What kind of support structure do they build around them? Given that we are seeing a new senior coaching team and director of football we need to see what the whole package is.
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Someone well earlier in the thread asked about any names out of left field, so, being the idiot that I am, I thought I’d take the bait.
Young, ex-player, plays a high energy pressing style of football. Has managed only two senior clubs. Owns all-time club record of points gained per match at first club, then was sacked for flirting with club now at. Took club he is at to league championship in second season, and sits second in table to first place team that is 17-1-0 through 18 games.
Who is this nobody? Arne Slot at Feyenoord. Told ya it was out of leftfield.
Now, my first choice by a mile would be Xavi, but I worry about him replacing a legend. Sometimes being the second person in after a legend leaves, softens the blow of feeling like you must replace his legacy immediately. Maybe a bridge guy to Alonso for a couple years would be good? Who knows? Certainly not me!
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That’s a good question and a good point. The answer is “it depends.” In North America, the role of the sporting director is the general manager. The GM typically has more power than a sporting director in shaping the roster. Some GMs have been around for a decade or more but some fit the profile of the head coach - young with new ideas. Some times the young head coach will hire an older more experienced guy to run the defense and rely on his experience to run the team generally.
It should come as no surprise to anyone here that data analytics has played a much bigger role over the past decade in the NFL. Teams are placing more emphasis on it. Since younger people are more comfortable with data analytics, there is a trend towards hiring younger GMs.
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Guys it’s Xabi, not that guy in Barca
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More and more info coming out…
The Athletic:
“The plan is to appoint a new sporting director before identifying a new manager. Gordon, who appointed Klopp in 2015, will leave that recruitment drive.”
Was interested what’s our thinking right now, considering we really have a lot of positions to solve.
Massive task on our hands and a battle with time.
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Leave or lead?
More on candidates…
The Athletic:
"Xabi Alonso is regarded as the frontrunner to succeed Klopp and understandably so given his bond with the club as a player who helped win the 2005 Champions League trophy and the outstanding job he has done at Bayer Leverkusen, four points clear of Bayern Munich, and the fact he has done so with a smaller budget than their rivals will surely make him even more appealing to FSG.
Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi and Tottenham’s Ange Postecoglou, a boyhood Liverpool fan, are also on the radar. Thomas Frank also has his admirers after his body of work at Brentford, allied to the fact there are stylistic similarities between his side and Liverpool’s high-pressing, ultra-energetic approach. Julian Nagelsmann may also be of interest, although first he must navigate the Euros with Germany."
I think it’s guess work from them.
Why would we suddenly leak information left right and centre. I assume an announcement on this might be near hence why this came out now.
Why would it be necessarily leaking stuff, journalists still find out what’s going on.
Whether we have a sporting director tomorrow or in May, the situation isn’t good and it’s part of what led to Klopp leaving sooner than planned.
Despite his success at Leverkusen, Luis Garcia has cautioned Xabi Alonso against taking over Jurgen Klopp as the next Reds manager.
“Sometimes, rushing things is not very good. I’m not saying that Xabi is not ready to handle high-level management because I’ve just seen what he has done at Leverkusen, he is really, really remarkable and is continuing to do it,” the ex-Liverpool forward said.
“He has signed a new contract but there has been rumours about him leaving for Real Madrid, Bayern Munich but at the end I like the way Xabi is managing his career, taking a step at a time.
“I don’t want to bring in Xabi right after Jurgen Klopp because the legacy that Jürgen has left is so big that it will be difficult to match it.
“Everyone is going to expect from Xabi, not even a transition period. They want [him] to deliver the best of the best. They want Liverpool to be challenging for every single trophy, that’s not easy.
https://twitter.com/CBSSportsGolazo/status/1750885404209787325
I believe if Xabi were to come here, our supporters will give him time to settle down, adjust and form his own team and playing style. Jurgen, when he first came, also took his first partial season to poke around and feel his way to shape the team he wants. Of course, he was succeeding Rodgers, which was quite different from whoever will be succeeding Jurgen.
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Wow, given how Leverkusen has a very modest budget, that’s amazing.
I was quite upset at Rafa for even thinking of replacing Alonso with Gareth fucking Barry. It’s like trading a good Toyota with a Lada just because the Toyota has a leaking valve cover.
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He has a point in terms of that it could be dangerous if Xabi in would be also partly because fans would feel better after sobering from our “break up” with Klopp.
My bad. Good ole autocorrect and I didn’t catch it.
How about…1 person who has a year on his contract…could be player manager…its been done before…straw clutching
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I would say the announcement Lijnders is leaving his role doesn’t necessarily rule him out as a confidante to replace Klopp.
Mind I’m skeptical he’s ready to be the top man at this level giving how poorly his first try at it went in the Netherlands. Seems the sort who it much better as an assistant.
In the UK we had to contend with younger Steve Bruce, Alan Pardew, Sam Allerdyce, Chris Wilder, Sean Dyche!!
At least Tuchel had a nice tan and looked smart!!
I will be surprised if it’s not Alonso. The stars seem to be aligning in that way.
He would inherit a fantastic squad, and then put his own stamp on it too.
Bring it on.
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