Maybe the club reps are also realising that there is a shift in the league, with Abu Dhabi in a transitional phase and other clubs floundering or stagnating ? They must see that this is a rare opportunity to stamp the club’s authority on the league.
1 Like
I’ve thought a lot about this and I wonder if it was a combo of the factors mentioned above along with the internal power structure shifting back away from the manager more to the sporting director. This may not sit well with all, but I think Klopp might have been a players’ coach too much and probably showed a bit more loyalty versus pragmatic ruthlessness as we are seeing by Arne.
I guess I think there’s always been funds but sometimes the gaffers desire to use them vs what he had might have been in conflict
1 Like
I think there is a lot of truth in the old maxim that your greatest strength is your greatest weakness. Klopp’s closeness to his players was a huge attract to players, but might have lead to him holding on to his boys beyond their usefulness.
3 Likes
Remember Klopp wanting to give Matip a new contract.
And Gini and Hendo. Club let him have Hendo but not Gini. He thought they deserved contracts for everything they had done for the club.
Gini probably wanted too much but he wasn’t in decline. Gave 110% in his last season.
1 Like
Maybe lads you can earn it … seems like you’ve turned into Everton where you raise your game for your rivals to come to town.
Werner:
“We looked at [Jurgen Klopp leaving] as an opportunity and what was so special about Arne was, I have often said he is very authentic and he is not trying to be the next Jurgen Klopp, the next Pep Guardiola, he is his own man and he is going to approach the club in his own sincere and thoughtful way.”
“So we looked at this as an opportunity to reshape the football operations, bring back Michael Edwards, empower Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes to do the jobs that we knew they were capable of doing and then turn the page.”
2 Likes
It feels like the owners have been in a holding position for the last couple of years. What we are seeing now is the new strategy. I do wonder whether this is what they would have been doing in 2020 had it not been for the pandemic.
2 Likes
2 Likes
What a novel concept from an owner…hire the right people then get the fuck out of the way.
7 Likes
Tom Werner only really learned it when he nearly fucked up the Virgil transfer.
3 Likes
It’s not that long since Getafe had three top 8 finishes in a row, including a 5th. They’ve gone back to lower half since, but with a bit of investment it’s not that hard to imagine them back in the hunt for European places and of course the situation most recently faced by Palace.
1 Like