That’s obviously the very top line way of looking at it, I imagine the entire approach is done much more collaboratively.
The club will have people consistently reviewing everything: key performance metrics for each position/player; data science; fitness performance; levels in training; athleticism and many other things. We’ll keep tabs on all of this throughout a season and anecdotal input will be added from the manager and coaching staff, things like the intangibles and day to day stuff. There will come a point in each season (I imagine it’s probably just passed at the last international break) where a lot of this is evaluated and we begin to shape our summer activity. The manager might well say “I want this” but I imagine it will be much more evidence-based and the club will look to use things that are factual as well as subjective. That’s why you probably get Edwards saying “Henderson’s coming to the end” and then Klopp pushing the things like intangibles and subjective stuff. They can be very delicate situations where both sides are right. I can only imagine the data the club uses was really strong for Edwards to react as strongly as he did.
From what I’ve read/heard about how the club operates with transfers, once they’ve decided on a position to recruit for, we tend to have a score-based system with varying different metrics on, the relevant departments/people involved will have their input and try to come to a unanimous agreement on which player to move forward with. That doesn’t mean it will always be the data team or the coaching staff that make the ultimate call, but given Jurgen’s base of power has increased every year, it seems he was given more of a dominant vote on transfers than what he initially had during the peak Edwards years. If you’re to believe the social media eggs, Lijnders became more and more involved in this process and he alongside Jurgen gave the coaching staff a greater say than at any point before 2021/22.
I don’t for one minute believe that there will be a world where Slot is asking for a table and they give him a lampshade. Modern players (particularly the level we aim for) are becoming more and more demanding, they want to hear a manager’s plan for them in the side and the ambitions of the club. Slot will be important for communicating this during discussions before a player joins, so he will definitely have an input, it may just be more of a “are you on board with this?” rather than a “do you want to lead on this?” If that makes any sense.
This is an insightful post, thanks.
Does the title of 'Head Coach' suggest the manager's responsibilities in recruitment will be severely curtailed, or is it more or less the same structure that Klopp worked under in his first few years (players recommended by Edwards such as Salah, Mane, etc)? It could merely be a ploy by FSG to eradicate all ambiguity and avoid similar scenarios to Rodgers and Klopp eventually having more power (which hasn't been to the benefit of the club).
Or perhaps it offers greater authority. Beforehand it might have been a shortlist of options for one position, with Edwards and Klopp debating the merits and coming to an agreement (that's how I saw it). Perhaps the new strategy will be more authoritative and see Edwards and co honing in on the one player whose metrics come out top in the data, regardless of the managers opinion on others in the shortlist.
Recent Posts