Suggestion: Director of Football

I've had an idea for future versions of FM, How about if SI incororated the Director of football role at certain clubs, like Damion Camolli from tottenham Peter Kenyon at Chelsea or Dennis Wise at Newcastle.

We could then ask him to look for certain players and then leave it up to him to sort out the transfer, IRL at certain clubs the manager will tell the Director of football that he is looking for a right winger and cristiano ronaldo is your first choice, the DOF then decides if you can afford your main target or not. If the answer to this is no he will then look elsewhere and sign someone for you.

Obviously there are flaws to this system ie. when the DOF signs someone that you don't want/need or sells someone that you wanted to keep.

It would also make your contract as a manager have more importance to the game for example you could apply for the job at newcastle and have a clause in your contract that Wise cannot make any transfer deals, therefore making him redundant, or if a club tries to employ a DOF you could issue an ultimatum etc.

I believe it would add an extra touch of reality to an already brilliant game.

How does everybody else feel about this?

I don't know. It could be really annoying and maybe it wouldn't be my type of game. Maybe when it's optional.

The game already seems to be heading in this direction, with chairmen accepting bids, but it could be built on IMO.

It may also mean that if the AI is buying players for you you may get them at more realistic prices?

Great idea. In Germany, where the jobs of "trainer" and "manager" are almost always separated, it's not uncommon for the "manager" (= director fof football) to buy players the trainer doesn't really like, or for the trainer not getting the player he likes though he's affordable because the manager isn't convinced of him. It's mostly the chairman who has the last word. Ideally, the rights and obligations of the "trainer" and "manager" are discussed beforehand, but that obviously doesn't eliminate conflicts. Some (like Schaaf and Allofs at Bremen) work together brilliantly (well, just don't look at the current Bundesliga table), others (like every trainer and manager in Hanover in the last 10 years) just can't agree on a thing. And if you have a chairman who interferes every time there's a conflict, you've got a very exciting game indeed...

Exactly my point, It would be a great addition, I'm sure most people would only sign a contract stating that they have last say in all transfers, but it would be such a good option to be able to use for less experienced players.

not as much of a DOF, but i would like to see a bit more interaction from certain chairmans, for example, david murray telling walter smith to sell one of his top earners this january, or an extreamly ambitious promoted team having that bit extra where its survival or nothing, or a few versions back where at the begining i think it was chelsea, it would say that the chairman whats to raise the clubs profile and would make extra funds available.

This is one of those things where gameplay has to come before realism IMO.

I find buying players and dealing with contracts etc to be one of the most fun things with the game. If they took it out, even to a point where I can only suggest, I probably would stop playing.

It may also mean that if the AI is buying players for you you may get them at more realistic prices?

unless your Director of Football is Damien Comolli of course..

This would be a good addition. Take Real Madrid for example, Schuster never signed anyone he just coached whoever the Sporting Director Mijatovic signed. Ramos gets a say now as the Lass Diarra signing shows cause Mijatovic rates Ramos as a coach (he never liked Schuster). Capello also had a say when he was there cause Mijatovic rated him. It was also Mijatovic who decided to fire Schuster, not president Calderon. So I think it would be more realistic if SDs were much more involved (in some countries at least). I have never seen Mijatovic mentioned once when managing Real yet he is an important figure of the management at that club and gives his views on the team performance to the press after every game.

This is one of those things where gameplay has to come before realism IMO.

I find buying players and dealing with contracts etc to be one of the most fun things with the game. If they took it out, even to a point where I can only suggest, I probably would stop playing.

I have to agree with this. I really wouldn't be happy at leaving my transfers to the AI, even if I could suggest the positions and potential targets. There is no promise that the players I end up with are end going tobe close to the ones I want/need.

I cant prove it, but I suspect that there are a lot of clubs out there where the manager still deals with this stuff, or a fair amount of it. Not every club has a director of football. Celtic, for example, do not have a director of football and as fair as I can make out from interviews etc the negotiating is done jointly by Gordon Stracthan and Peter Lawwell (Cheif Exec).

I can see why people might like this idea, but for me it would be a 'no thanks' as I'd rather do this bit myself. Even though this may appear unrealistic to some.

Well the game is called Football Manager.

Football = Game we love

Manager = The job we want.

Coach: Coaching entails the application of sport tactics and strategies during the game or contest itself, and usually entails substitution of players and other such actions as needed. Most coaches are former participants in the sports in which they are involved, and those who are not have usually had extensive training in the sport.

Manager: In some professional sports operations the head coach also serves as general manager, the team executive responsible for acquiring the rights to players and negotiating their contracts, generally in recent years with their agents, and for trading or dismissing players, but these roles have been increasingly likely to be seen as separate functions fulfilled by separate persons in more recent years, although many coach/general managers still exist

So we want to be coach/manager. Basicly I think that the best way this game is played. Otherwise you would only make tactics or only make transfers.

Conclusion: Keep it this way

This is a subject that comes up each release TBH. Although in the modern game and mostly at the highest levels, you see a "Football Director" or similar titles, but amounting to the same thing, I doubt it's something that will be implemented in FM, unless IRL it becomes a more widespread.

I'm not poo-pooing the idea, just don't think it will appear in FM any time soon.

For fellow saddo's out there, I did play "Football Director" many years ago on an Amstrad CPC-464... but you didn't actually do any "directing".

Well the game is called Football Manager.

I always love that one. I'm just waiting for the phone to ring, next time I play Call Of Duty.

I think this is a good idea and one ive thought about, although its a feature I dont think i'd use, I think if when you first take over a new club you can be asked whether you want a DOF or not if you do then the chairman starts a search for one if one is not already at the club, they then look after transfers, salaries etc, and you can still have your shortlists and the DOF will then try and sign these players as well as his own players, anybody can become your DOF for example if you take over Tottenham Harry Redkanpp could just into the DOF role, or they could look for someone totally new but you have to be able to see the the DOF stats, and maybe the chairman could give an option of 3 DOF to work with and you get to choose which one you want

If you dont want a DOF just say no to the chairman and he'll sack the DOF if there's one currently at that club

maybe have the option to ask for DOF at anytime

Just an idea how it can be implemented

It could tie in with your starting reputation - a club may agree to hire an unknown if they have a DOF to keep an eye on him. Then as his rep grows, he could (if he wants) start to publically disagree with the DOF and undermine him in an effort to get full managment/coach duties.

I personally wouldn't enjoy this but could understand the logic and it would give people an incentive and a reward for playing a long career game.

No.I want to enjoy playing the game.Kevin Keegan and Alan Curbishley didn't exactly enjoy them did they ?

I don't want a DOF. I want to be in total control.

I even tell the chairman to **** off if I could.

Directors of Football have roles which vary dramatically from country to country and even club to club. They would be extremeluy hard to implement.

Also, I think the majority of people want control over their transfers.

Thanks for all of the replies but I think some of you are missing the point, Not all clubs have a DOF and I think it should stay that way.

If you didn't want one then you would not apply for a managers position at that club until you are confident you are rated highly enough that you could negotiate his depature as part of your contract just like Harry Redknapp did at spurs.

Id want complete control or at least as much as we have already. But it would be nice to get advice on transfers and other things like you do from your ass man for your squad. Like the DOF could say what a player could bring to the club in terms of shirt sales etc

Should be implemented definitely, without question. The discussion ends here.

Think it could be good idea, have been wanting something like this for a while.

I'd only want Dennis Wise around so I could punch him in the face

But seriously, I think it'd be fun to have. It would another interesting twist and layer to an already deep game

This is a great idea, get this in.

with Ter backing this idea maybe we will see it in fm10 or fm11, just hope if they do they implement it right so youre able to not to have a DOF if you dont want one and obviously vice versa

i like it if you could still do your own transfers just he does some too

Thinking about it again today, this would be a quality addition to the game, we could end up with some right gems of players.

Theres a few clubs, like Nottm Forest for example, where the manager says I would like to buy these players and a panel then determines the outcome like how much the club is prepared to offer, at Newcastle too I believe the 'Manager' is little more than a Head Coach with little or no control over who is released or brought into the club.

I'm not sure how feasable incorparating something like this into FM would be, yes it ups the realism but it could be at the cost of playability, and it's the playability that needs to take precedence.

Occasionally when i get overwhelmed and frustrated by the tactical system I will play the game as a "Director of Football" by Holidaying on match days and hating my Assistant for doing better than I can on matchday

I don't see why it couldn't be added if it had the option to turn it off in Preferences.