Everton: Is Brands arrival more important than new boss?
After the news of Sam Allardyce’s departure from Everton, perhaps another new arrival will prove more important than whoever replaces him.
This new arrival is PSV Eindhoven’s Sporting Director Marcel Brands, who is to join Everton on 1st June.
The Blues pursuit of Brands has been going on for several months, as long as the speculation over who would replace the doomed Allardyce. And his arrival has slipped under the radar a bit with the news that Allardyce has gone.
Everton have been after the Dutchman then for a long time and now they have secured their man. His arrival also completes a major re-structuring of the club behind the scenes that could have long-term implications.
This includes a new CEO in Denise Barrett-Baxendale and several other internal promotions. All this reflects the increasing influence of majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri.
Brands arrival means the end of Steve Walsh’s largely unsuccessful spell in charge of player recruitment. He has now apparently left the club.
So who is Marcel Brands and what will he bring to Everton?
Brands has been PSV Director of Football since June 2010 and has played a key role in the club winning three Dutch Eridivisie titles in the last four years, including this season just gone.
Before that he had been at several other Dutch clubs including AZ Alkmaar.
Brands has a very good reputation in his native Holland for his talent-spotting and transfers policies. When he was at Alkmaar they also claimed a league title despite their relative lack of resources.
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And this is an important point. Because despite Everton’s new wealth the truth is the club is still in the second division financially when compared to the like’s of Manchester City or Chelsea.
In addition, as we’ve mentioned before, the Blues don’t have the ability to attract the very best talent available.
And after this awful season they have not even qualified for the Europa League.
So someone who can operate on a budget and seek out talent where other clubs might not even think to look, could be very useful. Of course this was also what Steve Walsh was appointed to do!
Next: Allardyce has gone who's next for Blues?
If Brands can work his talent-spotting magic at Everton and secure real quality players that can lift the Blues to a position of competitiveness, then his appointment may come to be seen as more important than the first-team manager who might be lifting a trophy.