Throw-in coach explains his role at Liverpool after being mocked by ex-Everton striker Andy Gray

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Former Everton striker turned Football pundit Andy Gray has mocked Liverpool’s appointment of Thomas Gronnemark as the club’s new throw-in coach.

Gronnemark, 42, assumed a freelance position at Melwood last week but continues to work with Danish top-flight champions Midtjylland along with an unnamed Bundesliga team.

Former Sky Sports commentator Gray was appearing on beIN sports regarding the appointment, ahead of Liverpool’s 2-1 win away to Leicester City on Saturday.

Speaking to fellow former Sky Sports employee Richard Keys, Gray – in no uncertain terms – expressed incredulity as to why Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has brought in a throw-in specialist and went on to jokingly add that he could see himself getting a new job as a “kick-off coach”.

Gray said during beIN sports’ coverage: “I know how you can take advantage of a situation, throw it to one of your own players.

“That would be No 1. No 2, Keep hold of the ball. Maybe we are going to see Andy Robertson do a headstand and take it.

“Here is a lesson. Pick the ball up, take it behind your head, throw it to a teammate and keep both feet on the ground.

“I have got a new one. I want to be the first kick-off coach.”

So why did Liverpool hire a throw-in specialist? Klopp explains:

The Liverpool manager spoke to the press before Gray’s comments, discussing the reasons why he brought Gronnemark to the Premier League club.

“I think it’s not only important to me, it’s important to everybody,” said Klopp.

“To be honest, I’d never heard about a throw-in coach. How it is as a football manager, you know a lot about different things – I played the game, I’ve been managing since around about 18 years or so – but that doesn’t mean I’m a goalkeeper specialist and I’m obviously not a throw-in specialist.

“I know about different movements, what we always did, but it was not 100 per cent clear – maybe it’s my fault – how I can improve the guy with the ball, not only the movements of all the other guys.

“When I heard about Thomas, it was clear to me I wanted to meet him; when I met him, it was 100 per cent clear I wanted to employ him. Now he is here and we work on that from time to time.”

Gronnemark runs up to three sessions weekly while also providing feedback remotely based on video analysis of Liverpool matches.

Klopp added: “We use his information as well during the weeks when he is not here. We use it of course for the academy as well. It’s good.

“You cannot have enough specialists around you. I must always be the guy who makes the decisions on when we use all these specialists but you cannot have enough. We have the fitness, medical department, we have the nutrition, and now we have somebody for throw-ins.

“He’s a good guy, to be honest. He has already [made a difference]. The boys like it; when you have somebody who knows what he is talking about, it always helps when you want to improve something.”

Who is Thomas Gronnemark?

Gronnemark, who is from Denmark, holds the world record for the longest throw-in at 51.33m and also works with Danish club Midtjylland. According to his website, he has also coached players from Bundesliga clubs Schalke and Hertha Berlin.

Midtjylland won the title last season while scoring 10 goals from throw-in situations, according to TGG.

“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.” Gronnemark told the coaching website.

“On average, there are 40 to 50 throw-ins per game. In fact when Liverpool played Brighton on Saturday, they had 54. That’s about 12 minutes per game taken up by throw-ins and situations arising from them.

“On average, they lose the ball more than half the time from under-pressure throw-ins, when their team-mates 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.”

Responding to the comments made by Gray, Gronnemark was diplomatic: “I have no problem with what he said because everyone is entitled to their opinion and debate is good,” the 42-year-old Dane tells TGG, “but perhaps he could be a little more curious.”

Improving the distance a player is able to reach from throw-ins creates space and “attacking opportunities,” Gronnemark argues. It is also a unique situation in football, in that attackers receiving the ball directly from throws cannot be ruled offside. Meanwhile, other coaches suggest opponents find themselves in imbalanced shapes while defending throw-ins.

It is also noted that Gronnemark is a former European sprint champion and that he has represented Denmark in bobsleigh.

How Andy Gray’s Liverpool throw-ins verdict went down on Twitter…

Naturally, fans of Liverpool football club are not in agreement with Andy Gray’s comments.

For those slightly older readers, remember Rory Delap? The former Southampton and Stoke City midfielder was renowned for his throwing ability, which resulted in him getting one or two assists direct from a throw-in.

Some took it a step further and made goalscoring sound so simple. There is hope for this writer yet!

And some, simply don’t want to listen to the pundit.

The post Throw-in coach explains his role at Liverpool after being mocked by ex-Everton striker Andy Gray appeared first on Squawka News.



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