A big positive from that is where he said they are reviewing the football operations.
As said previous, there is no point having a technical director / director of football for the sake of it, there has to be a purpose, in our position we are not planning for three years or five years time, we are dealing with the right now, it would seem our aim is to get the premier league and be sold asap, whether thats after a year of staying there or straight away when going up.
I dont think it helped our chances of us being sold last time because there was only 6 or 7 weeks between us confirming us as a premier league club and the season starting, no fans allowed, covid affecting finances, etc.
So if i was Lai, i would forget all the DOF, football operations, etc use wages saved on them and go and get a top manager (not head coach) give them responsiblity for coaches, players, etc back them as well as we can and let them get on with it.
Get us promoted, and sell asap, let the next owners worry about DOF, long terms plans, etc.
If we go that route and give a manager full control then it has to be somebody top notch, sounds far fetched but i would try for Benitez, make him well paid in this league with a huge bonus for going up and a pay rise if we do it and a huge bonus if he kept us up, he is money motivated, he went to china after all, and normally i would want somebody more developing and planning but we are not in that situation.
It would be a minimal chance but worth trying Benitez, would get fans onside and fit the supposed criteria, and make us more appealing to potential
Buyers, but if not him somebody worth backing without a DOF, let that manager be the person who deals with the football stuff.
It does look as though the club will be re-structured without a DoF, making the Head Coach responsible to Ken for all football matters.
Player contracts etc are a commercial responsibility, so the Head Coach wouldn't be involved in the detail.
They might also appoint an academy director/manager who would also be responsible to Ken, or alternatively, run the academy as a stand alone business. A third alternative would be to dismantle it.
So back to the head coach, it does look as though Lai is keen to get someone in with experience.
Personally, I wouldn't discount Pulis. Lai knows him & has worked with him before, & Pulis knows the club. There is a risk of alienating the fans, but it might be a risk Lai is prepared to take.
With a higher profile & not reporting to a DoF, Allardyce might be persuaded to reconsider.
I think Rafa is also a great shout, & would improve Lai's image no end.
Members of the forum have long complained about Lai not putting his head above the parapet, well he has now, & there's no doubt about it our next Head Coach is going to be his man