Burnley co-owner: Why we need a Technical Director
Flood was speaking after awarding UCFB's 'Next 25' scholarships
Written by Simon Austin — October 30, 2018
BURNLEY co-owner Brendan Flood says the club are bringing in a Technical Director primarily to improve their overseas recruitment.
This is a new role for the Clarets, although Frank McParland was Director of Football for a brief period in 2015. Manager Sean Dyche has played a prominent role in both finding and signing new players since he joined in 2012.
However, Flood told TGG: “Sean realises that ultimately he can’t do everything”.
Ian Butterworth joined in January 2017 to head up European recruitment, but the new Technical Director will oversee the entire department, as well as the Academy, medical and sports science.
Flood added: “The Premier League is a fast-moving train and recruitment is picking up good talent all of the time. If every Saturday you have a game to prepare for, you’re not going to be able to go searching and watching the talent.
"You have to have a Technical Director who understands the macro market - where to recruit from and what that’s going to cost. It’s a relative commodity industry.
"The commodity of British-born players is at a premium. If we’re paying premium prices for every new acquisition, that might be too hard for us to sustain.
“We’ve got to look at getting appropriate talent for Burnley from other places - at the right price and at the right time. That skillset we need more of in the club.”
Speaking last August, Dyche also acknowledged the need for better recruitment from overseas.
“We’re just starting, probably about a year ago, to learn about the European markets and adding more staff and more information,” he said.
"People say I don’t like foreign players. I couldn’t care where they’re from, as long as they're good footballers, that’s the key.
“Getting it right as often as you can is still important at this club, some other clubs maybe not as important.”
Flood spoke to TGG after awarding 'Next 25’ scholarships on behalf of UCFB in partnership with Kick it Out. The 'Next 25’ fund, named in recognition of Kick It Out’s 25th anniversary, gave recipients full tuition fee scholarships – worth up to £54,000 – on an undergraduate or postgraduate university degree at UCFB's Etihad Campus.
Rossendale-born Flood founded UCFB, the world’s first sport’s university, in Burnley in 2011. It has now grown to have campuses at Wembley and the Etihad and Flood believes it will become the ‘Harvard of Sport’.
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