Former West Ham United technical director Tim Steidten has hinted there is a problem with transfer business in England, as it’s often based on emotion.
Transfermarkt’s German edition have the second part of an interview with the former West Ham chief today in which he discusses various transfer topics.
He was in charge of West Ham’s transfer business from 2023 until February this year, when he was relieved of his duties.
He oversaw plenty of big business at the London Stadium, bringing in the likes of Mohammed Kudus, Edson Alvarez, James Ward-Prowse, Max Kilman, Niclas Füllkrug and various others.
Only a handful of his transfer business at the club has been seen as successful, with several major moves yet to really pay off for the Hammers and perhaps leading to his departure this year.
He, though, believes there are problems in the structures at English clubs, where owners have too much say for his liking.
“It’s more the environment that’s changing, rather than the work itself,” he said.
“In England, there are ownership structures, and decisions are made much more often emotionally and less based on experience or the input of a scouting department.
“Owners have invested a lot of money in their club. They decide for themselves how much they want to spend and earn, and with whom they want to share this power. German clubs have much clearer structure.”
That’s certainly not the case in his native Germany, where there are clearly defined structures at the clubs when it comes to transfer business.
Managers have less say there than in the Premier League and Steidten believes only the exceptional coaches should be given such power at clubs. We’ll leave whether that’s a criticism of David Moyes up to your own interpretation.
“I’m a big fan of clear hierarchical structures with a managing director, sporting director, and coach,” he added.
“The club must dictate a structure and a style of play. With Liverpool and Jürgen Klopp, Manchester City with Pep Guardiola, or Arsenal with Mikel Arteta, there have been and still are examples to the contrary – there, the coach dictated everything, and yet incredible success was achieved.
“However, I believe that only works with such exceptional coaches. And only certain clubs can afford to take this path.
“Clubs that don’t have this financial backing and have to rely more on youth development and scouting need structures because they are often forced to make changes. In my opinion, this is the more sustainable path, although it must be noted that both paths can apparently work.”
