Steve Davis praises MLS clubs for their decision to incorporate technical directors into their managerial structure. As of right now, six of 14 MLS teams — Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, D.C., Kansas City and Columbus — have them, along with Seattle, which doesn’t even begin play until the 2009 MLS season. The Crew’s Brian Bliss represents the most recent technical director addition, a hiring Davis says is “especially meaningful” because Columbus doesn’t have the deep pockets of a New York or L.A. (Colorado announced this week the hiring of Jurgen Sommer in the comparable position of director of soccer — a position Mike Burns holds at New England and Mo Johnston took at Toronto.)
A technical director usually occupies the position between the coach and the general manager (or in some cases, the president). His responsibility is to create and oversee the youth programs, and to monitor the progress of the first team. “Not bad work, if you can get it,” says Davis: “Pick the players, then blame the coach if the team stinks.”
Even so, a technical director becomes a more necessary position as teams grow. Right now in Houston, for example, Dominic Kinnear and assistant John Spencer are in charge of personnel decisions — but in the future will they realistically be able to oversee the day-to-day operations of the first team, the reserve team, a fully developed youth academy, scouting and player contracts and acquisitions? Probably not, which is why Davis applauds the decision to hire a technical director, despite whatever bureaucratic difficulties that may bring.