FSG makes a move behind the scenes that will impact Liverpool’s efforts to find a replacement for Jurgen Klopp.

After leaving FSG thirteen years ago, Theo Epstein has returned, and he will provide advice on important strategic choices.

The Fenway Sports Group made a big behind-the-scenes change last week.

The return of Theo Epstein, the former general manager of the Boston Red Sox, to the organisation thrilled supporters of the MLB team, who had been dejected heading into 2024 due to a dismal season in 2023 and a lack of significant signings.

In Boston, Epstein was well-liked by both supporters and owners. Following the movie “Moneyball’s” depiction of John W. Henry’s failure to sign sabermetrics genius Billy Beane prior to the 2003 season, Henry and FSG set out to locate their own equivalent.

After FSG purchased the Red Sox in 2002, the team’s 86-year World Series drought was overcome by 2004. Boston would win another World Series before Epstein left in 2011.

Epstein’s strategy was data-driven, just like Beane’s, and that aligned perfectly with FSG’s goals for the ball club’s development.

Following his departure from the Red Sox to assume the presidency of the Chicago Cubs, Epstein transitioned into a consulting capacity inside the MLB and then into the private equity space, serving as an advisor to FSG partners Arctos, the company that has just purchased a 12.5% stake in Paris Saint-Germain.

With the Reds owners offering Epstein shares in the company, they have successfully enticed him back into the fold for FSG. Now that Epstein is a partner of FSG, he owns a portion of every team that is owned by FSG, which includes the Red Sox, the Pittsburgh Penguins, Liverpool, and the RFK Racing NASCAR franchise.

However, Epstein will only be providing advice part-time, and it’s unclear how long that role would remain. It does, however, coincide with a moment when Liverpool must pick a replacement for Jurgen Klopp at Anfield for the upcoming season, and the Red Sox need some direction in their rebuilding efforts.

Next season’s successor to Klopp will be standing on the shoulders of giants, and it will be a monumental effort to assume a role that the German manager made his own. In light of Klopp’s accomplishments and the way his success increased FSG’s ownership of the club, this is among the most consequential strategic choices the Liverpool owners have ever made involving all of their sporting endeavours.

The Athletic revealed last week that one of Epstein’s responsibilities as an advisor will be to assist in the search for Klopp’s replacement.

According to reliable US sources that ECHO has spoken with, president Mike Gordon will still be significantly involved in the search for a replacement, but Epstein will be a member of the team that searches and offers advice. Gordon got along well with Klopp at work. Mutual respect and trust established the groundwork for success. Prior to his arrival, Klopp also accepted the model, and he was coming off a bad run with Borussia Dortmund. But Liverpool’s analytical hiring process was what made them believe he would be the best candidate and that he could perform well within the parameters of the model.

Gordon, who returned to Anfield in late 2022 to oversee the club’s investment search, will be familiar with the qualities that Klopp possessed that went beyond statistics, and all of that will be taken into consideration when choosing a replacement.

Epstein recognises the need of examining data, just like Gordon does. It is in this area of expertise that he is anticipated to contribute to discussions over a Klopp successor and whether the personality is a good fit for the football team.

During Klopp’s tenure, Liverpool’s worth has increased by approximately £3 billion. While a large portion of this increase can be attributed to the club’s prominence and size during a period of sharply rising broadcast fees, the success that the team has experienced has allowed FSG to use this to enhance business performance through better commercial agreements.

Moreover, firing managers is an expensive endeavour. Finding someone who is in it for the long run will be the priority once again, something FSG hasn’t had to do since Brendan Rodgers in 2015.

Considering his experience in Boston, Epstein will be spending the next few months getting to know the people who work behind the scenes in Pittsburgh and Liverpool.

Sam Kennedy, president and CEO of the Boston Red Sox and partner at FSG, told the Boston Globe during the MLB owners’ meeting this past week in Florida: “When we agreed, it was very clear that this is likely a step, maybe a short-term step, along the way to something bigger and better.”

We’ll see. He might work with us in the long run, but for now, this is primarily a consulting, part-time advisory position.

“Just as in the past, we now speak several times a day.

He isn’t and won’t be physically present in the workplace, nor will he be participating in any daily activities. All I need to do is provide further high-level consulting to the other (FSG) organisations, John Henry, Tom Werner, Mike Gordon, and myself. Over the course of the next few months, he will come to know members of the other organisations.