Hendrik Almstadt

[HanoiVillan]

31 minutes ago, sexbelowsound said:

It says at the end of the announcement that the club will look for a replacement.

I don't even know what a Sporting Director does. 

Nor do I, but like Jonah says it has to be more than booking hotel rooms. 

[KHV]

41 minutes ago, sexbelowsound said:

It says at the end of the announcement that the club will look for a replacement.

I don't even know what a Sporting Director does. 

Neither does Hendrik Halmstadt

[DCJonah]

45 minutes ago, Stevo985 said:

How have you jumped to that conclusion?

They laid off a load of stewards and tea ladies and that the other day didn't they? Were they involved in transfers too just because they got sacked first?

I'm sure you can figure out why the sacking of the sporting director could be linked to transfers and a steward and tea lady wouldn't be. I'm sure you can. 

[TB]

Just now, KHV said:

Neither does Hendrik Halmstadt

Good job he never was a Sporting Director at the club, then... ;-) 

[KHV]

For those wandering exactly what Mr Almstadt did he was responsible for facilities management, human resources, budgeting and funding. Quite an important role it would seem and the fact he has left and will be replaced suggests he was not great at it. 

[VillaCas]

4 hours ago, villa89 said:

If the leaks from Tim Sherwood (post sacking) are to be believed Almstadt was part of the team that assessed and bought players based on nonsense statistics, such as "potential chances to score a goal". Anything that ends the ridiculous "moneyball" approach that isn't applicable in football suits me fine.

Just because we bought some complete plums doesn't mean the the use of statistics is 'nonsense'. Big clubs need to scout the world and its impossible to do that just in person.

Statisitics clearly have a place in the recruitment model, we just need to find a better person to wield them than Almstadt

[Stevo985]

32 minutes ago, DCJonah said:

I'm sure you can figure out why the sacking of the sporting director could be linked to transfers and a steward and tea lady wouldn't be. I'm sure you can. 

I can't figure out why someone being sacked first means they must have been involved in transfers. That was your point, and it doesn't make any sense.

As far as I know the order people are sacked in doesn't correspond to their role at the club, hence the tea lady comparison.

I didn't think it was a complicated point.

[Stevo985]

12 minutes ago, VillaCas said:

Just because we bought some complete plums doesn't mean the the use of statistics is 'nonsense'. Big clubs need to scout the world and its impossible to do that just in person.

Statisitics clearly have a place in the recruitment model, we just need to find a better person to wield them than Almstadt

And I still don't think we bought many "plums". We just failed to address key areas of the team well enough.

Who's fault that is could be argued forever. But I still maintain our biggest failing this season hasn't been so much the players we've bought, more the 3 ot 4 players we didn't buy (or more specifically, replace)

[KHV]

4 minutes ago, VillaCas said:

Just because we bought some complete plums doesn't mean the the use of statistics is 'nonsense'. Big clubs need to scout the world and its impossible to do that just in person.

Statisitics clearly have a place in the recruitment model, we just need to find a better person to wield them than Almstadt

Statistics are okay but then you need to extensiveley scout any potential signings that statistical analysis may highlight.  I don't think we did enough scouting. I get the impression it was all a bit rushed and not very well thought out. I'd go as far as to say we probably took far too much of a stats based approach rather than scouting these players for months on end. The approach we took was way too risky and the gamble failed. 

[briny_ear]

I dislike the way this is being done intensely - suggests the club hasn't changed one little bit. There is no information about why he has gone.

We were briefed a while back that (I think) Steve Hollis and Mervyn King had carried out an analysis of what went wrong this season, concluded it was recruitment, and that heads would roll.

Now Almstadt's head has rolled.

There were also earlier rumours that Almstadt was one of a "gang of three" that did the player recruitment last summer.

It seems entirely reasonable therefore - insofar as the Chinese whispers/rumour-mill type of communication that our club go in for allows any reasonable judgements - to assume he was involved in recruitment and sacked because it went wrong.

I'm going to believe that until the club come out and make a clear, unequivocal statement about what his role was and why he has been sacked.

[VillaCas]

6 minutes ago, Stevo985 said:

And I still don't think we bought many "plums". We just failed to address key areas of the team well enough.

Who's fault that is could be argued forever. But I still maintain our biggest failing this season hasn't been so much the players we've bought, more the 3 ot 4 players we didn't buy (or more specifically, replace)

Actually on reflection, I agree. The worst players that arrived were the ones that were probalbly bought on reputation (Lescott, Richards, Gestede?)

[markavfc40]

I think it is safe to assume, at least I have always done, that above the manager Almstadt, Reilly and Fox were the three main players aside from the owner. One of them has gone, Fox is a dead man walking and I expect Reilly to be not far in front or behind him.

Something went very wrong over the summer. We lost four very good players from a squad that finished 17th but having spent over 50 million pound we should have been left with a squad capable of at least competing to stay up especially when you consider we are likely to have one of the top dozen wage bills in the league. We haven't even got close to competing for a 17th place finish though.

Whatever part Almstadt, Fox and Reilly played in that, be it major or minor, just as the manager carried the can some time ago so should the other players involved in what can only be described as a disastrous summer.

Edited March 15, 2016 by markavfc40

[VillaCas]

2 minutes ago, markavfc40 said:

Something went very wrong over the summer. We lost four very good players from a squad that finished 17th but having spent over 50 million pound we should have been left with a squad capable of at least competing to stay up especially when you consider we are likely to have one of the top half dozen wage bills in the league. We haven't even got close to competing for a 17th place finish though.

I have no facts on this but are we really in the top six wage bills? Arsenal, MU, MC, Chelsea, Liverpool are probably top five - I find it hard to beleive we are next? Personally I would be surprised if we are top half? Clearly I could be wrong but it seems counter-intuitive

[markavfc40]

2 minutes ago, VillaCas said:

I have no facts on this but are we really in the top six wage bills? Arsenal, MU, MC, Chelsea, Liverpool are probably top five - I find it hard to beleive we are next? Personally I would be surprised if we are top half? Clearly I could be wrong but it seems counter-intuitive

That was supposed to say dozen mate. I have edited it. Been a long day!

[New_Jersey_Villa]

19 minutes ago, KHV said:

Statistics are okay but then you need to extensiveley scout any potential signings that statistical analysis may highlight.  I don't think we did enough scouting. I get the impression it was all a bit rushed and not very well thought out. I'd go as far as to say we probably took far too much of a stats based approach rather than scouting these players for months on end. The approach we took was way too risky and the gamble failed. 

Money ball is what you described. Great for Baseball, shitty for Football.

[Zatman]

1 hour ago, sexbelowsound said:

It says at the end of the announcement that the club will look for a replacement.

I don't even know what a Sporting Director does. 

In Europe they have a huge part in what the club does regarding transfers, youth signings and staff hire etc and manager just coaches them

if we are adapting a European style which was mentioned by Fox and others then he had a fairly large role to play

[DCJonah]

40 minutes ago, Stevo985 said:

I can't figure out why someone being sacked first means they must have been involved in transfers. That was your point, and it doesn't make any sense.

As far as I know the order people are sacked in doesn't correspond to their role at the club, hence the tea lady comparison.

I didn't think it was a complicated point.

You usually follow quicker. 

There are strong rumours that the key people responsible for this year are to be sacked. Almstadt is the first to go out of that group, to me that indicates that he was involved and not just some sort of hotel organiser that did nothing with transfers.  

Nothing to do with tea ladies and other positions. Clearly it was complicated for you. 

[dont_do_it_doug.]

55 minutes ago, markavfc40 said:

I think it is safe to assume, at least I have always done, that above the manager Almstadt, Reilly and Fox were the three main players aside from the owner. One of them has gone, Fox is a dead man walking and I expect Reilly to be not far in front or behind him.

Something went very wrong over the summer. We lost four very good players from a squad that finished 17th but having spent over 50 million pound we should have been left with a squad capable of at least competing to stay up especially when you consider we are likely to have one of the top dozen wage bills in the league. We haven't even got close to competing for a 17th place finish though.

Whatever part Almstadt, Fox and Reilly played in that, be it major or minor, just as the manager carried the can some time ago so should the other players involved in what can only be described as a disastrous summer.

It's almost as if there was no overall vision or directive. 

For want of a better phrase IMO sacking Almstadt is a bit like chucking a deckchair off the titanic. As for talk replacing him, a man who nobody quite understood what he did and that they failed to explain even vaguely once when given the opportunity, concerns me. I'm concerned that they are not providing the structural shake up that we badly need. A structure implemented by Tom Fox. 

Aside from that you know my feelings. Until Lerner goes it is all academical. 

[markavfc40]

12 minutes ago, dont_do_it_doug. said:

It's almost as if there was no overall vision or directive. 

For want of a better phrase IMO sacking Almstadt is a bit like chucking a deckchair off the titanic. As for talk replacing him, a man who nobody quite understood what he did and that they failed to explain even vaguely once when given the opportunity, concerns me. I'm concerned that they are not providing the structural shake up that we badly need. A structure implemented by Tom Fox. 

Aside from that you know my feelings. Until Lerner goes it is all academical. 

I agree Dave but until Lerner does go they need to get as many pieces in the club right below him otherwise we will either stagnate or continue to go backwards. It is debatable whether or not we can ever go forward with Lerner in charge but regardless of him being here or not the club spent over 50 mill in the summer and might as well have spent f all when you look at the return it has gotten us. I don't know what part Almstadt played in that and he might well have been a bit part player but put him alongside the other bit part players under Lerner and they certainly have to carry some responsibility for what happened over the summer.

I am glad to see the club aren't just making managers scapegoats for a change but like you alluded to the one constant in our decline will remain it seems and until he goes it is hard to see a way forward. Whilst he remains though Hollis, Bernstein, Little, King and whoever else comes in have to try to find one.

Edited March 16, 2016 by markavfc40

[dont_do_it_doug.]

@markavfc40 are we allowed to debate in public anymore?

I was a bit vague there. Of course it is pleasing to see them try to do something about it. I would expect nothing less.  However for me firing a man who I literally couldn't even guess at what he does is barely worth commenting on, despite some talk of "1 down, 2 to go" in places.

If they do intend to 'replace' Almstadt it has to be the right man with the right credentials and they have to be absolutely clear on what it is he will bring to the club.

On the Great Lerner Problem I could write paragraphs! I probably shouldn't have bought him up because I am reasonably confident he doesn't know what Almstadt did either