Could City use a transfer guru?

By: Martyn | July 14th, 2008

Italian clubs are renowned for having transfer gurus (more officially termed as Sporting Directors or General Managers), the most famous perhaps being either the now dethroned Luciano Moggi at Juventus, or bald-en wonder Adriano Galliani at AC Milan. Presently, former player Marco Branca does the job for Internazionale, Fiorentina use Pantaeleo Corvino to wheel and deal, and Juventus operate – rather unsuccessfully it must be said after some high profile flops (Tiago, anyone?) – with Alessio Secco. It’s not a trend that has ever hugely caught on in Britain, as managers assume the role of seeking the cog, before badgering the chairman for the relevant cash to help fix the machine.

However, certain clubs are starting to latch onto the trend (at least, making it explicitly and publicly known that they employ someone who is there to sort out the transfer side of things), two of whom include Tottenham Hotspur (Damian Comolli), and even a team in our own division; Flavio Briatore’s Queen’s Park Rangers (Gianni Di Marzio). With Dave Jones experiencing so many repeated failings in the transfer market, and several big-name transfers being out of the question, would our very own transfer guru at last prove to be a wise recruitment move made by the club? I believe so, and know just the man that would be perfect for the role.

London is home to a plethora of glamorous clubs. For all the Chelsea’s, Arsenal’s, and Tottenham’s, you also have the likes of West Ham United, Charlton Athletic, Crystal Palace, and QPR. With replica jerseys and so much saturation coverage of these teams worldwide, it’s a miracle that clubs such as Barnet even exist in the professional capacity that they do, let alone have a loyal band of followers. Their current success and continuation is down in no small part to their manager, Paul Fairclough.

Without intending to patronise Barnet FC, or trying to make this look like the greedy ramblings of someone who thinks his team can so effortlessly come in and just poach who the hell they like from the dungeon division, it’s fair to say that with the money Fairclough has brought into the modest club from North London – and the stabilisers he has given to the bike that is their League Two status – he has worked near miracles.

And yet, that does not even begin to tell the full story. Because where Fairclough really works his magic is by bringing in youngsters recently turfed out of bigger clubs and contemplating quitting the game, and spotting and luring in talent from Non-League football. Examples of the former include Jason Puncheon (recently sold to Plymouth for a profit of £250, 000), and Dean Sinclair (sold to Charlton last season for £125, 000). These were but lucky gambles, I hear some pessimists cry. Cry they might, but it takes a dedicated and caring man-manager to inspire such transformations in players and these are characteristics that nestle in nicely alongside Fairclough’s obvious eye for talent and potential.

Fairclough has another role alongside his job at The Bees and that is as manager of the national English Non-League team (England C). Therefore, when it comes to the gigantic pit of sand that is the non-professional side of the British game, the ex-Stevenage Borough manager has the task of picking out the gold. And by and large, it’s gold he discovers and takes back to Underhill by the barrel-load. Leeds United striker Tresor Kandol (who once scored twice at Ninian Park for Barnet) was plucked from the-then Conference side Dagenham & Redbridge, and re-paid the faith shown in him with a shed-load of goals. Liam Hatch (sold to high-flying Peterborough for £150, 000) was brought in from Ebbsfleet, and current essential members of the squad seized from obsucirty include both the highly rated Cliff Akurang (Histon) and Albert Adomah (Harrow Borough). Adomah in particular is reportedly interesting various Championship and Premier League teams, none other than our own.

Working with limited resources and finances, Fairclough deserves nothing but praise. Not only that, he clearly cares and knows enough about the game to follow it at the very level most forget even exists. What helps of course, is that he has an excellent relationship with the easy-going and modest Barnet chairman, Tony Kleanthous. Whether the brother-in-law of the Dexy’s Midnight Runners frontman is a master tactician cut out for life in the higher leagues is a different matter entirely, hence why I suggest a job as a Transfer Guru at a more prosperous club. After never managing at a higher level than League Two, perhaps the ex-IT school teacher would relish the new challenge, albeit one he could combine with his role as England C manager (ultimately, the two would go hand-in-hand). Fairclough’s forte is unearthing the rough diamonds Non-League football can occasionally throw up, as he is fully aware that the best course of action for a rough diamond is not to smash it!

Indeed, such a role at Ninian Park could leave Dave Jones free from fully focusing on acquiring overhyped, over-the-hill ex-Premier League stars, and would save wasted time on poring over video-taped scouted games in the hope of finding a bargain. Such time could be spent getting to know his players better, developing the formation and realisation of different tactics or systems, as well as absorbing everything he can into his brain about this division. He may do that already, but there is never too much that you can know or learn.

Of course, great importance must be bestowed upon the peaceful relationship between the Sporting Director and the manager. Put both cooks in charge of the same broth and both will be trying to drown the other. There are boundaries, and they must be respected. As Rafa Benitez famously stated after falling out with the Valencia board over transfer operations: “I asked for a table and they bought me a lampshade.”

Although the goatee’d one highlights perfectly the system’s major evident shortcoming, such a structure has shown that it can function at any level of the game, including the lower echelons of the Football League. The duopoly of Barry Fry and Darren Ferguson at Peterborough United serves as a great example. Posh are a club well and truly one million miles away from the AC Milan’s and Juventus’s of this world. A duopoly between Dave Jones and Paul Fairclough could be perfectly ideal and equipped enough to work within and on our tight budget and club structure. Watch this space.