Club announce further appointments

From mcfc.co.uk:

Following last week’s meeting of the Board, Manchester City Football Club is pleased to announce three new appointments to its Executive Leadership Team:

Graham Wallace, Chief Financial & Administration Officer

Responsible for leading and managing all Club financial matters in addition to overseeing the Information Technology, Human Resources, Legal and Administration functions. He joins the Club from IMG, where he is Senior Vice President of Finance for IMG’s worldwide Sports Media and Entertainment businesses.

David Pullan, Brand and Marketing Officer

Responsible for growing the Club’s supporter base. He joins the Club from Aegis Media, where he was President of Isobar Global Client Management.

Brian Marwood, Football Administration Officer

Responsible for supporting the Football Manager by building world-leading football infrastructure which will meet Mark Hughes’ requirements in terms of academy liaison, overseeing of medical, sports sciences and performance analysis, talent identification and player support.

The two positions of most interest are the 'Brand and Marketing Officer' and 'Football Administration Officer'. Clearly the club are really aiming big in terms of developing worldwide exposure and untapped potential overseas and this appointment seems a clear acknowledgement of that.

Perhaps more applicable to on-field matters is the appointment of Marwood, and it is interesting to see his role and responsibilities. It does not, on the face of it at least, appear that he is arriving as a technical director or at a position 'in charge' of Mark Hughes, more working alongside (or even for) him. It seems a strange role job description though, covering a multitude of roles that appear to function perfectly adequately at present.

Marwood appears to very much be a 'Cook man', so does his appointment then suggest further evidence of Hughes's position being secure for the long term?

Marwood appointment set to strengthen Hughes's position

From the excellent Henry Winter:

He is not a technical director. Repeat not. Knowing he would have to explain Marwood’s role to Hughes, Cook used the apt analogy of a winger serving a centre-forward. In City’s new chain of command, Marwood reports to Hughes. A popular figure within football, Marwood could prove a real ally for City’s manager.

It does appear that Cook is well and truly behind Hughes as manager, and even if there was a suggestion from the ownership that a more 'glamourous' name (eg, Scolari) was preferred, then unquestionably Cook would advise against it. Winter expands further:

Speculation persists about Sparky’s future. Is he strong enough to deal with big-name, moody Brazilians like Robinho? Wouldn’t the Special One, Jose Mourinho, or another Portuguese speaker, Big Phil Scolari, extract more from such talents? During Thursday’s board meeting, Cook underlined to the Abu Dhabi owners why they are right to keep the faith in Hughes.

Everything is in place at City: respected manager, fine stadium, loyal fans, great academy and fistfuls of petro-dollars. With sensible stewardship, with continued belief in the manager, City can flourish.

As we head towards March and the back end of the season it appears that the club is in a far more stable position than it has been all season. The January signings have bedded in fantastically well and both results and performances have picked up since the low points of January.

Well positioned now in the last sixteen of the UEFA Cup to make serious run at winning it, and sitting only three points of seventh place in the Premier League, are we now beginning to see the first real and tangible signs of a promising future?

Football Administrator to be appointed

Mark Hughes is to be joined at Manchester City by Brian
Marwood, the one-time ­England winger, who is expected to be appointed with
the title of football ­administrator. Marwood had ­initially been lined
up as a director of football, but City have offered him a ­different role
because Hughes did not want anybody brought in above him.
City have been
talking to Marwood, currently the head of the UK football operations for Nike,
for several weeks about appointing him in a role that would reunite him with the
club's executive chairman, Garry Cook. The two men had worked together at
Nike.

>>guardian.co.uk

This story definitely came out of the blue this morning, and despite not being carried anywhere else (the MEN carried a very small article regarding 'management additions' today), Daniel Taylor in The Guardian has usually been accurate in his reporting.

'Football Administrator' is definitely a new title on me and what remit he will have is not apparant, but if it is true that Hughes got his way in terms of Marwood not being appointed above him, it does show that despite reports persisting of him bening replaced his position looks to be s secure as it can be.

Apart from his commentary work, I can't confess to knowing too much regarding Marwood's post-playing career in terms of his suitability for such a position. It does appear though he has worked with Cook at Nike, and does seem to have a 'business head' about him in addition to his football background.

As ever with these scenarios, it will be interesting to see what precise role Marwood may hold, given that I don't see Hughes as the type to relinquish much (if any) control over playing matters. The difficulty with such appointments historically is that there has been no defined boundaries as to who is responsible for which area, often leading to problems at that level and rarely in the British game has there been a succesful example of the set up working.

Perhaps he is to be more of a part in developing the commercial side of the club along with Cook (and acting s a 'bridge' between the football and commercial side) as I'm sure the management (rather than playing) side are really looking to develop the club now along the lines of American sports models, where they are far ahead even the most succesful football clubs in terms of their operations.