5 reasons West Ham should bring in a long term director of football

There isn’t a successful club in Europe without one

Whilst West Ham can’t be considered one of the big boys of European football in any way, it’s apparently their stated goal to move in that direction. So if we look at clubs that are pushing up in the right direction, as well as those already at the top, a large number of them have directors of football. Liverpool, Manchester City, Dortmund, Leicester and Red Bull and many others all have people in charge of transfer and academy framework. And whilst they take slightly different roles, it’s no surprise the teams are where they are.

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For example, at Dortmund Michael Zorc gets all teams to use the same formation and style of play from youth to senior. This means that players are ready to hop from team to team when necessary, and they can identify where needs to be strengthened at youth level for future years. Obviously it changes slightly from manager to manager, but the director is involved with the hiring of the manager, so ensures that the best man to enact a certain vision is picked. They certainly wouldn’t be happy with going Bilic – Moyes – Pellegrini – Moyes for example.

But for the most part, it simply addresses the fact that the club is always prepared for something to happen. A champions league team are circling around your star defender and his head has turned? No worries, ensure you get a good price for them and we already have youngsters ready to step in or a transfer target that will ensure improvement or a profit. Long term injuries hit multiple players? Then there’s a list of different targets at different price points that will help cover the gap. It’s not that complicated, it’s just about being prepared.

And, for me, that leads to something that West Ham really need to address. Something that, despite the fact it’s written all over our club and history, we haven’t been recent.