Tomkins’ view:
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Not sure how you came to that conclusion
Agree we don’t need to make a big deal about his comments, but think it’s a little more than that. He mentioned what a big job it will be to replace all of the staff and he’s curious to see what will happen. Seemed intentional to put it out there that club needs to get it right, or there’s no guarantees that everyone will stick around. Fair enough
That’s a really good read but fuck me Tompkins waffles on.
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Yeah, he needs an editor. I hate one sentence paragraphs.
We don’t want a clone of Klopp but we do want someone who brings what in my opinion is the most important thing Klopp brought to the club - a willingness to make the most of the team around him and use the expertise at the club.
Brendan Rodgers was an outstanding coach and a fucking awful manager. Where he fell apart was that his ego was to fragile for a big club, and had he spent less time fighting the transfer experts and more time coaching the players they identified, he might have done a bit better.
So no fucking auteurs. No egos. No my players or I won’t use them bullshit.
I don’t care if someone comes in with a different tactical plan, and prioritises a different kind of football. I just don’t want someone who will rock the boat and want to tear up everything the club has built over the past decade.
Basically the ‘no dickheads’ rule applies to the manager as well as the players.
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His response is very similar to Xabi’s.
My worst nightmare would be the hip pocket taking again and re appointing Rodgers.Surely the owners have learnt the stupidity of that.
To go there again would guarantee mass departures.
There are a few decent prospects out there but Xabi is a no brainer,for a start he would get Liverpool,some of the others would not.
Doubt whether the media conjecture re departures would hold much water in that case.
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Alonso for me although…. His tactics and style are relatively new. Other teams learn and counter you. You have to adapt. How he does this over the second half of the season will be interesting. We have had to do it as have every club.
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He does go on a bit but he does interest me as a fellow data geek.
The only point I would quibble with is the intangibles that a manager needs that don’t show up in data. They do, but it’s further embedded and not always obvious.
However, the managers that do encourage players to surpass themselves will show their encouragement in those players improving stats. The manager that gets the crowd behind the team will get those late goals and comebacks.
That’s not to say that a manager who is an abrasive dickhead can’t have good stats but they won’t last: there’s a reason why “the special one” doesn’t stay special for too long.
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Used to read Tomkins more under the Rafa days.
I was also younger at the time, so that also played a part. Probably was looking more for similar views to give me more hope and positivity in times of uncertainity.
He is a little bit (sometimes a lot) with red tinted glasses on, but he does look at things from many angles and I respect his knowledge, research and views.
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I still can’t and don’t want to think about the next manager. We have a job still to do. We have about 4 more months of Jurgen. I will soak it in.
However, the only thought I have about the future is that the whole of backroom staff are leaving yet Klopp has said that Linders is “ready” - but it looks like the club have some other plans.
Also, FSG have so far got Kenny in, Rodgers and Klopp - and I’d say that they’ve picked well. Kenny was only an interim really but given extra time. Rodgers, though trophy less also gave us the closest season to winning the league - little did we know at the time that City were cheating. And probably, Rodgers was needed for FSG to understand everything - and they jumped at Klopp as soon as they got the opportunity.
So, I think there is a plan in place and we have a good process to pick the right man for the job - which does look like XA.
But as I said, we have 4 more months of Klopp - and we have a fight on.
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Another day, and times where my head is swinging back and forth on all sorts of things.
One thing I’d love FSG to do, is just go out there and get a reputable Sporting Director. My favourite by a country mile is Paul Mitchell, given the work he did at Monaco, the way he’d analyse performances, injuries, and provide suggestions. A strong figurehead, who I think would be great above some of the names linked with us, whether it’s Alonso or De Zerbi.
Present Mitchell and Alonso to VVD, Salah, and TAA, and say, ‘we’ve got one of the elite Sporting Director’s in world football, and one of football’s hottest managerial prospects who has pushed Bayern in the Bundesliga. Stick around and see what we can do.’
I think even though on paper, Richard Hughes from Bournemouth and De Zerbi would be okay, it just doesn’t really inspire the imagination, have that stardust quality that would make some of our players think, ‘ooh, this could be interesting.’
I just think if we’re going to appoint someone who we’re not 100% on, even though they tick a lot of boxes, then at least solidify ourselves in the SD role by getting the absolute best, someone used to working with good players, or helped innovate club approaches.
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Please ignore the headline, i am still not ready for this, but I´ve just found this video and I will leave it here.
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Peter Crouch: "It was the before the 07 UCL final. We went Go-Karting. We were going round the track and I flew into the pits but there were no breaks. I was driving straight for Kuyt & Alonso & thought to myself who was more valuable. So I swerved into Kuyt!
hahahahahah
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As a fellow data nerd myself, I think the counter I would make is to remind ourselves that sort of analysis that can be done by the data and statistics that are available for public consumption are so much less powerful than the proprietary shit these guys keep in house. So we may not conceive of a way to factor in “intangibles”, but it doesnt mean they dont have an idea. I think it is important to remember that it was Graham’s data (the guy who brought Spearman to Liverpool and whose job he has now taken) that identified Klopp as such a slamdunk choice despite that coming from what was in simple statistical terms one of his worst seasons ever.
This piece doesnt address any of those challenges, but is a nice intro into the ideas that brought a particle physicist into football
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what are folks thoughts on amorim if alonso falls through…
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https://twitter.com/rwohan/status/1752374321832730962
O’Hanlon suggests that Thomas Frank is actually best suited to take over this current squad.
Next we’ll be hearing that Xabi Alonso hates long passes. 
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