This is the second time that the Celtic manager has led Liverpool. A former employee of Southampton has
accused Brendan Rodgers of disobeying transfer advice during his time at Anfield. The Irishman has won over supporters at Parkhead after returning for a second stint in the Hoops’ managerial chair last summer, following a contentious move to Southampton in 2019. A Premiership and Scottish Cup double has improved relations, and supporters want to see their coach supported in the transfer market.
Rodgers made it plain that he wanted Adam Idah, and the striker’s £9.5 million move from Norwich City to Celtic is evidence of that support. In 2012, when he succeeded Sir Kenny Dalglish as manager at Liverpool, he is rumored to have been making similar recruitment desires.Ian Graham was first appointed by Michael Edwards in 2012 after they had previously worked together at Tottenham. He served as director of research for more than ten years at Liverpool, where he witnessed his reign firsthand before contributing to his successor Jurgen Klopp’s success in the transfer market. According to a feature in The Athletic, “Rodgers’ refusal to work with a sporting director meant that a transfer committee was formed compromising of the manager, CEO Ian Ayre, Edwards (then technical director), head of recruitment Dave Fallows, and chief scout Barry Hunter.” Graham was an unofficial member who provided data for decision-making but “friction” erupted when opposingGylfi Sigurdsson and Joe Allen, two players Rodgers collaborated with at Swansea City, are players he intends to sign. Rodgers has a history of hiring players he has previously worked with; this summer, he continued the trend by adding former Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel to Celtic.
Allen was eventually signed along with striker Fabio Borini, but six months later, other committee members felt Chelsea’s Daniel Sturridge was a superior choice. After that, Ashley Williams and Ryan Bertrand were pursued, but the Celtics manager ultimately settled on Mamadou Sakho and Alberto Moreno.Graham says he “begged” Liverpool’s owners not to approve a transfer for Christian Benteke of Southampton in 2015 because the striker wasn’t a good match for Anfield’s style. However, Rodgers’ “obsession” with getting Benteke led to FSG to fulfill Benteke’s £32.5 million release clause. In 42 games for Liverpool, he scored ten goals. A year later, he left for Crystal Palace.
The former head of research at Liverpool has shared details about his collaboration with the Celtic manager. “Back in the early 2010s, when a data person would walk into a club with some bright ideas straight out of university, some old football guys would say, ‘This is all rubbish, we’re not going to listen to this stuff,'” he added.”Although there was resistance, including resistance from Brendan, I knew it was a much better position to be in than at most clubs because I had support from the owners and Michael, my direct manager. “At times, we ended up with fifth- or sixth-choice players. We were just not getting our top targets. Most of the failed signings in the first few years of the transfer committee were due to vetoing the players we wanted to bring in and the players Brendan wanted us to bring in.
