Michael Edward, Richard Hughes and the rest of the top brass at Liverpool Football Club are preparing the club for a completely different future than we have become accustomed to in the past.
Now roles within the club will be distributed more, which will give Arne Slot less responsibility, if he becomes Jürgen Klopp’s heir. That’s what Jonathan Northcroft writes in The Times on Saturday evening.
“Arne Slot will get the job as Liverpool’s new head coach, not manager. Liverpool are now preparing to move away from the traditional British football club structure”.
In simpler words, this means that Slot will be given the main responsibility of training and leading Liverpool’s squad, with far less influence in other areas. Among other things, Richard Hughes has been brought in as sporting director, a position which will probably give more power now than has been the case in the past.
“The plan is for him to focus on training and preparation with the first team, while reporting to Hughes. He will again have responsibility for recruitment and other aspects of the football department. The duo work under Michael Edwards,” writes Northcroft further.
The Times journalist writes that Edwards, FSG’s face in Liverpool FC, is the man behind the new plan. He believes that such a structure, with clear areas of responsibility, is suitable for an increasingly complex and demanding world of football.
The chaos during the Klopp period
It is not at all surprising that Michael Edwards wants changes in the tour of Liverpool Football Club. Namely, he was Jürgen Klopp’s sporting director from 2016 to 2022. That period brought an extreme amount of success, but the problems finally came to the surface when he resigned from the position.
At the time, Klopp, as Liverpool’s manager, had far more influence over who went in and out the doors at Anfield. The German did not always get to decide, such as when Mohamed Salah was brought in instead of Julian Brandt. The roles were in any case more juxtaposed.
When Edwards stepped down as sporting director in 2022, it was his good friend Julian Ward who took over. After a summer that did not particularly add much to the Liverpool squad, he chose to announce his departure just five months later.
He remained until the 2022/23 season, before Jörg Schmadtke took over the position on a temporary basis. Then the tone was completely different than it is now:
– It’s never a problem (talking to Klopp). We sit together a lot and discuss, but we also have a lot of fun. I try to take that focus away from Jürgen so he can concentrate on his tasks, but he has the last word. After this process is over, decisions are made, Schmadtke said last July.
Now the roles are reversed, and Arne Slot (if he becomes head coach) will have to report to sporting director Richard Hughes.
