I think this will be more of the set up in the first few years of Edward’s and Klopp.
I’m pretty sure Klopp said he had the final say and yet we bought players rumoured not to be his choice.
Happy for Slot to bring his team and adapt over time like Klopp.
What’s his injury record like?
For me Edwards is a numbers man as long as players numbers are good in all respects that matter then players will still be kept on.
Mo maybe the one under the biggest threat and also Robbo to some extent as his game involves using a lot of energy.
I think the transfer model was (and will be) Klopp (Slot) feeds into the recruitment team the types of player he wants (what he expects of the player, physical traits etc) targets are identified according to budget available then Klopp (Slot) agree to that player or ask them to keep looking. Klopp probably nominated some players (such as Goetze and Brandt) but was willing to be won over by alternatives when presented.
From what little reading I have done on Slot, his teams appear to have relatively few injuries.
That’s not his problem though, is it? Surely it would be Hughes’ responsibility?
That’ll all change if he takes charge of Liverpool, the only club whose players can be assaulted with the approval of the refs.
Let’s see if they can replicate it here.
It was clear in some of our last seasons that it’s almost impossible to hit our season targets by almost always having 4-5 injuries. People coming back, others getting injured and round it goes.
Same pressing principle, but perhaps less of “intensity is our identity” and a bit more control.
4 competitions, more Champions League games with the new format.
A summer of a major competition with the Euro’s. The US tour.
Also taking over a side that will have players with history of injuries. Although some will leave, like Matip and Thiago.
A quality pre-season is always needed, but this one will be vitally important.
It’s a totally different level, I’ll be interested to see how well he can rotate, balance between training time (not much during the season, which puts even more pressure on a good pre-season) and days off.
Half that but we do seem to have a knack of injuries in training.
So therefore if Edwards is a numbers or stats man, do you not think that Hughes would follow that principle for Edwards to employ him?
No one in their right mind would get rid of the spine of the team, irrespective of age.
This is exactly how it will be and should be IMO.
The only thing I believe won’t happen, unlike some suggestions I’ve seen elsewhere, is that if we’re really successful under Slot, he’ll end up gaining more power over transfers and staff appointments. I think this time, Edwards will have made sure the power switch in the last 2-3 years won’t happen again, and everything will be verified under the processes they’ve implemented. So if Slot really wants ‘x’ player, who hasn’t come up under their initial “checks”, they’ll do the checks on him, but will say no if they feel he wouldn’t be a good fit.
Klopp did lust after players who played well against us.
Minamino and Nunez.
The thing is, when Klopp came in the club was at a really low ebb, so when he brought us back to the top it felt massive and FSG recognised the achievement by basically giving him everything he asked for. Almost a decade on, simply keeping us at or near the top won’t feel as seismic, so I don’t see FSG breaking up their own structure to accommodate Slot to the same extent as JK.
Here’s the article mentioned in @Livvy’s post above, not had a chance to read it all yet (it’s quite long), but seems like a detailed piece on Slot:
This part was interesting, in light of recent discussion here:
Yet Slot’s success does not exist in a vacuum. It required uniformity of vision.
“Topsport”, as Feyenoord describe their culture, is applied across the club, which means consistency across the senior squad, the medical and performance teams and the academy. Under Liverpool’s sporting-director model, albeit with Edwards sitting at the top, the club want the person who’ll be their head coach, not manager, next season to co-exist within this framework, and at Feyenoord, Slot has demonstrated a willingness to do that.
The most successful clubs these days have departments across the board who communicate and support one another, rather than operating as separate siloed operations. In the case of recruitment, therefore, we know Liverpool leaned heavily on their data and research analysts during Edwards’ reign as sporting director, with the data operation identifying the potential of then Roma forward Salah to excel in the Premier League, even after a difficult period at Chelsea earlier in his career.
As Klopp grew more successful and powerful at Liverpool, his personal grip on recruitment became stronger, but while the club will welcome input from a head coach, they would like to simplify the role and allow that person to concentrate on the demanding bread and butter of developing players, preparing a team and selecting the line-up for the next match.
None of which means recruitment teams and a head coach should be in conflict. Rather, if it works how it has at Feyenoord, the scouts and analysts spend time with the coach, study his setup and firmly understand his style of play. Then they have a prescription for the type of players needed for the coach to excel, and so go off and work to identify options.
What Liverpool would wish to avoid is relying on the knowledge base of a coach, as rivals United appear to have done at times under Ten Hag, who has consistently looked to the Dutch market with which he is most familiar, as well as at players he has coached before, when it comes to signings.
Do I need to go and watch Moneyball again?
Those philosophies still hold by the looks of things.
why shouldn’t they- after all it is about getting the ‘best bang for your buck’!
Reading an interview with Luka Ivanusec, a Croatian who’s playing his first season at Feyenoord. Although he also had an injury this season, so wasn’t present all the time.
He’s been asked about the speculations around Slot, who is linked with Liverpool, what makes him special.
Luka:
“In every game, you can see exactly his signature. We do what he wants us to do, we play nice football, from feet to feet. There are no aimless long balls, it’s clear who does what, he’s a very good coach and expert. Team mates? Santiago Gimenez scores a lot, he’s a top player, for the best clubs. I’ve also been impressed with David Hancko, a player similar to Gvardiol.”
Should be an interesting transfer window😂
Can’t wait to see what shit indy starts posting in the coming months😂
I watch parts of Moneyball all the time.
Great film.
