Steve Walsh - no longer our Director of Football

[BlueToff]

I disagree, I thought he was poor in pre-season. As did all of the following people who commented on pre-season games. As you can see, there were quite a lot of us (apologies for vaulting people but it's a positive vault not a negative one).

I know a hell of a lot of people were saying he was poor.

I don't agree.

I think he played pretty well in a side clearly still finding their feet.

In every game since the Tottenham one, he has been very poor.

 

[mkrudden]

The blame lays with a combination of the Chairman, the DOF, the manager and the Owner.
How anyone can apportion that blame without knowing the DOFs remit is beyond me.
We know generally what DOFs do but we also know Kenwright maintains an involvement in transfers.
So really, we've no idea have we?

 

[Lanolin]

I know a hell of a lot of people were saying he was poor.

I don't agree.

I think he played pretty well in a side clearly still finding their feet.

In every game since the Tottenham one, he has been very poor.

I think the signs were there in pre-season, but the slower pace of the game and general lack of intensity meant it wasn't as noticeable. I don't think his performances have got worse, simply that the standard of opposition and speed of play has increased, which has served to highlight his weaknesses. He's not without his good points, but we've seen absolutely nothing of him so far - either in pre or regular season - to suggest he can be the player we were hoping for.

Bringing it back to Walsh, there is a clear issue that the players we've signed do not appear to have been brought in with specific plans in mind. Recruitment seems to have just been a mess, with no strategy to bring in players who complement eachother or fit in a particular system. It looks increasingly like Rooney was brought in just because he was an attainable 'name', Sandro was brought in solely because of his release clause, and Keane was a good player who was likely to be available. None of them appear to fit with a plan to turn us into a better side.

 

[jceverton]

How do you know he was?

See Daily Mail article from Ian Ladyman at weekend. I quoted article a few pages back "Koeman told agents in the summer that it was definitely him - rather than director of football Steve Walsh - who was in charge of recruitment"

 

[PhilM]

This is the entire problem they bought players with no regard for how they would fit a system.

Firstly, you need a system first for them to actually fit into, which we seem totally void of. It's like they picked names and then work around them.

The early days of players pressing has gone by the way side, probably because we don't have the players for it, and width is non-existent.

So Koeman needs to pick a system, choose players who suit these roles and equally instil some tactical discipline so they don't amble around.

People say Gylfi and Rooney shouldn't play together - maybe so; if they are however, then Koeman needs to tell them to play like professionals.

Instead, they ramble around like children on the playground with no tactical discipline and then we wonder why there's so many gaps.

Anyway back to Walsh - regardless of Koeman's influence, as DoF then a poor transfer window must be to some extent his responsibility.

 

[billyblue80]

And to make matters worse he chops and changes the system and players each week scrambling around for a solution amongst the mess he helped create.

 

[mkrudden]

The blame lays with a combination of the Chairman, the DOF, the manager and the Owner.
How anyone can apportion that blame without knowing the DOFs remit is beyond me.
We know generally what DOFs do but we also know Kenwright maintains an involvement in transfers.
So really, we've no idea have we?

You've got be an egomaniac to quote yourself so I apologise,

Thinking about this further though, in this structure is the manager to blame?

If he says "I want these players" or "I want this type of player" and the other 3 collectively fail to get him such, that's their failings and not his surely?

 

[kithnou]

Tell me he’s gone too?

 

[Mosh-pit]

Throw the baby out with the bathwater.

 

[efcjames]

He needs to go too

 

[when i score we riot]

Koeman talked about a striker, a left back. A lot. Nothing. Dropping coy hints about Diego Costa a week before the deadline. Nothing.

I don't care who is getting blame, but let's be clear that Walsh alone wouldn't help with much - we've consistently shown an ability to make giant cock-ups out of our transfers, and that remains a fact, even as Koeman is out of a job.

 

[KaiserEFC]

Time to get rid of the entire first team staff.

 

[Petit]

Walsh should go to. Isn't he supposed to be in charge of player recruitmen? Has failed massively.

 

[Nymzee]

Hope he stays and gets the chance to show people what he can do.

 

[Efcjake]

Hope he stays and gets the chance to show people what he can do.

Been here 3 windows mate. We've seen what he's done. His recruitments have helped get a manager sacked.