Head of Football Operations

[Lesonthewest]

This sounds really positive, this could be a massive appointment.

[Branton Red]

Excellent news.

The last 18 months have made it clear that this is something the club and Board have a desperate need for.

Well done to the Board for identifying the issue and acting on it.

Hopefully they recruit the right person. Whoever they are they have a big and important job to do.

[sedwardsdrfc]

A step in the right direction and confirms what I’ve always thought, that the board are trying to do the right thing.

Get the right person and hopefully it’s a turning point for us. 1st on the agenda is our current manager and our talent identification manager. Are they up to scratch? Whoever this person is needs to judge that before the summer.

[MachoMadness]

We missed a trick with someone like Brian Flynn years ago who would have been ideal in this sort of role (although I'm doing a lot of assuming here)

Brian Flynn was actually appointed director of football for a while after Dickov came in. The problem is we treated the role as a way to shuffle old heads out of the club (did the same thing to Mickey Walker) and not as a proper DoF role. It's not just an experienced manager above the manager, a lot of the best DoFs have very little playing or coaching experience, sometimes none.

[normal rules]

Sounds like a job for Coppinger.

[ChrisBx]

Sounds like a job for Coppinger.

We need to look beyond someone's playing history with us.

[normal rules]

Sounds like a job for Coppinger.

We need to look beyond someone's playing history with us.

Like Wellens and GM?
And that’s not a jibe.
17 seasons at the club.
Seen the highs and lows.
Knows what is needed.
Currently in a mentoring role at the club.
I would not be at all surprised if Copps got this role.
The more I think of it the more I think it will happen.
Some cynics might argue the job could have been invented for him.

[Copps is Magic]

This looks positive to me. I must say the wide scope of the position is quite surprising, but it addresses several of the glaring weaknesses we have.

The proof will be in the pudding, 'lead on managerial recommendations' is interesting to me to see how that materialises in reality and how this person gets on with other people at the club given the quite important role they are going to have.

[big fat yorkshire pudding]

Sounds like a job for Coppinger.

We need to look beyond someone's playing history with us.

Like Wellens and GM?
And that’s not a jibe.
17 seasons at the club.
Seen the highs and lows.
Knows what is needed.
Currently in a mentoring role at the club.
I would not be at all surprised if Copps got this role.
The more I think of it the more I think it will happen.
Some cynics might argue the job could have been invented for him.

He's not the best fit though, the best fit would have differing skills to his and needs to be someone who can get a real grip on the structure of the setup not the day to day coaching and mentality side.

Going with someone internal or what we know to me shows no awareness of the mess we are in right now.

[DonnyOsmond]

Going with James Coppinger for HoF would be like putting James Coppinger in goal.

[DearneValleyRover]

It’s a role that has been used on the continent for years, hopefully we will have been looking in that direction for someone experienced in the role

[Campsall rover]

Good news. Well overdue.

[Sammy Chung was King]

Under 12s manager would be my bet, after a long drawn consideration of many household names.

[normal rules]

Don’t think that I believe Copps is the person who should get this.
Who would have thought GM would get the managers job though. ?

[mushRTID]

Hopefully someone with no links to the club. A fresh and ruthless pair of eyes.

This shit show need grabbing by the scruff of the neck.

No fannying around trying to please everyone. They need to own the role and make decisive decisions.

[streathamdave]

We missed a trick with someone like Brian Flynn years ago who would have been ideal in this sort of role (although I'm doing a lot of assuming here)

Brian was originally appointed as Director of football I believe before becoming manager. Micky Walker also had a similar role previously and was very good for the club at the time as far as I am concerned.

[Canadian Rover]

We need someone that has been a manager, player, coach, community driven with a natural appetite for fitness and that believes in Club Doncaster.

Welcome to DRFC Andy Butler 

[Silkscarf]

It all sounds great. We’re going to be the new Ajax.

There will be loads of capable football people out there with all the right experience, training and skills. I hope we get the right person.

We’re not recruiting a coach or a favourite former player or a well-known ex-manager looking for a pension.

[SydneyRover]

This is a huge commitment to the club, bravo!

[graingrover]

It took GB years and years of endeavour to gain the trust and the right to be given a shareholding .
I applaud the concept of this appointment but if the future football decisions are all to be taken by this appointee it represents a huge shift of power from the shareholders to an employee whatever his title be .
A solution might be to impart an annual allocation of shares to the newcomer based on performance .The clearest and indisputable measure of success in the football world is what position your get the club to occupy in the league ladders season by season .

[RugbyRover]

It's certainly an interesting move. Couple of thoughts.....

It says he's "accountable" for football and recruitment and medical matters. So if things don't improve in those areas does he get the sack after six months, or does he blame the coach and TIM and they get they sack?

Who will be doing the Radio Sheffield interviews and Press? Will he front up or be behind the scenes.

Finally, this thing about our identity keeps cropping up. How many pub teams have a Director of Football? This appointment might well be progress, but I'm feeling a bit deflated by it.

[DonnyOsmond]

It's certainly an interesting move. Couple of thoughts.....

It says he's "accountable" for football and recruitment and medical matters. So if things don't improve in those areas does he get the sack after six months, or does he blame the coach and TIM and they get they sack?

Who will be doing the Radio Sheffield interviews and Press? Will he front up or be behind the scenes.

Finally, this thing about our identity keeps cropping up. How many pub teams have a Director of Football? This appointment might well be progress, but I'm feeling a bit deflated by it.

He wouldn't be sacked after 6 months, if he's continually bringing in his own people and those departments aren't seeing improvement then perhaps we'll go down a different route eventually.

He'll probs do interviews every few months similar to GB. GM is still the manager or head coach so that is his to do.

I posted in the other thread a couple of week ago almost half of the teams in League One have a Head of Football or equivalent role. Quite a few in League Two as well.

[Campsall rover]

This obsession with Copps is ridiculous. It would seem every job that comes up Copps should get it.

Leave him be. Mentoring is what he wants to do.  No way i think that this new role would be suitable for Copps. He does not have the experience.

[steve@dcfd]

The appointment will show how good the CEO and the board are at recruiting the people we require. How they see the requirements for the role. Also whether we can attract the right candidate for the job. Let’s hope it not another internal option.

[ForsolongaRover]

I think the job description has been very well devised and perhaps it implies that the post currently held by GM becomes “Head Coach”. The key word is perhaps “Operations”. Without co-ordination and strategy to worry about the Head Coach can concentrate on selecting the best team and developing their skills to win matches. The question of whether a “manager” will want to work in such a structure will depend on how it operates in practice. Pep Guardiola has worked with the Director of Football at Manchester City for a number of years and says that without him he would be nothing!

[Canadian Rover]

Does this sound like someone for the role?

I am a highly accomplished and forward-thinking Football Manager with a proven history of experience and success throughout the elite women’s and men’s game in England. Following a first team management role at Leeds United Ladies and senior coaching role at Leeds United, I progressed on to manage Notts County Ladies in 2014 where I played a pivotal role in shaping multiple areas of the club - from building a high-performance team on the pitch to facilitating stability and growth off of it - with success evident in the league wins, cup runs and personal accolades I achieved. Over the years I have developed a unique football skillset and expertise in areas of scouting, talent identification and player development, and successfully applied these across diverse environments to not only build high-performance teams but also nurture the potential of players who have gone on to the Premier League and international stage. With extensive management experience, I naturally combine standard coaching duties with backroom responsibilities to ensure my teams have the support in place to train and play to their potential each week – with the proven capacity to optimise limited resources, maximise restricted budgets and influence recruitment and retention strategies. I am open to new challenges and keen to secure a new role where I can have a tangible impact on a club’s success on and off the pitch.

[1-0 to the Doncaster]

Whilst this is a logical way forward and the job description sounds ideal, there must be a sensible level of remuneration to attract the right candidate.
Unfortunately I hear this is often the main issue as to why we don’t get effective  people in the non playing staff which exacerbates the problems. Obviously as a league 2 club we’re not going to offer a championship package but it needs to right.

[drfc1951]

Portsmouth are still trying to find a head of football operations, 3 months after the last one left.

[bobbymax]

I wonder if Darren Ferguson would be interested? Not sure he's a great coach but he seems to have an eye for talent-spotting and certainly has the right connections.

[RoversAlias]

Coppinger certainly isn't the one for this sort of job. And if he didn't want to be manager, I'm quite sure he'll not want a job that is 6× as encompassing either.

It’s a role that has been used on the continent for years, hopefully we will have been looking in that direction for someone experienced in the role

It has been increasingly common for English clubs to adopt this footballing structure over the past 5-10 years as well. It is the modern way and something which we should have been looking at ages ago.

I just hope the club get this right, because recruitment of managers, players and the TIM has been shocking for the past year and a half.