Andy Gray isn’t the only one who has been sceptical of Liverpool’s newest hire.
Rival supporters have also been quick to dismiss Jurgen Klopp’s decision to appoint a specialist throw-in coach.
Danish throw-in expert Thomas Gronnemark, who holds the world record for the longest throw-in at 51.33 metres, has previously worked with Denmark’s FC Midtjylland to great acclaim and is now passing on his knowledge to Liverpool’s full-backs.
Klopp has thrown his backing behind Gronnemark, who also works with Liverpool’s academy players to make them a greater threat from the sidelines.
And the Dane has explained the three different kinds of throw-ins that he’s hoping to improve at Anfield, namely “long, fast and clever.”
Speaking to Training Ground Guru, Gronnemark said: “Long, because players are improving the distance of their throws by 15 metres; fast, because of the counter-attacking opportunities; clever because you’re keeping possession of the ball.
“I’m a former sprinter and love the fast, fluent game. I coach how to get the ball back very quickly after it goes out, how to keep possession, how to make the counter attack super-fast.”
"I want to be the first kick-off coach"
Andy Gray ridicules Jurgen Klopp for hiring a throw-in coach. #beINPL #LEILIV pic.twitter.com/eHZSL6jbxA
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) September 1, 2018
Gronnemark was mocked by beIN SPORTS pundit Andy Gray last weekend, with Gray joking that he should be made the Reds’ kick-off coach.
But Klopp’s new secret weapon has urged Gray to keep an open mind.
“I have no problem with what he said, because everyone is entitled to their opinion and debate is good,” Gronnemark said. “But perhaps he could be a little more curious.
“I’d always been interested in football and found out there was no focus on throw-ins – no videos on YouTube, no courses, nothing. I’ve been thinking about throw-ins every day since.
“On average, teams lose the ball more than half the time from under-pressure throw-ins, when their teammates are closely marked.
“Have you noticed that the commentators never mention a bad throw-in during a game? I think it’s because there are so many and their expectations are very low. It becomes so they barely notice.”
Klopp has clearly become a stickler for detail as he aims to deliver Liverpool’s first ever Premier League trophy and Gronnemark is happy to do his bit to make the side as dangerous as possible from throw-ins.
“Some weeks we do two or three sessions, some weeks none at all,” Gronnemark explained. “I also analyse their throw-ins from every game and feed back to them, whether I’m there or not.”
