Edu, Ashworth, Monchi and Edwards – football fans’ heroes are now men in suits
A misty Monday dawn in Nottingham and a crowd of people is spirited towards the City Ground by an unknown force. No one can quite explain why they have come, but all share the same feeling; something historic is about to take place.
Just before eight o’clock a hubbub develops among the masses who have congregated outside the Peter Taylor Stand. Can it be true? Surely not? It is! Joyous dancing and singing break out, somewhere between VE Day and Shearer signing for Newcastle.
A middle-aged man in a retro Labbatt’s shirt wipes away a tear, wishing his father had been alive to see this day. Yes, their owner has pulled it off. He has poached Arsenal’s technical director.
This is admittedly a small exaggeration about the reaction to Edu’s forthcoming new job announcement on LinkedIn, but the delight levels among Forest fans are high.
There was a time when a football fans’ idols were strikers, midfielders at a push, occasionally a charismatic manager. Now the emerging hero class are never in the dressing room, preferring the posh seats instead.
Look out for re-imagined club shops coming soon, with equal space given to shirts and suits (boardroom replica version £400, authentic £1,600).
Edu is the latest passenger on the technocrat merry-go-round, after a period in which many of the biggest moves involving British clubs have not involved players.
Dan Ashworth gave us the transfer saga of the summer before finally leaving Newcastle to join Manchester United. Txiki Begiristain’s departure from Manchester City this summer will surely be greeted with an emotional farewell video. Unai Emery, Jurgen Klopp and now Arne Slot have taken much of the credit for Aston Villa and Liverpool’s excellence but not far behind are Monchi and Michael Edwards.
President of football operations, sporting director, director of football – call them what you will – they are increasingly the people holding the real power at a club, especially with so many owners now based overseas.
This rise in profile for executive class svengalis is a logical corollary for a sport in which transfers are increasingly the main driver of interest among fans.
Marinakis’ largesse has made these vintage years for Forest
That makes these vintage years already for Forest. Forget about Nuno Espirito Santo taking them to third place, since Evangelos Marinakis’ took over in 2017 they have signed 131 players.
Brighton and Hove Albion are the in-vogue, model club for this brave new world. The manager changes frequently, a supply of previously little-known fixer-upper players arrive to plug gaps left by profitable sales to less clued-up teams and the style of football remains relatively unchanged.
This is underpinned by clever people being appointed to senior leadership roles which supposedly solidifies a club. It is worth remembering a time when Southampton and Swansea City were regarded as brilliantly run. They looked less aspirational when a few poor appointments and transfer windows resulted in relegation.
Scouting and analysis have improved now, so the current smartest people in the room feel more entrenched. But other clubs are catching up on Brighton chairman Tony Bloom’s algorithm army all the time. One way competitive gaps can be closed is by appointing the best possible people to non-football roles.
For now there is a feeling that the way we engage with football has not caught up to the new reality. Managers are still praised for their acumen or otherwise in the transfer market when many have little to do with recruitment beyond the formality of rubber-stamping it – the Premier League version of Royal Assent.
It is Slot who faces the questions about Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohammed Salah’s contracts week after week, despite repeatedly making it clear he will not discuss them.
Really that is the job of Edwards, but for all of the increased focus on football’s real decision-makers, few have shown much appetite for the endless scrutiny endured by their managers and players. Maybe it is time for some accountability?