Fenway Sports Group and Liverpool FC confirmed today that Director of Football Damien Comolli has left the Club by mutual consent.

Principal Owner John Henry said: "We are grateful for all of Damien's efforts on behalf of Liverpool and wish him all the best for the future."

Liverpool Chairman Tom Werner added: "The Club needs to move forward and we now have a huge game on Saturday. It is important that everyone joins us in supporting the manager and gets behind Kenny and the team and focuses on a strong finish to the season."

Damien Comolli commented: "I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to work at Liverpool and am happy to move on from the Club and back to France for family reasons. I wish the Club all the best for the future."

Arquitecto wrote:Highly disappointed with the board for this decision as its not like the club to do such a thing.

Anyone with me?

am happy to move on from the Club and back to France for family reasons

ynwa wrote:Benitez director.
Kenny manager.

In a couple of years for them to switch.

I don't want to slate Comolli as he probably wanted more time, and we honestly don't know what happened behind the scenes. We just know it's for "family issues" and I hope him the best.

But he didn't too good of a job here. 35m for Carroll... 20m for Downing... getting rid of Aquilani for 5m... is a joke.

@ Arq: He's only just brought in Coates for the "moneyball" theory.

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish has said he is the one responsible for all Liverpool's recent transfers, following the departure of former director of football Damien Comolli.

Comolli, the director of football strategy at Anfield before being promoted last March, left the club by mutual consent on Thursday, after less than two years on Merseyside.

He previously had spells in similar roles at both Tottenham and Saint Etienne.

Comolli had come in for criticism over the lack of success for many of his signings - including the likes of Andy Carroll, Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam and Stewart Downing - for months preceding his abrupt departure. But Dalglish defended Comolli's body of work, saying that as manager it was him, not the Frenchman, who was the driving force behind Liverpool's transfer policy.

"I had a fantastic working and personal relationship with Damien since he came here," Dalglish said. "It is disappointing but I suppose there is not much in football which comes as a surprise.

"He has been really helpful in every transfer target we've gone for. Everyone who has come into the club since Damien has been here was of my choice. Once I made the choice who I wanted, Damien went away and did a fantastic job of bringing them in.

"It is sad to see anyone leave the football club and he goes with my best wishes and hopefully it is not long before we meet again. We wish him well with everything that he does."
http://www.espn.co.uk/football/sport/story/145704.html

Tom, the news this morning that Damien Comolli is leaving the club will have come as a surprise to many fans. Can you explain why the decision was taken?

I think it's fair to say no supporter would be delighted with the results we've achieved this year. We feel we are a club that needs to be perceived as the strongest club in football and we want to get there. Frankly, we make these decisions with a great deal of care because it's our track record in Boston to give people authority and we've had great success with our manager, who was there for eight years, and our general manager, so we prefer stability. But when it's time to act, we need to act. We're coming close to the end of the season and the transfer window for the summer, and we felt it was important to make this change expeditiously.

In light of Damien's departure, do you still think there is a need for a director of football at this club?

We're still confident the structure we've discussed is the right structure. That doesn't mean we won't look at tweaking it, but we feel a collective group of people making football decisions is healthy. The debate is healthy. Part of the reason we made this decision now is because we want to start the process of finding an excellent replacement.

Do you have a candidate in mind for the role?

We don't have any specific candidates in mind. Part of the reason we made this decision yesterday was to be in the best possible position to move forward as quickly as possible.

Is Damien's departure a reflection that the ownership group were unhappy with the return on player investment?

I would say we certainly have the resources to compete with anybody in football. I wouldn't want to get specific about any particular decision that's been made. We feel there is enough talent on the pitch to win and, as I said, we've been dissatisfied, as most supporters have been, with the results so far. But we're also talking about the future - we have a strategy we need implemented and we felt Damien was probably not the right person to implement that strategy.

Does Damien Comolli's departure have any impact upon Kenny Dalglish's position as manager?

Absolutely not. We've got great confidence in Kenny. We feel the team is going to make strides in the future and he enjoys our full support.

Do you envisage any other changes in the senior management of the club?

We do not. It's a good question. We believe the senior management is very strong, Ian Ayre is an outstanding managing director. His charge is to raise revenue so that we can put the resources into strengthening our football club. We've got great confidence in the other people in football operations, and so the answer is there will be no future changes of significance.

In terms of transfer activity this summer, will Damien's departure affect plans that are already underway?

We've had a strategy that we have agreed on. There was some disconnect on the implementation of that. That strategy is a strong one and it will continue. We need to build a strong system under the first team. We're hard at work identifying transfer targets and we will be better next year.

Finally, as chairman of Liverpool Football Club, do you have a message for the supporters ahead of the very important game on Saturday?

We're all excited about this match. We certainly feel the team is healthy and the team is committed. We just attended a practice where they are excited about returning to Wembley. There's only one team in England that has the possibility of winning this cup and the Carling Cup, and I think our supporters around the world should feel very confident.

TRANSFERS?

Art Morte wrote:This is very bad.

Comolli, our Director of Football, was there to give a direction to our club in terms of player development, scouting and transfers under our new owners, Henry & co. Sacking him (or him departing by mutual consent) puts us back on that front and, to me, admits that John W. Henry is not happy with the way we've spent our transfer budget, i.e. we have wasted some serious cash.

Moreover, Director of Football works closely with the manager, I think this is a question Comolli's departure poses: Will Kenny be cast aside after the season? Or will FSG be content with replacing "only the other half"?

In any case, this is depressing news; but it does reflect our season, in the end, which has been depressing on the most important front, which was the league and getting back to the Champions League.

Messiah "Aggerswagger" wrote:Well Rafa did always want all the transfers to be under his own supervision. Are we clearing up for Benitez to return?

But seriously it's pretty bad news, I liked Comolli, he bought players Kenny wanted, they weren't his own buys.

We've got great confidence in Kenny. We feel the team is going to make strides in the future and he enjoys our full support.

But when it's time to act, we need to act.

I would say we certainly have the resources to compete with anybody in football. I wouldn't want to get specific about any particular decision that's been made.

We're hard at work identifying transfer targets and we will be better next year.

We need to build a strong system under the first team.

RedOranje wrote:Can't see how the firing of a DoF could have a real effect on the players. Manager? Absolutely. Coach? Sure. but Director of Football? Seems a bit too far removed to cause much issue, in my opinion.

donttreadonred wrote:Regarding potential new DOF or related hiring:

Knowing these owners rather well, I don't see them pursuing a name to fill Commoli's role. In their dealings with the Red Sox, they tend to look for management that can simply do the job. They haven't typically gone for "flashy," big-name management. For example, Francona was hired as the Red Sox's manager after managing the Phillies to several 3rd place finishes in their division and serving as a bench coach for several years after being fired from the Phillies in 2000. (The Red Sox Hired him in 2004, won the world series that year, and then won it again three years later.)

In short, I would be surprised to see them make a move for Cruyff. It just doesn't fit their typical modus operandi. I suppose if he truly fits the mold of what they were hoping to sign, they might hire him, but I don't think they would make the move based on his "star-power."

IT’S BEEN five months since Damien Comolli was shown the door at Liverpool FC but the cost of the Frenchman’s reign as director of football continues to cut deep.

Brendan Rodgers has paid a heavy price this summer for the financial mismanagement of the club prior to his arrival. The boss’ attempts to overhaul his squad prior to last night’s transfer deadline were severely hampered by budgetary constraints. A number of attractive deals in recent weeks had to be abandoned due to a lack of funds.

Rodgers has had to wheel and deal, off-loading fringe players in order to boost the £20million transfer kitty he was given.

However, that challenge was made even more difficult by the acute lack of value in players who Liverpool had previously paid a fortune for.

Between January and August 2011 the Reds shelled out £113million on transfers as Fenway Sports Group gave the green light to the biggest spending spree in Anfield history.

The subsequent poor return on that investment in the Premier League last season led to Comolli’s sacking in April followed by the exit of Kenny Dalglish.

The manager pinpointed the signings he wanted but it was left to Comolli to negotiate and complete the deals. FSG had expected a lot more bang for their buck.

This summer it’s been a case of once bitten, twice shy. Funds haven’t been as readily available as the owners want Liverpool to live within their means.

Recent events have been a damning indictment of the business Liverpool did under the previous regime as Rodgers has set about dismantling Dalglish’s team.

Andy Carroll and Charlie Adam departed this week and Jordan Henderson would have gone as well if he hadn’t rejected a move to Fulham.


Stewart Downing is now a £20million full-back.

Newcastle’s managing director Derek Llambias dines out on stories about the night he sold Carroll for a British record £35million. He took full advantage of Comolli’s desperation to do business.

It was a panic buy following the exit of Fernando Torres for a rookie with only half a season of top flight experience. Newcastle couldn’t believe their luck.

Rodgers was clear from the outset that Carroll wasn’t for him but as Liverpool tried to offload him this summer there were few takers. The only clubs to register an interest were West Ham, Newcastle, Fulham and Aston Villa. No-one put a permanent bid on the table, forcing the Reds to accept the Hammers’ offer of a £1million fee for a season-long loan. There is no commitment on their part to buy him next summer.

Similarly, there was hardly a battle for Adam’s services. The Scottish midfielder was out of his depth at Anfield and was never going to be mobile enough to fit into Rodgers’ playing style. A year after arriving from Blackpool for £8million amid talk he was the new Xabi Alonso, Liverpool got half their cash back courtesy of Stoke City.

Henderson remains at Anfield but the fact that the Reds were willing to offer him plus cash for Clint Dempsey speaks volumes.

When Sunderland contemplated losing Henderson last summer, Steve Bruce told his chairman he believed they could get £4million for him. Imagine his delight when Comolli offered £14million and then swiftly improved that bid to £16million.

Comolli was FSG’s first senior appointment back in November 2010. The Frenchman convinced them he would get value for money. That he would unearth hidden gems and sign players who would have a high sell-on value. Comolli failed miserably and Rodgers has had to pick up the pieces.



Read more: Liverpool Echo http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-fc/liverpool-fc-news/2012/09/01/blood-red-brendan-rodgers-rebuilding-plans-hampered-by-failures-of-previous-liverpool-fc-regime-100252-31739935/2/#ixzz2Bnifur3N