What's your verdict on Marcel Brands?

[toffee-L]

Or he doesn't have the power to tell them no. I'm not sure why you're discounting that as a possibility.

I'm also not sure why he has to resign if he doesn't have that power. He can be happy enough to work in this system and have it not succeed. We'll all not be, but he's still the head of a PL club and the check still clears. He doesn’t have to give it up even if he knows he's hamstrung.

I discount it as a possibility because I don't think even we are stupid enough to employ a very highly paid Director and not empower him even to the point where he wouldn't be able to tell Benitez to shove it if he asked for £30 million Sean Longstaff, to use a wild example. Especially when we are in the process of cutting costs. If all Brands' job entails is to sign whoever the manager wants then the club would have cut him loose when his contract expired because you don't need to pay someone the money Brands is on to do that.

He's also been given a seat on the Board, a privilege never afforded to his predecessor suggesting that he has bargained more power for himself whilst he's been here.

Your comments about him being content with a reduced role and accepting his lot are fair enough, but I never got that impression from him when he first joined. It was strongly suggested that he'd originally knocked us back when we first wanted him out of loyalty to PSV and the job he was doing there.

 

[BlueToff]

 

[stevie blott]

The boxer?

Creed Aventus is the aftershave

 

[Nippydan]

Difficult to judge him without knowing exactly what his role and remit are. Jury out for me, managers appear to be having more of a say in who they want than the DOF which isn't really how the model should work.

Given his contract extension it appears that Farhad rates him highly, he rated Silva highly as well though so not a ringing endorsement.

 

[Kiwi]

Godfrey, Digne, Richarlison, Branthwaite, Allan, Doucoure, Zouma and Gomes on loan = good business
everyone else he has brought in has been pretty disastrous.
Gbamin and Iwobi still have time to turn it around.

 

[Tubey]

Incredible, yet not unbelievable.

He seemingly does precisely nothing. Can only assume he's in a job as he's extremely good at being a yes man.

Long past the point of no return for me - in no way should he still be employed.

 

[BlueToff]

Incredible, yet not unbelievable.

He seemingly does precisely nothing. Can only assume he's in a job as he's extremely good at being a yes man.

Long past the point of no return for me - in no way should he still be employed.

As i've said in another thread mate the tone of the article is basically a licking Benitez's arse piece but also, as you say, it's absolutely nothing we weren't all expecting when it comes to Brands.

 

[BlueToff]

Difficult to judge him without knowing exactly what his role and remit are. Jury out for me, managers appear to be having more of a say in who they want than the DOF which isn't really how the model should work.

Given his contract extension it appears that Farhad rates him highly, he rated Silva highly as well though so not a ringing endorsement.

I fully agree with you mate. It is difficult to judge because nobody - at the club here too - seems to know what his role is.

Well, three years into him being here, that's a very bad reflection imo.

 

[LocalNative]

Incredible, yet not unbelievable.

He seemingly does precisely nothing. Can only assume he's in a job as he's extremely good at being a yes man.

Long past the point of no return for me - in no way should he still be employed.

Is that not highlighting that the manager is going above the DoF's head and choosing his own targets rather than Brands'? Brands suggested RB's it says but Benitez wasn't keen on any of them thus none were signed.

I think there's a very clear crack in the working relationship between Brand and Benitez. Needs sorting out asap as there's no point in Brands if we're gonna continue to just buy whoever the heck the manager likes.

 

[Tubey]

I fully agree with you mate. It is difficult to judge because nobody - at the club here too - seems to know what his role is.

Well, three years into him being here, that's a very bad reflection imo.

You can judge him based on his job title.

He signed a new contract based on that job title, after already being in situ.

So he's open to criticism. It's clear to see he is a terrible Director of Football; so terrible in fact that it's barely recognisable that he's in that role at all.

 

[Tubey]

Is that not highlighting that the manager is going above the DoF's head and choosing his own targets rather than Brands'? Brands suggested RB's it says but Benitez was keen on any of them thus none were signed.

I think there's a very clear crack in the working relationship between Brand and Benitez. Needs sorting out asap as there's no point in Brands if we're gonna continue to just buy whoever the heck the manager likes.

Bold bit is exactly right. And it's not just Benitez - Ancelotti signed James and Allan, Silva got Richarlison, Allardyce got Tosun.

Brands has apparently had successes like Godfrey, Branthwaite etc. but it's actually impossible to know for sure that WAS him given how many signings have been blatantly manager led.

 

[LocalNative]

Bold bit is exactly right. And it's not just Benitez - Ancelotti signed James and Allan, Silva got Richarlison, Ancelotti got Tosun.

Brands has apparently had successes like Godfrey, Branthwaite etc. but it's actually impossible to know for sure that WAS him given how many signings have been blatantly manager led.

Was also reported that he had next to no say in the managerial appointment this summer. To me, all roads point to Moshiri on this. He's sticking his beak in and just running this club like a cowboy. Fairly evident with Brands' sweetener appointments of three new board roles in June too to keep him happy. The running of this clubs stinks the entire way through its core.

 

[LEONARD]

C.

Marcel is a pleasant young man, but could do a lot better.

He tends to daydream and look out of the window, here at Finch Farm Junior school.

He is apt to make the wrong, and expensive choices, especially on trips abroad.

He will not make University, unless we witness a massive improvement.

Such a disappointment, as we were all so excited when this boy arrived from Holland.

 

[DanEFC92]

Could he be more useless

 

[NickK66]

Difficult to judge him without knowing exactly what his role and remit are. Jury out for me, managers appear to be having more of a say in who they want than the DOF which isn't really how the model should work.

Given his contract extension it appears that Farhad rates him highly, he rated Silva highly as well though so not a ringing endorsement.

It's a difficult, nuanced job, as you indicate. If a DoF just pleases himself and foists players onto the manager, you give him a built-in excuse for failure, because why should he 'own' the success of players he thought (or can always say he thought) were crap or a poor fit? So you have to facilitate and influence more than control the 1st team boss.

The challenge is setting a direction; style of play, recruitment profiles (age, sell-on potential etc) throughout the club, then keeping the managers (esp. the first team manager) engaged and committed to that path, whilst reacting to the changing needs caused by injuries, departures etc. Constant communication is vital. It appears to me that Brands is good at that sort of thing, and is a constant presence at matches, at all levels, and at FF.

Then you get the whole contract dynamic and ensuring transfer strategy aligns. As we saw in the past, when managers really want a player, most of them break any rules and structures to get their man. Moyes didn't, and I don't think Benitez will, but both are very controlling people, so need very skilled input and handling from a DoF.

The final major element is the owner's involvement, and I think this has been a real challenge for Brands, because old Moshi is anything but predictable! On occasion he's just imposed his will, and structures and reporting lines have been ignored. Can't be easy dealing with that, but I am far from ready to slag Brands off, and I still think he's a cut above most of his counterparts at other clubs. Time will tell, but there needs to be a period of stability to show the real direction and whether or not he's delivering.