http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2013/aug/09/transfer-window-analysis-sporting-directors
Transfer window analysis: sporting directors pay off for Spurs and City
The two Premier League teams with genuine sporting directors are the ones who have appeared most prepared in the market
The imposing Toulouse midfielder Etienne Capoue (25) looks set to be Spurs' fourth signing of the transfer window, at a fee of around £8.6m. Capped 10 times by France, he's been on the wishlist of many European clubs for a couple of years now (Toulouse's high valuation hindered several potential moves) and, with his probable capture, Spurs' midfield is looking ever more impressive.
Compared to their other central midfielders (Dembélé, Sandro, Paulinho) he's clearly more defensively minded – breaking up attacks, winning the ball and playing the simple pass out – but he's also improved his attacking play over the past year, adding goals mainly through his energy and power, which see him join in and make runs when the opportunity arises, rather than with flair or creativity. Though he has played centre-back in his teens and early 20s, I expect Spurs to use him in midfield where he should have no problem holding his own. His style looks suited to the Premier League; though he's a strong and towering figure, he's not sluggish and shows a dynamism and agility not always found in players of his size.
It seems like another good signing for Spurs; while I'm not expecting him to be the most spectacular of the new arrivals, he's an efficient player with a good mentality who'll be of great use in Spurs' squad. I rate him as the best defensive midfielder in French football of the past few seasons.
With this addition, though Gareth Bale's future is still uncertain, one has to be impressed with the way that Spurs have worked the market this summer. They've had concrete targets and seemingly got the majority of players they wanted, picking players from the upper shelves with little guesswork, random buying or reliance on late agent recommendations. They've obviously had a plan: players with good strength and physique who will improve the team, all internationals and at a good age.
The way it's looking, just a week away from the start of the new Premier League season, it's clear to me that Spurs, along with Emirates Marketing Project, are the teams who on paper look radically stronger than last year (though an eventual sale of Bale will obviously weaken Spurs).
I for one doubt it's a coincidence that the only two teams in the Premier League with genuine sporting directors (or technical directors or directors of football, if you like) are the ones who have appeared the most prepared, structured and with clear strategies in their work in the summer transfer market. Of course, that's an obviously predictable opinion coming from someone with my background – as readers will no doubt remind me – but if you compare their work with those of arch-rivals Arsenal and Manchester United this summer, you may even concede I have a point.
They have acted swiftly and decisively – with City completing most of their summer deals by the end of July – in identifying the players they wanted, and getting the deals done. This is the way business tends to happen in continental Europe, where sporting directors are the norm. They predominantly secure their targets early in the window, unless it's a big transfer which requires more time (for instance with all the game playing seen in the Luis Suárez and Bale sagas – it's natural that such deals drag out). They want their squads ready in ample time for the start of the season.
Now, to be very general, Premier League clubs on the whole seem rather reactive in their general approach to transfer dealings: reliant on agent offers, wanting to wait and see in the summer what's available, rather than having a wishlist with multiple options and aiming even for those players that at first appear unavailable by sounding out potential interest early. Some even stick to the dated approach of "taking a late punt". Without wanting to sound disrespectful – I'm a great admirer of English football and the Premier League on the whole – I do feel the approach to the transfer market is more haphazard in England, which may be put down to a weakness in the managerial system that rarely finds the space or the culture for high-level executives empowered to work exclusively on the transfer market and who are experts in the field.
With the vast majority of new Premier League signings now being recruited from abroad – and overwhelmingly from continental Europe – it's understandable why some top clubs have taken the step of recruiting executives who are dedicated to the area of player recruitment and have the contacts, background, know-how and overview of players on a worldwide scale – and, most crucially, know their true value. You can't reasonably expect managers to have this knowledge – their job is to focus on coaching and match preparation – and the pressure on them, and the need to work 18-hour days, means their attention should be directed elsewhere. A chief scout rarely possesses the complex understanding of the business aspect of the transfer market, whereas Premier League CEOs are usually from business or commercial, not football backgrounds and their contacts, while invaluable in certain areas, are of little use in the transfer market. (Of course, all these figures will be involved in player recruitment too; the sporting director works alongside them, not in isolation, although the dynamics of these relationships are a debate for another column.)
This makes a role such as Franco Baldini's at Spurs – and indeed Txiki Begiristain's at Emirates Marketing Project and to a certain extent, Michael Emenalo's at Chelsea – fundamental, to my eyes at least – there's nothing more important within a football club than recruiting players. The one real "alchemy" within the operations of a club is identifying players, understanding their correct value and ultimately attracting the right ones, as they are the only assets with the potential to increase in value even tenfold in a relatively short time, and can eventually help to build a more successful club (Ajax, Borussia Dortmund, FC Porto and Udinese are some examples of continental clubs who have perfected this art). In that regard it's strange that Premier League clubs don't bring in these specialists to the extent that they do for, say, marketing – while you can significantly increase commercial sales through being successful on the pitch, you need a steady stream of very talented players (for the right price) to achieve it. Successfully operating and understanding the transfer market is a specialist task and should be treated and respected as such. Of course, much like finding players, getting the right man is itself quite an undertaking. It's one that perhaps Daniel Levy has finally cracked.
