I got to know Michael Edwards fairly well after he began emailing me a decade ago, to discuss football. I managed to get a lot of insights along the way.
While he's big on data, he understands the non-data side of things too. Edwards has a very well-rounded approach. I wouldn't want Liverpool to become "robotic" in a slavish adherence to data, but to use it wisely, with common sense.
I think Klopp's ability to get more out of almost all the players, in a way Brendan Rodgers couldn't (or wasn't prepared to try in some cases) shows how important the managerial side of things is, too.
Edwards was also totally understanding about why Klopp would get more say on transfers, as Klopp is world-class, but it did take Liverpool away from the methods that helped Klopp build that first team. But that's football, and it 'sidelined' people like Edwards, then Ward, and Ian Graham.
My view is that Klopp was more important than anyone at LFC, but once he goes, a slightly less brilliant or less charismatic manager can use all the tools to gain advantages, assuming that all other clubs haven't caught up. I imagine the data clubs use in 2024 is absolute huge and complex, but one of Edwards' strengths was making sense of it, and communicating it to others.
I got to know Michael Edwards fairly well after he began emailing me a decade ago, to discuss football. I managed to get a lot of insights along the way.
While he's big on data, he understands the non-data side of things too. Edwards has a very well-rounded approach. I wouldn't want Liverpool to become "robotic" in a slavish adherence to data, but to use it wisely, with common sense.
I think Klopp's ability to get more out of almost all the players, in a way Brendan Rodgers couldn't (or wasn't prepared to try in some cases) shows how important the managerial side of things is, too.
Edwards was also totally understanding about why Klopp would get more say on transfers, as Klopp is world-class, but it did take Liverpool away from the methods that helped Klopp build that first team. But that's football, and it 'sidelined' people like Edwards, then Ward, and Ian Graham.
My view is that Klopp was more important than anyone at LFC, but once he goes, a slightly less brilliant or less charismatic manager can use all the tools to gain advantages, assuming that all other clubs haven't caught up. I imagine the data clubs use in 2024 is absolute huge and complex, but one of Edwards' strengths was making sense of it, and communicating it to others.