Moss, David

Players | Managers | First Team Squad | Coaching Staff

Published 18 August 2015 in Visionary Sports InvestmentDavid Moss
http://visionarysportsinvestment.com/news/celtic-fcs-david-moss-talks-sporting-directors-and-saving-40-million/

Q: DAVID, CAN YOU EXPLAIN YOUR ROLE AT CELTIC FOOTBALL CLUB

My current role at Celtic is Assistant Head of 1st Team Scouting. We have 6 full-time scouts including the Head of Scouting and myself based in Scotland and 9 part-time scouts strategically based in the UK and Europe.

My main responsibilities are to manage and co-ordinate the scouts to ensure they target players that fit the Celtic recruitment criteria. Identifying the right players for all clubs is not easy but I personally believe it is very difficult recruiting the right players for Celtic for the following reasons;

We do not receive the £80-£100 million Premier League clubs receive each year from SKY/BT in comparison to the approximate £2.5 million Celtic receive. We therefore cannot compete for players playing in the Premier League and even majority of the Championship clubs due to the salaries and transfer fees now demanded. In general we are targeting players valued under £2.5 million.

Although we can only spend approximately £2.5m we are still seeking players who can compete against some of the best teams in Europe in Champions League games and also have the potential to be sold to the Premier League or other top European teams within 1-2 years. We therefore operate in a high-risk market as we cannot afford the ‘ready-made’ players and need to identify young and ‘un-proven’ players.

In recent seasons however we have done rather well working to this strategy with Goalkeeper Fraser Forster, Midfielder Victor Wanyama and Striker Gary Hooper selling for £10, £12 and £6 million respectively. All these players were bought for under £2.5m. Central Defender Virgil Van Dyk will also probably be sold for in excess of these figures in the coming weeks.

Q: YOU HAVE HELD A NUMBER OF POSITIONS IN A NUMBER OF CLUBS. HOW HAS THE INFRASTRUCTURE OF CLUBS EVOLVED OVER THE YEARS?

From finishing my playing career at Swansea City I have been fortunate to hold four senior positions within clubs as Academy Director at Swansea City and Crystal Palace, Head of Academy Scouting and Assistant Head of 1st Team Scouting at Celtic Football Club. The infrastructures at each of these clubs has certainly been different which in turn has been very beneficial to my personal development as I have had to change my management and leadership style to suit.

When I joined Swansea City in 2007/08 season they were moving into their new stadium so were right at the start of their meteoric rise through the divisions. However at this time and beyond the 1st team squad there was next to no infrastructure in place as a few years prior they nearly went out of business. The chairman Huw Jenkins who is still in situ today was even part-time! With very little expenditure available it was therefore a case of being creative in everything you did with regard to employing staff, getting facilities and also undertaking many roles yourself.

Moving to Crystal Palace was different as it was already an established club although very much in transition after being relegated from the Premier League a few years previous. As Academy Director most things were already in place such as staff structures and facilities. The owner Simon Jordan wanted the Academy improving and therefore I gave myself time to access what was working and what was not before implementing the necessary improvements. The club infrastructure itself was much bigger compared to Swansea City due to recent successes and receiving Premier League money due to promotion. However in hindsight it was also a club that had been badly managed from a financial perspective which would ultimately put the club into administration and nearly everyone lose their job including my own.

If you read Simon Jordan’s autobiography “Be careful what you wish for” it will explain exactly why every club should have a Sporting Director! Simon openly admits he made horrendous footballing decisions along with the managers he employed, resulting in him losing the beloved football club he bought and £40 million of his own money!

Moving onto Celtic Football Club people ask me how it compares to Swansea City and Crystal Palace. My response is, there is no comparison because Celtic is a ‘juggernaut’ in comparison employing over 500 people both full and part-time. Celtic is an institution that is known throughout world football. In Europe where I spend the majority of my time watching players/games Celtic has a tremendous reputation an opinion which is probably not replicated the same in England due to the huge TV coverage the Premier League teams now receive.

I believe it is a great shame Celtic and also Rangers cannot be part of the Premier League like Swansea now and Cardiff previously. If both clubs were to receive the £100 million Premier League clubs receive each year Celtic and Rangers would easily be top 8 PL teams within 5 years due in my opinion. This opinion is based on the huge fan bases and commercial revenues both clubs can demand throughout the world.

Q: YOU RECENTLY ENROLLED ON THE MASTERS IN SPORTING DIRECTORSHIP (MSD) COURSE AT MMU LAST YEAR. HOW DO YOU SEE THIS COURSE ENHANCING YOUR PERFORMANCE IN YOUR PRESENT ROLE?

I joined the Master course for the simple reason I want to continually develop myself both professionally and personally. My aspirations from the course was to put me at the forefront of leadership development both theory and practical, whilst simultaneously learning best practice from other sports and peers also on the course. Learning more about myself and how I can further improve via the use of Predictive and Emotional Intelligence testing has been excellent for me personally. Looking further into the future and the role Neuroscience will undoubtedly play has again been fascinating to learn.

Q: DO YOU SEE THE ROLE OF THE SPORTING DIRECTOR GROWING WITHIN FOOTBALL IN THE UK?

I definitely see the role of Sporting Director growing within football in the next 5 years. Already approximately 50% of both Premier League and Championship clubs have such a position. It is only the title – Sporting Director, Technical Director, Director of Football, Head of Football Operations, Chief Football Officer and the extent of their individual level of authority that may be different within each club.

Why would owners of clubs investing personal wealth and receiving broadcasting monies totalling hundreds of millions of pounds not want the football club’s vision and strategy aligned throughout their club and the best people employed? This in my opinion in simple terms is the role of the sporting director. I have experienced personally, seen from afar and heard from peers at other clubs that clubs do not maximise their true potential, if the best people are not employed, heads of departments have their own agenda’s, latest thinking/best practice is not used and overall strategy is not aligned.

Q: ON THE MSD YOUR COLLEAGUES ARE FROM OTHER SPORTS AND BUSINESS. DOES THIS NETWORKING CREATING A RICH LEARNING ENVIRONMENT?

Certainly as you get to see in ‘real life’ how another elite sporting environment operates as our peer group experienced when we visited the home of English cricket, the ECB at Loughborough. You can hear and see how they structure their individual operations, the processes they incorporate within and how they go about achieving the gains that make them the best at what they do. Not everything is relevant to your own sport but it certainly opens your imagination to what you could possible bring to your own sport or what you are doing is already good.

Q: HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE THE ROLE OF A SPORTING DIRECTOR AND WHY DO YOU FEEL THIS IS A POSITION CLUBS NEED TO LOOK AT APPOINTING?

In simple terms I would define the role of the Sporting Director as the person who implements the Sporting/Football strategy on behalf of the owner/board of directors. In my opinion owners of football clubs need to look to appoint a Sporting Director to ensure the vision they have for their club is one heard/seen by all working within the sporting side of the club, an effective strategy deployed, the best people employed and everyone aligned to achieving it!