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Steve Walsh - no longer our Director of Football

Steve Walsh as DOF

  • IN

    Votes: 52 6.0%

  • OUT

    Votes: 727 84.4%

  • Shake it all about

    Votes: 82 9.5%
  • Total voters
    861
Status
Not open for further replies.
lcfcguest said:
Leicester supporter here!

I look at Walsh the same way I look at any high up manager in everyday business, there's a lot of other guys behind the scenes doing the leg work that the manager goes on to take the public credit for!

We've still got the majority of the scouting network he set up at Leicester, and we're continuing to sign players like Ndidi and the young Mali player Diabate who have in all respects come from nowhere to be signed (the sort of thing Walsh was 'famous' for)

Having said all that, he's worked above two very head strong managers who clearly want to sign their own players. I can pick out Vlasic, Lookman and Onyakuru (no idea why you haven't recalled him!) as being Walsh signings (who could still prove successful?) under Koeman, the rest were clearly Ronald's own ideas! Similarly with Sam, Walcott isn't the sort of person Walsh would traditionally identify, Tosun perhaps but Walcott is a Sam move for me.

So it leaves me to wonder what is he supposed to do? For me he is a Chief Scout, not a public facing DOF, if he was a chief scout and had the chance to build that team out I think you'd see more success from him.... promoted beyond his station for me.

As for the left back situation, whilst I understand everyone's anger at that not being resolved, can you honestly name a list of suitable/achievable targets? We're blessed beyond belief at Leicester to have an experienced international and a young England prospect in that position, we'd be [Poor language removed] if we didn't!

All due respect a replacement for Baines should have been lined up and groomed as a replacement long before Walsh arrived. (p.s. Martina is one of the worst footballers i've ever seen in the Prem)
Click to expand...
Onyekuru is back at Everton, injured.
 
Neiler said:
Im a big fan of Walsh to be honest.
Click to expand...
image.webp
 

lcfcguest said:
Apologies didn't know about Onyekuru and the work permit! Hope he does well for you next season.

Personally I think he is having to juggle a number of roles as more of a public facing DoF which doesn't really suit him. You have to remember at Leicester he was classed as an Assistant Manager as well as a Chief Scout. It's one hell of a jump to go from finding players and identifying tactical changes from the stand (his Leicester role), to go and get involved in legal, contracts, negotiations, meetings with clubs etc etc, that's surely going to take away from the time he gets to spend actually identifying talent.

We had him and a DoF at Leicester.
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This was the reason I thought this appointment would end in tears. A director of football in modern football needs relationships with all the top agents. He was lacking in many if the basic requirements of the job.
 
It's essential that Walsh gets binned asap. His role is to create structures, an academy, recruitment links with agents, links with championship clubs for loans, create a style of play, ensure that our youth coming through are playing in a style similar to the first team to help the transition. And most importantly, find the right players to fit seamlessly into these structures.

He literally has done nothing other than travel round the world at huge expense to the club, and throw extortionate money at overrated, and sometimes aging, average players. He's acting like a kid on football manager or down the sweet shop. If he sees it he wants it, and will throw insane money at it. There's no stability in this regime so sticking with them is the truly daft choice. If you have something broken then fix it now. Don't wait for it to severely injure you before you act.
 
There's literally no defending the bloke

Everything he's been in charge of, he's to blame for

And anything that he isn't to blame for, he is at blame for not doing his job as Director of Football
 
The team (department) he headed up at Leicester has gone it's various ways, Walsh was one of many cogs in scouting setup! Maybe he was influential in putting the scouting team together if so we will have to wait and see if he was lucky one off merchant!
 

lcfcguest said:
Leicester supporter here!

I look at Walsh the same way I look at any high up manager in everyday business, there's a lot of other guys behind the scenes doing the leg work that the manager goes on to take the public credit for!

We've still got the majority of the scouting network he set up at Leicester, and we're continuing to sign players like Ndidi and the young Mali player Diabate who have in all respects come from nowhere to be signed (the sort of thing Walsh was 'famous' for)

Having said all that, he's worked above two very head strong managers who clearly want to sign their own players. I can pick out Vlasic, Lookman and Onyakuru (no idea why you haven't recalled him!) as being Walsh signings (who could still prove successful?) under Koeman, the rest were clearly Ronald's own ideas! Similarly with Sam, Walcott isn't the sort of person Walsh would traditionally identify, Tosun perhaps but Walcott is a Sam move for me.

So it leaves me to wonder what is he supposed to do? For me he is a Chief Scout, not a public facing DOF, if he was a chief scout and had the chance to build that team out I think you'd see more success from him.... promoted beyond his station for me.

As for the left back situation, whilst I understand everyone's anger at that not being resolved, can you honestly name a list of suitable/achievable targets? We're blessed beyond belief at Leicester to have an experienced international and a young England prospect in that position, we'd be [Poor language removed] if we didn't!

All due respect a replacement for Baines should have been lined up and groomed as a replacement long before Walsh arrived. (p.s. Martina is one of the worst footballers i've ever seen in the Prem)
Click to expand...

I agree with what you have said here which is why I'd prefer he be demoted to a scouting position if possible but I doubt that'd happen. I still think he has value but just not as a DoF which we are finding out.
 
ToffeeTim said:
It's essential that Walsh gets binned asap. His role is to create structures, an academy, recruitment links with agents, links with championship clubs for loans, create a style of play, ensure that our youth coming through are playing in a style similar to the first team to help the transition. And most importantly, find the right players to fit seamlessly into these structures.

He literally has done nothing other than travel round the world at huge expense to the club, and throw extortionate money at overrated, and sometimes aging, average players. He's acting like a kid on football manager or down the sweet shop. If he sees it he wants it, and will throw insane money at it. There's no stability in this regime so sticking with them is the truly daft choice. If you have something broken then fix it now. Don't wait for it to severely injure you before you act.
Click to expand...


100% agree.


His job title is 'Director of Football', therefore he should be directing the footballing strategy of the entire football club. From youth teams to the academy to the first team.

He is just a glorifed head scout. He said himself he's watched Tosun twice, both in the Champions League, so he didn't actually go to watch him play in Turkey. Sure he's probably sat and watched some video of him via some scouting / analytics platform, but is that what we're really paying him for to swan around Europe getting a tan and watching a couple of matches.
 
Soo what happens when Walsh is gone?
We get a new hopeless scout, appointed by Moshiri.

Just like the three managers, we already had this season.

It's money out the window
 

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