“It certainly doesn’t help…” – How Jamie Carragher reacted to Michael Edwards’ exit from FSG
· Yahoo Sports
Jamie Carragher has said he is ‘disappointed’ but ‘not shocked’ at the news of Michael Edwards’ departure from his role as CEO of Football with FSG.
The 47-year-old ended his involvement with the Boston-based firm on Friday, adding to the sense of top-level instability at Liverpool, with his decision reportedly owing to frustration at the company abandoning plans to establish a multi-club model.
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His exit comes at a time when there’s also major doubt over the future of sporting director Richard Hughes, with recent reports claiming that he’s expected to leave for Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Hilal in the near future.
Carragher: Timing of Edwards’ exit isn’t ideal for Liverpool
Reflecting on the news of Edwards’ departure, Carragher feels that the mid-transfer window timing is far from ideal, and that the recently appointed head coach Andoni Iraola might be feeling a bit ‘lonely’ amid all the behind-the-scenes upheaval.
The ex-Liverpool defender told Sky Sports (via Liverpool.com): “[I’m] disappointed, but not really shocked. I think it was well documented when he came back to the club that he was in a slightly different role. He was looking at Liverpool having a feeder club. That didn’t materialise.
“I think this was going to happen at some stage, probably just disappointed it’s happened in the middle of the transfer window. I don’t know why he couldn’t have stayed and added his expertise or his help to try and get some signings over the line and maybe have moved on when the transfer window had closed.
“These roles in football now, we wouldn’t have talked about these probably 10, 15, 20 years ago. They’re more high-profile now, but for me the manager is always the most important person, and when I look back at that era of success, it was about Jurgen Klopp. Probably what happened over the last 12 months proves that.
“It looks like Richard Hughes will be moving on as well, maybe after this transfer window, so Andoni [Iraola] may be feeling a little bit lonely considering his mate brought him in from Bournemouth and he’s maybe moving on quite quickly as well.
“It’s going to be a lot of upheaval behind the scenes, and it certainly doesn’t help the new manager and the club right now, but this is football. It happens with players, managers and now directors of football.”
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More behind-the-scenes upheaval for Liverpool
One must wonder what Iraola thinks of all the chopping and changing at boardroom level, and even whether he’d have taken the job if he sensed that Edwards and potentially Hughes would leave within a few short months of his appointment at Anfield.
As Carragher says, that the 47-year-old has left his role with FSG during the transfer window is far from ideal for Liverpool, even though the strategic planning for the summer would’ve been long since conducted, with the club now into the execution phase.
It leaves LFC in the midst of another significant restructuring behind the scenes, a far cry from a few years ago when we enjoyed great stability with Edwards excelling as director of football and Jurgen Klopp masterminding glory on the pitch.
Sky Sports reporter Vinny O’Connor did his best to provide some perspective on the news by pointing out that FSG knew of the 47-year-old’s intentions to leave since last autumn, and that ‘there’s no real need to get too panicky’ seeing as Hughes will remain on board for the rest of this transfer window.
Those are fair points, and Liverpool have always kept going after the departures of iconic figures of the past at Anfield (Klopp, Sir Kenny Dalglish, Bill Shankly, etc). Edwards’ exit isn’t ideal, but the club will surely have a succession plan in the works if they’ve known for the past few months that he’d be going.