12 Oct 2011

LFC Chairman TOM WERNER: I didn't want NESV to buy Liverpool...

Liverpool Chairman Thomas Werner has admitted that he was initially against NESV (now Fenway Sports Group) buying Liverpool FC, and at the time, hoped that principal owner John Henry would not 'drag' the group into a deal.

Prior to the purchase, US merchant banking firm Inner Circle Sports became Fenway's financial advisers on the Liverpool sale, and prior to attending a presentation with Inner Circle, Werner admitted:

"I had been in sports so I was aware of the EPL and its strength globally...but I didn't know the inner workings of it. I certainly knew about Manchester United."

During the Inner Circle presentation, Werner and Henry were presented with in-depth information about Liverpool's history and financial potential, but, as Werner admits, he didn't find it all that interesting:

"I wasn't paying too much attention. Frankly I was on my Blackberry, dealing with more pressing issues. I thought there was no way John was going to drag us into that one."

Like most fans, I'm glad that Fenway took over the running of the club, and so far, things have gone quite well. However, I think that it's important to remember that despite the pro-Liverpool FC rhetoric, Henry, Werner and Fenway are principally in it for the money, and this is clear from Werner's recent comments:

"We feel we deserve the fruits of our labour. That is the difference with the EPL. If we can generate interest in Liverpool here and around the world, we will benefit from that."

Werner is obviously talking about financial benefit here, just like when he said "I was aware of the EPL and its strength globally", he was referring to the EPL's financial potential.

Ian Ayre's recent announcement about negotiating overseas TV rights is a prime example of Fenway trying to exploit the monetary potential of the club, irrespective of how negatively such flights of fancy reflect on Liverpool. (Ayre works closely with Fenway, and I'm sure he would've discussed the rights proposal with both Werner and Henry before going public).

All's well that ends well, but I just find it a little incongruous that someone who initially had such apathy and indifference towards the club now occupies a supremely important position that was once held by passionate, loyal, and very *interested* people like Sir John Smith and David Moores; people who genuinely cared about Liverpool FC, and were not just in it for the money.

Jaimie Kanwar


43 comments:

  1. is that the same moores that fucked lfc over for a quick profit?

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  2. you seem to forget that david moores sold us to the cowboys because they were willing to give him an extra million, instead of selling to the arabs. john henry has already said they will invest profits into the club. they gain because their shares in fenway grow if liverpool are successful....same way as boxton red sox

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  3. I don't forget that, plus it's kind of irrelevant. The point I'm making is that previous Chairmen generally had a genuine love and passion for Liverpool, whereas Werner clearly has no real love for the club, he's just a businessman in it for the money.

    It may have ended badly for Moores, but his love for the club can never be questioned.  

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  4. I don't forget that, plus it's kind of irrelevant. The point I'm making is that previous Chairmen generally had a genuine love and passion for Liverpool, whereas Werner clearly has no real love for the club, he's just a businessman in it for the money.It may have ended badly for Moores, but his love for the club can never be questioned.Read more: http://www.liverpool-kop.com/2011/10/liverpool-chairman-tom-werner-i-didnt.html#ixzz1ab0LhkpL

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  5. Chairman Kopite kept Liverpool in the dark ages.Lack of foresight allowed Liverpool to be outstripped and overtaken by MU and Chelsea.

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  6. moores sold out for a quick profit and put lfc in to the worst position it has ever been in. but hey you ignore that fact just to claim you are right. his love for the club disappeared as soon as hicks and gillet opened their cheque books. moores is as equally responsible for our downfall as the equally inept hicks and gillet

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  7. Hmmmmm, JK, have we an important game coming up?, why don't you show us, your TRUE COLOURS!!!

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  8. I reckon we ought to boycott this site. We all hate this so lets just not come here anymore. We are giving this guy more credit than he deserves posting comments. This is the first and last comment and the last visit to this site

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  9. Moores was a tool of the highest order, using him is a bad idea!!!!

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  10. In future, please don't personally insult anyone connected with the club. Criticise by all means, but please do so in the right way.

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  11. And Jamie Kanwar actively supported Hicks and Gillett, that shall never be forgotten. To further this site he looks for different angles. The true facts are irrelevant.

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  12. Is n't it a bit worring that we are discussing money again Ayre wanting to sell our own TV rights and NESV are having the same problems rising capital like Hicks and Gillett to build a new stadium they are finding out what it really costs to run a premier league team and its not just about making money.

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  13. Is that why he us to a couple of cowboys . I hope he rots in hell , because his regime and the one that followed has set us back years

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  14. No, like with Roy Hodgson, I support fairness and truth. Hicks and Gillett did lots of negative things but that doesn't give the fans the right to embellish, twist things and blatantly lie about them. And whether fans like it or not, Hicks and Gillett did some good things too. When you look at things objectively and don't get hung up by the emotion, you're able to see this.

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  15. If Moores really loved our Club, he would have certainly not gone with Hicks and Gillett. He made more money for himself from the deal with the cowboys can we call that naive and stupidity? I don't agree with that Jamie. 

    And about the International broadcasting rights and the revenue, we certainly are not the first one to talk about it.  Manchester United under Peter Kenyon wanted a better deal themselves about 10 years back.  They are suddenly distancing themselves away from such a deal Cause they do know Liverpool will financial benefit from such a move and they do not want that to happen... besides they make more match day revenue from their bigger stadium. 

    Hopefully we would get a  new stadium sooner...

    YNWA

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  16. Is that why he sold us to a couple of cowboys . I hope he rots in hell , because of his regime and the Texas conboys we are years behind .

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  17. Do you own a CRYSTAL BALL or a TIME MACHINE because I am pretty certain David Moores does n't(!)
    Do you really think he would of sold to the Cowboys if he knew what they were going to do???????????
    Werner has said he did n't want to buy us and Henry has come out and said he had never heard of us and Ayre has kicked up a stink with TV rights not the greatest of PR for the club bit of a step back I would say.

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  18. They are just a bit smarter with their money, remember that it will be Liverpool fc that will pay the loan on what we need to complete a rebuild or new stadium. If fsg can get half of that from a naming rights deal, then it means we borrow 200 million instead 400 million. With increased gates revenue, we will pay that back much easier without the club being at risk. Very good business in my eyes and I don't ever remember cowboy and cowboy inc talking about a naming rights deal. That's because they weren't smart enough in a business sense.

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  19. Hicks and Gillett did consider naming rights as a stadium funding option: http://www.sportspromedia.com/notes_and_insights/liverpool_fc_new_stadium_back_on_the_agenda_for_hicks_and_gillett/

    Hicks: "Naming rights are a global market. We likely will partner with someone wanting global branding, unlike the US stadiums, which only worry about TV appeal in the States, similar to why Standard Chartered chose to partner with us on our shirts"

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  20. Had a look unfortunatley they did and don't forget spent another 2 years looking for someone to invest which if you remember was DIC but H and G pulled out because they were n't prepared to let them have a proper say in the club.
    Like Ayre is saying a new stadium will only bring in an extra 20,000 and we can't get away with putting ticket prices up like Arsenal because Liverpool is n't London. Arsenal prices start from £600 upto £11000 (seats 15) for their hospitality tickets where we charge £200 to £6000 thats  where the money is made on match days. 
     

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  21. The advertisement bars across the middle of the article that you can't close or move is very annoying. If you try to close it you are directed offsite to some dodgy competitions.

    That's all I got from this article and will remove/hide this website from my newsnow list.

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  22. I HATE YOU JAIMIE KANWAR YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT

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  23. What a surprise; yet another negative article about LFC. No more than we have come to expect from you, Jaimie. You will delete this comment, as usual, but you don't fool me, no real fan would ever agree with your deluded views (supporting those cowboys and Hodgson shows you don't care about our club)
    You are a bad joke!

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  24. A few things...

    1. All owners are in it for the money...it is a business

    But NESV understand that a winning team and the loyal support of fans are the key to the value of the business venture...

    2. Fuck the EPL and the TV rights deal...Excuse my french

    As an American I am allergic to socialism...Liverpool should be able to take control of their own product and living here in the States I am price gouged by at least 3 different sources for games...I would rather give my hard earned cash to Liverpool than Rupert Murdoch.

    3. The lack of support from Man U and Chelsea today highlights the plans of the bigger clubs to eventually break away from the pack and create a Super Euro League...I have no actual evidence of this but I am certain of it...

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  25. Times have changed from the time we had owners from within the community who loved LFC.
    Football today is all about money and we need lots of it if we want to compete with the best.
    I think we should give them a benefit of doubt and support their ideas instead of sowing seeds of suspicion at this point.We were screwed by people like Moores and the 2 cowboys and have had a long long public spat internally for sometime.We are now looking at some stability, don't rock that with your suspicous opinions. 
    If they can make LFC the most profitable club finaincialy in the world then definetly we are going to be succesful on the pitch.And if they make some money by doing that I think its only fair or you will rather prefer some make a profit out of us by screwing us like Moores and how the 2 Cowboys tried to do?

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  26. Well said Richard. The same Moores who sold LFC to those bloody cowboys for a few millions more, not even enough to buy a decent striker nowadays. Oh and don't forget Rick Parry.

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  27. "His love for the club can never be questioned" Jaimie ? After he F***** LFC by selling to those cowboys, did he do anything to reedemm himself in those 3 dark years, like giving back the club those extra millions to buy the players we so desperately needed? So much for his love for the club, his ancestors would turn in their grave. Go to hell Moores

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  28. Exactly what lies the fans said about the cowboys? Oh and what good did the 2 cowboys did for LFC? I am asking objectively.

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  29. Yes totally agreed. Globally we have more fans than Manure and we had not won the Prem for 20 odd years. Imagine if we win just 1, 2 years down the road, Manure would be shitting in their pants. This is what pedegree can do for you, pay attention Manure fans, Jaimie, Moores, bloody cowboys.

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  30. Rick Parry and Moores spent years looking and checking up on buyers and those 2 cowboys sure had amassed some s*** in the US. You mean after years of looking and investigating you need a crystal ball to see that?

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  31. I reality those extra few millions had blinded Moores and put us in the dark ages for 3 years.

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  32. lets get one thing straight some people are saying moores did not have a crystal ball and couldnt know what hicks and gillet are like.. Well i have something to say to those people and thats stop being stupid. when Hicks and gillet showed an interest in lfc i googled them and straight away i knew they would not be right for LFC it took me two minutes to realise they would be as successful as owners as souness was as manager .moores did not love lfc he just hung on to it till he could make a massive profit.

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  33. The moores question is a tricky one. yes he held out for the highest price, but he and his family had been funneling money into liverpool over the years. Did he love liverpool? Yes Did he keep putting his hand in his pocket? the answer would have to be yes, Was he the sort of football business visionary to keep liverpool at the top? The answer would have to be no. Was he greedy at the end? Perhaps a little bit, but From his point of view the DIC bid was not that much different. They also proposed to borrow a lot of money, but crucially as it turned out they had the money to stand over any losses in the short term. 

    You have to bear in mind that H&G told a lot of lies to liverpool fans, and they were delighted to have them when they came in, you can only assume that they told him a lot of lies as well. As for H&G there was so much that they did wrong, and they really were a bunch of pirates, but there are certain things that they were responsible for, and certain things they weren't. You may not like them, but it is important to only hate them for the right reasons, otherwise you wind up not recognizing the mistakes that were made, and how to avoid them. I sincerely doubt that Jaimie is pro hicks and gillette. Even their parents would struggle to be pro H&G.i would on the other hand worry for NESV. I don't think that they really knew what they were getting into, and Henry said that he was shocked at how much they were paying out to players, and the lengthy contracts they had signed, and how short the squad they 'inherited' was. Basically they didn't know the hole they were getting into.In 2009-10, LFC for Liverpool to break even, they had to generate £154 million to cover their wage bill, and the cost of having signed the players in their squad (Wages +Amortization) Liverpool only made £180 million. Spurs finished ahead of liverpool with a squad that cost only 106 million to support. Compared to spurs, liverpool were paying about 50% too much to their players. Liverpool's costs were out of control, and while they've done a lot to get rid of some of the worst signings, they've had to do it by paying up their contracts, or subsidizing their wages at other clubs. People need to realize the huge distance liverpool need to go on and off the pitch in order to get into a position to challenge on a regular basis.

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  34. I Googled Hicks and Gillet as soon as they were linked with LFC and knew they were dodgy. dont try and tell me or any LFC fan that Moores or his many advisors did not know what they were like . he sold us out for a quick profit. He showed his true colours and i hope he suffers for it.

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  35. I dont know why some people think FSG would buy Liverpool just to make them sucessful and not to be making money as well. They are not local Liverpool people or lifelong Liverpool fan. The key thing that we must remember with FSG is they realise that success financially off the pitch and success on the pitch are intrinsically linked which is key. I personally think we are in safe hand with FSG and they will bring success back to the club.

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  36. I beg to differ. What has Moores done that FSG have not done to support that statement? Even before there was any mention of Arabs or cowboys, he could have sold the club but he never did. He held out for a good deal. He had to sell the club as its value was plummetting because he was incapable of running a football club.

    Furthermore, who cares if they're in it for the money? That's what investors do. They invest money and increase the value of the product they invest in. Do you think Abramovic is any different? Or the Yanks that own Man U? And why do you support LFC anyway? Because you enjoy the feeling of being part of such a great institution and the joy it brings you or because it's your way of making the world a better place?

    Don't be a hypocrite.

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  37. Is that a joke about Moores? He nearly ruined us for a few extra £.

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  38. I am told by a good source inside the industry that for all LFC's successes on the field over the past 40+yrs, LFC has been very poorly run as a business vehicle within a football club. In fact LFC's appointed its first ever commercial director ONLY in 2007 which was Ian Ayre. For a club the size of LFC, that is pathetic and why LFC have lagged behind the likes of ManUre of the past 2 decades in exploiting its brand. Even Chelsea and Arsenal during that period have arguably done more in proportion to the size of their respective fan bases. LFC is a very unique and therefore very lucky football club as it has a worldwide base of loyal fans that have stuck by and with the club since its halcyon days. New fans have been generated due to fathers and uncles supporting the club as well as recent success in European football. But had LFC had moved with the times 20yrs ago, it would certainly have generated far more income by now and probably had either extended Anfield of moved to a larger site. The club is arguably the most authentic in its standing today as an all time great but it was (and still is) in danger of losing its mantle unless it starts thinking like a 21st century club. Perhaps it mattered less 25+yrs ago that football clubs were run by families with only provincial aspirations, but the game has changed and LFC must start thinking like a global brand. If that means we have owners who have at least one eye on the coffers then that can't be a bad thing. After all, money talks in today's game and we need to be able to compete at the top table when it comes to signings if we are ever going to see those glory days return on a regular basis.

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  39. The point you make seems childish as it ignores the obvious, They're are a business, why wouldn't they be out to make money. Your dreamlike version of reality where a white knight comes along throwing around their own money because his mother raised him on her you'll never walk alone breast milk is sadly hollywood. Judging by their reign so far, and the way in which they have conducted themselves, gaining respect along the way i think it is a bit rich to be nit picking over the board members lack of evidence of a past love affair for Liverpool Football Club. Frankly, it's good to hear a guy just being honest and not concocting bullshit just to cozy up to the fans like some slimey politician or like those two fu*kwitted cowboys. Liverpool FC is a global institution and football club that has been ravaged by decisions of the heart before. It's time we back the chairman to get on with the business at hand of making up for 15 years of lost time, build a new stadium, and let the players do the work on the pitch, and the supporters to get all loved up, gushy and passionate about the football.    

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  40. tbh the way that his fellow fans turned on Moores in his last days for the mere fact that he wasn't a 'sugar daddy' type owner, I would've done the exact same thing as him and looked out for the best deal personally! (if that is indeed the case, and it wasn't just a case of misplaced trust/naivety as he has said)

    Who's to say that DIC would've been these saviours that everybody makes out though anyway? Surely they'd have bought another club by now if they were really that desperate to pour such amounts into football right, but instead the only news I've seen of them is something about a court case?

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  41. Moores was screwed by the fans who turned on him because they became convinced that the only way forwards was to buy success with money that he didn't have.

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  42. The majority of fans were jumping up and down that Sinawatra or any other dodgy group should take over Liverpool, as long as they promised to spend big bucks! All of you are hypocrites for maintaining such an attitude, and then trying to look down on a man like Moores who tried his best for the club for so long. I can only imagine what he thinks of Liverpool fans nowadays.

    The funniest/most pathetic thing though  is that you would all continue to bleat on about Man U/Chelsea/City buying success at the same time as you begged any body to come in and plough billions into LFC!

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  43. you are an 'IDIOT'

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