Liverpool’s Second Moneyball Step Sees Damien Comolli Appointed Director Of Football Strategy

What is a director of football strategy?

The highlight of Comolli’s tenure at White Hate Lane was the 2008 League Cup, Tottenham’s first piece of silverware in nine years. Months later, Comolli was dismissed along with manager Juande Ramos as Spurs sat in the Premier League’s relegation zone. He left London with the reputation as an intelligent man but one with troubling tendency to acquire players his managers had little interest in using.

None of those criticisms were reflected in the comments of Liverpool owner John Henry, whose words (as published on Liverpool’s web site) explain the club’s thinking behind Comolli’s hiring:

”Damien has a proven track-record of identifying exciting young footballing talent and we are delighted that he has agreed to join Liverpool. Working closely with Roy Hodgson and the coaching staff, I know he will make a valuable contribution to strengthening the Club and the squad as we move forward.

”Today’s announcement is just the first step in creating a leadership group and structure designed to develop, enhance and implement our long-term philosophy of scouting, recruitment, player development and all of the other aspects necessary to build and sustain a club able to consistently compete at the highest level in European football.

The Comolli hiring also affirms suspicions about the manner of Henry’s leadership creation. The Boston Red Sox revolution has been closely tied to the performance analysis and methods used by general manager Theo Epstein. Moneyball, is what people call it, the title of Michael Lewis’s book describing how the use of objective data by Billy Beane helped Major League Baseball’s Oakland Athletics succeed beside economic disadvantage, pioneering a new way of building baseball teams. The hiring of Comolli, a friend of Beane who was said to have employed similar analytical methods, signals Henry intent to bring a Moneyball culture to Anfield.

Such an approach would prove a management-heavy, running counter to the more conventional wisdom that’s employed within training and coaching staffs. That potential conflict - one that would see manager Roy Hodgson and Comolli as adversaries - could be a non-issue should Hodgson’s sentiments (as published on Liverpool’s home page) prove earnest:

“I am looking forward to working with Damien whom I have known for many years. We are engaged in an exciting project here and he will bring a lot to the table. We all want to see moves to strengthen the squad and support player development over the next few years. John Henry and I are totally united in delivering on that ambition.”

In his own comments, Comolli affirmed the trio’s shared vision:

“I am delighted to be joining Liverpool and look forward to working with John and Roy. I think we all realise there is a big job ahead, but we all share the vision that John has for rebuilding the club and bringing back the success that the supporters deserve.”

Not addressed in Liverpool’s announcement: Whether the hiring of Damien Comolli means the club intends to be moderate spenders. The skeptical Reds supporter could read it as such, though that would be a rash presumption. The main focus of a “Moneyball” approach is about maximizing use of whatever resources you have, and while the methods can be of great help to clubs with limited resources, they can be champions-winners for affluent ones. Chelsea and Arsenal, two of the top four spenders in the Premier League, already use them. It seems unlikely that Manchester United has thrived without them.

Liverpool may or may not spend going forward. Comolli’s hiring tells us little about that. What it does tell us is that their spending is likely to come after the evaluation of tons of data.

Whereas John Henry’s purchasing of Liverpool was Anfield’s first move toward Moneyball, Comolli’s hiring is a second, affirming one.