Everton have officially confirmed four appointments to helm their new football leadership structure under new owners The Friedkin Group. They have moved away from a single-point director of football model and instead opted for a “flatter structure” overseen by chief executive officer Angus Kinnear.
The club has opted for “a football leadership team made up of specialists in technical development, football operations, talent ID, data analytics and player trading.”
Nick Cox has been appointed as the technical director, James Smtith as the director of scouting and recruitment, Chris Howarth will be responsible for directing the club’s football strategy and analytics operations, while Nick Hammond will lead player trading activity and negotiations.
“I’m delighted with the appointments of Nick, James and Nick. Their CVs speak for themselves - they are exceptional operators, hugely respected in the game and an example of the ambition we hold as a Club in ensuring the pathways and structures in place across our football operations are of the very highest standard,” said Everton CEO Angus Kinnear.
These four will work in tandem with the club CEO and with the men’s and women’s senior team head coaches David Moyes and Brian Sorensen respectively.
“The new football leadership structure will ensure our two managers have the very best support, and the very best operators driving the key football operations, to ensure our collective ambitions are realised,” Kinnear added.
As technical director, Nick Cox will be responsible for “ensuring all aspects of Finch Farm are at the elite level, covering the medical, operations, facilities and player care departments, as well as the academy functions.”
He is currently the academy director at Manchester United, a role he has served in since 2019. Cox also served as head of academy operations for three years prior to his promotion.
James Smith will return to Everton after spending 10 years as part of the club’s recruitment and insights team. He has the experience of working with Moyes before and Smith will join in September from his current position as director of scouting and recruitment at City Football Group. He has also worked at Manchester United before joining cross-town rivals City.
Chris Howarth, founder of Insider Sport, will “ensure the club is at the vanguard of data optimisation in the development of all aspects of football operations” after his data consultancy firm was acquired by The Friedkin Group.
He has the experience of working with 14 clubs across Europe and is regarded as one of the most advanced thinkers in sports analytics.
“I'm equally delighted by our appointment of Chris and ownership's strategic acquisition of Insight Sport, which is a further sign of our ownership’s ambition for Everton and I believe step-changes our analytics capability and will deliver us a long-term competitive advantage,” Kinnear said about the appointment of Chris Howarth.
Nick Hammond worked as a transfer consultant at Newcastle United and also with Angus Kinnear at Leeds United. He served as director of football at Reading for 13 years and has also been the technical director at West Brom and the head of football operations at Celtic. He is viewed as a skilled specialist in transfer dealings.
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Posted 20/06/2025 at 17:02:55
Er yes, this is what Michael explained yesterday!
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