Spurs first.. double.. triple signing

However with the appointment of our director of football Franco Baldini the players assembled will never truly be the head coaches players. While it sounds great that Pochettino may be able to give a short list of players to be signed, how does Baldini go out and sign those players? It would basically mean his job would be gopher boy of the head coach wouldn't it? I hope that a relationship is developing between the 3 men who have a say on what players are signed. I guess the question is does Pochettino really have a choice when it comes to bringing in "his" players?

 

A pretty well paid 'gopher-boy' though, right?

Truth is, nobody REALLY knows what Baldini's EXACT role within the club is (apart from those that work within WHL of course), but I DON'T for one moment believe that Baldini has a bigger say over transfer policy than the Head Coach.

This was confirmed when Tim Sherwood told Sky Sports regarding Franco Baldini (once he had LEFT the club):

'We had a good relationship. I think he has a hand in picking the players but I would have to say I don't think he brings in a player who the manager does not sanction. It's a team effort. The players that are at the club at the moment were sanctioned by Andre Villas-Boas. I think possibly they weren't the first choices in every case but they worked down the list of the types which were required. The role Franco does, it would be good for the supporters to realise what they do. He comes into play when it's the transfer window, he manages a team of scouts and helps with recruitment. I think these guys work in the right way but they have to see the merits in what the manager wants otherwise everyone's pointing the finger at everyone else.'

I know AVB alluded to the idea that he did NOT want a few of the players that Spurs signed in the transfer window, but perhaps the Portuguese manager has to begin to looking in the mirror regarding the cause of his problems, if he is to ever fulfil his potential.

In saying that though, I would probably want to point the finger a bit in his position too, thus avoiding the REAL questions, if I managed and, ultimately, failed at two of the biggest clubs in England.
After all, it would certainly make getting another 'big' job on these shores a lot easier to come by in the future, if you have a ready made excuse to give your potential future employers as to why you could not achieve what you had hoped to with TWO squads FULL of high-quality internationals players.

Besides, wasn't it AVB who indeed recommended Baldini, specifically?

As Sherwood implies, the DOF has a more varied role than simply helping buy players. But when he does get involved in transfer dealings, I would imagine that he ALSO has a list of players that he has scouted, got links to, and believes could benefit the team (whilst meeting the managers requirements in terms of type) as alternatives should the managers requests prove unachievable due to whatever reason (i.e. wages, age, price tag, budget etc)

A perfect example of this was perhaps seen when AVB requested the club did a deal for Hulk (an inverted, left-footed winger, etc) and instead brought in a player with similar qualities in Erik Lamela.

So to summarise:

• The DOF role is about more than just transfers.
• He wouldn't have a bigger say over incoming/outgoings than the Head Coach (otherwise he may as well just manage the club)
  
• I can't imagine Pochettino, a man who is experienced in working within the current Spurs structure, would have signed for the club if he wasn't happy with the set-up.
• I believe the DOF offers suggestions/alternatives when/if the Head Coaches targets prove unattainable, but NEVER forces them on the manager. If he did, any manager worth his weekly wage would simply leave and THEN stat his distaste at the way things were ran at the club, rather than wait to be sacked first.