This 15-year-old thread suddenly seems relevant again. So since the Monchi thread (where we were discussing the technical director role in general) has been closed, I figured I'd bring this back.
Surely it makes more sense for the mods to reopen and rename the Monchi thread into a general ‘director of football search’ thread than to force new threads / bumps like this. As @Slartibartfast has pointed out- discussion in there went far beyond mere Monchi anyway. Sort it out @American_Gooner , @blaze_of_glory , @OnlyOne
Alright, since we have a dedicated technical director thread up and running (although I did enjoy that little trip down memory lane), it seems Steve Morrow is being mentioned as a possible internal candidate. I also found this an interesting statement. The Gunners want to hire someone who either has a pre-exisiting history with Emery or a track record at Arsenal. That would seem to narrow the field considerably.
Bound to be Morrow. We never even replaced Ivan... Just look for the cheap option internally. Reverse auction fills the position.
Technical director, director of football, team manager, CEO, board of directors, chairman, vice ... A.Wenger: "Mexican army" anyone ?
Regarding Morrow, you never know who might be good at this sort of role. Monchi went from being a backup goalkeeper almost straight into being Sevilla's sporting director and went on to create a vast network of scouts and build their academy practically from scratch. The same is true of Michael Zorc at Borussia Dortmund. He retired as a player in 1998 to become their sporting director and still remains in the role to this day, largely responsible for the continued success Dortmund has had. Morrow, at least, has many years of experience in football administration, including his current post as Head of Youth Scouting. He's also a former manager, which is not irrelevant in this job, and has an intimate knowledge of the club. Maybe Overmars or somebody else would be a better choice and will get the job, but as far as being an internal candidate there's no reason to believe that Morrow couldn't make it a success.
Also re: Cadena SER, if Monchi was up for the challenge, he would surely be able to negotiate salary with us after the Sevilla opportunity came around. I'm not buying the notion of low ball etc. and it seems Monchi took job security and familiarity over another challenge of the ilk of Roma. I must say it's cowardly from Monchi because he has a big reputation and would've had a safety blanket with the fact that he's had great success with Unai. Sevilla makes no sense.
According to James Benge's article (linked above), Arsenal wants either someone who has a previous relationship with Emery or somebody who has a history at Arsenal. That would seem to rule out Campos. As far as Monchi choosing to go back to Sevilla, I think we have to keep in mind that it is home to him. Sevilla wasn't just a stop in the road for Monchi as it was for Emery or the vast majority of the players. He was born an hour's drive away, grew up in Sevilla's youth system, played for the club at the senior level and then spent 17 years as their sporting director. I don't think we should fault someone for choosing home over something unknown. It's also important to note that at Sevilla Monchi is running the whole show and reports only to the owner. The role he was offered at Arsenal is a rung down the ladder as he would be reporting to Sanllehi, who as head of football will be the technical director's boss and supervisor.
a connection with Arsenal surely should take precedence over a connection with Emery, who for all we know could be gone in a couple of years whereas Arsenal will be here forever
Could be why they seemed to have been feeling out Edu before anyone else. He is both. He played for Emery at Valencia.
How much of Ajax starting eleven was scouted and how much of it is from the academies? How much of Ajax talent comes from inside the league? Genuin questions.
