Darren Moore’s August 2021 interview with The Star shone a light on just how poor the recruitment process is within the EFL. Speaking to Joe Crann, Moore discussed how he refused to sign players unless he had a chance to talk with them first.
Imagine that! An industry in which hiring your most important employees without speaking to them first is so normalised that a manager feels the need to highlight it when he actually does. Imagine Shell appointing a new CFO or even The Rawson Spring hiring a bartender without, at the very least, having a five-minute chat to gauge whether you would like to work with them.
Unsurprisingly, in the big-money world of the Premier League where clubs are run in a more business-like way, this is not the norm. A player will typically sit down with the manager and/or Head of Football and be given a presentation detailing how the team plays and where they see the transfer target fitting in. No doubt the player’s compatibility with the club culture is also assessed, as is rumoured to have been the reason why Arsenal pulled out of a deal to sign Ivan Toney in 2024.
Sheffield Wednesday have a torrid history in the transfer market, and one cannot help but wonder whether some of the biggest blunders over the years could have been avoided had players and managers spent more time discussing tactical intricacies. Would the Owls have spent £10 million on Jordan Rhodes had somebody at Hillsborough sat him down and said, “Look, Jordan. We know you consistently score 25 goals a season by making runs into the box and getting on the end of crosses, but we play more of a counter-attacking game in which you’ll be expected to hold the ball up and bring in midfielders making late runs instead”? Given his performances at S6, one would hope not.
With this background, the post-signing interviews of the David Storch era have made encouraging listening. We are used to players paying lip service upon signing and being told to use the word “massive,” but the noises being made by the new recruits have been far more encouraging. Players have spoken about “the project” and how they were sold on the long-term vision for Wednesday. Sil Swinkels even spoke about how impressive it was hearing Storch discussing the history of the club.
Ask anyone who has employed people before, and they will tell you that a business succeeds or fails based on culture. One toxic employee in an office can destroy morale and, therefore, productivity. As a serial business owner, Storch knows this and has spent the summer developing the culture and instilling pride into anyone who works for Sheffield Wednesday. Club badges (new ones, obviously) have been plastered all over the training ground and canteen; new lifts have been installed; and, of course, prospective new signings are now sold a vision of the club they are joining.
Culture takes a while to develop, but once it’s there, the long-term benefits are huge. Listen to the Manchester United players of the 1990s discuss the way they believed they would win every match and the high expectations demanded of the players, from turning up on time to treating the canteen staff with respect. Sir Alex Ferguson brought in people who believed in his vision, and they made it a reality.
For the first time in my life (1980-TBD), Sheffield Wednesday are being run like a successful business. David Storch is laying the foundations. Once the cultural revolution is complete, the on-field performances will follow.