Liverpool Loans Manager Woodfine to exit after almost nine years
Written by Training Ground Guru — May 15, 2023
LIVERPOOL Loans Manager David Woodfine is leaving the club this summer after almost nine years' service.
Woodfine joined the Reds in October 2014 as Scouting and Recruitment Manager and went on to become Head of Football Projects and Scouting (from October 2017) and then Director of Loan Management (from December 2020).
There will be a real changing of the guard behind the scenes at Anfield this summer, with Sporting Director Julian Ward exiting after more than a decade and Director of Research Ian Graham after 11 years.
Woodfine has been an important figure during his time at Liverpool. He was Head of Performance Analysis at West Ham and Portsmouth before Michael Edwards took him to Liverpool in 2014.
The duo had worked together at Pompey, when Edwards was Head of Performance Analysis and Woodfine a Performance Analyst, and continued to have a close working relationship at Liverpool. Edwards left Anfield after a decade last summer.
Liverpool are expected to announce German Jorg Schmadtke as their new Sporting Director, succeeding Ward, at the end of the season. Another key figure, Mike Gordon, is staying on though. The American has acted as a conduit between Liverpool’s owner’s, FSG, and Jurgen Klopp and his coaching staff.
In December we reported that Gordon was stepping back from his role with the club, but principal owner John Henry has now said “Mike remains fully committed to the club. He did take time off for a while this winter, but is a long way off from retirement.”