Ian Ayre
The man who gets the most criticism from Liverpool supporters, mainly due to his role in the Being Liverpool documentary that was released when Rodgers took over as manager.
But his occasionally cringeworthy public persona hides superb business acumen and outstanding commercial knowledge, for us.
Ayre is the man who primarily negotiates transfers. He tries to get the best fees for incoming and outgoing signings, and flies over the world to speak with clubs and player representatives.
Ayre is the CEO, having previously been promoted to MD from a role as commercial director under Hicks and Gillett.
He should be congratulated for sealing so many early deals last and this summer – although the prices (i.e Lovren, Markovic) have sometimes been poor value.
Michael Edwards
Edwards is the data analyst – and arguably the man who has defined our ‘money ball’ approach to transfers the most in recent seasons. He is a football statistics expert and analyses attributes, characteristics and numbers from leagues all over the world.
Edwards arrived at Liverpool when Damien Comolli was our director of football – after the Frenchman was impressed with his work as Portsmouth’s head of performance analysis.
