Paul Mitchell (Sporting Director)

[80]

4 minutes ago, AyeDubbleYoo said:

 

If he can get some more gardening leave he probably would. 

I hear his boss is very accommodating to staff who want to move on to fresh pastures. Doesn't believe in standing in their way.

[KaKa]

No chance his job is under threat.

 

And in fact if and when any drama kicks off between him and the manager, Eddie is the one that will be gone.

 

Fortunately, all this noise appears to be a load of nonsense from the doom mongers.

[Coffee_Johnny]

1 hour ago, mouldy_uk said:

Mitchell gets a pass from me for the summer, however, I won’t be so kind in the Jan window if it’s the same shit show

For some reason find myself being more focussed on how he conducts himself, rather than what does or doesn’t happen in the next window. Jury’s well and truly out for me. 

 

 

Edited September 8 by Coffee_Johnny

[Dr.Spaceman]

Couldn't care less if he stays or goes, personally. As fans we put far too much thought into these DoF's, Sporting Directors etc

[r0cafella]

2 hours ago, Kid Icarus said:

 

The same reputation maybe, no reason we can't get someone of the same calibre or better.

Like It or not, it will be two sporting directors in the span of 3 years with murmurs of power conflicts to boot, why would anyone elite want to sign up for that? Let's not forget we couldn't even get a mid table sporting director before Mitchell came in. 

[80]

4 minutes ago, Dr.Spaceman said:

Couldn't care less if he stays or goes, personally. As fans we put far too much thought into these DoF's, Sporting Directors etc

I'd like you to be right, but it's kind of the opposite way around. They tend to be more and more influential in how a club functions. They need more attention, scrutiny and accountability.

[KaKa]

3 minutes ago, r0cafella said:

Like It or not, it will be two sporting directors in the span of 3 years with murmurs of power conflicts to boot, why would anyone elite want to sign up for that? Let's not forget we couldn't even get a mid table sporting director before Mitchell came in. 

 

Which is why any sign of further problems and Howe will be out.

[80]

15 minutes ago, Coffee_Johnny said:

For some reason find myself being more focussed on how he conducts himself, rather than what does or doesn’t happen in the next window. Jury’s well and truly out for me. 

 

 

 

One of the issues I have with the position - forget Mitchell for a second - is how limited the opportunities to really assess someone's performance are. A manager can be witnessed match to match. A DoF 'really needs three to five years to really be judged' - by which time they can quietly burn half the club down, in the worst case scenario.

[Coffee_Johnny]

7 minutes ago, 80 said:

One of the issues I have with the position - forget Mitchell for a second - is how limited the opportunities to really assess someone's performance are. A manager can be witnessed match to match. A DoF 'really needs three to five years to really be judged' - by which time they can quietly burn half the club down, in the worst case scenario.

Does feel like one of those roles where it might take a long time to realise if they weren’t there, or just dialling it in, or worse they’re making everything harder. 

[Myleftboot]

Was it PIF who hired Mitchell?

[Dr.Spaceman]

26 minutes ago, 80 said:

I'd like you to be right, but it's kind of the opposite way around. They tend to be more and more influential in how a club functions. They need more attention, scrutiny and accountability.

 

I agree with you, I just don't know why we go on and on about it. We've zero visibility of their day to day and their influence will take a long time to come to fruition. I still can't believe some people are complaining that Mitchell hasn't done a great deal in 2 months, man 

[Geordie Ahmed]

3 hours ago, Coffee_Johnny said:

I do think that any loose speaking out of the privacy of the board, any hint of playing the press to your own advantage, any signs of thin skin or self aggrandisement would be red flags to somebody like Yasir Al-Rumayyan.

 

I have only seen what most of us have, but he strikes me as somebody where loyalty and the collective good (of his assets) is paramount. And someone who would be ruthless once someone was seen as untrustworthy. 

The reporting of Mitchell’s interview was close to causing such alarm, and young ‘Phil’ looked mightily uncomfortable (and like a sack of shite) in the stands beside him at the Spurs game. 

 

I find it hard to believe the interview was done without PIF/Eales being made aware

 

 

[Geordie Ahmed]

9 minutes ago, Myleftboot said:

Was it PIF who hired Mitchell?

I think all major appointments have to be given the green light by PIF

[duo]

2 hours ago, mouldy_uk said:

Mitchell gets a pass from me for the summer, however, I won’t be so kind in the Jan window if it’s the same shit show

I can give him a pass for the transfer activity (or lack off) but I wasn't impressed with him publicly criticising the previous structure/transfer activity.  It can't have gone down well with those at the club/Eddie Howe.

[Coffee_Johnny]

24 minutes ago, Geordie Ahmed said:

 

I find it hard to believe the interview was done without PIF/Eales being made aware

 

 

It’s more what is revealed as he responds to questions. It wouldn’t have been scripted answers and I doubt, on this occasion, he had sight of questions beforehand. 

 

 

Edited September 8 by Coffee_Johnny

[KaKa]

5 minutes ago, duo said:

I can give him a pass for the transfer activity (or lack off) but I wasn't impressed with him publicly criticising the previous structure/transfer activity.  It can't have gone down well with those at the club/Eddie Howe.

 

Eddie himself said he could do with more information on players from further afield.

 

He has also been asking for the recruitment to be centred around more data/analysis, and not just old school first person scouting.

 

The previous structure was worthy of criticism. It was well behind the times.

[rebelrouser]

He walked into a transfer strategy that was overly focused on one player and thought that was not a good idea. If he hurt some feelings for saying that, so be it. It needed to be said and our strategy must be broader in the future, especially now that we must have some real money to spend. 

[Kid Icarus]

1 hour ago, r0cafella said:

Like It or not, it will be two sporting directors in the span of 3 years with murmurs of power conflicts to boot, why would anyone elite want to sign up for that? Let's not forget we couldn't even get a mid table sporting director before Mitchell came in. 

Well this is largely the point, reputation doesn't necessarily mean quality. Ashworth was a mid table DoF until he came here too and Freedman apparently stayed because he loves Palace, I wouldn't read that much into it personally. 

 

If it's a choice between Howe going or Mitchell going it's not even up for debate imo.

 

 

Edited September 8 by Kid Icarus

[Coffee_Johnny]

Just now, rebelrouser said:

He walked into a transfer strategy that was overly focused on one player and thought that was not a good idea. If he hurt some feelings for saying that, so be it. It needed to be said and our strategy must be broader in the future, especially now that we must have some real money to spend. 

Tosin, Thiaw, others, were linked before Guehi. Unless they were made-up. 
There’s an unwritten—well for most doesn’t need to be made explicit—rule about not externalising and distancing yourself from blame when you’re part of a close knit team. Failed on that one for me. 

[Geordie Ahmed]

9 minutes ago, Coffee_Johnny said:

It’s more what is revealed as he responds to questions. It wouldn’t have been scripted answers and I doubt, on this occasion, he had sight of questions beforehand. 

 

 

 

 

I didn't think he said anything that would piss PIF off

 

Though I have found it interesting how the same interview everyone has read has resulted in so such an extreme range of responses

 

You've now gotten people taking a dislike to him and others have elevated him because he's said spoken about things they like

 

For me I probably sit in the middle, good to hear from someone other than Howe, not sure the explanation as to why we didn't sign someone was clear enough but ultimately I'm not too concerned about that. Hopefully the next summer window is more productive, that is where we will find out if the club have actually corrected what went wrong in this window 

[JonBez comesock]

4 minutes ago, rebelrouser said:

He walked into a transfer strategy that was overly focused on one player and thought that was not a good idea. If he hurt some feelings for saying that, so be it. It needed to be said and our strategy must be broader in the future, especially now that we must have some real money to spend. 

Agreed

[rebelrouser]

5 minutes ago, Coffee_Johnny said:

Tosin, Thiaw, others, were linked before Guehi. Unless they were made-up. 
There’s an unwritten—well for most doesn’t need to be made explicit—rule about not externalising and distancing yourself from blame when you’re part of a close knit team. Failed on that one for me. 

I think we were interested in Tosin but I really don't believe the others. I also think we focused on center half at the expense of rw. I really think we could have had Madueke if we had moved on from Guehi.  Not sure he was completely distancing himself from blame, but fair point.

[Upthemags]

1 hour ago, KaKa said:

No chance his job is under threat.

 

And in fact if and when any drama kicks off between him and the manager, Eddie is the one that will be gone.

 

Fortunately, all this noise appears to be a load of nonsense from the doom mongers.

People still aren't grasping that the summer window wasn't even his window - but Howe's (both of them), Nickson's, Eales'.

 

Mitchell is here for the long term whether we like it or not. (Unless he decides there are greener pastures elsewhere.)

[KaKa]

8 minutes ago, Coffee_Johnny said:

Tosin, Thiaw, others, were linked before Guehi. Unless they were made-up. 
There’s an unwritten—well for most doesn’t need to be made explicit—rule about not externalising and distancing yourself from blame when you’re part of a close knit team. Failed on that one for me. 

 

He said he was in agreement with their agreed strategy, and worked towards that.

 

That is not distancing himself from blame.

[The Prophet]