Comolli leaves role as Liverpool chief
Reuters - Thursday 12 April 2012, 10:46
Liverpool Director of Football Damien
Comolli left by mutual consent on Thursday after a series of
expensive signings at the faltering Premier League club failed
to shine.
The most notable flop has been 35 million-pound striker Andy Carroll, who joined from Newcastle United
as a replacement for Fernando Torres in January 2011.
Stewart Downing and Jordan Henderson have also flattered to
deceive.
"I think it's fair to say no supporter would be delighted
with the results we've achieved this year," Liverpool chairman
Tom Werner told the club website.
"We're coming close to the end of the season and the
transfer window for the summer, and we felt it was important to
make this change expeditiously."
Once mighty Liverpool face city rivals Everton in the FA Cup
semi-final this weekend and won the League Cup this term but lie
eighth in the Premier League.
Comolli, a former Arsenal scout who later became director of
football at Tottenham Hotspur, joined Liverpool in November 2010
to oversee player recruitment after the U.S.-based Fenway Sports
Group had taken over the five-times European champions.
Werner said they were looking for a replacement but team
manager Kenny Dalglish was not under threat.
"We're still confident the structure we've discussed is the
right structure. That doesn't mean we won't look at tweaking it,
but we feel a collective group of people making football
decisions is healthy," he said.
"We've got great confidence in Kenny. We feel the team is
going to make strides in the future and he enjoys our full
support."
Comolli, who also had stints at Saint-Etienne, made his name
thanks to successes at Tottenham where he signed Welsh winger
Gareth Bale from Southampton and midfielder Luka Modric from
Dinamo Zagreb.
"I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to work at
Liverpool and am happy to move on from the club and back to
France for family reasons. I wish the club all the best for the
future," Comolli said.