Sporting directors in Germany still find it strange to refer to their coaches as managers. "This is a little bit of a conflict in the United Kingdom," Markus Krosche tells Sky Sports. "They are different jobs."
In his role as Eintracht Frankfurt's sporting director, Krosche discusses the different mentality required. "Coaches need to think short-term and bring results. My role is long-term. This can be difficult due to a conflict of interest."
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As a coach, you want to be successful now, but as a sporting director, the focus needs to be on the long term, which is why I think splitting the job makes sense."
The sporting director of Eintracht Frankfurt is Markus Krosche
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Markus Krosche, Eintracht Frankfurt's sporting director, has a long-term perspective
Premier League clubs have someone performing the role of sporting director to some degree - and that person is not the head coach. However, the cult of the manager prevails and that has consequences.
"In the UK, the manager is everything and the sporting director is more behind the scenes," says Simon Rolfes, the sporting director of Bayer Leverkusen, the Bundesliga champion.
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There is a different expectation in Germany. You are the first spokesperson for the club, the strategy, and everything. I think that is important for building the brand of the club as well, so that people can better understand its vision, strategy, and culture."
Sporting directors even appear in mixed zones in Germany. These are the people to ask. What are your spending plans for January? What is the status of that new signing that you're trying to close?
On August 17, 2024 in Leverkusen, Germany, Simon Rolfes, manager of Bayer Leverkusen, watches the DFL Supercup 2024 match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and VfB Stuttgart.
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Simon Rolfes of Bayer Leverkusen is a prominent media personality
Paul Mitchell attempted to explain Newcastle's awkward summer, while Dan Ashworth gave a media briefing about Manchester United's plans to implement change.
Despite this, there remains a tension. That is something David Flitcroft experienced when he was sporting director at Port Vale. Some were frustrated that Flitcroft, a former manager, did not take over following the departure of Andy Crosby in February.
When I was a manager, I was always accountable. However, some clubs aren't set up to have a sporting director. They want the manager to come out, and if a team has played badly, they want to analyze it.
As we found out with Andy as head coach, it wasn't right for Port Vale. They wanted an explanation. They wanted accountability. They wanted the manager to explain why things were going wrong.
He felt it was important to maintain some distance despite his past experience as a manager at Barnsley, Bury, Swindon and Mansfield.
During his tenure as Mansfield Town manager, David Flitcroft is pictured
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From management to sporting director, David Flitcroft made the move
Flitcroft made it clear that he would not travel with the squad. "The team bus is the manager's space with the players. It's for them to coach and create the environment that they need to create," he says.
Having seen sporting directors step into the manager's role, I wonder whether they really supported their managers when they were the sporting director. Once you have taken over the role, even in an interim period, you have a real problem.
The sporting director wants the manager's job. Let's just say I won six games on the bounce and got the job. I didn't go to Port Vale to get the manager's job, I went to Port Vale to support the manager."
There is a feeling that, ideally, it helps to have that empathy. Krosche and Rolfes are both former players in Germany. Maybe that's an advantage for figures like Ashworth.
Eintracht Frankfurt's strategy explained by Krosche
Eintracht Frankfurt's strategy explained by Krosche
Eintracht Frankfurt's recruitment strategy is outlined in this exclusive interview with Sky Sports
"I always saw it as an advantage to be able to understand what players feel in different situations, both good and bad," says Rolfes. "I lived in the locker room for 15 years.
While I was in the locker room, other guys were studying at university or working in other jobs. Players think they know everything, but it's not true. That's why I did my MBA, to help improve this.
According to Flitcroft, former Premier League striker Dougie Freedman is doing a brilliant job as Crystal Palace's sporting director. "He has also run businesses before. But there are not many former managers."
"It gives you a better understanding of what a manager is going through in those lonely moments. I call it the 10% club. Your staff, even your assistant manager, are never aware of that 10%." he says.
Describes Flitcroft's relationship with Darrell Clarke as follows: "I let him ring me after a game, but I would never call him. I have received calls from sporting directors, not aggressive, but certainly based on emotion after a game."
Let the manager gather his thoughts. On Monday, you can discuss performance, dissect the game, analyse it. Ask questions, stimulate ideas, understand what the manager sees.
He recalls his time at Barnsley and being drawn into discussions about Stones' future at the club. A sporting director is there to lighten the load, not to add pressure.
"The chairman called me and told me not to play him against Burnley. He was worried that he was cup-tied. "The owner put a lot of pressure on me. It was a morning call, and my brain was scrambled."
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It was also possible for Flitcroft to rely on his coaching staff. "I remember phoning Sir Alex Ferguson a few weeks later and telling him the story. He just said, 'Flit, concentrate on the grass.'"
"There is too much to cope with now. I know a manager who travelled to Scarborough on his day off to do a scouting report, and then came back to training the next morning to prepare for the game."
At Port Vale, Flitcroft handled much of that work - even if it went unnoticed. "There were no systems in place there three years ago. The GPS was as bad as I had seen it. No medical systems, no training availability data."
There had to be a path set up for "phenomenal talent" Baylee Dipepa, now 17 years old. "Two years ago, he was nowhere near the first-team picture, but the bigger picture was that we had to make sure that pathway was there," he says.
"Youngsters make mistakes but they develop. In that situation, you need a manager who will play them." Dipepa was given his minutes and later sold to Southampton for what manager Darren Moore described as an "excellent" offer.
The academy at Bayer Leverkusen
The academy at Bayer Leverkusen
The academy is Bayer Leverkusen's next priority, according to Sky Sports
There is a holistic view that a sporting director needs, looking at the bigger picture, the academy's needs, the board's expectations. League One and League Two are still catching up, but they will catch up.
Possibly a high-profile success story such as Manchester United's new structure will accelerate the process. "Dan Ashworth is a trailblazer. That could lead to a new era for sporting directors," says Flitcroft.
I think with the disorganisation at that club, the supporters are welcoming the change. I think Sir Alex was the man in charge at Manchester United and when he left, along with David Gill, that left a hole. I hope Dan and Jason Wilcox can fill that hole.
"If United tells the story of how to do it right, which means communicating with the supporters and explaining the recruitment strategy, it could cascade down the divisions like Pep Guardiola's style."
We are entering the era of the sporting director.
