Now it has been confirmed that Roberto Gagliardi has left Notts by mutual consent leaving a vacancy in the Football Management side at the Club.

Do PON members think that the Director of Football should be replaced by an experienced League 2 Manager/ Head Coach type or just amalgamate the two roles of Head Coach and Director of Football into one?

Is it important that the Club has a Director of Football or not. Can a First Team Manager do both roles successfully at Notts?

I think the clubs preferred option is a separate DoF and Head Coach, I can’t see them deviating from that set up.

2 minutes ago, Fan of Big Tone said:

I think the clubs preferred option is a separate DoF and Head Coach, I can’t see them deviating from that set up.

I do understand that may be the case, however, the fans may have their own ideas about the role of the D of F verses the Football Manager / Head Coach role & how they fit together or don't fit as the case may be.. I'm sure it could spring some very good debate about the subject.

Perhaps check if Richard Montague is available...he got most of his signings about right...

@gtownjohnno ,sorry but he's really proving an astute hire to Swansea.

To the point, I don't think we can really go back to a manager's manager role at Notts.

I think the mechanisms are just too different, plus as much as I've come to get used to MP, I wouldn't trust his judgement on new signings alone.

yeah, I don't think we should ever go back to the model that got us relegated. We need the Head Coach to concentrate on his core job

I'd prefer to see us hire an experienced DoF / recruitment head who knows how to put a squad together than give the job to our relatively inexperienced head coach.

In principle there's no reason why a manager couldn't do both roles, but there are a couple of disadvantages. Firstly, he would have less time to dedicate to the squad as he'd be out and about watching players. Secondly, every change in manager would be a complete reset. We've seen it in the past - new managers coming in every season with their own philosophy, constantly having to wait several months until they've got "their own players" and then sacking them anyway, the bloated squad with ill-fitting players. It doesn't mean inevitable disaster, but you need someone who will stick around for a bit, and a manager who spends more than two years at one club is the exception rather than the rule.

By contrast, Richard Montague saw out four head coaches, giving us continuity all that time. So I think it's clear why they prefer that approach, the key is to get competent people in both positions.

The Reedtz brothers have to shoulder some of the blame by hiring this 🤡 they didnt do their homework on him or they would have seen what he did to Orient. Their fans warned us about him

Given our recruitment set-up is a tad different to the norm, I don’t think it would make sense to suddenly make the head coach totally responsible for recruitment and effectively merge the two roles.

If we were to have a system where a manager has total control it means he has to be able to understand and properly utilise Chris and Alex’s model. Or I guess, a manager could just totally ignore it and bring in players via his methods, but that would just make the whole involvement of Chris and Alex pointless.

It worked well when Richard was here, his title was a little different but it was a very similar role. It just seemingly hasn’t worked with Roberto.  

1 hour ago, menzinho said:

Given our recruitment set-up is a tad different to the norm, I don’t think it would make sense to suddenly make the head coach totally responsible for recruitment and effectively merge the two roles.

If we were to have a system where a manager has total control it means he has to be able to understand and properly utilise Chris and Alex’s model. Or I guess, a manager could just totally ignore it and bring in players via his methods, but that would just make the whole involvement of Chris and Alex pointless.

It worked well when Richard was here, his title was a little different but it was a very similar role. It just seemingly hasn’t worked with Roberto.  

Yes, all good points

Also, wouldn't going to a traditional manager model with no data background be saying that Football Radar is some kind of snake oil company. Or it's failed in the place it's been given the most opportunity. It hasn't failed though, we just gagged on the last appointment it seems.

Can I apply to be DoF?

On the question of goal keepers, Salford went to Sunderland to source their GK.... given our previous Sunderland dealings, we should have been ahead in that queue.

BBC Sport

Matty Young: Salford City re-sign Sunderland goalkeeper o...

Salford City re-sign goalkeeper Matty Young from Premier League side Sunderland on a season-long loan.

It's going to be interesting who the brothers are going to eventually choose as their Director of Football. I assume that he will be sold into the Technical Board way of doing things.

Will the person be a former Manager/ Head Coach with plenty of EFL experience or will he have to have more experience as a recruiter & be familiar with data systems such as Football Radar.

If the person is a former Manager/ Head Coach he will need to be able to work with the current Head Coach, & if the person is in ultimate charge of Football Operations, will that undermine the position of the Head Coach or not?

The Director of Football will be expected to chair the Technical Board & be a bridge between the Coaching Staff & the Owners. My question would be whether an arrangement such as we see here can work successfully or not?

The Technical Board is a new concept & it is still in the early stages of it's existence. The jury is out whether it will be ultimately a successful way to assist decision making at a football club or not.

It will certainly need those who attend the Technical Board to be very good at discussing, debating & coming to an agreed consensus to move forward with a plan to solve any difficulties & issues regarding from team/ individual player performances & poor results

The Director Of Football (IMHO) should be someone with a wealth of Experience and vast Knowledge of the Game and work in Tandem with the Head Coach on all Footballing Matters at the Club. He also needs to have an Excellent Relationship with the Owners and his Opinions Need to be Respected by All at the Club. My Choice would be Neil Warnock. Yes I know there's lots of People on the Site will Disagree with me, but he does fit the necessary criteria and they'd be a Fair Bit Of Media Coverage For The Club. Which would be No Bad Thing. Notts might even get a couple of lines written in the Evening Post😂.

But on a Serious Note, perhaps if Someone such as Warnock had been appointed in a Role to help Stuart Maynard when he first became the Notts Head Coach his learning Curve may have Not Been As Steep and maybe the Magpies might be a League 1 side by Now.

To latch on to the discussion from the other thread, I'm very much in favour of the current model as it reflects the game as it is today. If you go back a few decades, managers stayed in post for a few years and you had two or three new signings a season, so it was sensible for the manager to be on charge of recruitment. With the higher squad fluctuations and transfer windows of modern football, it makes sense to split the roles.

Personally I'd prefer the DoF to be a kind of super scout responsible for building the squad than an ex-coach as I think a former coach could undermine the head coach.

We need someone who experienced in the job, not an ex goalkeeping coach or analyst who's decided I think I'll be a DOF now and my mates will give me a job I've no idea about.

This is my problem with the DOF/ HC model

The Director of Football is generally considered above a Head Coach in the organisational hierarchy with the head coach reporting to the DoF. The DoF oversees the entire sporting side, including player recruitment, squad planning, and strategic vision, while the head coach focuses on on-field performance and training. 

This has the potential for conflict & disagreement regarding football operations. We don't know what the circumstances of Roberto's reasons for leaving, but whether things were running smoothly behind the scenes is open to conjecture.

Players need to know that things are running smoothly at a club to play at their best. I just think that the old fashioned Manager / Player works best when it comes to hands on management & coaching, but I do respect the opinions of others who do have an alternative point of view.

23 hours ago, piedestrian said:

@gtownjohnno ,sorry but he's really proving an astute hire to Swansea.

To the point, I don't think we can really go back to a manager's manager role at Notts.

I think the mechanisms are just too different, plus as much as I've come to get used to MP, I wouldn't trust his judgement on new signings alone.

so astute he's leaving...

BBC Sport

Richard Montague: Swansea City director of football set t...

Richard Montague left a similar role at League Two club Notts County to take up what is a key position at Swansea in February.

Notts seem to like having groups of people involved in talks about tactics, how the club runs and the results. So I suggest the club hires @Chris, @Piethagoram, @ARLukomski and KC from Twitter. With those four, I reckon recruitment would be smart and successful.

On a serious note, how hard would it be to have someone who checks all the player shortlists, sees who is a free agent, and talks through the best options for Notts. They could work out which players fit the budget and would make the squad stronger.

I don’t want a manager who just brings in his mates, or the owner picking players he thinks are great. That kind of thinking doesn’t help. I also don’t want to see the club take big risks like the £300,000 we spent on Izale McLeod. It feels like we’re seeing the same thing again with Mai Traore.

@CliftonMagpie Thanks for the vote of confidence but Declan's ( @ARLukomski ) colleagues at Notts County Stats deserve a gateway into #Notts to deliver an opinion.

McLeods fee I think was around £115k .... Fact for the day Izale never scored an away goal for Notts

Bit unfair on Traore @CliftonMagpie. He played well for his cameo against Fleetwood, just needs a goal and a run of games to show what he can do. Unfortunately or fortunately, we've changed our game plan to accomodate a player like Jatta, which Traore isn't. I feel he's more of a poacher and technically stronger, similar to Langstaff than a Jatta style forward.

4 minutes ago, piedestrian said:

Bit unfair on Traore @CliftonMagpie. He played well for his cameo against Fleetwood, just needs a goal and a run of games to show what he can do.

Yes, I agree with you. My point is more about spending a large amount on one player when there are other parts of the team that could use that money more wisely.

Izale McLeod, to be fair, wasn’t as much of a flop as people said at the time. The problem was that we didn’t play to his strengths. Notts seemed to expect the striker to chase after the ball, rather than pass it to his feet or close enough for a quick burst.

Even so, the fees in both cases do seem like they could have been used better. It’s about making smart choices that help the whole squad, not just one position.

26 minutes ago, CliftonMagpie said:

Notts seem to like having groups of people involved in talks about tactics, how the club runs and the results. So I suggest the club hires @Chris, @Piethagoram, @ARLukomski and KC from Twitter. With those four, I reckon recruitment would be smart and successful.

Not to be taken in the wrong context, but I don't think any supporter should hold any role close to their club where decisions could be based more on their heart than head. I also, wouldn't want to work in football.

I would probably fall asleep during discussions, not because of how long or boring they might be but my time of doing anything like this has long past.

Notts has a lot of collective minds, that are able to spot talent and if any wish to get involved in football, I would hope they find a path in via another clubs door because I would fear they might lose their passion for Notts if they were directly involved. I have done work in football, taking photographys for local non-league teams and had a stint where I help one with his online presence.

I much enjoyed them, then anything of the fan meetings or other involvements close to Notts that I have had.

3 hours ago, Wheelbarrow repair man said:

My Choice would be Neil Warnock. Yes I know there's lots of People on the Site will Disagree with me, but he does fit the necessary criteria and they'd be a Fair Bit Of Media Coverage For The Club.

With respect @Wheelbarrow repair man Warnock was a great man motivator. The "brains" behind Warnock was the late great Mick Jones ( a reminder it was Mick that found Grealish and McGregor for #Notts, not Warnock!

"Fair bit of media coverage for the Club" shouldn't come into it, it's all about finding the right person for the job

@Piethagoram . Neither Neil Warnock or Mick Jones was at the Club when Jack Grealish and Connor McGregor played for the Magpies, if I remember right. Shaun Derry and Greg Abbott were Head Coach and Assistant during Grealish and McGregor's time at the Lane.

1 hour ago, Wheelbarrow repair man said:

@Piethagoram . Neither Neil Warnock or Mick Jones was at the Club when Jack Grealish and Connor McGregor played for the Magpies, if I remember right. Shaun Derry and Greg Abbott were Head Coach and Assistant during Grealish and McGregor's time at the Lane.

Chris Kiwomya was in charge when they joined, with Mick Jones as his assistant. I think Jones was responsible for bringing Grealish in (there was some scepticism as we already had a teenage loanee in McGregor). Derry took over later that season to keep us up.