Most Tottenham fans may despise Damien Comolli but his record for bringing in young talented players who go on to form the backbone of a squad is unquestionable. Tottenham’s success in the last 18 months has been largely down to the work that Damien Comolli put in at White Hart Lane from 2005–2008. Granted, some of his signings were poor, but who has a one hundred per cent record in the transfer window? The big difference since the appointment of Harry Redknapp has been that Tottenham now have a manager who is capable of getting the best out of the talent Comolli brought into the club rather than waste it like his predecessors.
You just have to look at who has shone for Tottenham both domestically and in Europe to see the true influence of Damien Comolli. Comolli has an eye for unearthing young quality players that retain their sell-on value. For example, who would have thought that Tottenham would have been able to get £30m out of Manchester United for Dimitar Berbatov when they signed him in 2006? Added to this, Younus Kaboul, Luka Modric, Gareth Bale, Benoit Assou Ekotto and Roman Pavlyuchenko were all signed by Comolli. These players are the backbone of Tottenham’s success and that can’t be overlooked. Comolli never sat back and just scouted players. He took a hands-on role in making the deals happen. Some would say he overstepped the mark, but he made the deals happen and now Tottenham are in great shape going into the future.
Liverpool fans should be very happy NESV have brought in Damien Comolli, a man with one of the best CVs in world football. He has great eye for spotting young talent, something that NESV have stated will be the new strategy for Liverpool. Comolli will offer Liverpool a wide scouting system, as well as a proven track record. It is up to the manager to make the players gel. Roy Hodgson has worked under directors of football before, so he should not feel undermined by Comolli at Liverpool.
Damien Comolli has been given a largely unfair reputation as a trouble maker. His role in the sacking of Martin Jol wasn’t pleasant and there is very little else that can be said for him in that regard. However, English football will never embrace role of the director of football because naturally we are defensive people. As a nation we look upon this as somebody trying to undermine the manager’s position, and this is exactly how the director of football is perceived. Managers nowadays can’t do it all on their own, they need help, and why not get help from an expert who has a proven track record? Had it not been for Damien Comolli, Tottenham would not have the depth of talent they do now. The success of the squad is down to Harry Redknapp but look what he was given to work with. Liverpool should be very happy. They can now tap into the Comolli system and can look forward to better days because of it.
If we look at the Tottenham squad today – the influence of Damien Comolli is there for all too see. Tottenham have gone up a level because they recruited a top manager in Harry Redknapp, but he was given the young stars to work with. As well as this, Comolli was instrumental in bringing the players into the club, not just finding the talent but making sure deals materialised. Liverpool is a long term project, and so is Damien Comolli’s. He may not be everybody’s cup of tea, but he is very successful in his role.
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