3 Sept 2012

Blame them, not us! LFC owner slams Hicks, Gillett, Benitez and Dalglish...

Liverpool owner John Henry has written an open letter to fans outlining the reasons why the club failed to sign a striker during the transfer window. For the non-cynical out there, Henry's persuasive reasoning makes a lot of sense, and he (rightly) emphasises the fact that the Reds are still struggling to overcome the huge mistakes made by previous managers.

In his letter on the official LFC website, Henry admitted that the situation had been 'compounded by our own mistakes' during a 'difficult first two years of ownership', and rejected outright the accusation that FSG are in it for the money, insisting that 'Contrary to popular opinion, owners rarely get involved in sports in order to generate cash'.

Any objective Liverpool fan knows that the transfer market mistakes made by Rafa Benitez and Kenny Dalglish are one of the main reasons the club is struggling right now, and Henry made direct reference to this in his letter. He noted:

"We are still in the process of reversing the errors of previous regimes. We will build and grow from within, buy prudently and cleverly and never again waste resources on inflated transfer fees and unrealistic wages.

"We will never place this club in the precarious position that we found it in when we took over at Anfield. This club should never again run up debts that threaten its existence, and we will not mortgage the future with risky spending.

"We have no fear of spending and competing with the very best but we will not overpay for players."


For me, this is the key point: Liverpool have been ridiculously wasteful in the transfer market over the last 22 years, and the management of the club's resources - by managers and senior hierarchy alike - has been negligent in the extreme.

I've tried to illustrate this many times over the years by comparing Liverpool's transfer spending with that of Arsenal and Man United, who've both spent far LESS than the Reds over the last 20 years yet still end up performing BETTER in the league. Take another look:

LFC vs. MUFC: Transfer Spending 1990-2011 - Grand Totals

Liverpool vs. Manchester United - Transfer Spending comparison - 1990-2011 - Grand Totals

LFC vs. AFC: Transfer Spending 1990-2011 - Grand Totals

Liverpool vs. Arsenal - Transfer Spending comparison - 1990-2011 - Grand Totals

Read it and weep: As you can see, LFC have outspent both United and Arsenal during the Premier League era and the Reds are STILL struggling to catch up with both clubs. This mismanagement intensified under Benitez and Dalglish - and FSG also contributed to it with their staggering willingness to rubber-stamp inflated transfer fees - but now, they've seemingly woken up and realised the seriousness of the situation.

Change is needed! Things cannot continue as they have over the last 22 years, and change is exactly what FSG and Brendan Rodgers are overseeing. If that means things have get worse before they get better then so be it; the alternative is another 20 years of abject financial profligacy, and no one wants that.

I applaud the club's approach here; Yes, there's no getting away from the fact that failing to sign a striker is a serious mistake, and both Rodgers and FSG will have to take that mistake on the chin, along with the fan vitriol that comes with it. However, taking the long view, the club's operational strategy and goals are positive and productive, and things are slowly progressing in a prudent and responsible manner.

I always argue that it's important to take the long view; under Dalglish, it was obvious from very early on that he was not the right long-term solution, and the same applies with Benitez (IMO), but I get a totally different feeling with Rodgers, and I'm positive he is the right man to oversee the current changes and lead Liverpool into a new and exciting future.

Be prepared: things will get worse! Liverpool will probably struggle to stay in the top 6-8 this season, but that's the price you pay for 22 years of continuous financial negligence.

Irrespective of the transfer deadline-day shambles, I am a happy fan right now, and I would just echo Robbie Fowler's comments, made in an interview yesterday:

"Brendan Rodgers is a fantastic manager and he's definitely the right choice for Liverpool".

Onwards and upwards.

Jaimie Kanwar


162 comments:

  1. As I understand it the reason the deal didn't go through for Dempsey was related to the fact at te very last minute it turned out that FSG decided to include wages in the total transfer budget.

    This Left the deal 2 million pounds short of what was needed.
    At that point Tottenham has already bid the 6 million pounds and the negotiations started with Dempsey for his personal terms.

    After some calls were made to FSG in the USA by Ian Ayre to sanctions the extra funds needed to secure the Dempsey, the Tottenham was already agreed and FSG with Ian Ayre came back too late.

    I have been critical of some of the people on this board about the spend and the faith I and many other placed in FSG and the board.

    I stated on this board o the close of the transfer window that and I quote 'THE FSG HONEYMOON PERIOD IS OVER' judging by some of the posts that's now clearly the reality for them.

    Once the owners of ANY CLUB in this case FSG lose the fans THEY CANNOT GET THEM BACK.
    No matter how much they do.

    No once single person is to blame but DAVID MOORES started the process when he sold to H&G and we have been in this serious decline as a club since.

    I will continue to support the club, but I now reserve to the right to be extremely critical of anything FSG do or say.

    My instinct tell me that FSG will come out with a few pat statements to placate the fans & media.
    The problem is that no one expected FSG to have unlimited funds and any attempt by them to say that's the fans expectation will be met fiercely by me and others.

    If they spend big in January it will mean they again reacting t o events rather than leading them.
    At the same time if they don't ACKNOWLEDGE THERE OWN MISTAKES then next summer is going to be very very difficult.

    The only thing I can say if there is any crumb of comfort is that we are early in the season and any young player now has a real chance.

    FSG,TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT THE FANS REACTION TO HICKS AND GILLETT.
    DO YOURSELF A FAVOUR ADMIT YOUR MISTAKES AND BE HONEST WITH THE FANS
    YOU MAY GET SOME RESPECT AND IT MAY BUY YOU SOME VALUABLE TIME TO TRY AND REPAIR THE DAMAGE.

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  2. BTW I WROTE THAT ON THE ECHO SITE EARLY THIS MORNING BEFORE JOHN HENRY'S STATEMENT, IT'S SINCE BEEN REMOVED AND I HAVE BEEN BLOCKED...

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  3. Doesn't surprise me in the slightest. Censorship central over there; toe the company line or you're out. Pathetic really, but par for the course.

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  4. Strikers are still available: On a free!!!

    1) Michael Owen
    2) Emile Heskey
    3) Florent-Sinama-Pongolle
    4) Anelka?
    5) Drogba?
    6) Yakubu?

    Pongolle is a Rodgers type of player and still only 27 years-old..............any thoughts?????

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  5. Heskey? Please god, no. Of those, I'd only take Drogba or Yakubu.

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  6. Just read the his glorified speech in the mail newspaper. Firstly to say he is not in it to make a profit is the most stupid thing ive heard in my life and is disrespectful to the people he thinks are dumb.
    secondly if he aint going to pay premium rates on talented players and wants to only work with and develope talent then the chances of us ever winning the league in the next ten years have been cut from 10 percent to 3 percent.
    Even Sir red nose face ferguson spent 25 mil on van persie.
    Thirdly he speaks about previous regimes but lets be honest without them he wouldnt of got liverpool on the cheap.

    Jamie your spending table only tells less than half of the story unless I dont understand the table.
    What I want to see is
    1-total spending in the year
    2-total selling in the year
    3-then we get the net spending
    4-total wage in the year.
    Then we can compare them with other clubs. without it and just wat uve put you cant honest make any realistic conclusion.

    Disappointed mate

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  7. Jaimie!..............Im sure you can come up with other options, the point is that it is still possible for us to rectify the mess!!!!!. It is not lost yet but i believe we have until Tuesday to get something done, before the 25 man squads have to be submitted!!!

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  8. You're being a bit subjective in fairness there J-Hound, by promulgating the notion that 'objectivity' in this instance is something that conveniently fits into your own agenda.

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  9. tell a lie i think i get it now. just the wage missing

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  10. LFC v Arsenal Wage Spend: http://www.liverpool-kop.com/2010/11/exclusive-liverpool-vs-arsenal-wage.html

    LFC v Man U Wage Spend: http://www.liverpool-kop.com/2010/11/exclusive-liverpool-vs-man-united-wage_07.html

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  11. Jamie, what was the total revenue spend and income during Benitez's Reign, he got us to 2 champ league finals (major income from this), regular attendees of the Champ league year in year out, except final year, had good money consistently coming in as well, would be interesting to see the numbers over a 5 year period, rather than 22 years.

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  12. Does Henry apply the same criteria in selecting his beautiful wife: young, CHEAP & maximum value? I hope he does not need to disturb Kenny during his holidays again to beg him to come back when we are in a relegation dog fight

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  13. wat hes saying basically is lets now be a selling club like arsenal

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  14. Why would you take those two? How do they fit into the Rodgers style of play any better than Carroll?

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  15. Jamie, things will get worse, you think we will just be outside the top 8 this season, well heres my view! i see us not winning either of the next 2 games and lucky if we draw them, so i see us with 2pts after 5 games, that leaves us with 3 months till the next transfer window, now if we lose luis which injury, suspension or pissed off all count well i think we are in a dogfight to get out of the bottom group of 5 /6 teams, cos we dont look like scoring. then comes the problem, agger, skertl, luis, pepe, etc are not going to wait for the next 3/4 years buying 2/3 players each summer so we can start challenging in the year 2015/16! we are a midtable team right now based on the players that have come in this year and the players we let go and will lose in next 2/3 windows.

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  16. pathetic article!!!! always blaming someone else hey!!!!for the two cowboys i can understand it!!!!but not dalglish and benitez!!!!hope one day you will burst out of your bubble and see the reality!!!!!if only you are a liverpool fan!!!!!???????

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  17. I think things will always get worse before getting better. Although I was disappointing that we lost to Arsenal I still think this is a major work in progress, therefore patient is needed.

    Failing to sign a striker will bite us. Our team looks good on paper but we are being to wasteful. As I have said before Borini does not impress me but I will give him some time. Sterling has been positive and so has Allen.

    I'm sure we will progress. All we need is a win. Unfortunately I am not confident we can win against Sunderland away. But I will try to remain optimistic.

    Certain teams in the PL are going to suffer because of their mismanagement of finances so I am glad we are getting ours sorted at the moment.

    This season, realistically, I don't expect top 4. I expect an up and down season with not a lot of inconsistency. At least our younger players are getting the exposure needed.

    I have seen in some forums already people calling for FSG to sell the club and for BR to quit or be sacked. Ridiculous.

    1 step at a time...

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  18. It was very dissappointing not to sign a striker on deadline day, but I think some people are over reacting in some ways, ie. some media already saying Rodgers is facing the sack, and Liverpool are in crisis. In reality, we have played 3 games, we lost the first one which was a pretty freak result, we then drew with the league Champions, and then lost to a Champions leauge side. Arsenal were better yesterday. If we lose to Sunderland, and badly then maybe we can start to worry a little bit. But I think hitting the panic button now is an over reaction. It is worrying that we now dont have another striker to call on. But its not the end of the world. There is still 35 games left, and if we can finish top 6 which isnt to unrealistic then that will be a good result.
    We are still adapting to a new manager, and he will still be trying to work out the best way to get us playing.
    I think we just need a bit of patience.

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  19. Drogba is technically good enough to play any type of system so i think he would be good for Liverpool but convincing him to join Liverpool would be very difficult.

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  20. This embarrassing letter all because they failed to fork out another 2 million to sign Dempsey.. He was our number one target and they waited until the last minutes of a three month transfer window?
    Standby for more embarrassment when this documentary airs, fascinating as its going to be it won't do the players or Brendan Rodgers any good

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  21. FSG tried to be clever by doing a Spurs: bidding for Dempsey at the very last minute at a stupid low price hoping that Fulham has no choice but to sell to Liverpool just before the window shuts, or lose him for nothing next summer. Unfortunately Levy beat us in this game. I think Ayre and FSG has overestimated our ability to attract players

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  22. I can't believe I'm saying this Jamie but I agree with you! I'm fully behind Brendan, even if we finish lower than last season. We need to rebuild and it can take a few steps back before forward. The squad needs an overhaul and that takes time. Dalglish and Comolli tried doing it in one window and look at the mess they made of it. Let's get behind Brendan and the boys. Give them some support and hopefully we can be the 12th man and together get through these difficult times.

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  23. As BR has stated football is a results driven business. I cannot fathom the positive sentimental attachment to a relatively unproven manager. Neither the career stats that I’ve read on this site or the current style of play convince me that BR is the man to take us forward. The mistake of not signing a recognized striker because of a certain financial principal is just cutting ones nose off to spite ones face. How convenient to then lay the blame at the foot of previous regimes rather than accept full personal responsibility for a mighty gaff. I’ve done my fair of research regarding FSG’s ruthlessness. Trust me when I say that if BR does not turn things around by Christmas FSG will also be 100% behind him too - to push him right out the door! I do agree that things will get worse – much much worse.

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  24. MLeanrocks - Both Drogba and Yakub are technically superior to Carroll, and both have a long history of regularly scoring goals in the Premier League. Both can play up front alone, and both are infinitely preferable to Carroll.

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  25. Why this hate towards Rafa, Jamie? A manager who took us to rwo CL finals

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  26. Pathetic really from henry Blame everyone else just like you Jamie, we're gonna turn into another Randy style Villa, rubbish manager rubbish owners

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  27. "We have no fear of spending and competingwith the very best, but we will not overpay for players"

    Thats a good outlook to have obviously, but my only concern with it is that, they might not understand what over spending is, because £6 million for Dempsey doesnt sound like a ripoff to me, but they seemed unwilling to spend that.

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  28. Instead of blaming Rafa (who gave us Torres, Reina, Skrtel, Agger, Lucas, Shelvey, Champions League) and Dalgish (who rescued us from relegation, a Cup + another cup final, & possibly our last time in a Europa competition for a long time), all FSG (Farking Stingy Gheys) does is to blame instead of taking a hard look at what they could and should have done to back the manager.

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  29. Benitez transfer spending: 2004-2010: http://www.liverpool-kop.com/2010/10/rafa-benitez-vs-alex-ferguson-transfer.html

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  30. There is no doubt that the current ownership and coaching team are faced with the mistakes of the last 22 years. But what we should all realize is that LFC is a club whose sole purpose is to always being competing for titles and win. LFC is not just a sport institution but a way of life. You've gotta want it bad keep this club successful. As LFC institution we have serious problems to solve and serious decisions to make, and we need serious people for doing that. And whatever the particular problems are, by not investing on world-class players then we have no chance of being successful!

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  31. I think that the issue would be that the other players would default to lumping it to both of them if they were under pressure, this is the main reason JK has previously stated that Carroll should have been sold, hence I was interested to hear his views...I think that Carroll has technical ability and could still improve at 23, but its the fact that as soon as you put a big guy up front the rest of this team would abandon the philosophy of play which is so vital to us now. I personally think a season without Carroll could let them get used to it enough to allow him back in the future, but for now I agree his presence would slow the progress of implementing this tactic..not his fault. Over all though, still rather have him than nobody.
    JK, would like to see a piece on all the free agents we could still bring in? Suppose there are more than these 6.
    I would definitely take Anelka. He is the most suited to the system and guarantees goals as well.

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  32. 3 games in to the season and people already calling for Rodgers' head. That's embarrassing.

    We expect the press to fuel negativity around LFC, with a few exceptions they always have and always will. I'm not saying the press are 'anti-liverpool', but they relish any opportunity to pour salt on wounds, and will take any chance they can to create a narrative. The current narrative is that Rodgers is failing. Don't believe it. Don't help to fuel the negativity.

    Like any supporter I have despaired during moments in the last 5 games, and at other times I've seen a lot that encourages me. Rodgers is a positive manager, he's changing the team dramatically. He has faith in youth and has sought to cut our losses on some of the deadweight in the squad. He has a strong football philosophy that matches the football ethos of the club. This is all good, and I am a patient supporter. Hopefully we'll see plenty more to keep us encouraged over the season, and hopefully the negative sections of liverpool's support will manage to keep their mouths shut. Why add to our own problems?

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  33. Jamie, your hate towards rafa is pretty obvious. And I cannot understand it, a bloke who took us to two CL league finals...Let me think what other manager did that. I bet you know the answer....

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  34. Dalglish did not 'rescue us from relegation' - that's a gross exaggeration. Liverpool were nowhere near relegation; being near the relegation zone is not the same. We're in the relegation zone right now, but does that mean we're in dange of being relegated?

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  35. Typical response - Rafa-lovers always try and make out that his critics 'hate him' or 'dislike him', and attempt to ascribe some kind of personal element to the situation.

    I do not 'hate' Benitez - it is not personal. Show me where in my article I've attacked Benitez personally (or in any article I've ever written).

    If I criticise Benitez, it's always football related, and if his fans can't hack that, tough luck.

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  36. Jamie how can it be that Liverpool have spent more on transfer fees similar type wages to United who have a larger income than Liverpool and a larger debt.
    I do not know if these figures are wrong or United have done some very bad business outside of football.

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  37. I agree with your view a lot regarding the statement that he is not in for the profit. Businessmen are no saints and you have to be careful with double-standards when dealing with them. If not for the profit, then for whatever reason are they in it? Charity? That functionalist rhetoric won't work with the educated and critical LFC supporter. Running a football club can be a very profitable venture, especially when the owners plunge money out of the club and saddle it with debt like what happened to us under those two cowboys some three years ago and similarly to what is happening to Man.UTD right now.

    This brings to the next point. Jamie's statistics clearly show we have spent more than Man.UTD. I agree that given the results, that is depressing. Yet why are Man.UTD saddled with debt compared to us? Taking into account the debt which was wiped out by FSG, Man.UTD had at least twice as much debt as we had back then and have more now.

    Something important in those accounts you published is missing because the enormous debt Man.UTD find themselves in is not accounted for. Let's not forget that like Arsenal, their revenue is great than ours!

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  38. Henry's aim is to increase the value of the asset (LFC) over time with a view to selling it at a significant profit. I'm sure he tests the market to see the potential resale value and when he believes he can sell at what he believes is the right price he will do so. A number of followers of LFC believe he is already looking to offload. The reality is as long as he can remove debt show costs are controlled, the asset becomes more valuable especially if commercial revenue can be increased. This has to be balanced with a level of success. Does anyone truly believe Henry is in this for the love of the club? The reality of football is the team that pays the highest wages normally wins. I believe we have just reduced our annual wage bill by some £26 million. Stats indicate that this will mean a fall down the premier league table. DOn't be fooled Henry is a money man.

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  39. Jamie ive said this before and you have disagreed with me, These american owners have not spent a dime on liverpool fc. I am very disappointed you are not pointing that out. For example this year. Kuyte 80k, Belamy 50k, Maxi 120k, Aquilani 80k,/ Then if you also add 4 mil from adams salle and a 4 mil for his wage. then another 7 mil from spearing and carol wage and two mil for the brazilian left back we are talking 30 mil in total.

    and lets be honest borini and allen will be on a round 40k a week.

    So as you can see the books have been balanced so this 24 mil spending is rubbish.

    i have not included
    1-what we get from the the league
    2-all our sponsorship deals
    3-all our gate takings
    4-selling of our merchandise globally
    etc
    these americans have not spent a dime.

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  40. See my point above, would Yak or Drog not cause same issue? I also fail to see Yak playing a quick pressing game as needed. Hence I came to the conclusion that Anelka is the best option. Any reason you discount him other than personal preference?

    In any case I thnk it will be past the pl deadline before the China contractual issue is resolved so neither of those are realistic.

    There must be some others.....what's Baros doing these days?? Erik Meijer??

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  41. I have been very critical of Kenny during last season and thought Rogers has potential to take this club forward but Rogers made me doubt his abilities with defensive display of his team. Any great team is built on solid defence and it seems our defence is not in right shape.
    We may excuse manager for failure to score, for not having decent striker. But what about defence ? We didn't sell any defender. At least Kenny's team had one of the best defence in the league. When was the last time we let 7 goals in first 3 games of season ?
    Rogers and his team badly needs to sort out his defensive problems first and foremost.
    If don't concede a goal, you can't loose!
    I would also like to blame Gerrard for failures. He seems to be too disappointed with Kenny's sacking and lost his desire to perform. Where is the player who could by himself change the momentum of whole game ? He badly needs to step up along with some senior defensive players.

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  42. best thing to do if they want to sign any player they have to move fast .not spending a lot of time talking.Be quick be4 these players sign for other teams .i dont understand it sometimes why all the time liverpool they take time to sign players.I think they have to be really orgarnised if they want to compete

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  43. You're forgetting an entire season of spending, but nevermind

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  44. I don't see any evidence to suggest that Yakubu or Drogba would struggle in Rodgers' system. First, the main striker would do a lot less pressing than midfielders/defence, simply because they see the ball in the final third a lot less.

    Also, having watched both players a lot over the last 10 years, both arguably have the game intelligence and technique to make an impact.

    Re Anelka - I don't think he's a prolific enough goalscorer, and Yakubu/Drogba regularly outscored him in the league.

    I think you're right about Anelka being suited to the system, and he's a good option I guess. Get all three!

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  45. half of the goals we have conceded this season have been due to very poor goal keeping. hopefully they're looking at this (and using the squad to create competition for every place, including Reina)

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  46. Read Henry's open letter. This isn't going to happen. They're not in a rush and don't want to make crap signings in desperation.
    For those asking why we don't get Owen on a free- the same reason nobody else has picked him up- his personal terms are prohibitive!

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  47. Maybe we should hire Wenger, He handle the club cost perfectly. lol

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  48. no im not, it is 30 mil net spending my friend in the under kk and if you look at our sponsorship deals it easily covers that. Also taking into consideration the people we let go and the wage i feel it would be even less.
    Is our shirt deal not 30 mil a year?

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  49. Good point. Just to add on, the "spending" was financed mainly by sale of Torres, Meireles (I dare anyone to dispute that). In essence, it's just swapping Players A +B with Players C + D. I don't call that spending.

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  50. Just remembered if im not mistaken we saved 30 mil on our wage bill then mate . notice a trend?

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  51. They are really slow to be honest with you and u know that

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  52. It's very hard to comment without seeing any accounts but a good transfer strategy would be to cover any purchases with revenue from player sales. As Henry says, the club should never again be brought to the brink of bankruptcy, and a prudent management of the squad could ensure that these huge purchases won't risk LFC's financial future.

    Any purchase made should at least balance- ie should be worth as much as an asset (or potential sale). This is why the Carroll purchase is so stupid-he was never going to be worth more than £35m, so we were throwing money away. Henry is committed to FFP too. By the way- all of this should be seen as very positive for the club.

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  53. That's not the point. Somebody messed up on deadline day, but it is clearly because they were unwilling to pay over the odds having been so badly burned last year during the transfer window. This is good, i'd rather we were prudent and slow than bought expensive players ad hoc.

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  54. you should call that spending. the club is a business and shouldn't be driven in to the ground. the money has to come from somewhere.

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  55. i always think its ridiculous to even call it the 'relegation zone' pre-January.

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  56. we are talking 6 mil not 35 mil mate and this will cost liverpooleven more. Becos the next time they tell a player they want him and they say tell your club ull only come to liverpool so we can reduce the fees . He`ll say ye Right!!!
    P-ss off

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  57. i agree . not as if well win anything in the next 10 years.
    or did you not see it? lol

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  58. There's no need to be rude. Here is the problem faced by the club's management in a nutshell though. Fans are demanding, impatient, cutthroat.

    You should be satisfied that because of reigned in spending and an end to the profligacy of the last transfer window (which on balance has to be seen as one of the least successful not only in our club's history, but in the history of football) you will still be able to go to Anfield and watch Liverpool play. The alternative is we keep spending big, with absolutely not guarantee of success, and the club faces bankruptcy again.

    Henry's approach is much better- build a team, from the academy upwards. Think past next week 'mate' ;)

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  59. A lot of so-called supporters on here who would be happy to drive the club into the ground.

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  60. Liston Son its not only about how much we spend but also priority spending. I am a wolf not a sheep and you need to understand Economics, Scale of preference is the act of satisfying the most pressing goods before the least pressing goods. Clearly having a striker should of come before bringing in sahin. So as you can see the club is being mismanaged by the preachers.

    Open your yes.If you are gonna cut your busgets then buy accordingly were most needed.

    U get me brov? wink wink

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  61. I hope we dont end up in a worse hole than we're already in. At this point, BR should focus on getting the team to start winning. We need to get enough points on the board, even if he has to ditch his philosophy to get results.

    Its all well and good to talk about philosophies and systems, but the Fact is, once you get stuck in a rut, players lose motivation, mistakes become more common place - its not a good place to be in.

    What I have yet to see is BR willing to change system / strategy mid-way through a match to get results. That is the hallmark of a great manager. Early days, just hope we dont end up with a point after 5 games. The fans will then turn towards BR, which may spell the death roll for him.

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  62. It sure looks that way then, Jaimie. It's always easier to say what you say on hindsight after Kenny's rescue act. You're right to say we are nowhere near relegation but near the relegation zone, I agree. But it (relegation) is certainly a reality that was very possible during that dark period.

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  63. OMG he KK spent 30 mil net not 300 mil net. Entire history? lol You melo dramatic queen just look at what chelsea have spent net and city over the last 3 -5 years.

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  64. With rafa we were getting somewhere. Problem is Americans bought us and not rich Arabs or Russians. Meant we had to start selling to buy.

    then they got rid of rafa and then new americans bought us.

    2 problems here. Americans like to make money and they don't know what football is, they think you have to pick the ball up and run with it.

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  65. Imagine that as a player exchange/swap...that's not called spending. Spending means the manager buys new players without the need to dispose, or you dispose a $1M player and go to the market to buy a $10M player

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  66. change system ? with what exactly? and some thought KK was stubborn. at least he could change systems. We wont go down but Suarez can never get you 20 league goals.

    Worse start since 1962....says it all

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  67. Patouz27, I understand you're upset but you really have to keep a level head and avoid using offensive language.

    Now, back to the football: a- i'm an economics graduate, but thanks for the lesson 'Dad'.
    b- you're right, we should have bought where we needed most, and we do need a striker. however landing sahin was one of the best bits of business done this summer (trust me, you'll like this player).
    c- the argument still applies. whatever we needed, we shouldn't continue to pay over the odds. my feeling is that beyond the fees there were ridiculous personal terms for the club's targets. unfortunate but (again) i'd rather we were prudent and ensured a long, steady, future than we went wasting money on overvalued players.

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  68. football doesnt work that way all the time. you could lose your targets big time. wat u need is giving realistic pricing of your players so when u sell ull get yr money back.

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  69. both are spending while one involves buying. Hence we have net in front of things like net spending . or net profit etc

    Hence one is called gross spending and the other is called net spending mate .

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  70. swap deal are still spending becos every player has his value

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  71. football will have to work that way from now on/ football should have always worked that way. it's up to the clubs to make sure that it does.

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  72. I dont think "wosrt start since 1962" says it all at all. You cant compare to something that happened 50 years ago. Not when you have 1 club who can spend over £100 million in a couple of days.
    We just need to be patient, you can see the signs of what Rogers is trying to achieve its just about ironing out the kinks.

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  73. that is actually a very good point, arsenal have excuses in that they built a staduim.

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  74. These owners will expand anfield or if we are very lucky build a staduim borrowing the money from bank and will sell once structure is complete to make their profit. say 7 years time

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  75. mmm sorry you can campare. 3 games and only one draw. compare. its nots hars. and yet again it is 100 spending but more importantly 30 million net spending. i remember rud gullit spending millions at newcastle then.

    shearer 15 price tag then would be 50-60 mil now

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  76. like i said realistic prising of players works to .

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  77. I think the system should remain.

    What I don't think anyone has questioned yet is why after playing a solid game at Man City does Coates get dropped for Agger? Coates and Skrtel looked solid enough against City baring the odd mistake. Agger like any other player in the squad be it Gerrard, Reina or whoever should be made to work their backside off to get back into the team.

    If we continue to make 1st team football easy for our old gaurd complacency will no doubt creep in leading to performances similar to WBA and Arsenal.

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  78. anon son . you need to look up how much we spent on getting sahin for the season. google it and tell me. we paid 2 mil more than wenger offered and his wage is 115k a week im told. worked out 7 mil for a year. thats not good bizness mate

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  79. Will is right though. The starting point is different (our worst finish in 19 years last season), the three teams we have faced have been different, all other factors are different. There is no sense in comparing.

    If you really want to analyse what the first 3 games tell us you also have to look at the quality of the play/players, improvements since May, the quality of our opposition, etc. Even then, it's fruitless.

    But the point is- liverpool supporters must stop subscribing to the tired narratives peddled by the press. This isn't our worst start in 50 years- I have certainly seen worse liverpool performances, worse liverpool teams, less encouraging starts to seasons in the past.

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  80. Just to add. Lambert showed strength in dropping Shay Given over the weekend for his recent Poor couple off displays. It'll be interesting to see if BR shows the same strength for Reina's recent poor couple of YEARS.

    I eagerly anticipate BR's next goalkeeping decision as it will highlight whether he is a realist or a dreamer.

    Reina, Carra and Gerrard cannot be relied on in 2012. But the ghost of footballers past seems to haunt us unlike any other club in the country.

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  81. in the meantime we shouldn't be running up unsustainable debts buying players who may or may not get us a trophy.

    it's as if the coaching role has been forgotten in football, everyone comments as if it's just buying and selling. too many champ man/ fantasy players

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  82. i think u need to look up how much we spent on him bruv.

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  83. google his salary. i make it 7 mil. 2 mil more than wenger offered.

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  84. i blame kenny dalglish full stop downing 20 mill carroll 35 mill henderson 20 mill adam 9 mill all crap overrated british beef!!!!!!!!1 we should've got rafa back coz good players want to play for him he may have brought crap and he only had 1 bad season but he had an eye for talent and good tactician just ask mourinho!!!!!!!

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  85. This smacks of high risk to me, its all fine and dandy John Henry writing this letter, but if we have any further problems this season i.e injuries then its going to be very difficult for the fan base to take....

    As it stands we are out on a limb already, had we started the season well then the picture MIGHT be a little rosier....for sure it would have been a hell of a lot easier for FSG's supporters to justify some of these somewhat bizarre decisions to cut back our spending where we needed to spend....

    Can't keep harping back to the past and saying we have to change etc...so things have to get worse before they get better....that won't really cut it with the fanbase esp IF things do actually get worse....

    My absolute biggest gripe is the loaning out of Carroll, John Henry is not a football expert, and i guess he must be relying on advisors of some kind, BR was brought in and almost immediately we have been made to look like fools....

    That really isn't a very good start by anyones reckoning, and no matter how hard we try to justify it the problem we now have is a creation of the new guard NOT the old....

    Running a football institution like Liverpool involves making BIG decisions and getting them more right than wrong, have we done this in the transfer window...??? We are being told that we are on the right track, that it is long term re building, so no short term results, clearly the Prem has become a breeding ground for wealthy individuals to take up the challenge of making a Club successful, even the so called smaller Clubs seem to have money to spend, investment is Key towards building success of one kind or another...

    IF a club lacks funds, it can only go so far before its weakness are exposed, squad depth is very important and so is competition for places....otherwise we all know what happens when players become complacent and under perform....

    Maybe John Henry was very unhappy about Carrolls fee, fine, i don't blame him, but i don't see what harm it would have done the Club to keep hold of him until Jan perhaps...? Like give the guy a run of games....and if it wasn't working we would have been able to say well we tried him in the new system....but it isn't working, so we'll loan him out and bring someone else in, simple. Either that or replace him with a definite upgrade....because apparently he's so rubbish that it should have been easy to replace him....but we did'nt.

    Much of the dissapointment would have been avoided, BR would not be in the awkward position he is in and nor would John Henry...

    Same goes for our goalkeeper issue, should have brought someone in like Spurs did....why take the risk of having yet another season derailed.....?

    Im sorry but i am worried by what i've witnessed and read lately, a lot of the hurt the fans are feeling is because of the let downs of this window and the arrogance and ruthlessness by which certain players have been handled, whilst others who are arguably more to blame have been let of the hook, with little or no competition for their place in the team even....

    It seems we have more issue's than ever before and i hope we don't get injuries, because things could get a LOT worse if they do...

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  86. pathetic article!!!!how can you blame rafael benitez?????i told it before and i'm saying it again!!!!!you are not a liverpool supporter. you are just an enemy writing under cover!!!!i wonder what team you really support!!????

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  87. No jamie is defo a kopite with only one eye open lol

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  88. Well, through a rare birth defect, I was only born with one eye, so I can only ever have one eye open anyway...

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  89. spin it anyway you like its one point out of 3 games and 8 points from top after 3 games. 2 of those games were home games. table never lies .

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  90. no, it doesn't 'lie' it's just an incomplete picture.

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  91. if Jamie has one eye closed, Patouz must have both eyes closed, be wearing a blindfold and be sat in a darkened room underground.

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  92. they are lol hence i see with my minds eye lol

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  93. Things will get worse before the club settles into mid-table mediocrity, as an improvement.
    The last great manager was Rafael Benitez. Until Benny comes back, LFC will be a mid-table mediocrity.
    Rafa was vastly better than Dalglish even if just because he spoke intelligible English. Aditionally, he managed what was at times the most exciting team to watch in Europe.

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  94. As a Rafa fan, he did make SOME mistakes in the transfer market, which ALSO means he did a lot right in the transfer market too. KD's transfer dealings were just one big mistake!

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  95. FSG made an offer for the club knowing the financial state it was in and they bid accordingly. Previous poor signings cant be blamed as they got the club at a very fair price.
    And letting so many forwards go without securing a replacment first is a school boy error.

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  96. In the letter they refer directly to their mistakes;

    "It has been compounded by our own mistakes in a difficult first two years of ownership. It has been a harsh education, but make no mistake, the club is healthier today than when we took over."

    All do respect to the opinions of the fans on this site, but the owners have been as transparent about the operations of the club as any other owners in the premiership. Yes - fans are upset we didn't bring in a striker when we tried to get a good deal. So am I - personally I'm upset that Carroll is gone because I think he can give an option off the bench, but there were financial reasons for that and we should all appreciate that - we don't know all the details, and those details (ie/ budgets, etc) should not be publicly disclosed. Management and the owners got burned this transfer market and they realize it, and it sounds like they've learned from it.

    Time and again I've reiterated that they saved us from a catastrophic reign, they pumped in millions in transfer fees and salaries, and ultimately have the long term interests of the club at hand. They spent 300M in CASH to buy this club - so if that's not in the best interest of the club I don't know what is.

    We need to not only give BR time, but also the owners. It's been a tough few years, but they still have a lot to learn about operating a football club in Europe (it is much different than North American sports like baseball, American football, ice hockey etc, where there is no concept of transfer fees, there are salary caps in place in some sports, and teams don't very often do what Spurs did and overbid on a transfer last minute).

    Make no mistake - these guys are the real deal, unless someone else here can come up with 300M or go and find a new owner in Dubai.

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  97. FSG never denied that they bought LFC at a discount - but that still doesn't mean that it's not the previous regime that ran this club into the ground - I can't think of anyone (except Gillett and Hicks) that think that those two didn't ruin this club.
    If they didn't buy LFC on the cheap then they wouldn't have bought them at all, and Hicks/Gillett may still be running this club!

    With regards to the comment on paying a premium for talent, I think he's referring to the fact that they have overpaid for players in the past, and that's not going to happen anymore, and I don't blame him. Why do we have to pay 20M for Downing when Villa sold Ashley Young to MU for 17M in the same transfer window? Young is clearly a better, younger player. Similarly with Carroll and Hendo - why should LFC be held for ransom? We are not in a position where we can attract 24M talent at the moment. RVP would not come to LFC, Falcoa will not be coming to LFC, Drogba will not be coming to LFC. Let's face it - Fergie got desparate after losing out on key transfers, and then (in my opinion) overpaid for a 29 year old piece of glass - it's a gamble, that LFC can no longer afford to take.

    FSG are not looking for a quick profit on LFC - otherwise they wouldn't have pumped millions in transfers over the last couple years. If you look at the accounts of many clubs, most clubs don't make massive profits (except Arsenal, for obvious reasons), partly because today's wages are highly inflated. However, there is a profit strategy that FSG does not elude to - As an investment professional, my interpretation is this: They saw an opportunity to buy a club in distress with a massive global following for a significant discount. The club already had the workings of what once was a great legacy. By investing in the future of the club, getting us back into the Champions League every year, challenging for trophies, and building a sustained level of success, from a financial perspective the clubs value could rival that of Arsenal or even MU (although that would require the building of a new stadium potentially). In order to do this without losing money, they have to do it in a cost effective manner. At the end of say a 10-20 year period, LFC could be worth 1B vs. the 300M that was paid, and with regular Champs League/trophies/global following, there will be profits for the owners helped by the fact that there is no debt, and LFC will be able to compete for the best players. So yes - there is financial motive for the owners, however it aligns with the long term goals for the fans and the club as well.

    Even then, can you blame them? if I invested 300M, doesn't matter if its for the love of the club, I wouldn't invest if I knew I was gonna lose more money.

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  98. The article also refers to the mistakes that he made as well. The letter is actually objective and accurate - unlike a lot of the emotional anti-american posts on this site.

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  99. rafa took an average team to two euro finals.....i honestly believe we may never get to a final again and will seldom get in the top 4....we just dont have the structure or finances to compete

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  100. Agreed - but I don't think they knew that Spurs were going to outbid because Spurs didn't show any interest in the player - and FSG were hoping to get a cut price deal because they thought Fulham didn't have any other suitors lined up for a player who didn't want to be there anymore. When they say "overspend" on players, they're mostly referring to past transfer windows, and they carried those memories into this transfer dealing hoping to finally swing a good deal.

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  101. I don't see anywhere in the article that Henry blames Dalglish - he blames past "regimes" - Dalglish managed under FSG's regimes;
    Clearly - Henry is blaming Hicks and Gillett, not Benitez (who was restricted by H&G's policies).

    Now with that in perspective, who would you rather have - FSG or Hicks and Gillett? Sometimes you can't pick your owners, but in this case I am very happy and satisfied with FSG for the long term benefit of the club.

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  102. Agreed to a point - if there are world class players out there who will play for LFC at this moment, then let's get them; problem is they don't want to and we're not willing to pay City or Chelsea wages to attract them.

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  103. "With Rafa we were getting somewhere"

    How right you are.. and then we make the biggest mistake that has set us back years...

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  104. What about last year, when all those players were on LFC's salary? These offloads are only in the last couple of months.

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  105. He spent 30M net, but he wasted over 75M (Carroll, Hendo, Downing, Adam) - just because he recovered 50M for Torres doesn't cover up those mistakes.

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  106. You're right re: Sahin's salary - only thing is Real Madrid are still paying for a good portion of it, so we're not paying for the full amount.

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  107. I'm glad I'm not the only one on this site who defends the owners needs to monitor costs like a real business!

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  108. For me, I think its a fair approach to take from FSG in relation to being frugal and prudent in the last transfer window. Because we are a club who has/had a wage bill of a CL club without being in CL for the last few seasons. Because we are a club who has wasted a lot of money on transfers under KK and Comolli. They are not like City or Chelsea owners with their almost endless funds, they are running Liverpool like a business. So in terms of not spending big after Allen's signing, I understand but they still should have done whatever they could do bring in a decent striker. Didn't have to be world class but someone solid. But that aside, people have to remember we aren't like Chelsea or City who can throw almost endless money at their transfer flops. KK and Comolli really messed up big time with transfers and sadly, that legacy and the fallout from that has had its effect on our transfer policy last window. Rightly so, as again, we aren't City or Chelsea with their funds.

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  109. I would disagree with the statement that once the owners lose the fans they cannot get them back, look at Mike Ashley at Newcastle, did some things that really pissed people off but by correcting mistakes and doing things mostly right he won the public support back (but no doubt, it's very difficult).

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  110. I have a question and if someone would like to try to answer it I would appreciate it. Do you think that Dempsey would have added revenue value to LFC over and above his performance based on his stature in the USA and given LFC's growing (or previously growing) popularity stateside? (I don't know what the answer is, but I assumed that Dempsey would have expanded fanbase and revenue for LFC (stateside) over and above a similar signing. Tottenham is paying an annual cost for Dempsey of $10m, 7m salary, plus 9m over three years for the transfer fee, e.g. 3m. How many fans did LFC have to add to make up this amount? I would have though this was a no-brainer.)

    In any event, look at the positives. LFC are playing better than last year (on the field), and they have a very good defense (and the current defensive problems will likely work out). I'm sorry FSG didn't go after Dempsey agressively. I think alot more people (especially US based) would have been drawn to LFC. I also think that his goal scoring ability is very real. In any event, Henry and Warner are very capable and - if they view this as a mistake - will learn from it.

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  111. Sunday's game with Arsenal was the most difficult experience that I could bear as a Liverpool fc's fan since I felt in love with the club in 1998. Even though we experience similar difficulties under KD last season but the bitter experiences were somewhat shadowed by few exciting victories and perhaps the winning of the carling cup. It remains evident that KD made some graved mitakes by allowing Torres to leave the club for a 35m flop in Andy Carroll. Also, his handling of Suarez-Evra's racial issue was very poor and reflected his inability to restore peace and forster diversity among players. Despite being a flop, however, I think Rogers would have been little patient not to let Andy leave on loan unless he finds a suitable replacement. In my opinion, the sale of Adam and letting Carroll leave was too immature. Adam and Carroll would have stayed at the club since we have 3 competitions to play in this season. PL, which we dsire a top 4 finish; Carling cup now Capital One cup; FA cup and Europa league respectively. Having seen the team's previous outing in Europa League against especially Hearts, it remains a puzzling question whether we are capable enough to survive the group stage with the likes of Udenese and deadly striker like Eto'o's Anzi. Nevertheless, we should all hope that the goalscoring woes that bemoarned us last season till present, can vanish in couple weeks to come.....I really yearn to see the real Steven Gerrard back to his oldself!

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  112. yes still adds up to 7.2 mil but wat is worse is real madrid bought him for 7.9 mil. doesnt make sense .

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  113. You have a ' feeling ' BR's is the right man for the job ???

    Thats the best you can do in his defense..

    For someone who writes with such statistical and factual ferocity i find this somewhat incredulous..

    Now based on your 'feeling' your 'positive' BR's is the right man for the job .. really ?

    Lets get one thing straight .. Rodgers failure to have SIGNED up a replacement for the clubs most expensive player BEFORE he left is the worst piece of tranfer business in LFC history.. to call it a 'serious mistake' is dis ingenious.. It's so amateurish it's almost unforgivable.

    Blame FSG perhaps ?? I say no.. If he was the man he said he was with final say on tranfers then the buck stops with him. Now we are left with 2 senior strikers at the club and one of these is a dud he paid 8 million for.. How do I know he's a dud ?? I just have a feeling after watching him play rubbish since he arrived .. AC IS better than Borini and the stats you rely so much on will prove this come the end of the season.

    I like BR's..I won't use past tense just yet.. but this is an awful start to his managerial 'transfer' carrer at LFC.. Something you constantly use to berate Rafa and Daglish ..

    Just because you have a 'feeling' about a manager, like some people had about Rafa or Kenny, doesn't mean you can ignore the facts.. something your quick to do to other people.

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  114. Jamies - please fix your table. You can't just add up average numbers - do the maths properly!!! I make it an average gross spend of just over £30m per year over the 21 years. It works out a little less than £12m net gross spend over the same period.

    Btw, excellent analysis apart from that. I am truly shocked by the wasterfulness of the spending from 1990 - 2011. We just haven't picked the right players, at the right age, in the right positions, and blended them into the right teams. Too many poor managers over that period - Souness, Hodgson, and Kenny part 2 (season 2) being the worst of the lot in terms of wastefulness.

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  115. Not true... What about mike ashley at Newcastle ?? Even the glaziers at MU whilst certainly not the most popular owners in the world seemed to have stemed the tide of hatred.. So it is possible to win ANY clubs fans back round.. course it usually involves spending money.

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  116. Quite right. Henry is clearly blaming H&G and, to a lesser extent, Moores who was happy to sit on his biscuit tin and run the club like a corner shop. Even when we were the most famous club in Europe, United pissed on us commercially.

    How can FSG possibly blame Kenny, when they sanctioned the purchases????!!!

    Just another excuse for JK to slag off Rafa and Kenny, two LFC legends, whilst sucking up to his new beau....

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  117. scot the term waste is what u use to desribe something with no value. adams was sold for 4 mil so it cant be waste mate. west ham wanted carol for 17 mil so it is all not waste. so kk didnt waste 75 mil did he ?

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  118. whatgoesaroundcomesaround10:43 pm, September 03, 2012

    Fantastic - best read Ive had this year

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  119. Patrick Apea-Danquah11:23 pm, September 03, 2012

    FSG are RENOWNED businessmen,now y will they make a(mistake) ridiculous bid at the 11th hour knowing very well that it could go either ways and having prime knowledge that Aston villa have had a bid - twice that amount-rejected n convinced BR to let AC move on .we scored united 4-1 @ OT in 2009 nd they won de league,pray 4 miracle

    in 2009 we scored united 4-1 , they went ahead to win the league.lets pray a miracle happens.

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  120. Hi Jaimie,
    Great article overall, just a quick comment about how you calculated the percentages. For example, where you have calculated the percentage differences between Arsenal and Liverpool's net spend (you stated 68.6%) it is in fact 318.7% of what Arsenal spent (as to find the percentage you divide liverpool's spend by arsenal's spend (3.187) and then transfer the decimal number in to percentages.

    Just thought stating it that way would only serve to further your argument.

    Keep it up!

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  121. Those figures do tend to damn whatever has been going on at Anfield for the last twenty years. It does support the argument have in fact tried to spend their way to success and done a very bad job of it. As disappointing as it is to see Liverpool lose, I would like to see them stick to the plan for once and keep working on the new game plan and continue to give some younger players an opportunity. I agree with JK that they are finally on the right track for long term sustainable success, however, it might require some patience.

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  122. Yeah we get it. Mistakes have been made. But that was all supposed to be in the past right? Liverpool have lived in the past for way too long, whether it be heralding successes or blaming whoever. I don't care anymore. Clint Dempsey would have been a good signing. For the sake of £2M we lost him. This isn't financial prudence this is actual stupidity. To get to this stage and still be mulling over whether a player should be bought is cartoonish. We knew his price, now we're talking about long term strategy. If that was the case spend money on Damaio or someone early. This constant harking back to the past with these retrospective arguments is asinine and I can't be bothered with it. £2M is the difference between a fighting chance of 4th and a mid-table melee. Clowns.

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  123. Drogba`s personal terms would be too hi. prob same with Anelka.

    Yakubu would be ok news to me he is on a free.

    personally reckon we missed out on 2 lightening quick ,

    cheap strikers ie Drenthe & Babel.

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  124. Well, actually Rafa started doing that (rebuilding the Academy) years ago - as well as bringing in young talent like Raheem Sterling. However, Rafa was also pragmatic enough to deal-and-wheel in the market - and his successes (such as Torres, Agger, Reina, Skrtel, Alonso) on the transfer market far outweighed his failures (Keane, Aquilani). He came close to buying Dani Alves for £8m, one of the top players in the world today, only for Rick Parry to block the transfer. LFC needs both long-term and short-term planning to break back into the Champions League and build a squad capable of winning the EPL. Rafa understood this, Rodgers probably also, but does John Henry? I would say that on the basis of his "open letter", the answer is more a no than a yes ...

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  125. Spending money isn't the problem, it's whether you get value for money. You criticize Benitez almost weekly, even though he left the club years ago, but the fact is he spent money and we got results. We won the CL, we went to another final, we stayed in the top 4 and we came within 4 points of winning the Premiership. We were one of the most feared teams in Europe and in comparison to the last 3 years we were an outstanding success under the Benitez management. Benitez never spent any money the club didn't have, he generated his money through success in Europe and through selling players for more than he paid for them. The notion that spending money on older players with no sell on value is wrong is absolute nonsense, every manager including Ferguson buys players based on whether they compliment the team not based on their potential sell on value. We are on a very slippery slope if our transfer policy has to adhere to this principal at all costs.

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  126. lets all forget what happen in the past fans an players an manger need all together stay strong an work for our family club an sort out the mistakes im sure we come back with the bast ever

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  127. Agree 100% DAVID MOORES was the cause of LFC decline.

    Also for the decline of Littlewoods.

    I hope the useless tw@t is having plenty sleepless nites

    the Bahamas are wherever.

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  128. God be with me but I think I agree with close to everything that Jamie Kanwar has said. Right now fans just want someone to blame, someone to spew nonsense at so that they can try and feel better. In truth what we need to do as a club is man-up and accept where we are: a struggling premier league club that will face a fight to stay out of the middle. Crying and shouting about it, blaming owners or managers or players or people who are not even here any more ... it's all just a bit childish. Competing at the top level of football in the world is hard, plain and simple. There are no easy solutions, no quick fixes. Dempsey wouldn't have made a damn difference to how we played on Sunday because what we put out there was a strong 11. We all need to grow up a little and stop acting like spoiled children. This is not the 70s or the 80s, this club is not as powerful as it once was. It will take a ton of hard work to get back to that level and in the mean time if fans get upset or angry about results that don't suit their expectations then they only have themselves to blame.

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  129. They said very clearly that they would look at their own mistakes and try to improve. How did you not understand that from reading the letter?

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  130. It's easy to say but it's not your money is it? Do you really want to be a part of a football club that can only be successful by the owners stumping up millions of pounds of money that the club doesn't actually earn? I personally am not interested in that. If the club has to run at a loss in order to buy "world class players" then football as a whole has problems, not just LFC. It's a stupid way to run a sport. Fans have become so insensitive to the actual real nature of this money, it's like you think we're playing monopoly. You talk about being serious but the problem with the way fans talk about 15 or 20 million pounds is very much not serious at all.

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  131. That's what you "believe". Let's be clear, you don't have any actual good evidence to back this up. Not running a football club at a loss isn't a sin, it just makes sense. Easy to criticise when it's not your money isn't it? Stop making up rumours that you can't actually show to be true. You're just upset because your football team isn't doing well so you're trying to play up FSG as the bad guys to blame them for everything that goes wrong. That's really quite childish. Grow up and face facts: running a football club into the ground with debt and overspending is not the right way to go. FSG have already committed plenty of funds for transfers and offer new contracts with good salaries to our top players. There just isn't any real reason to think this is a money making exercise for them.

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  132. With Rafa, we got somewhere in the beginning but headed down towards the end. And I know people are going to go into the lack of funds and us qualifying for Champions League every season. But those were seasons with no real competition from the likes of Spurs, Manc City and Newcastle. Look, Rafa did well for LFC in certain areas and failed in certain areas. But I just wish people would stop going back to Rafa and look forward. I like the man but time to look forward beyond Rafa.

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  133. If your version is true, then I feel absolutely flabbergasted. I should think that Ayre would be smart enough to request for pre-approved budget of say 6-8m and not leave it to the last minute to sought for one and knowing that Dempsey had rejected a Villa bid of 6m (I think) to come to Liverpool.

    It was unfair of the owners to suddenly wake up and stop all funds to Brendan, a man they wanted to build a Liverpool for the future.

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  134. Don't take for granted that just because we are Liverpool and have a rich tradition will not be relegated. Look at all other clubs and they are bringing in a lot more players than us. Pray very hard that we will stay up.

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  135. Never pay over £10m for a british player!!

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  136. We all need to calm down and have some faith in the new manager. The style of play is changing and it needs time. We played extremely well against 'Citeh' which illustrates ability. The goals will come when players are more comfortable with one another and the new "Pass & move" ethos. This season was always going to be tough, we don't have megabucks, cunning and intelligent football is our only chance. Instant success is NOT realistic!

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  137. Difficult to know how much money they have, but the most important point is that 24 months ago we were about to go into administration and now we aren't. We may have to be prudent but so do most teams (city and Chelsea excepted). The key as always is can Rodgers spend and use what he has effectively. Clearly at the moment the answer is a resounding no. But, we will see.

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  138. Don't be ridiculous....he had one bad season brought on by the refusal of the owners to back him...every season under Benitez we improved...the squad improved.....only for idiots to believe the press and get on his back ....well I hope the morons out there have enjoyed the last few years...cos we won't be seeing cl football any time soon under these tightwads

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  139. That's rich coming from you...my way or the highway you bell

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  140. The afore mentioned managers made some shocking signings, but they didn't negotiate transfer fees, they didn't set the wages, and who was it that blew ~£20 million sacking three managers in 18 months? The finances are down to the man signing the cheques.

    Three scenarios to consider -
    Today;
    LFC: Hello Mr Drogba, I'm sure you've read all about our need for a striker, so I'll come right to the point. How a bout it?
    Drogba: (After he stops laughing) £120,000 a week.
    LFC: Sorry, that's too much.
    Drogba: Okay, I don't need the money and I don't need the cold weather. Have a nice day, see ya.

    January:
    LFC: Hello, Mr Chairman. This is LFC. We're interested in buying your striker.
    Mr Chairman: Okay £50million.
    LFC: That's a bit steep, he's only in the reserves.
    Mr Chairman: Dya want him or not??? Okay, just for you, £60 million.

    LFC: Hello Mr World Class Foreign Striker. This is LFC. Would you like to play for us.
    WCFS: Who??? Oh that team that won European Cups years ago. You're down in the relegation places? Okay, £250,00 a week, a relegation release clause, a £10 release fee if a club in the Champions League shows interest, and your wife... You are, 'ow you say, 'aving a giraffe??? No?

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  141. Well i think FSG is great where would the club be right now if not for Henry and the boys taking over a fighting H and G in court, maybe like Rangers playing championship football.
    Lets at least grant them that they also spent up last year not their fault Dalglish wasted it royally.
    It is not their fault that they were left with bills from the previous regime or the lousy contracts dealt out Joe Cole anyone?

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  142. Patrick Apea-Danquah8:52 am, September 04, 2012

    i am an accountant but i also get what sugarray is pointing out.that FSG didnt have to go into their pockets to fork out money.... to let players who cost 100 mill come in and let the same value go the other way is technically a swap deal.

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  143. Totally agree. Only idiots fail to see how good Rafa was. How can anyone be happy that we will be mid table...at best. Once we sink to that level what top quality player will join us. Next revenues dry up as sponsors realise they aren't getting value for money and so the decline continues. We are not 1 forward short we are 2 or 3. FSG have got this badly wrong.

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  144. well football is personal to any liverpool fan, and if you say you don't "dislike or hate him" you my friend are deluding yourself.......by the by in your "table" you have liverpool
    ave net spend 1990's at 7.5 2000's at 16.7 then 1990-2011 at 24.7 . sorry but that is mathematically incorect it must be between 7.5 and 16.7 you don't add the figures ( unless you then divide it by 2 ) . Any way like to read your blogs and think you write thoughtfully with one exception and that is Benitez where you can't hide your disslike..

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  145. Guys dont be sold out by their letter. Listen to the man in the hotseat, BR. He said that there will be no transfers in Jan. The yanks said, NO MONEY.

    Sidenote: They also said get to the CL or be fired to Rodgers.

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  146. Did Benitez not win us the CL, FA Cup and got us on second place with 86 points in the PL?

    Had it not been the win of the CL, LFC was doom and gloom. FSG should think before talking of previous regimes. The worst thing about the previous regime was G&H spending LFC funds to repay RBS interest and loan thereby tightening the purse on Benitez having him sell Alonso etc.

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  147. Like I say above, the rest of the football world has us by the b*****s, now.They know we're desperate, they can ask whatever the hell they want in wages/transfer fees and we have no negotiating leverage. It's take it or leave it.
    Saving £2 million could cost tens of millions - a. to actually get a striker in place and b. in lost league finishing money, because if they don't bite the bullet and offer Owen or Drogba whatever they want, there isn't a hope in hell of Borini or Suarez getting ten goals between them before January. We will be in a worse state than we were when Roy Hodgson got the elbow, that's a certainty.
    I expect FSG are saving January's money to pay BR off next May.

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  148. I think you need to face facts. How can you possibly believe that they are not in it for the money? They bloody well should be in it for the money as they are bussinessmen not suger daddys.

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  149. Ever since BR managed liverpool i have seen a change in the way LFC plays football. Pass and move football. The reason for not spending as comfortably as we must is due to the fact that KK had spurned the money on unreliable players. I still believe henderson and Caroll will come good but the money spent on downing and adam is colossal.
    BR brought some good players who loves to play. They will need some time to gel together and we must be realistic we faced to top four opponents in 3 league games and west brom is a good side also.
    I personally do not believe spending big brings great players. I see that football as team makes individuals.
    Thank You.

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  150. FSG just have a bunch of good spin doctors. They're undoubtedly better politicians than their predecessors, but as far as I'm concerned they're not really much better than their predecessors were

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  151. What is so ridiculous about the comments. Everyone sees things differently and everyone is entitled to his/her opinions. We can go on and on about Rafa but each is entitled to their opinions. There is nothing idiotic or moronic about that. It takes an idiot or moron to call others that. So, please comment and respond maturely and appropriately and please grow up and respect others.

    People should be able to agree to disagree.

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  152. Fantastic article by Jaimie and as usual he is dead right. All our problems were caused by Rafa Benitez. OK. he won the Champions League and apart from the last season consistently got us in the Champions League but at what cost? Stocking the team with players like Alonso and Torres and basically ruining us. We should trust in FSG who have a long-term vision for the future. Ok, they are never going to build a new stadium or redevelop Anfield because they simply haven't got the cash and we won't be competing for a top four place at any time in the next few years but in the long term we will be financially solvent and we won't owe any money. Alright it's true that we'lll never be a really big club again but do fans really want that at the expense of debt? I for one would much rather be a solvent selling club like Fulham rather than have the kind of so-called success that Benitez brought us.

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  153. During rafas time even I was being slightly swayed by the media towards the end, but I was not happy with him being sacked.

    Yes I will point to the lack of funds. The same lack of funds that are holding us back now. A big club should not have to sell to buy. But like I said we were purchased by Americans and not Arabs or Russians.

    We might have been boring to watch then but I don't remember being embarrassed by small clubs every other week as it has been over last few years.

    Keep hearing patience but I am sorry I have been patient since 1990. The only time we were getting somewhere was with rafa.

    I am sure all of us want Americans to go away and some real money men to come in. Both times we were sold to Americans, there were other interested parties but we went with Americans. Why?

    Yes there are now 6 teams competing. But we ain't in that top 6 category right now. How can we look forward when 2 years after these Americans promised us success it seems we have not moved forward. The top 6 can all spend money, we can't. Yes it will take time, but how many more years, and how many times do we have to keep hearing that?

    The owners are the problem. Chelsea and man city have proved you can win the league by spending big. If rafa had an endless fund we probably would have won the league that year or the following.

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  154. Yes, I agree with you on many points. I don't deny Rafa did a good job. My only bone of contention with him was that he did not successfully built a stronger pool of back up players who can come in to replace seniors when they leave like what Sir Alex and Arsene did. I also thought he made some questionable buys. But generally, he did well given the limited resources available to him.

    But my point really is that we should look forward beyond Rafa now that Brendan is in. I wished some big money guys had bought LFC like the Middle Easterns of Russians. None of the tops teams seems to be bothered about the financial fair play for now.

    I don't mind having a bit more patience with LFC IF the owners continue to support Brendan financially in the market because the team looks to be heading somewhere again with his playing style BUT he needs the players to come in.

    By the way, thank you for your sensible and mature comments.

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  155. Jamie, my opinion has changed on this. Getting worse before it gets better may sound like a standard approach, however, the nature of the premier league will NOT accomodate that. If we get worse, we'll fall and fall down the table. Assuming we will naturally rise straight back up again is wishful thinking. If we want to rise, we have to attract top talent who want to play in a quality squad. Adding to that, the likelihood of Liverpools stars such as Suarez and Sterling will increase. Sterling will be tempted by Spurs or Arsenal while Suarez will go off to Barcelona. Gerrard is close to running on his last legs, and other important players like Agger and Skrtel will leave too. I understand a rise back to the top will be slow, but, we can't afford to fall too far down the ladder. We'll just injure ourselves even more and more.

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  156. Well Jay it aint what you say it is what you do and they saved our beloved club and are trying to make it a long term certainty great stuff FSG.

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  157. Looks like a dirty old man anyway...with his gloryfied prostitute wife.

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  158. Wow...you are so easy to fool.

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  159. Rafa was by far one of the best managers we ever had - he made mistakes with transfer as all managers do. He was also the manager that dug in and got us 30 Million for Alonso Aside from alonso and torres, our next highest player we sold was mascherano and then fowler !. Liverpool have an extremely bad team of people who negotiate transfers on our behalf. We always buy at inflated fees and sell talent that we have for much lower fees.

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