Mark Allen - Officially gone

Looking at the slightly weird juxtaposition of the amicable statement but weird timing for an announcement, any chance this exit is a bit like the Souness leaving situation i.e. Allen has had an offer that starts at the end of the season, he’s said he’ll be leaving then and King and Park have said no you’ll be going now!?
 
As much as the DOF role is meant to outlive the team manager etc it’s not actually a role I expect the incumbents to stay in years and years either. No idea why really.
 
BrooklynBlue said:
But what model is it? A DoF is supposedly to provide continuity and longevity. Who will interview for the next appointment? Surely SG will have a say.
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The DoF should be around longer than the manager (modern day managers don't stick around that long).

Who prepares for the future - I don't particularly trust Robertson and co. to get it right when it comes to making managerial decisions so Mark Allen needs replaced.

Gerrard goes whether successful or not and we are back to the board making an absolute mess of things.
 
Captain_Sticky said:
As much as the DOF role is meant to outlive the team manager etc it’s not actually a role I expect the incumbents to stay in years and years either. No idea why really.
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If this were part of a genuine strategy I would agree.....I doubt we will replace him.
 
CaptainCourageous said:
The DoF should be around longer than the manager (modern day managers don't stick around that long).

Who prepares for the future - I don't particularly trust Robertson and co. to get it right when it comes to making managerial decisions so Mark Allen needs replaced.

Gerrard goes whether successful or not and we are back to the board making an absolute mess of things.
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Their eggs are totally in the Stevie G basket the signing of Kent showed that......a braver board would have reviewed things in January.
 
Uncle Albert said:
The manager should be the most important man at the club.

We can say that ours is, most other clubs cant.
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I agree. But that seems to be a little old-fashioned.

However, when you listen to Michael Beale you wonder where a DoF fits in with SG:

Inside Steven Gerrard's Rangers masterplan as Michael Beale talks recruitment, egos and passion

Rangers first team coach Beale lifts the lid on Gerrard's philosophy and the problems and successes the rookie boss has encountered. It's hard to believe that it has been 16 months since Steven Gerrard first marched up marble staircase to take his place in the Rangers hotseat. Such has been...
www.followfollow.com www.followfollow.com
 
DylanGer said:
If this were part of a genuine strategy I would agree.....I doubt we will replace him.
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I disagree that we didn’t need a DoF: there was no youth system, recruitment team...any sort of joined-up football operation at all. He put one in place.

I’d agree we don’t need one now: the system IS in place and increasingly his position was marginalised

I’d be surprised if an external person replaced him.
 
DylanGer said:
We didn't and there's a reason for that.
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I've been wondering if you were not well, DG, haven't seen a whinge about strategy from you in a while, Good to see you back on your hobby-horse. :¬))
Anyway, what's the 'reason for that' you're being all coy about?
 
DylanGer said:
Their eggs are totally in the Stevie G basket the signing of Kent showed that......a braver board would have reviewed things in January.
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Bit of a risk, Gerrard will soon be bomb proof with them.

Our last match showed he's still not learned his lessons. An unsuccessful season and we are in a shit position.
 
Danger Zone said:
It’s bollocks based on absolutely nothing mate. Not a shred of evidence of any of it, it’s more or less a case of “I’m not keen on Mark Allen so I’ll pretend that anything that was good wasn’t attributable to him and anything that didn’t work out was his doing”.
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That's bollocks mate.

I neither liked or disliked Allen. I knew little about him when he arrived. However, when he started talking about identifying players based on our ethos, philosophy and footballing strategy I smelt bullshit. Unfortunately the masses like a bit of bullshit. Remember how much praise Warburton got for his press conferences?
 
David Edgar said:
I disagree that we didn’t need a DoF: there was no youth system, recruitment team...any sort of joined-up football operation at all. He put one in place.

I’d agree we don’t need one now: the system IS in place and increasingly his position was marginalised

I’d be surprised if an external person replaced him.
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The problem with this is that we’re left with very little when Gerrard leaves. Especially if he takes Scoulding with him.
 
David Edgar said:
I disagree that we didn’t need a DoF: there was no youth system, recruitment team...any sort of joined-up football operation at all. He put one in place.

I’d agree we don’t need one now: the system IS in place and increasingly his position was marginalised

I’d be surprised if an external person replaced him.
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Scoulding gets promoted?
 
DylanGer said:
Since people didn't like another thread
Lots of praise for a guy for a guy who we didn't know what he did. Similarly hard to be overly critical if you are making that argument.

I'm happy to be corrected if I've missed something or there is a genuine argument against my opinion.

I don't think we will replace him. My understanding is that the manager and he worked quite independently-it wasn't joined up. That's part of why he's left.

Do we really think we are going out to head hunt a DOF with SG in charge? I could be wrong but I doubt it .

The whole era post Warburton in terms of football strategy has frankly been a mess. Contentious as it might seem we've just spent 7M on a young emerging player when the squad size is both massive and there are areas in the team that look lacking.
I would/hope suspect we have a decent chance of getting to January with the league challenge still alive-where's the budget to fund that coming from?

My understanding is we have around 3 maybe more players SG accepted on the basis that MA had an input in our policy and that is what it is. However even 3 players in our squad to add to quite a few players who are sucking out wages from the club is not something we could afford....

SG has done very well clearly he understands the job because he's worked at the top but what we had as a set up was a mish mash and anybody really want to argue the structure as was will be repeated?

We never needed a DOF and we don't need one now. We do need a genuine longer term strategy but that is lower down the priority list that delivering success quickly.

If we really had a joined up picture and faith in the road ahead we would have known MA's role, where Stewart Robertson fitted into things and how the manager interacted with the DOF.

We didn't and there's a reason for that.

Now it's down to the ability of SG and the team to stabilise things or else we are on plan Z. Bottom line is the board are good guys they should have been big and smart enough to put genuine football experts in position to determine how we met the challenge ahead. All their eggs are now in a basket marked Stevie G and if that doesn't work out we will seriously regret the time lost and a constant change of approaches of how to tackle getting back to the top.
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Just picked this bit out and I think you are completely wrong.

“Do we really think we are going out to head hunt a DOF with SG in charge? I could be wrong but I doubt it.”

Read the Beale interview on the other thread. He suggests what Gerrard is good at and what he likes to do, i.e. man management, selecting the right team, planning - in other words the stuff that involves the daily contact with his players. We already know that Gerrard is happy to step in and talk to potential recruits to get them over the line. He will continue to do so.

Spending his day dealing with Agents though? Negotiating new contracts? Going to Board meetings and asking for funds? Managing the Academy staff? Etc etc.

To me that’s not what Gerrard wants and I suspect it’s not his forte either. For one thing, where’s he finding the time to take on this stuff? Rangers is too big for the out-dated model of the 60/70s where the Manager does everything.

We either need a new DoF or we need others to step up and fill the void. Gerrard hasn’t the time for any of it over and above what he does at present
 
Commentator said:
I've been wondering if you were not well, DG, haven't seen a whinge about strategy from you in a while, Good to see you back on your hobby-horse. :¬))
Anyway, what's the 'reason for that' you're being all coy about?
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I think today's news cements the strategy argument it would be folly to argue otherwise surely?

You really should think ahead the odd time mate. :)
 
Some good signings but some real duds aswell. Not overly fussed and think Gerrard and McAllister will have someone they can work well with come in sooner rather than later
 
Math1eson said:
Looking at the slightly weird juxtaposition of the amicable statement but weird timing for an announcement, any chance this exit is a bit like the Souness leaving situation i.e. Allen has had an offer that starts at the end of the season, he’s said he’ll be leaving then and King and Park have said no you’ll be going now!?
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This could tie in with a rumoured Saudi takeover at Man Utd next summer.
 
DylanGer said:
Since people didn't like another thread
Lots of praise for a guy for a guy who we didn't know what he did. Similarly hard to be overly critical if you are making that argument.

I'm happy to be corrected if I've missed something or there is a genuine argument against my opinion.

I don't think we will replace him. My understanding is that the manager and he worked quite independently-it wasn't joined up. That's part of why he's left.

Do we really think we are going out to head hunt a DOF with SG in charge? I could be wrong but I doubt it .

The whole era post Warburton in terms of football strategy has frankly been a mess. Contentious as it might seem we've just spent 7M on a young emerging player when the squad size is both massive and there are areas in the team that look lacking.
I would/hope suspect we have a decent chance of getting to January with the league challenge still alive-where's the budget to fund that coming from?

My understanding is we have around 3 maybe more players SG accepted on the basis that MA had an input in our policy and that is what it is. However even 3 players in our squad to add to quite a few players who are sucking out wages from the club is not something we could afford....

SG has done very well clearly he understands the job because he's worked at the top but what we had as a set up was a mish mash and anybody really want to argue the structure as was will be repeated?

We never needed a DOF and we don't need one now. We do need a genuine longer term strategy but that is lower down the priority list that delivering success quickly.

If we really had a joined up picture and faith in the road ahead we would have known MA's role, where Stewart Robertson fitted into things and how the manager interacted with the DOF.

We didn't and there's a reason for that.

Now it's down to the ability of SG and the team to stabilise things or else we are on plan Z. Bottom line is the board are good guys they should have been big and smart enough to put genuine football experts in position to determine how we met the challenge ahead. All their eggs are now in a basket marked Stevie G and if that doesn't work out we will seriously regret the time lost and a constant change of approaches of how to tackle getting back to the top.
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the signing "strategy" is a shambles
 
DylanGer said:
I think today's news cements the strategy argument it would be folly to argue otherwise surely?

You really should think ahead the odd time mate.
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I've had a think and still can't see how MA going cements your strategy concerns.
And you've still not come out with the 'reason for that'. Help me out?
 
Gers11 said:
Stop drinking the jungle juice.!!
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You have taken this outwith its full context . When I say Levein would be a good shout, I mean if you were a Tourette's sufferer, it would be better to shout "Levein" rather than, "Yer dug has tits!"

But then again, maybe not.
 
CaptainCourageous said:
We are left with Robertson and co trying to appoint a manager.

Warburton, Caixinha, Murty x 2, McInnes debacle... what a scary thought.

Allen clearly had a say in getting Gerrard here.
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The directors are picking the manager it seems.

I don’t like that structure tbh. King and Park should not be making major decisions like that - they are not qualified to do so. Fine for them to have a veto, but they cannot lead that process. It has to be a DoF.
 
Valley Bluenose said:
Just picked this bit out and I think you are completely wrong.

“Do we really think we are going out to head hunt a DOF with SG in charge? I could be wrong but I doubt it.”

Read the Beale interview on the other thread. He suggests what Gerrard is good at and what he likes to do, i.e. man management, selecting the right team, planning - in other words the stuff that involves the daily contact with his players. We already know that Gerrard is happy to step in and talk to potential recruits to get them over the line. He will continue to do so.

Spending his day dealing with Agents though? Negotiating new contracts? Going to Board meetings and asking for funds? Managing the Academy staff? Etc etc.

To me that’s not what Gerrard wants and I suspect it’s not his forte either. For one thing, where’s he finding the time to take on this stuff? Rangers is too big for the out-dated model of the 60/70s where the Manager does everything.

We either need a new DoF or we need others to step up and fill the void. Gerrard hasn’t the time for any of it over and above what he does at present
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Nobody's expecting SG to do everything. Souness lamented getting caught up in the contracts etc when he went back to Liverpool.

But that's my point did MA negotiate contracts? I doubt he did but what did he do?

My understanding is that effectively he looked for players and so did SG-that's never going to work. My understanding from more than one source is that SG had to work around and take MA's input/advice on signings as part of the gig-effectively calling the role into doubt as he wasn't always sure on what MA served up.
 
LOL 133 said:
That's bollocks mate.

I neither liked or disliked Allen. I knew little about him when he arrived. However, when he started talking about identifying players based on our ethos, philosophy and footballing strategy I smelt bullshit. Unfortunately the masses like a bit of bullshit. Remember how much praise Warburton got for his press conferences?
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The post you quoted was bollocks, the guy had no evidence of him being responsible for any of the club’s shortcomings.

The manager has the final say on all signings, what is it about suggesting the club would look for players that are a good fit the leads you to believe he’s better off gone? Standard talk, people usually see these kind of things when they’re employed in these roles.
 
Forth Bear said:
Scoulding is currently the Head of Scouting.

It would make sense to promote him as it would likely be difficult to hire someone externally at this stage in the season who is already in a job and at the level we require.
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I'd prefer Mulholland. I think he's sounded like the DoF in waiting for the past couple of years.
 
So, how long before a Boyd or Sutton come tramping out with a piece saying there was disagreement over the Kent signing and that’s why he walked?

Wish the guy all the best, he certainly left us in good shape compared to to what we were upon his arrival.
 
Big Buff said:
The directors are picking the manager it seems.

I don’t like that structure tbh. King and Park should not be making major decisions like that - they are not qualified to do so. Fine for them to have a veto, but they cannot lead that process. It has to be a DoF.
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Robertson and co had us in a position where we went for Derek fucking McInnes (a staggeringly popular choice on FF too might I add) with no back up or contingency plan whatsoever, which saw us appoint a kids team coach on a permanent basis for the season.

I wouldn’t trust Robertson and co in the slightest; remember they saw fit to appoint Pedro and approve his signings too.
 
CaptainCourageous said:
You blame Gerrard for any thing on here and you are quickly shot down.

I had concerns over some of Allen's suggestions/signings and I've still got plenty over Gerrard's managerial ability.

Allen can name any player under the sun. Gerrard has final say. Gerrard picks the team.
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SG has final say but MA is meant to do all the background checks to make sure the players are suitable. MA said so himself. SG has other more pressing issues to deal with. MA doesnt.
 
DylanGer said:
My understanding is that effectively he looked for players and so did SG-that's never going to work. My understanding from more than one source is that SG had to work around and take MA's input/advice on signings as part of the gig-effectively calling the role into doubt as he wasn't always sure on what MA served up.
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Gerrard stated on numerous occasions that he had the final say.
 
Big Buff said:
The directors are picking the manager it seems.

I don’t like that structure tbh. King and Park should not be making major decisions like that - they are not qualified to do so. Fine for them to have a veto, but they cannot lead that process. It has to be a DoF.
Click to expand...

Allen had a big say in Gerrard. Robertson couldn't deliver McInnes.

Gerrard goes tomorrow and what do we do in terms of management recruitment.

Who's overseeing the planning for the future?
 
NSB said:
So, how long before a Boyd or Sutton come tramping out with a piece saying there was disagreement over the Kent signing and that’s why he walked?

Wish the guy all the best, he certainly left us in good shape compared to to what we were upon his arrival.
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More than likely by tomorrow.
 
Have it on good authority that he got kicked out because Liverpool valued Kent at £1.8m but we decided to pay £7m.

According to Celtic fans on Twitter anyway...
 
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