Backroom Staff

by BeautifulGame Sat Oct 22, 2011 10:45 am

As fans, we all know so much about the players who play for our team. However, there are so many people working hard behind the scenes to ensure that the players have the optimum chance of success. This article will hopefully provide some information on the backroom staff who work with the first team. Obviously you will be very familiar with some of these men, others you may never have heard of, one thing is for certain though, all of these men work hard to ensure that come match day, our players are in the best shape to compete and win.

Damien Comolli - Director of Football

Damien Comolli is one of the men who you will most likely be familiar with. Damien joined Liverpool in November 2010 as the Director of Football Strategy, but his role changed to Director of Football in March 2011. Damien's role with Liverpool covers pretty much everything related to football bar team selections. However, we all know him best from his dealings in the transfer market. Damien is a key member of the staff when it cones to the transfers of players. He is the man who (after Kenny's consent) makes bids, discusses terms etc. He has already been involved in some big money signings; such as the signings of Suarez, Henderson and of course our record signing Andy Carroll. However, Damien doesn't need to spend the big bucks to get players. He was involved in the deal to bring Craig Bellamy back on a free, the deal that brought Charlie Adam to Liverpool & also the great bit of business to sign José Enriqué for £6 Million.

You are probably aware that Damien and his team have a 'blueprint' for signing players, especially when spending big money. The team look to invest in youth, but there's more to it than that. Damien & his scouting team do a lot of work identifying players, and they do look for certain characteristics in potential signings. In an interview conducted in May 2011, Damien explained what he & his team look for in a player:

"I would say there has been a major change in the last 3 to 4 years whereby I think now we need to look a lot more at the psychological aspect of the player, the attitude of the player, the mentality of the player on the pitch than we used to… before, it was all about the talent and the physical ability and I think now probably with the style of play of the likes of Barcelona and Arsenal… I think we are now more orientated towards the attitude of the player. Is he a team player? Is he intelligent enough that he puts himself at the disposal of the team? The first thing we used to look for is the talent, but not anymore. What we want, is a talented player but with the right attitude and intelligence."

Kenny Dalglish - Manager

The King. Do I need to say more? Not really, but it would be a poor article if I didn't! When Roy Hodgson's reign came to it's inevitable end, FSG brought in Kenny Dalglish as caretaker manager to hold the reigns until the season ended. The arrival of such an iconic man immediately raised the spirits of everybody connected with the club. It was like the golden sky appearing at the end of a storm. Results improved under Kenny, as did the style of play. In the January transfer window, Kenny acted with such dignity & class, especially when asked about Fernando Torres. He let Torres leave and, having already signed Suarez, Kenny wasn't afraid to spend big money on Andy Carroll. It wasn't all perfect by all means, but it certainly an improvement. FSG must have thought the same, because they soon announced that Kenny Dalglish had been appointed as the permanent manager of Liverpool.

This season has already started better than last, to be honest it couldn't have been worse! Kenny has masterminded wins over Araenal & Everton, as well as a few others. What's impressed me is how Kenny has treated the League Cup. There have been no wishy-washy fringe teams sent out. Gone are the days of Degen, El Zhar etc starting games in this competition. Instead Kenny has played established players along side some youngsters who Kenny has put faith in, such as Flannigan & Robinson.

We all love the King, and I'd say the vast majority of us are impressed with the job he's doing. Long may it continue.

Steve Clarke - First Team Coach

Steve Clarke joined the club in January 2011 when Kenny Dalglish brought him in as an assistant. Most of us became aware of Steve as Jose Mourinho's assistant at Chelsea, but he's also had senior roles at Newcastle United and West Ham United. Steve is a very experienced coach who has received great acclaim and recognition from players and managers for his coaching abilities. When asked about his strengths, Steve said: "I think my best qualities are my organisational skills and hopefully I can put in good practices that will allow the lads to develop individually and more importantly for the short term to develop as a team and become stronger."

Steve has worked hard with Kenny Dalglish to give Liverpool ther own unique style of play. They have a simple philosophy, which is best described by Steve himself: "The philosophy is to pass the ball. To pass the ball, to move and find different positions, and also to work hard as a team. It's not something that's unique to us as a management group. A lot of people have it but there's a way to put it across and at the moment we seem to be doing a decent job - hopefully we can continue that into the future."

Kevin Keen - First Team Coach

Kevin Keen joined the Liverpool coaching staff in July 2011. Kevin previously coached at West Ham United, where he was also the caretaker manager on three seperate occasions. Kevin was delighted to join Liverpool, and said the following upon his arrival:

"I feel really privileged, proud and honoured to be here and to be part of such a fantastic club.I grew up in the 70s and 80s, during the glory times for Liverpool when they were winning European Cups and winning the league every year. They are memories from my childhood. In my eyes Liverpool are one of the greatest clubs in the world so I am really quite humbled to be here."

"I was back coaching at West Ham for nine years and was a player at West Ham for nine years as well, so they have been a big part of my life. When I got the call from Liverpool I thought the timing was perfect for me. To come here and be a part of what Kenny, Steve Clarke, Damien and the owners are looking to do in taking the club forward is very exciting."

Perhaps the most pleasing things for fans too hear was Kevin's attitude to making player better which, whilst sounding quite simple, is the key to coaching.

"I want to be out training and to help players improve, whether they're 16, 17 or 18 or whether they're 33. I want to get the best out of everyone."

John Achterberg - Goalkeeping Coach

John Achterberg joined the Liverpool coaching staff in June 2009 having previously been at Tranmere Rovere for 10 years, firstly as a goalkeeper, and secondly as a goalkeeping coach. John first joined Liverpool to work with young goalkeepers. Shortly after his arrival, John said: "Being offered to the chance to join Liverpool was a huge opportunity for me, and one I couldn't turn down. I am loving every minute of my new role at Liverpool and it allows me to work closely with young goalkeepers, something I have enjoyed doing already for many years."

In 2011, John was promoted to work with the first team goalkeepers, such as Pepe Reina, who John often uses as an example to younger goalkeepers.: "Pepe Reina...is so consistent because he never dwells on a mistake. Every keeper at Liverpool needs to understand that if they make a mistake, they will always have time to recover because they might make a save later in the match that will win the game."

Peter Brukner - Head of Sports Medicine & Sports Science

Dr Peter Brukner became Head of Sports Medicine and Sports Science in the summer of 2010. The Australian is one of the world's leading physicians with experience working at the top level of several sports. His CV is very impressive, having travelled to Olympic and Commonwealth Games as Australia's national doctor aswell as looking after the Australian national swimming, athletics, football and hockey teams. Away from the pitch, Peter is also the co-author of the best-selling sports medicine text book, Clinical Sports Medicine.

You'll most likely recognise Peter if you've ever watched any clips or saw any pictures of player medicals. Most of our recent signings have been made thanks to Dr Brukner giving the green light after a barage of tests. Dr Brukner explained the purpose of medicals in an interview with Liverpoolfc.tv:

"The purpose of a medical is to determine whether someone is fit to play football and there are a number of different components to it... The first thing is the general medical examination in which we look at the heart, lung, abdomen and so on, just to see if there is an underlying illness which is either known about or is undetected...This is becoming widespread now in terms of football. It's a screening tool to make sure the players are fit to play."

"That's the medical part of the examination and then we move on to the injury and skeletal side of it. That involves taking a very comprehensive history of previous injuries and then going through a very thorough examination of the different joints. We look at the neck, back, hips, knees, hamstrings and so on...It's a matter of gathering all the information you need to be able to say to the club that this person is fit enough to play football."

However, Dr Brukner doesn't just deal with new signings. Along with his team, he helps create training plans, nutritional plans and also rehabilitation programmes. In another interview, he explained how he and his team deal with congested fixture lists:

"We play five games in 15 days and that is a very challenging time for us all - the coaching staff, the medical staff and the physical staff. It's all about recovery and preparing for the next game. We are putting a lot of things in place from a nutrition point of view, from a recovery and treatment point of view, to allow the players to recover as best they can for those games every three or four days. The players who haven't played obviously have to train as well. We have a balance with different groups of players doing different things during this 15 day period."

Dr Brukner is a meticulous planner and even gives the players programmes to follow during the off season: "[The players] all have a programme. If they're playing internationals, they'll have a month off and the ones who are not will have six weeks off. But in this day and age you can't just do nothing for four or six weeks. The players won't have to do an awful lot but they will be on a maintenance programme so three or four times a week, they'll have things to do. It is also an opportunity for us to work on particular deficiencies. If players have had problems in a previous year or had injuries or weaknesses, we'll set them specific programmes."

Zaf Iqbal - First Team Doctor

Dr. Zafar Iqbal swapped White Hart Lane for Anfield in the summer of 2010 when he was appointed Liverpool's first-team doctor. He is based at Melwood and assists the medical and sport science team in devising daily programmes for each individual player and the overall medical care of the players. You may recognise Zaf as he is always on the Liverpool bench during match days.

In an interview with Liverpoolfc.tv he explains: "Along with the physio Rob Price, we sit on the bench and if any players get injured, our main role is to make sure we assess the player and decide if he is safe to continue or if he needs to be taken off."

Zaf also explained that the chance to work alongside Dr Brukner at the club he's supported since the 80's was the main reason he made the switch from White Hart Lane to Anfield. He is full of praise for the new medical team at Anfield: "I think in terms of the organisation and the involvement of other specialists, we are at the cutting edge of sports medicine, so we have to try and provide the best available care and best evidence-based care for the players. We are constantly learning and trying to find new methods and techniques to make the players fitter, faster and stronger.”

Phil Coles - Head of Physical Therapies

Phil Coles joined the Liverpool medical team in June 2010 as Head of Physical Therapies. Previously, Phil has spent time working with the Irish Olympic & Rugby League teams, as well as the Australian football team, most recently travelling to South Africa for the 2010 World Cup.

Phil explained his new role when he first joined the club: " I'll manage the physiotherapy department and I'll work with the other senior physios here in assessing and treating first-team players. There will be a strong emphasis on injury prevention programmes and along with the physios and medical team we'll all be working to try and get the players out there playing the best they possibly can."

Rob Price - Senior Physiotherapist

Rob Price joined the Liverpool medical team in 2005. Rob travels the world to keep up to date with the latest products and techniques in the physiotherapy field, as well as working at Melwood with the players. He expained his role in an interview with Liverpoolfc.tv: "We're a very hands-on treatment department and we spend a lot of time working with the players on a daily basis. Every day is planned very carefully. We do a lot of preventative work with the players to try and avoid injuries, we play a role in the rehab of the injured players and of course there's regular meetings with the manager and medical staff. After training we'll carry out assessments or react accordingly to any incidents which have taken place during the session."

Here's how Rob explained how a typical day in his life at Melwood: "We begin with a medical meeting just before the players arrive to discuss the injured players and outline a plan for the day. We then assess the injured players before reporting to the manager and coaching staff to inform them which players will be available for the training session. Then it's treatment, prevention, rehabilitation, covering training, recovering the players after sessions and preparing them for the next game. We also prepare all the medical kit we travel with, making sure we have everything we need. We also have to make sure we keep up with our continuing professional development. Most of our staff are registered now to do their Msc's. I've got my Msc and I am registering this summer to do my next qualification. We try to keep-up-to-date with all the advances in medicine."

When asked about the worst injury he's seen at Liverpool, he answered with the following: "One of the worst we've had to deal with since I have been here at Liverpool was Momo Sissoko's in Benfica when he got the eye injury. That was a challenge because it is something that isn't common in football."

Andrew Nealon - Senior Physiotherapist

Andrew Nealon is one of several physiotherapists who work with the first-team squad, and once again is an Australian, like so many of his co-workers. Alongside Phil Coles, Andrew is a key man when it comes to keeping players fit and aiding the rehab of any injured players. He arrived in the summer of 2010 after four seasons working in county cricket with Hampshire. Liverpool is the first football club he's worked with, but he's enjoyed the switch. On his switch from cricket to football, he said: "I'm enjoying the transition. I grew up playing and loving both games. At the end of the day, a sore ankle is a sore ankle."

Chris Morgan - Physiotherapist

Since arriving at Melwood during the 2005-06 campaign as part of the physiotherapy team, Chris has since progressed from reserve-team physiotherapist to his current role of overseeing the rehabilitation of medium to long-term injuries with the first team (I guess he's pretty good mates with Fabio & Danny then!) He says: "I have had an interest in injury prevention for a number of years and have completed a research project into the most effective injury prevention strategies utilised in soccer as part of my Masters degree. Alongside our sports science department, we are now in the process of implementing these strategies at the club through a combination of team-based exercise programs which take place before training, and individualised interventions which target risk factors and weak areas after training" You may know Chris from his money raising run that he completed this year. Chris raised £20,000 for The Christie (Europe's largest cancer centre), mainly thanks to donations from Liverpool fans, many of whom follow him on Twitter.

Darren Burgess - Head of Fitness and Conditioning

Like Peter & Phil, Darren joined Liverpool from the Australian national football side following the 2010 World Cup, having spent three years as Fitness and Conditioning Coach with the Socceroos. He explained his role to lfc.tv: "Basically I'm in charge of the players' fitness levels and so my job is to prepare them to play hopefully 50 to 60 games a season. My job also involves preventing injuries from happening. We need to monitor everything from their sleep to their eating habits. Each session we know exactly how far they have run, walked, jogged, sprinted and turned, so we keep a pretty close eye on them and this comes under my role."

Not all coaches are fans of sport science, but Darren has explained that that's not the case with Kenny Dalglish and the Liverpool coaching team: "It's been really good with Kenny and Steve Clarke, they're certainly fans of the work that we do and the monitoring that we do. The great thing about Kenny is that he lets you do what you need to do, as long as you're reporting the information to him he doesn't try to interfere at all so he's been excellent. Kenny, Kevin and Steve [are] willing to be adaptable to the needs of those individual players because they know we could get some injuries and that some players can come in and out of form - so these players (that aren't playing) need to be ready. We can adapt as much as the fixture list will allow you to."

Jordan Milsom - Fitness Rehab Coach

Liverpool appointed Jordan as Rehab Fitness Coach in the summer of 2010, having previously been a Sport Scientist at Leicester City. Jordan is a scouser, and has supported Liverpool since he was a young boy.

The day-to-day condition of the players is Jordan's prime concern and there is a lot to his role. He explained how he goes about his role to lfc.tv: "We'll analyse subjective information from the players such as sleep, energy and general well-being. Additionally, subjective muscle soreness and objective muscle soreness, assessed via blood born markers, will also be analysed. Furthermore, we'll analyse other relevant physiological markers such as central and autonomic nervous system, hormonal profiling and hydration. This approach will allow us to understand how prepared each individual is to undertake the training session and if we perceive there to be an issue, we can act proactively to affect that training session for the player. We'll also monitor the physical workloads the players are subjected to via GPS and heart rate. This will allow us to objectively see the total distance a player has run, their high intensity distance and frequencies and their metres per min etc. We can link this to what they actually perform in a game to ensure the players are not under or over-training. Finally, we'll test the players in various areas crucial to football, such as high intensity aerobic capacity, strength, power, speed, agility and body composition, and use this data to provide individualised programmes to attack weaknesses and ultimately improve performance."

Jordan gets a lot of praise for his work, but the players have a nickname for him, as Liverpool vice-captain Jamie Carragher explained "I call Jordan 'The Punisher'. He's a bit of a slave master." Slave master he may be, but if it get's the players on the pitch, the Liverpool fans will be very happy!

Paul Small - Masseur

Paul arrived from Widnes Rugby Union Club as a part-time masseur in 2002 and gone on to establish himself as an important full-time member of the medical staff and works with both first and reserve team players. Here is how Paul describes his role: "My job involves using massage therapy to help get players ready before the session begins and again at the end of each day's training to help with the recovery. I also travel with the first team to some away fixtures and oversee preparation for the players' fluid intake."

Sylvan Richardson - Masseur

Sylvan Richardson joined Liverpool as a part-time masseur in 2010 having previously worked with the English Taekwondo and Squash teams as well as the British Wrestling Team. As well as his work at Anfield, Sylvan helps out the British Olympic Cycling Team. Here is how he describes his role: "I'm a soft-tissue therapist. I'm in every day doing pre-hab, which is helping to prepare players pre-training or pre-match, and also recovery work."

If you look at this picture and think you recognise Sylvan then I'll ask you this: Are you a fan of terrible music? If the answer is yes then you probably know Sylvan as the original lead guitarist in Simply Red. Sylvan left the band in 1987 to concentrate on a career in medicine and it's definately paid off. He may have to stare at the backsides of some first team players when giving hamstring massages, but after spending two years playing guitar with Mick Hucknall, he's already used to looking at an arsehole.

Barry Drust - Sports Science Consultant

Barry is currently the Head of Football Exchange and Reader in Applied Exercise Physiology at John Moores University, but spends a couple of days each week working with Liverpool players. His role is mainly as an advisor to the Liverpool medical staff, here's how he descirbes his role: "My role here will be to support the backroom staff. As you notice working here, they are regularly busy delivering activities to players so my role will be about supporting them in ensuring that their information is up to date and their strategies, and techniques they use to support and train players, are cutting edge and informed by the very latest research."

As a Sports Science graduate, I am very familiar with Barry's work, and I assure you, his name is hed in very high regard when it comes to football related sports science. He has written numerous publications, most of which have focused on the development of soccer-specific treadmill protocols and the comparison of intermittent exercise patterns, specifically soccer-specific intermittent exercise, with continuous exercise. In other words, is 'stop-start' training better than 'non-stop' training for footballers as it mirrors the game they play.

James Morton - Consultant Nutritionist

James Morton joined Liverpool's backroom team in the summer of 2010 on a part-time basis, working two days a week at Melwood as a Consultant Nutritionist. In an interview with liverpoolfc.tv, here's how James descibed his role: "I work quite closely with the chef and kitchen staff to ensure the food we serve at breakfast and lunch is correct in terms of nutritional value. Then I work closely with certain players on specific nutritional plans. Some might need to lose weight, some might need to put on weight. The last thing I do is work with the sports science staff to ensure the supplement strategies during training and match days are correct."

James has direct input on all the food and drinks that the first team consume, and here's how he describes a typical day for a Liverpool player in terms of nutritional consumption: "Usually [the players] have breakfast between 8.45-9.15am. The emphasis is on high carbohydrates and moderate intake of protein. A typical breakfast might be a bowl of cereal that has slow release carbohydrates. We're moving away from things like cornflakes and Frosties towards things like porridge and muesli. They might supplement this with a couple of slices of wholemeal toast. Then for the protein, poached eggs, for instance, or cold meat such as smoked salmon or slices of ham. Then during training we make sure the hydration provision is appropriate. After training they'll have some kind of protein supplement before coming upstairs for lunch for another carbohydrate meal."

James also tries to educate players about how their eating habits at home can affect their performance, and makes an interesting point regarding foreign players and the times they eat meals: "We don't have direct control over what [the players] eat outside the club but in terms of their dinner choices we sit down and try to educate them. It's as much about the time they eat as the types of food. If players go home and eat at nine or 10 o'clock at night, there is a higher chance that food will be stored as body fat. The foreign players might tend to have their dinner late at night, and we try to educate them to eat at a more traditional time."

Finally, James explained what players eat on match days, both pre & post match: "[Before a game. the players] eat three hours before kick-off and again the emphasis is on high carbohydrates like pasta, potatoes, and some form of protein like chicken or salmon. Some players might not like a hefty pre-match meal and might go for something like cereals. As long as we're happy with the carbohydrates, that's all that counts. We give them different choices and the players can choose. Straight after the match in the changing room there will be lots of recovery drinks and snacks like potato wedges, pizza slices and fresh fruit. We need to get the carbohydrates into [the players] at the right times."

Andy Scoulding - Head of Technical Analysis

Andy is one legacy of the Roy Hodgson regime that is still going strong. He followed Roy from Fulham in 2010, having previously worked for the ProZone company. Andy's responsibilities at Liverpool include helping prepare the team for matches by creating visual scout reports on the opposition, as well as analysing the Reds' own performances in detail.

Here's how Andy describes this role: "Pre-match, we will edit a minimum of three games on the opposition, looking at tactical aspects of their game for both attacking and defending situations. This information is delivered back to the players via the manager [and coaches] in our team meetings. The videos and statistics all combine to give a visual representation of the scouting reports. We then code the game live using the SportsCode software and have in-game analysis; this is also the start of our post-match, so we analyse the game according to the manager's football philosophy in as much detail as we can. ProZone provide our post-match statistics and this information supports the videos where we look for both positive and negative aspects of our play."

The use of technical analysis is a fairly modern entry into British football. Gone are the days of a scout going to a game with pen a paper to make notes, before giving said notes to the manager. It's much more detailed and technical than that. Andy explains how this analysis benefits the team: "It can be a massive benefit to the team. I believe players can learn a lot from watching their performances and those of their opposition. It's this consistent message of how the manager wants his players to perform, his philosophy, which we will help illustrate. I think it is a massive part of the modern game and it's only going to get bigger."

Alec Scott - Match Analysis Assistant

Alec Scott joined Liverpool's backroom team as an assistant performance analyst on an internship role in August 2010. He works closely with Andy Scoulding analysing future opposition and the performances of the team. Alec also assists Darren Burgess with match fitness data that is obtained from sports software company ProZone and will help record and examine the information throughout the season.

Here is how Alec describes his role: "My role in the performance department is to assist in analysing the team's performances in matches as well as help inform the coaches to prepare the team for future opposition to find strengths and weaknesses, specifically looking at opponent team's set pieces. There is a lot of hard work that goes into each match in trying to prepare the players in the best possible way. Our part is to produce reports on the opposition and cover every possible detail we can to help give the players an advantage in a match. You try to give the coaches and players as much information as possible so that when they go on to the pitch, they're aware of the opposition's key players, their tactical strengths and weaknesses."

James Malone - Sports Science Graduate

I'm not going to lie to you all, I am very envious of James Malone. He's got the chance of a lifetime, working with Liverpool FC in his graduate role. I would have killed for that role (infact, I am willing to kill, so if you're reading this, watch out James! Just kidding...). James grew up as a Liverpool fan, and in 2010 he joined the club as a Sport Sciecne graduate.

Here's how James decribes his role: "The main task I do is set up the GPS and heart-rate systems for training. I then help to download the information from that and produce the databases and relay it back to the fitness coaches. I also collect all the subjective information from the players in the morning and then keep that in a database as well. In effect, we have this information so we can keep a record over a long period and see if there are any patterns emerging. For example, we have recently been taking blood samples and we're now trying to collate the data and analyse it so if someone's result is higher than normal, we can attempt to find the cause to try and prevent injury. We work closely with the medical team. If a certain player gets injured we can look through the archives to see what they've done in the last couple of weeks. Then we will know if it's because of the workload that's been placed upon a player or if an injury has just occurred due to contact.The average Barclays Premier League player will play between 40-60 games a season and the more information you can collate and refer back to the fitness coaches, the closer we can get them to optimum performance."

Graham Carter - Kit Manager

Graham Carter is responsible for the first team's kit in training and matches. He travels to every senior game home and abroad, ensuring all of the players have everything they need. Graham's association with the Reds began in the 1970s as coach driver, a job he took up full-time in 1986. It was Gerard Houllier who offered him the chance to work at Melwood in 1999.

Graham explains his role very simply: "I'm the one who hangs the kit up in the dressing room before games. The players also come to me if there's anything they need."

Lee Radcliffe - First Team Kit Man

Lee Radcliffe has worked for Liverpool Football Club for almost a decade - but in the summer of 2010 he was promoted to the role of first-team kit man.
Initially employed as a supervisor to keep the busy Melwood training complex ticking over, Lee secured a position as the reserve-team kit man.
However, a year later the life-long Kopite was promoted to work alongside kit manager Graham Carter.

"For Graham and myself, as long as we have the right boots and kits prepared on matchday then we're happy," explains Lee. "The main thing is to make sure the players have got what they need for a game and that way our job is done. Then after a game, we have to get the kit ready again, folded and put back in the tins ready to travel to the next match. We'll look at all the first-team players' boots they wore on matchday, make sure they're cleaned up and check that no studs have loosened.

An integral part of Lee's role is ensuring players have the correct boots at their disposal. He adds: "It's a case of getting to know the players and what types of boots they like to wear during games. We have to make sure they've got exactly what they need. But generally the players are quite steady in what they want. They will want certain boots for games - they will play and train in different boots."

Read this well informative piece in RAWK about our back room staff.Thought it was a great to read about those men whom we mostly know very little about and hence posting it here.

by Arquitecto Sat Oct 22, 2011 4:22 pm

BG, another superb contribution to our forum.

I've always wanted to know some of the more comprehensive backround of our staff.

Thanks buddy.

Backroom Staff

Backroom Staff

Re: Backroom Staff