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Is Thomas Driesen Gone? - he popped in on p16, and back out on p26
Comments
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I've always been a bit lenient about the Yann sale, because while it was a terrible loss for us, we were competing against a club which was found guilty of breaking EFL financial rules around that period. If Bournemouth hadn't offered such a big contract, I'm sure he would have stayed with us, as it wasn't as if bigger clubs were competing with us for his signature.1
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We're very binary these days, in this country and as a set of fans.
The truth is that Thomas is neither the devil nor the messiah. If we consider him an arrogant young man (which of us wasn't?), too inexperienced for his role, then regardless of the veracity of that the responsibility is still Duchatelet's.
Others have pointed out that Thomas was relatively junior analyst when he came in, and he quickly found his opinion was elevated by Duchatelet above those of people who had been in the pro game in England all their lives, and in Powell's case had played at the very highest level possible.
Thomas is an easy target, not least because he does engage on social media, but I think we should have a greater issue with Duchatelet than the person asked to carry the level of responsibility TD ended up with.
The Trust AGM with Gallen was interesting. @Pico described it as a masterclass in tact, and it was that, but he did go out of his way to say that Thomas was alright and he and Bow had learned how to make it work with him. What he didn't say was more revealing, i.e. whether they felt they should have to run everything past a twenty-something analyst early in his career.
Personally I like that Thomas stands up for himself. The screenshot of the scout report on Yann says everything about the lack of diligence put into understanding the players, the club, and English football. Kermorgant was central to the team, our talisman, and those intangibles such as how other players responded to him were well known by Powell and others Duchatelet decided not to trust.
I suspect Thomas had little say back then, and even if he did put another view I doubt a young analyst in his early days would stand up to two experienced scouts. He may even have adopted their views, watched it all go pear shaped and wished he'd shouted more loudly. Or he may have felt corrected and embraced it, until it was convenient to do otherwise of course. I'm not sure personally I can blame Thomas for Yann's departure, certainly not give him the full responsibility.
Anyway, my point is really that I think Thomas and his role needs to be put into the context of that regime. He's not the devil - in many ways his online persona is quite likeable, even if he can be quick to gloat and slow to accept where things went wrong. He's had some successes and some failures, like any scout. McGinn came good at Villa, but there's no guarantee he would have at another club - so many variables, but then that's why it's important to let a manager decide on the people he wants in his team. Those variables can make or break both players and teams.
Thomas is not the enemy. A dose of humility would help him enormously. I remember talking with Jimmy whilst he was putting his podcast together, and he went to great lengths to ensure everything was well-sourced or evidenced. There's no doubt ths the facts presented are just that - facts. There may be more explanation behind them than was available, and undoubtedly there are different experiences of the same situations.
For example, the email Duchatelet sent to Powell. Undoubtedly it was Thomas's views and a cut and paste from an email he'd sent to Duchatelet. Them's the facts, and therefore Thomas clearly has had a role in Powell being told who to play in what shape.
But is it possible that Thomas had expected Duchatelet to allow him to chat it through with Powell, make suggestions supported by his analysis, rather than for him to instruct Powell as baldly as he did? I'm not saying that's the case, but I don't know - and it is possible that not everyone associated with the Duchatelet regime is as batshit as Duchatelet!
As always the truth is often dependent on your frame of vision and how time has reshaped it. It doesn't surprise me that Thomas has different views about his role, and he may have had a very different attitude to the role than, say, Duchatelet or the managers.
Personally I welcome his contribution here, and I'm grateful for what he's said. It's a shame it got abusive. There's a difference between that and robust exhanges of views. I do wish we'd stick to the latter.23 -
So when is Kattien joining CL?5
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Pep pep gives his tuppence worth https://twitter.com/footballdaily/status/1498592141362221061?s=21
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top hooligan chic from Pep there1
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@crabbles is ready and waiting to accept her onto the forum and into his heart.cantersaddick said:So when is Kattien joining CL?3 -
The mention of Driesen on the Andy Scott stuff made me want to re-read this thread (because it's hilarious) but I wasn't expecting this to be the funniest part. I want to draw attention to this example of Leuth scouting Conor Coventry as a replacement for Dobson back in 2022. This means one of three things happened: one- concidence, two - Scott has been trawling through CL using it for scouting tips, three: Scott has been Leuth this whole time!Leuth said:
This is reasonable. But Dobson's distribution isn't bad. He doesn't play killer passes or even key passes, but he distributes to the wings fairly reliably. I'm trying to think of players in this league who perform that role and add something progressive - I suppose MK Dons had Conor Coventry as their defensive midfielder, and he did play a killer pass for an assist in a dominant display, but he's a fringe first-team West Ham player. Those can be pretty hard to get hold of.ThomasD said:
I only saw Dobson one game for Wimbledon and two games for Charlton. Three times he was very bad on the ball. Maybe if I would scout him like a potential signing (watching +- 10 games) I would change my mind and admit I am wrong about him.JamesSeed said:
Erm, yes actually, with all due respect. He joined them at the end of January 2021 when they'd lost nine of their previous eleven matches and were firmly in the relegation zone. His second appearance saw a shock win away at Wigan, and from then on things changed.BenHaimandBikey said:
Erm, no?JamesSeed said:DubaiCAFC said:Interesting read.. and a good insight that is for sure.. But we can all agree scouting and recruiting players has changed a lot over time. And no doubt TD played a role in some of good bits of business and some poor bits.. But fair play coming on here to give an opinion, which I think we should respect him for that.
I don't think our recruitment on paper has been overall bad, but maybe just mismanaged.. We have benefit previously from players coming to us, having made no impact at other clubs. George Dobson for example.
Recommending players I think is the easy part, but getting an understanding of the personality, speaking to people who knows the player, are they happy living in a big city, what could effect them personally.. Who's reasonability is that? That for me is a key!
Then do they really want to come to Charlton, or is it just about money?!Didn’t George Dobson save Wimbledon from relegation last season almost single handedly?
In their next ten games they lost only three, drew five and won two. They became harder to beat.
Their last eight matches of the season saw four wins, three draws and just one defeat. They ended four points clear of the relegation places.
My Wimbledon mate said he was key in the turn round in their form, and I'm quite sure that's why we signed him.
I remember hearing about this when we signed him, and was disappointed to see his early progress at Charlton was what we'd hoped for.
It's odd that TD is still insisting George is League 2 level, when clearly he isn't. This doesn't exactly enhance Thomas's reputation in my opinion. I'd respect him more if he admitted he'd got that wrong. Every team needs a George Dobson. It doesn't matter if he doesn't score many goals.
I also think the times of having a '6' that wins the ball and is not so good on the ball and then having a 8 who runs and a 10 for creativity are long gone. Only in England they seem to stick more by it. Your midfield can be so much better when you take players who are more complete. If you have a '6' that is also better on the ball (like Cullen or Bielik are) you have such a advantage playing out of the back.32 -
I completely forgot this
maybe this is why I've been so staunch a fan. Nice he's turned out objectively good too 5 -
Is Tommy d back in the frame?
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Half expect the bellend to pop back in again telling everyone what a fucken genius he was10
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Driesen was a weird (unique?) little oddball who, after leaving the club, decided to periodically troll the fans by almost magically laying claim to responsibility for all of our successful signings, while simultaneously denying any involvement in our shit ones.
One might describe his behaviour as immature, or typical of a teenaged brat, yet it pissed him off enormously if anyone referred to him as the teenager playing FM in his bedroom.
What strange times we’ve lived through in recent years.1 -
Is there any way of unbumping a thread? The very sight of that little turd's name makes my teeth itch.
I've just made it worse, haven't I?9 -
Devil spawn0
