changing of manager. his transfer record, both as a scout for Arsenal and as director of football at Tottenham, has been thoroughly analysed by pundits and fans alike. the general consensus seems to be that he will be a good addition to the LFC staff and will lend stability and long term vision to transfer policy of LFC.
However there has been some discordant chords struck recently regarding Comolli with both his previous employers St. Etienne and Tottenham casting a doubt over his role at their respective clubs. the criticism by both his previous employers centered around his attitude and him wanting total control over all aspects related to transfer of players, with the manager at times not having given a look at the player before signing him. another criticism leveled at him is his cockiness and self praising nature, he claims he discovered Thierry Henry for Arsenal when Arsene Wenger was the manager of Monaco when he was there. the ex- chairman of Tottenham Lord Sugar, on hearing that Comolli’s been appointed at LFC remarked on Twitter, he was a waste of space at Tottenham. almost all of his previous employers paint a bad picture of the guy from a attitude perspective and almost give an air of at worst tolerating him and at best ignoring him.
While the appointment of Comolli no doubt marks an important step forward for LFC, however before proclaiming him as the answer to all our prayers a more serious look is warranted at the criticism leveled against the man.
YNWA
Bhaskar Upadhyay