The Owners - FSG

Our owners have been good owners. In a rules based order I wouldn’t want another owner. Since we don’t have that, do I want another owner?

Maybe, maybe not. But my wishes are irrelevant, as they have decided to seek a sale, in whole or in part, and they didn’t consult me :joy:

We have been able to compete at the highest level in the past under FSG. We have been to three CL finals in five years, we have won the league, and we have knocked on the door several other times, amassing a points total as runners up that would have won the Premier League most years.

What we don’t know is whether or not it is reasonable to extrapolate past performance into future expectations. We don’t know what the future will hold, and there is a case both for and against whether or not we would continue to be as competitive, if FSG decided to not sell and instead chose to stay on.

The case for remaining competitive at the top has been eloquently put by Mascot and others. Revenues have gone up. That has been excellent to see. Debt on infrastructure has been paid down, and so now a combination of additional revenue, plus the ability to service some debt for squad building, if that was chosen, is now possible.

So conceivably we could continue to be competitive at the top under FSG, moving forward.

The case against remaining competitive is largely down to the spiraling costs and increased competition, both by fair means and foul. A glance at the revenue table should fill us all with pride at our amazing club, but I can’t help but see Man City ahead of us, by foul means.

Besides cheating on the revenue, the artificially inflated clubs have made costs spiral out of control, even beyond our own revenue progress. Man City will be there for the duration, at or near the top. Newcastle will be a force from this point forward too. Chelsea are doing poorly right now, but their spending continues to baffle. At some point the stars will align for them, either with Potter or another manager, and they will be up there again.

Competition from Arsenal and Man Utd is also getting fierce, and while they are both debt laden, and one is for sale, they look like they will have a good go at the top four for the foreseeable future.

All things considered I’m not sure we would stay as competitive at the top, were FSG to continue as owners. We wouldn’t be no hopers, but I do think we would slip back slightly.

3 Likes
Do you believe the owners of Liverpool FC (current or future) should inject money into the club, even if it means the club is run at a loss?
  • Yes, the owners should regularly subsidise the club
  • Yes, but only at key moments
  • No

0 voters

“Should” here means as a responsibility or obligation of their ownership.

The situation is too nuanced to give an answer. But if I had to choose, I would say yes, but only at key moments I.e. when to not do so would likely mean a backwards step.

A survey that goes before this one would be:

Do you think the governing authorities in the game should run a rules based order?

Because it is rotten at the top, the usual considerations over how to run things are somewhat compromised.

Option 4
  • LFC should be forcibly taken over and restructured into a community-owned association

0 voters

Hmm, I thought he talked nonsense but he wasn’t questioned he was ridiculed. I thought he had a lot of patience.

As regards LFC, this season has been crap. No two ways about it but it won’t take much to address the issues. 3 players for me. 2 midfielders and a defender.

Who knows what Klopp really thinks? It’s hard to interpret what he means about taking risks etc. One thing though, we’ve defo been slow to move on players who have been passengers for a while.

1 Like

Only capital investments like Anfield expansion etc.

1 Like

I wasn’t. I was giving a realistic choice for the FUTURE.

A realistic choice based on a poor run of form?
Maybe a look at recent history would indicate a better future?

Huge amount of money. Then you think Chelsea have spent £445m in the past year! United £250m. Sickening

Net Spend is an important factor but if that is the only thing we use to evaluate a club, then Man City who has supposedly an even lower net spend than us, constantly winning the league, would be the shining example. But we know better than that. We are proud to call Liverpool our club because we simply know there are alot more rights than wrongs in this club, than just net spend.

Huh?

Would it be sickening if we were owned by a mega billionaire LFC die hard scouser who dumped billions into our transfer kitty and we won everything?

It’d be champagne and cigars and laughing at everybody else and we all know it.

1 Like

I had that reaction in me too, but over the last 5 seasons, the fact is they did have a lower net spend than us. Unbelievable but true. But we all know what other dirty things are happening in that club.

You have to bear in mind that QSI spent a hell lot in their early years which allowed them to strengthen and fill their squad with very good squad players that can be resold easily in the future.

That is also why their net spend is low now.

1 Like

Maybe when I was a child I thought that way, but buying success is meaningless…

Regarding the poll, I not sure which option represents my view.

I believe the club should be run sustainably and within its means, and as long as there are savvy people leveraging the club to its maximum potential, across the commercial side, the scouting, the analysis and so forth, we can be competitive.

I also believe the club should be able to occasionally use its borrowing capacity to fund a squad investment, when it is needed (which is what I think will happen this summer)

7 Likes

Fixed

3 Likes

You might want to consider the billion they spent before that, which they recouped a fraction of in sales over past 5 years

How does that work long term? You don’t need me to tell you that you can’t keep borrowing to spend. Ask Leeds fans. FSG have 4 choices. Borrow to compete, spend at our financially permissible rate, they invest or sell. They’ve pretty much said they’re not investing, I don’t want them to borrow against future success thus giving us chasing 4th or being owned by somebody else…

Posted at 12:2312:23

‘Klopp got a reaction in midweek’

Liverpool v Chelsea (12:30 GMT)

Leon Osman

Former Everton midfielder on Football Focus

Most of Liverpool’s starting XI are on the subs bench, but they’ve struggled for form. Jurgen Klopp made changes against Wolves this week and got a reaction.

I’m not surprised to see the likes of Harvey Elliott still in the team.

How do some of these numpty’s ever get a job as a pundit :roll_eyes:

HaHa… put this in the wrong thread but may as well leave it in here also :0)

1 Like