We all know the issues we've faced and the problems we've had in the transfer market with drawn out negotiations etc which also have a detrimental effect on the team at the start of the season.
We've also heard BR complain (maybe that's too strong a word) about "training time" and it occurred to me that perhaps he meant training time in pre-season as well as during the season.
So far, this transfer window has been something I can't remember seeing before, because we are completing major signings before the window is open.
It's not just under FSG, we have been seeing this for years, and Parry was notorious for being very slow.
When we are slow, it also has a very negative impact on the integration of new players.
I've been having a think and a look back at conversations over the last week or so, and it appears to me that major changes are taking place behind the scenes.
A lot of this is going to be supposition and I am going to assume a couple of things as well, so bear with me, then tell me what you think.
Transfer "Committee
We know for a certainty that Ayre wasn't initially involved in negotiations in Chile until the final stages.
Rumour has it that Gordon and Fallows conducted the negotiations and did the deal.
If this was indeed the case, it raises 2 options for me.
The first option is that we are doing so much business that we have more than one negotiating team working. One in Europe and one in Chile.
The second option is that Ayre has been gently eased to one side (trying to be charitable here), and that Gordon (FSG board member, 2nd biggest FSG shareholder and FSG President) has taken over some or all of the negotiating to get things done quickly, making Ayre little more than a rubber stamp as LFC CEO.
Assuming the above is correct, and admittedly it's a bit of a leap based only on a rumour, there has been a significant change in our recruitment process.
If Gordon has stepped forwards with Fallows as an advisor, it means that there is a lot more leeway in the negotiating process simply because Gordon is so senior at FSG.
Gordon is (apparently) a follower of football and has been for years.
He increased his stake in FSG a couple of years ago or so, and this was roughly the time he was appointed to our board.
Again, I'm making some pretty big assumptions here, but it might be that JWH and Gordon have split their roles.
JWH has responsibility for the Red Sox, and Gordon has responsibility for Liverpool.
It may even be that we see Gordon become an even bigger FSG stakeholder at some point in the future and effectively become owner of Liverpool FC, albeit under the FSG umbrella.
Pre Season and integration
The effect on the team of getting our business done so early is that of much more training time in pre-season.
Yes, we'll be going on tours, but players still train more or less normally during tours, with the obvious exception of extra rest days due to travel.
However training is not always physical work, and during the extra rest days, they will be doing more "classroom" work, with the videos, chalkboards, tactics etc
We all know that integrating new players into a team is difficult and often a slow process, but any extra time that can be spent integrating them with more training time pre-season can only be beneficial.
In every single season under BR we have seen a slow start, and I believe that being slow to complete deals, and thus leading to less time to integrate new players has been a factor in this, as well as fitness levels at the start of a season.
Even when we placed second, we started the season by scraping a few games and didn't really hit our stride and start battering teams until we were approaching mid season, of course we then caught fire.
If getting our business done early leads to even a small percentage rise in performance in the early part of the season, we'll be in good shape.
As I said before, I'm basing this on rumours and supposition, but it seems logical to me.
« Last Edit: Jun 26, 2015 02:34:50 pm by Swab »
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