As we wait for the puffs of white smoke from St. Andrew’s (it’s a shame we’ve not got the chimneys yet . . . ) it’s worth contemplating that Blues next appointment is going to be highly significant.
And no, we are not talking about the manager, but the director of football.
After Craig Gardner’s decision to stand down, Blues are faced with a pivotal, defining decision.
The next director of football needs to be given autonomy from the owners and has to be that good at the job that they can bring together all the different facets of the football operation and get things done.
They have to sit above everyone else, including the manager. Managers or head coaches are passing through. They are a moment in time of a club’s history.
Over the road, the keys were handed in no uncertain terms to Unai Emery, which is all well and good. But what happens when he and his armada of staff leave?
A club needs to have a base identity for sure. But neither should it be slavishly behoved to a style of play or ‘philosophy’.
When Knighthead came in and Blues began their Open House events, Gardner presented on how Blues wanted to become possession based as figures showed that those kinds of teams were more likely to get promotion.
I am all for Blues moving from the plucky underdog, low block scrabblers we’ve seen for the best part of a decade.
But possession for possession’s sake doesn’t work. Football changes rapidly and this season title winners Coventry City didn’t mess about going back to front, nor on transitions. Blues under Davies began to mix it up eventually, realising that you need to be able to play in many different ways to be successful.
But I digress somewhat.
The new director of football will have to instill a core Blues DNA as part of the culture, but will also need to find out what is most important to Knighthead at present and discover if he must work mostly to that end.
Is it primarily about recruitment, getting that spot-on and overseeing the construction of a squad capable of winning promotion and then going again in the Premier League?
Is there a tangible commitment to youth and providing opportunity for Academy players to either challenge for a place in the first team squad or be developed so they could bring in a return on investment?
Is it both? And, indeed, it should be. They are just two, important, facets of a multi-faceted role.
Any director of football worth their salt should have the gumption to challenge the owners and amend current processes should they deem it necessary, if they wear the crown as king of the castle.
As Daniel Ivery points out in his musing on Gardner’s departure, interpersonal relationships are so important in this type of job.
The director of football role can be wide-ranging and from club to club it may differ.
When Gardner was promoted in February 2025 from technical director to director of football, his brief was outlined thus on the Blues website:
As Director of Football, Gardner will help to develop a world class culture and implement innovative processes, as well as strengthening ties with the Academy. Through building a more unified approach, a consistent club playing identity and philosophy, he will aim to make progression from Academy to the Men’s First Team a seamless process for the Club’s top emerging talent in all footballing areas.
Earlier in the announcement, his time as technical director was summed up:
Since being appointed to the senior position in June 2021, the former Blues midfielder has overseen the direction of the club’s football strategy, playing identity, recruitment, squad development and performance. Gardner led on the implementation of a new data-led talent acquisition strategy prior to the 2024/25 campaign, helping to identify the likes of Tomoki Iwata, Christoph Klarer and Willum Willumsson. Off the pitch, he supported the integration of TBRX’s innovative approach to recovery and rehabilitation, helping to significantly increase player availability and reduce non-contact muscle injuries.
The brief, therefore, for the incumbent will be fascinating and it is fair to assume will be of similar scope.
If Blues want best of the best in class, to lead everything football through to The Powerhouse, Sports Quarter and beyond, then they will have to pay through the nose.
What needs to be remembered is that Blues, as they stand now, are far from a stellar attraction. They may well be in 10, 15 years’ time.
But at present, whilst what is coming down the line with the £3 billion transformation can’t fail to get you excited and is a big tempter, the work to be done on the ground remains huge.
Blues are playing catch up. They’ve not just been behind the eight ball for so long, they’ve actually been off the table.
The rise of Manchester City is often used as the example to follow. And Blues plans for the stadium and Sports Quarter will be better than anything Manchester have, once complete.
But it is often forgotten that Manchester were comparably well positioned before they became awash with Abu Dhabi petrodollars in 2008.
Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra had bought the club for £81.6 million, they were in the Premier League and had four years previously moved from Maine Road to the current stadium.
Sven Goran-Eriksson was appointed manager and Manchester finished 9th, their highest ever Premier League placing to that point.
It started to unravel quickly as Thailand’s rulers froze Thaksin’s assets and he had to sell up and move aside.
Manchester then embarked on a money no object ascent to the top of the pile, when there were not the current financial rules and regulations in place.
The person regarded as the standard bearer for a director of football is Dan Ashworth. There have been whispers that Blues have sounded him out.
Ashworth, who lives locally, is currently back at the FA as chief football officer after an ill-fated stint as Manchester United’s sporting director.
His view on the role is obviously worth listening to. He has often described it as sitting in the middle of a bike wheel, linking all the departmental spokes together, making sure they adhere to a coherent strategy that aligns and is consistent with what a club wants.
Ashworth would be the dreamer’s dream appointment for Blues.
I understand Blues have also been looking at former academy manager Kristjaan Speakman, who plotted Jude Bellingham’s rise at Blues. He left Sunderland as sporting director in February.
Middlesbrough’s head of football Kieran Scott is another believed to be on the radar, as well as former Newcastle United sporting director Paul Mitchell.
Then you have David Weir as a potential candidate. The former Scotland international rose through the ranks at Brighton & Hove Albion to become technical director in 2022 before leaving in September.
Mike Rigg, the Academy technical director, has held sporting and technical director positions elsewhere previously but when he was appointed, under former CEO Garry Cook, he made it clear he wasn’t seeking to usurp Gardner and he has his hands currently full as it is. Might that now change?
And what of Gardner, Blues former Carling Cup winner and caretaker/assistant/coach?
There is no question that he transitioned from the grass to the boardroom during a difficult period when Blues had nothing and were in a mess.
He worked his own contacts when it came to recruitment as the initial ‘structure’ was back of a fag packet/whichever agent was in favour with Dong Ren.
And he was a very important conduit between the Chinese owners and Knighthead when moves gathered apace for a takeover.
Gardner earned the eternal gratitude of Tom Wagner for standing up to help lever out the previous regime, and without his presence in the thick of it on the inside, Knighthead might have given it up as an impenetrable case as much as a basket case.
After five years in executive football roles, straight in after a long playing career, matters were probably beginning to take their toll on Gardner and perhaps all were realising this is now the right time for fresh eyes and impetus.
He could be a fairly divisive figure and kept a low profile in the media (but he always knew what was being written and said). He had an underrated political cuteness, too.
There became more and more plates to spin as Blues started to reach for new heights.
Gardner sat at the head of Blues technical/football committee, who report to the ownership group.
He was very first team focused and accrued a staff around him to help with whom he was comfortable and understood where the club was at which, in itself, is not a criticism, as the likes of Joe Carnall, the current head of recruitment, had already earned their spurs.
He stepped into the void of an empty room when taking on the technical director role.
The support staff at EPIC has burgeoned. Under Gardner’s rein, a football chief of staff plus a head of methodology and alignment were appointed.
Recruitment-wise, Gardner as the figurehead is always going to be judged on the hits, misses, maybes and Kyogo. Nobody will ever get everything right.
As Blues moved from calling in favours in his early days to a data-driven approach with cash to splurge under Knighthead at a fast rate of knots, perhaps there were always going to be rough edges through this ‘setting up’ phase.
Whoever comes in next will probably want to zero in and fine-tune this process, marrying up the analytics and Championship reality, as Blues were never going to have it smooth and off pat in an instant.
Presently, Gardner’s exit won’t necessarily impact on the summer strategies negatively. Plans and targets have been in place for a while although who steps in as a first point of contact with agents, players and other clubs now is a moot point.
Gardner left with the club’s gratitude and now it’s up to Blues to find the right replacement. Let’s see what materialises for this crucial appointment.
