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Speakman gone


daveydavey said:
Yeah, my take from the clubs statement was that this is a dismissal. Intuition is a fall out, and at the end of the day, KLD is the money in the room.
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If it’s dismissal, when I presume he is under contract, surely he would have breached the role he was paid to do. It’s the timing of it for me, I definitely think somethings have come to a head, and an agreement in place to mutually part ways.
spitfire said:
Step up Donald Trump to buy the club😎
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Guinness Guzzler said:
Sporting director is more of a long term strategic role though isn't it? Just playing devils advocate I'm not sure you can be an unqualified success in that kind of role within a year or two
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I think you can if you've clearly got excellent value for money. Hes clearly enhanced his reputation since coming here and if we got big money for Roefs this summer, it would further enhance it within 12 months of joining.
 
BucketBiff said:
…Just hope him going does start a downward spiral that a big change like this can bring. Good luck to him (unless he goes to the mags) and thanks for good work.
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Hopefully you omitted ‘not’ by mistake. I’ll allow 10 mins for a correction before I aim 🦨 allegations at you.
 
Guinness Guzzler said:
Wouldn't surprise me, it's a pretty huge role for one person. Aye, would make sense for Ghisolfi to get the promotion to sporting director, which is the title he's had in his previous roles, and then someone comes into the director of football role for the first team recruitment focused stuff, someone who knows the global game more than speakman did. It should be a positive, knowing how aggressive KLD is about improving
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More than likely. Will see , but he will need help as you say.
 
I am going to take a punt on Rangers as his next destination. They have been a shitshow, and need a new DoF.

He might get better offers though.

@Doberman would you take him?
 
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Mowgli said:
I think you can if you've clearly got excellent value for money. Hes clearly enhanced his reputation since coming here and if we got big money for Roefs this summer, it would further enhance it within 12 months of joining.
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It would show your got an eye for recruitment/ good contacts in that area, but sporting director is about improving a lot of areas in the long term. Admittedly this is from AI but it lists the main functions roughly as the below, which I don't think you could demonstrate in a year or two:

Defining and implementing the club's overall playing philosophy/style/DNA — setting how the team plays from academy up to first team for consistency.

Long-term strategic planning — mapping out squad evolution over multiple seasons, not just the next window (e.g., age profiles, succession planning, financial sustainability).

Academy and youth development oversight — ensuring the pathway from youth to first team aligns with the senior setup, including talent progression and infrastructure.

Coaching staff appointments and alignment — hiring/firing managers/coaches who fit the philosophy, plus backroom staff (analysts, performance, medical) to support it.

Club-wide football operations integration — linking departments like scouting, analytics/data, performance science, medical, and recruitment so everything pulls in the same direction (the "360-degree strategy").

Providing continuity and stability — acting as the bridge between owners/board and changing managers to avoid constant resets when a coach leaves.

Recruitment strategy and model — building a coherent, data-driven system that fits the philosophy and budget, not just cherry-picking individuals.
 
Genuinely this is the man who masterminded us from league one. Seen him dashing around in his Porsche while I'm on a bus.

I do wave. Once he put the v's up.

Grounded, humble, speaks a bit bollocks, but this is the bloke who transformed Sunderland AFC. What a career he is going to have

But then KLD is a genius so the future is bright
 
Not saying that its a good thing or a bad thing but it does seem that everytime we start doing well, someone important quits or is fired.
 
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