Wealdstone are looking for a Director of Football. Who should they pick?
By Joe·
I've always had a lot of time for Wealdstone as a football club. They consistently over-achieve. Rarely do you see a part-time side manage to compete for as long - and as well - in the National League as they do. They don't have a big backing. Everything is 'self-made'. They are a 'proper' community club. I have a soft spot for them.
They over-achieved with Stuart Maynard. They got to the FA Trophy final under Gary Waddock. They competed impressively under Sam Cox.
Yet, looking in as a neutral - as I do - I think that the club are going to keep finding it tougher year-on-year to compete at the level. While they're not financially well-off, I feel they perhaps lack the off-field structure and strategy to keep punching above. Hence, if they are to keep competing they have got to evolve as a football club. Getting a Director of Football seems very much 'in line' with that.
The role of 'Director of Football' is perhaps not that common in non-league football - certainly not as explicitly as Wealdstone advertised for. Given the catchment area, I think that is a really exciting role.
The role of 'Director of Football' is extremely all-encompassing, and so finding - and indeed attracting - a suitable candidate is tough. In terms of qualifications, I'd be looking for the following:
Must Have
Extensive experience in the game, ideally in non-league football
A wealth of contacts, and principally in the London / SE area
Good links / relationships into EFL / Premier League clubs
An appreciation for working / recruiting for a part-time set-up
Knowledge of the National League
Desirable
A background in player recruitment (e.g. manager, DoF, HoR)
Experience within football coaching / management
Professional qualifications in footballing directorship
Worked alongside Wealdstone manager Gary Waddock before
Young (30-45yo) to provide a long-term option
A forward-thinking and innovation individual with new ideas
Who would I pick?
One option that I think ticks a number of the boxes above and who might consider a transition into directorship as a 'follow-on' from the role they've got currently is Paul Benson.
Benson is currently the Academy Manager at Luton Town, and has an extensive career as a player in both the Football League and in the non-league circuit. He scored 260 goals in a career spanning 16 years, during which time he won promotion from the Conference on two separate occasions (Luton Town in 2014, and Dagenham and Redbridge in 2007).
Benson has always played and been based in the South East, both during his days as a player and as a coach.
His role at Luton Town has provided him a pathway into the game, and it is through this which he has developed good contacts in youth football. The Stones are a club that relies on effective use of the loan market to complement a permanent core with clever additions and so Benson is well-placed to draw on those gained contacts.
Since making the transition out of being a player, Benson has pursued avenues in coaching. Since 2019, Benson has been working in the academy set-up with Luton Town and been promoted into his existing role in 2023. In his role as Academy Manager, Benson has had to demonstrate that he has got strong working relationships with clubs at a lower level throughout the pyramid in managing the loan spell of his Hatters' players.
Such experience would give me confident in his ability to navigate the loan market for Wealdstone, both in drawing on contacts gained and in being able to successfully manage relationships with clubs at a higher level.
Furthermore, given that he has worked within youth football for such a period of time may provide him with the network to be able to pick up young players out of the academy game that perhaps are in need of a full-time environment. That is the profile of players which Wealdstone typically sign - e.g. Charlie Barker, Mason Barrett, Aaron Henry etc - and so Benson would provide continuity in approach for this.
His success as a player at the level will provide him with the first-hand experience of knowing what traits are required for building a top side, and this should allow him to have an understanding of the type of profiles that typically work well. The bulk of his career has been with Dagenham and Redbridge, and I think that there are similarities in the job The Daggers have to do and that of The Stones. Namely: the profiles of players they sign, the catchment area, the set-up and budgets etc.
Benson, himself, is a former non-league starlet that shot up through the leagues having been identified by then manager John Still, and so he has got an appreciation for navigating the 'lower reaches' of non-league. I think that this is an avenue which The Stones have long under-exploited - in terms of signing young players that climb the pyramid - and so Benson is well-placed to exploit this opportunity.
Benson is now 47 years of age, and after cutting his cloth for the best part of eight years as a coach in a position of responsibility then I think he could be both qualified and interested in taking a 'next step' as a Director of Football.