If it is not a permanent hire, but more of a temporary, or consultant thing, it leads me to two conclusions.
Might as well use Chat GPT
Not great noises coming out as far as this role goes. I was hoping we could solve it before the summer or before pre-season. Different names linked, from that guy who would only help as advisor to that Academy guy stepping in for a while. Not that a potential full time replacement would have the time to prepare our summer, the majority of it is probably already decided, but I hope we get the man we want sooner rather than later. Plus, other areas where we have people leaving.
Most of those leaving we knew or anyhow.
Time to rename the thread.
So its not a temporary hire?
Also, he left his last club early 2023 so was that so he could take up this role or just coincidence?
Doesn’t matter if temporary or not really - the club don’t need to disclose that, and it might be a disadvantage to do so. I do look forward to twitter’s melt down - even though no one knows him in any detail, or any other candidates for SD.
Retirement was his reason for having a break.
I’m pleased it’s signed off now. I understands the concerns raised by some about his somewhat aggressive, grating approach, but his role at Liverpool won’t be the same as his roles at German clubs. SD’s of German clubs have media duties - none of that here, with Klopp the voice. I personally hope he is (professionally) aggressive in his negotiations with other clubs.
Get spending Jorg!
Edit: SSN reporting it as a “short term deal”.
> Schmadtke, who previously held similar roles with Hanover, Koln and Wolfsburg, joins Liverpool on a short-term deal, with the potential for a long-term contract.
The sooner Klopp can be relieved of extra duties other than the pitch, the better.
Pre-season is absolutely crucial this summer, I can’t remember a more important one in recent years. Probably the most important since Klopp’s first summer. Equally if not even a bit more important than our transfer activity. Because most players will remain and we have to build our game again.
Needs to be the right man of course and surely Klopp will still be involved in some capacity.
Will be impossible even for the most in the know journalists to know how Schmadtke will be involved this summer. The plans are probably already in place for a while. He might help us with technicalities, negotiations, if we have to shift to other targets, plan B’s, etc.
Not a day to lose now, we have to get our shit together this summer on many levels.
I don’t believe he’s had extra duties as such…he’s involved, and will continue to do so with all aspects of the club. He said that this next few weeks is a break from football but not a break in terms of prep for next season - sounds the norm to me though.
Ward is still in post, with Jorg coming in from 1 June to replace him. Therefore, there’s not a void to fill, but more, adjustments to working with a new, external, bod. Given Jurgen knows Jorg, the adjustment should be straight forward.
I’m just wondering if this appointment means that recruitment may be more focused on Bundesliga teams in the next few months/years. We seem to have hoovered a fair few players from the Portuguese league in the last few transfer windows. Could this be an indication that better value for money is to be had in Germany?
You’d think that that’s the league he knows most but I don’t think the scouting and decision making will be on him alone.
He’s also only just arrived and you’d hope our planning is some way down the track already and his main remit initially will be to get the deals done that we’ve already identified rather than him coming in and pushing for players he knows in the league he’s most familiar with. Unless of course our targets are largely in the Bundesliga and that’s why we’ve appointed him just for this summer initially.
Was probably slightly different with Ward as he’d been here for 10 years and im pretty sure Portugal was one of the areas he was most involved with. When he gets promoted to the top role it makes sense to think he’d be keen to veer towards what he knows best.
Time will tell but Portugal is a weird one. The league isn’t very strong but they seem to be great at selling players for top fees.
The main scouting folk (Hunter and Fallows) are still at the club, as are a number of other scouts dotted around various global locations - so I would expect the net to remain cast pretty wide. Schmadtke would also have recruited to his previous clubs from outside Germany I expect, so he will likely have a decent contacts book. Him having worked in Germany can only be advantageous to us, if players from the Bundesliga are identified.
At least he offers the opportunity to learn a new Umlaut after Jürgen. This one is an ö.
(I’m just kidding, no one cares)
Well, that was my thinking. He would likely have a working relationship with all the people involved and know how they like to do business.
Aside from that, I don’t really know much about the guy. Maybe he is data driven which would appeal to FSG. The fact this is just over the summer does make it look like more of a tactical move.
Let’s hope the new sporting director impresses in his trial with LFC!
Edit:
A great Spinal Tap plug if there ever was one!
I think it’s important to remember that the SD in our set up is the tip of the spear. He is not the one identifying the possible targets, but only a voice in the discussion in which ones to prioritize and the guy who then goes and gets the deal done.
Given that structure I would think the only real avenue to result in this meaning we get in more players from Germany is because existing relationships makes it easier for him to get those deals done. But seeing as the book on him is that he is considered a bit of a dick, that’s unlikely to be the case 
Jorg Schmadtke on the summer transfer window: “I don’t have a budget yet! Seriously, transfers are always complicated. When a player moves from A to B, it’s mostly about small things that are difficult to influence and unrelated to making money.” #lfc [sport1 via liverpool echo]
Schmadtke: “For example, how the player integrates with his family in the city, what his place in the team should be, how he can show his maximum performance. You have to take that into account. The sums involved in these transfers are almost irrelevant.”