Steve Walsh - no longer our Director of Football

[Eggs]

I think Donker is one of his signings.

Donker played against LCFC Under 23s and scored.
He may have seen him play then

....not sure he scored against the Reds. The report I read said the goalie made a couple of very good saves from him. You might be right. He certainly scored against United, the goal is on YouTube.

 

[Azza]

....not sure he scored against the Reds. The report I read said the goalie made a couple of very good saves from him. You might be right. He certainly scored against United, the goal is on YouTube.

LCFC - Leicester City


He scored against them in the Champions Cup tournament in the summer. Wolfsburg won 3-0.

 

[Eggs]

LCFC - Leicester City


He scored against them in the Champions Cup tournament in the summer. Wolfsburg won 3-0.

...sorry, Azza.

 

[madkiwi]

Is a guest on this week's Everton Show.



Seems extremely down to earth.

Said first thing was to sit down with Koeman and find out how he wanted to play, discuss formations so he knew what needed to be targeted.

Said it was important in modern football for the Manager to coach the team, and have people to help find players. The manager is so busy, it's hard to even find time for them to watch a player.

He is responsible for finding first team players, there are others for U23 squad and younger. Gave the example of Donkor, who they bought to him, and then they worked on a deal.

 

[AdaBrummieblue]

Is a guest on this week's Everton Show.



Seems extremely down to earth.

Said first thing was to sit down with Koeman and find out how he wanted to play, discuss formations so he knew what needed to be targeted.

Said it was important in modern football for the Manager to coach the team, and have people to help find players. The manager is so busy, it's hard to even find time for them to watch a player.

He is responsible for finding first team players, there are others for U23 squad and younger. Gave the example of Donkor, who they bought to him, and then they worked on a deal.

Watched this about an hour ago. The guy breathes football, yet is so unassuming it's almost uncomfortable. I had no idea his brother played for us either. Before my time I guess. I like what this guy says.

 

[Groucho]

What we all thought really. Common sense etc.

Steve Walsh has provided an insight into his recruitment strategy, revealing character is just as important as talent when it comes to identifying potential signings.

Everton’s Director of Football is regarded as one of the top talent spotters in the Premier League, having helped to mastermind Leicester City’s remarkable title triumph last season.

During his time with the Foxes, Walsh was responsible for recruiting the likes of Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez and N’Golo Kante, who transformed the club from relegation candidates into the champions of England.

Now he is looking to create a similar conveyor belt of talent at Everton, having developed a close bond with manager Ronald Koeman since they joined the Blues last summer.

Talking about the importance of character when identifying potential signings, Walsh said: “Character is very important and you can find out a lot about players when you are watching them on the pitch.

“It’s not necessarily about what you do when you’ve got the ball, a lot of the time it’s about what you do when you don’t have it.

“Are they prepared to roll up their sleeves and put a shift in for the team? Do they get back into the team shape and know their defensive responsibilities as well as their attacking prowess?

“Then obviously you do your homework, you ring people who have worked with them before, and I speak to players who have played with them before, especially if they’re experienced players and I trust their judgement. Basically, I try to find out as much about them as I can.”

Walsh believes the key to successful recruitment is finding the right players to complement the talent and personalities you already have in the dressing room.

“The balance of the team is probably the key,” he says.

“You need your young players, who bring that enthusiasm and newness to it. Then you’ve got your experienced players, who have been there before and achieved.

“You also need players with different mentalities. Everyone has got to be behind the project and know what the way forward is, but they all bring their own special things to it and finding out about their character helps. At the end of the day though football is a team game and you need all of the different components to match up to do well.”

Walsh also spoke about his relationship with the manager and how they work closely together to identify potential targets.

“The modern-day football manager has to manage the team and the situation at the club and it’s very difficult for them,” he added.

“Yes, they have a knowledge of players, yes, they watch a lot of games on TV and the opposition when we are playing them. But it’s impossible for them to know everything.

“Modern day recruitment is a collaboration between the manager and the recruitment staff at the clubs. And it’s about trust. It’s about being together.

“When I came to the club, the first thing I asked Ronald was ‘how do you want to play?’ We then got a board out and looked at formations and the type of players that he likes because unless I know the blueprint for the type of players that Ronald wants, then we’d all be wasting our time.

“Fortunately we came together on that and it has worked very well. But there has to be that understanding between the two of us.”

 

[Saint Domingo]

He getting any credit for Lookman or not?

 

[Groucho]

He getting any credit for Lookman or not?

I would imagine so.

 

[madden95]

we haven't made one bad signing so far, more quality than quantity, which is exactly what we needed proof in what we have just got rid off, this summer should be massive and they have plenty off time to identify players.

 

[BlueToff]

What we all thought really. Common sense etc.

Nice article.

As I've said many times, he's responsible for all footballing activities at the club, along with Koeman and Vint the academy director, and of course Unsworth and his coaching team.

In terms of signings, Koeman identifies a blueprint, and Walsh finds the players who fit that mould.

For example, Lookman.

Koeman probably wanted a pacey player to come in and be able to play as folly to Lukaku, in an inside forward position.

Walsh found Lookman. They both agreed they wanted to sign him. I think it's clear that Koeman has been slightly surprised at just how 'ready' he is - as we all have.

 

[hallamblue]

Watched this about an hour ago. The guy breathes football, yet is so unassuming it's almost uncomfortable. I had no idea his brother played for us either. Before my time I guess. I like what this guy says.

His brother isn't Mickey Walsh is it? I remember us signing him from Blackpool

 

[chrismpw]

A

Is a guest on this week's Everton Show.



Seems extremely down to earth.

Said first thing was to sit down with Koeman and find out how he wanted to play, discuss formations so he knew what needed to be targeted.

Said it was important in modern football for the Manager to coach the team, and have people to help find players. The manager is so busy, it's hard to even find time for them to watch a player.

He is responsible for finding first team players, there are others for U23 squad and younger. Gave the example of Donkor, who they bought to him, and then they worked on a deal.

Good watch that, over my breakfast cuppa. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Bud McBlokeski]

His brother isn't Mickey Walsh is it? I remember us signing him from Blackpool

Yes he is.

 

[Onwards Evertonians]

 

[ToffeeTim]

Have heard a few Leicester fans on radio over past few weeks bemoaning Walsh leaving. Surprising he has no first team coaching involvement with us. Or maybe he does it dunno.