Larry Ryan: Will rise of the suits kill the cult of the gaffer?

We have our own director of football now too, of course. Ireland managers typically need all the help they can get with logistics. And God knows we need galvanising. There is plenty for Marc Canham to do. 

GRAND VISION: Marc Canham has aspirations of developing the Ireland DNA, calling it the Ireland ID. We will be playing progressively through the thirds, hopefully, and identifying the best young players, whatever manager eventually agrees to take us on. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

You won’t have failed to notice another curious development in the great Premier League circus: a sharp rise in profile of the sporting director.

Headlines have been dominated, as they say, by Manchester United’s efforts to ‘prise’ Dan Ashworth from Newcastle, with the Geordies reportedly ‘slapping’ a £20m pricetag on their man, before dispatching him on gardening leave.