[TheBaggieMan]

Hands on by Lai and Co from China using Zoom meetings?
Coaching via FaceTime?
The whole situation is a joke!

[johnny Cash]

Experienced football people / person  is the sort of shout I’ve seen a few times.

However, does anyone actually know who these people are?  I didn’t like Dowling, but I do think appointing for this job is harder than appointing the manager.

I’m sure someone could, but I bet most of us couldn’t name 10 experienced football people suitable for our TD job.

You can’t just stick any ex player there and you cannot just stick any ex manager in either. The two I actually know Webber and Ashworth had unique trajectory's in to those positions

[baggiejohn]

Experienced football people / person  is the sort of shout I’ve seen a few times.

However, does anyone actually know who these people are?  I didn’t like Dowling, but I do think appointing for this job is harder than appointing the manager.

I’m sure someone could, but I bet most of us couldn’t name 10 experienced football people suitable for our TD job.

You can’t just stick any ex player there and you cannot just stick any ex manager in either. The two I actually know Webber and Ashworth had unique trajectory's in to those positions

Agree, Ashworth started with a very narrow brief, but he was able to sell his ideas to JP & the job developed around him.
I also think Ashworth was in the right place at the right time, & there opporunities just don't come up very often.

[KN22]

So are we overloaded with central midfielders, assuming Pereira is not staying? Its not just about whether Harper is worth more than a million, which in today's market he is, its whether we have sufficient quality midfielders ready for a 46 match season.

Your point is irrelevant when the player in question(Harper) is not good enough. Just my view and no issue if you think differently.

[Mister AT]

Having a quick scan through the other 23 championship teams they aren’t many clubs set up with a director of football. Also worth noting there are 2-3 clubs owned by Chinese businessmen who don’t have a DoF in their structure.

I have no issue with us not replacing Dowling, providing we bring in a good enough manager/head coach and some supporting staff to have a good stab at building a squad.

The GK positions are ok I feel, with or without Johnstone.

The back 4 are likely to stay the same, adding Kipre as back up and maybe another addition or two.

Midfield is now threadbare, with Harper leaving. The new man only has Livermore and Sawyers available in the middle, possibly Snodgrass too depending on where he will be played and his recovery.

Wingers we seem ok with, Phillips, Grady, Robinson, plus any new additions.

Grant and Zohore available up top. Still think we can get a tune out of KG, but will need to bring in at least 2 more to support.

If we can bring in a new boss soon enough, there are plenty of decent players out of contract, some of which are playing at the Euros so probably won’t sign any contracts until they are knocked out and see what interest is available.

I’ve said before, my biggest concern is trusting Ken and Lai with making the right choice, with no ‘footballing’ brain left on the heirachy we are trusting them to pick the right candidate without really knowing too much about them.

[WorcsWBA]

So are we overloaded with central midfielders, assuming Pereira is not staying? Its not just about whether Harper is worth more than a million, which in today's market he is, its whether we have sufficient quality midfielders ready for a 46 match season.

Things have changed a lot since you posted this. My view is Harper isn't good enough, so we shouldn't be looking to keep him just because we're lacking in numbers. However, more pertinent now is what's happening regarding the negotiations with Ipswich? Have they been shelved for the time being or, if not, who is conducting them and what knowledge and experience do they have to be able to do that to an acceptable standard?

[Baggies]

Stephen Hopcroft, now of Villa’s academy has just tweeted a picture of Dowling captioned “chaos reigns”, saying “this should have been the headline the day he was appointed”.

Safe to say a lot of people are happy to see him go.

[Mister AT]

Stephen Hopcroft, now of Villa’s academy has just tweeted a picture of Dowling captioned “chaos reigns”, saying “this should have been the headline the day he was appointed”.

Safe to say a lot of people are happy to see him go.

The major reason majority of our academy staff are at villa park is because of Dowling. Former staff and current players making/liking tweets shows what they really think of him. If we had owners who I had trust in, I’d say it’s a good day for the club.

[ttree30]

Dowling leaves a legacy of precisely nothing.

He appears to have dismantled much of our youth infrastructure (most of which has now decamped to a much more successful Aston Villa), wasted money on many poor signings, made questionable managerial calls and left the club much weaker than he found it.

In his defence he has an owner who must be almost impossible to work with.

But he never inspired any confidence in me that he’d been anything other than over promoted. His departure, however, adds even more to the sense of crisis and chaos - and no belief that the people left behind have the first clue what they’re doing.

I also fear our team is nowhere near as good as some believe, and the signs are increasingly pointing to the end of our 20 years of bouncing back to the EPL.

If ever the club needed some good news….

[BaggieNick]

Fantastic news - at last!

He was completely incompetent.

[PartisanBaggie]

It’s still a big positive Dowling’s gone.

He had to answer for the poor decision making he’s made over the last 3 years.

Don’t really know any Albion fans that rated the bloke. I’m relieved he’s been shown the door.

[TheJacko2000]

It’s still a big positive Dowling’s gone.

He had to answer for the poor decision making he’s made over the last 3 years.

Don’t really know any Albion fans that rated the bloke. I’m relieved he’s been shown the door.

A guy called Warren on Twitter seems pretty upset about his removal... only one I've come across though.

[alex1]

Even though many are pleased to see the back of Dowling, including some ex coaching staff, its unrealistic to think we can appoint just one manager who can look after everything. The team manager has more than enough on his plate managing the first team, without doing all the jobs a Football Director does. The manager can still have an important input into transfer decisions,  but Ken badly needs someone next to him with in-depth knowledge of the football industry and able to assess players.

Someone like Roy could offer alot of sound football advice and contacts, but there's more to a DoF post than just that. He has to be able to make business decisions, negotiate contracts and be able to organise staff. If its true that Sharner has business experience, he could be the perfect candidate,  so I hope the club at least listen to what he can offer.   

Maybe Ken has some good business experience, but there's no way that he and Lai should be left to identify and assess playing and coaching staff. He needs a proper football man next to him. How that man is found I don't know. I sometimes wonder if the ex Players Association ever do anything to help out the club. Maybe some of them have contacts who could be useful for the club.   

[beechyboy90]

Dowling gone thats a good news day.
Scrap manager search DOF next. We should be trying to poach a decent one from somewhere better to blow some wages on a decent dof then a poor one who authorities contracts for mears peltier and some of the other players we wasted thousamds a week on

[Dexy]

You will never please everyone but its a bit concerning our best youth coach in the last 30 years ( Hopcroft ) and our best player Pereira seem to have quickly stuck the boot in one way or the other .
H.R.K might be sour at being let go but Kipre was a Dowling signing! 

[iwastherein68]

You will never please everyone but its a bit concerning our best youth coach in the last 30 years ( Hopcroft ) and our best player Pereira seem to have quickly stuck the boot in one way or the other .
H.R.K might be sour at being let go but Kipre was a Dowling signing! 

Disgraceful treatment of a player, ignored by Bilic, and loaned out to a poor Belgian side where he has hardly played. Innocent victim of the Dowling / Bilic infighting.

[Critical Baggie]

Can't say Im too heartbroken, his performance has been patchy at best. That said, if it's true Dowling left because Lai wouldn't accept any of Dowling's recommendations for Head Coach, fair play to him for leaving as a matter of principle. I think a fair few of know how it feels to have the kinda boss who one minute is nowhere to been seen then next minute is micro-managing only the things that interest them.

Regardless who comes in, Lai won't change. We will have the same problem of no football knowledge at the top, no budget and no long term vision. Lai is panicking. He's been rinsed out of 200m for an asset on the decline and is now taking matters into his own hands.

[LiamTheBaggie]

Stephen Hopcroft, now of Villa’s academy has just tweeted a picture of Dowling captioned “chaos reigns”, saying “this should have been the headline the day he was appointed”.

Safe to say a lot of people are happy to see him go.

This is Dowling’s legacy..

[Baggies]

I'm feeling really flat about the Albion this morning. The move away from the tech director model is a step backwards - 17/18 of the 20 prem clubs now have one. Instead we are being run by people who now have no idea about the football side of the business.

No manager, no football director and for me, an expectation that we will be spending the next 4 or 5 years in the championship.

[SmethDan]

I'm feeling really flat about the Albion this morning.....

Never mind, the sun's shining and it's the start of a brand new day. Pat yourself on the back for being you and smile at what the day has in store. Or not.....  .

[ttree30]

I'm feeling really flat about the Albion this morning. The move away from the tech director model is a step backwards - 17/18 of the 20 prem clubs now have one. Instead we are being run by people who now have no idea about the football side of the business.

No manager, no football director and for me, an expectation that we will be spending the next 4 or 5 years in the championship.

Only 4 or 5 years?

[ashdoy]

The E&S piece on Dowling’s departure is spot on.

Careful what you wish for ladies and gents. This ride is about to get a whole lot bumpier.

[baggie82]

E&S sums it up nicely:

"An absent owner. No manager. No structure. A squad in desperate need of additions. And now no sporting and technical director following the news Luke Dowling has left the club by mutual consent. The situation at The Hawthorns is bleak. The club is, very simply, in disarray."

Yet we have some on here praising the lovely the statement released last night and delighted with the news, incredible.

[seteefeet]

E&S sums it up nicely:

"An absent owner. No manager. No structure. A squad in desperate need of additions. And now no sporting and technical director following the news Luke Dowling has left the club by mutual consent. The situation at The Hawthorns is bleak. The club is, very simply, in disarray."

Yet we have some on here praising the lovely the statement released last night and delighted with the news, incredible.

A bit like you, they have focussed entirely on the negatives.

Have you always been a fan of the Express and Dingle or only when they support your pessimism?

[baggiejohn]

The E&S piece on Dowling’s departure is spot on.

Careful what you wish for ladies and gents. This ride is about to get a whole lot bumpier.

It's absolutely not, it's pure conjecture from Masi.

Local journos have become populist, they're telling the fans what they want to hear.

It's clear from reactions of people who knew him that LD was unpopular.
Being unpopular is not a problem if you're getting results, LD wasn't.