RETURN OF THE MICK
Michael Edwards is one of the key players in Liverpool’s glorious return to relevance in the last decade, yet he could probably stroll past Anfield on a matchday without being noticed. An inconspicuous but highly-influential figure in his previous spell at the club, Edwards’ vibe is very much the quiet tech boffin you find in every heist movie; a man of few words who can take the doors off a casino vault in 60 seconds. He left the club in 2022 but now he’s back for one last job. With Fenway Sports Group desperate to inject some positivity into the post-Jürgen Klopp void ahead, they have brought back Liverpool’s former sporting director to take on a broader, more senior role this summer; a familiar face to lead a strange new era on Merseyside.
The 44-year-old who forged a reputation under Harry Redknapp at Portsmouth and Tottenham before spending 10 years at Liverpool is “one of the most formidable executive talents in world football”. Not our words, but the words of Mike Gordon, the FSG president who will gleefully tip the contents of his inbox on to Edwards’ desk come May. On top of the pile is a Post-It labelled XABI ALONSO, but there’s plenty more for the returning boardroom wizard to get stuck into. He is expected to bring in a new sporting director in Richard Hughes, who played under Redknapp at Pompey before becoming a triffic little technical director down at Bournemouth. Edwards also intends to dabble in the multi-club market. “One of the biggest factors in my decision is the commitment to acquire and oversee an additional club, growing this area of their organisation,” he trilled after confirming his return.
During his previous decade at Anfield, Edwards picked out Klopp for the manager’s job and helped assemble the crop of players who have delivered pretty much every shiny pot available. Edwards arrived in a season where Liverpool finished eighth, four points behind Everton. While he helped the club leave 2012 firmly in the past, Manchester United are currently trying to turn the clock back 12 years to the halcyon days of Team Sky, the London Olympics and competing for titles. Since becoming a minority stakeholder at United, Big Sir Jim Ratcliffe has led a boardroom influx and leaned on both Dave Brailsford and Seb Coe, as he takes on a rebuilding job at Old Trafford that makes Liverpool’s summer restructure look like a lick of red paint. While Liverpool fans fear a drop-off akin to United’s post-Ferguson b@nter years, their “less means more” approach may be a better option than Ratcliffe’s ambitious plans, which leave questions unanswered. Who’s getting the big corner office? And what exactly do they do about the manager?
That could become clearer after Sunday’s huge FA Cup quarter-final, where Klopp will look to end Erik ten Hag’s only hope for a trophy this season. While that particular battle will be settled on the pitch, can the same be said for Liverpool and United’s future rivalry? In a year when money worries have stalled the transfer market and more top-flight clubs are holding on to their managers, the boardroom feels like the new epicentre for innovation. Why spend millions on players when you can find a bloke to rebuild your club with a few spreadsheets? Why sack the manager, when you can recruit a slick executive team to support/undermine him as you see fit? For club owners, the possibilities are endless.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
“It gives us a chance to look at Craig up close because he has had three competitive games and, without being disrespectful to the opposition Hearts have played in the cup, probably not games where Craig was over-worked. So it will be nice to see Craig in training with the other goalkeepers. Three of those will go to the Euros and one will miss out. That’s the situation” – Scotland boss Steve Clarke explains why he’s handed 79-year-old Craig Gordon a call-up for the upcoming friendlies with the Netherlands and Northern Ireland.
FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS
Hearts may have broken Morton’s in the Scottish Cup on Monday night, but Morton can be proud of their performance – and of their starting lineup containing the evocative sequence ‘French Blues Power’” – Peter Oh.
In its diatribe against Tin Pot (yesterday’s Football Daily), I noticed that you didn’t use any cute, derogative nicknames for it. I’ll admit that I’ve had trouble figuring out whether this competition is Big Cup, Big Vase or some other Fairs-related reference. Can’t we harmonise this by collectively referring to all of the Uefa money-spinners as freshly-dropped [Snip – Football Daily Ed]?” – Mike Wilner.
Re:
The FiverFootball Daily being funny in 2010 (yesterday’s Football Daily letters)? I seem to dimly recall the odd nasal exhalation over the years but I wouldn’t stand in a court of law and actually accuse the hastily assembled, crumb-gathering, Tin-inspired scribblings of a tea-timely email of being funny” – Che Matthews (and others).
Send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s winner of our prizeless letter o’ the day is … Peter Oh (again).
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