I have liked FSG as owners. They have done all they said and we are much better off under their stewardship.
Looking ahead, I am less certain about their ownership, but that is largely due to the rules (that they play by) not being enforced. So it feels like we need more money to make its way onto the pitch. Obviously not just money though. And yes, of course it is possible to squander money too. So there are no guarantees.
But a bright future looks like Klopp + a new DOF + recruitment strategy aligned + analysis/stattos embraced + revenue streams continuing to grow + more money being spent on the team than we have been spending. And yes, of course we have been spending. But we need to do a bit more, I feel, given prices going up. Not Chelsea amounts. Not cheating like Man City.
But enough to back Klopp to finish building his next great Liverpool team.
We need investment in team clear as dayā¦addressed in the summer hopefully.
But as a longer term strategy do FSG need to get get us investment to build a group of clubs feeding into Liverpool FC at the top.
2nd or 3rd tier in South Amercia. Europe and Middle east to develop players for LFC?
Agree in principle. But the caveat to that is should be what constitutes ābacking Kloppā. If we donāt buy Bellingham and another midfielder for a combined Ā£200m that doesnāt necessarily mean that they didnāt back Klopp if we āonlyā sign two Ā£40m midfielders who may not be superstars but give us the reliablity and stability in midfield that we need to compete, then that should be good enough.
Whatever Klopp deems to need to compete at the highest level - If thatās Bellingham, get him, if thatās 2 * Ā£40mil midfielders he wants, get them.
No more āthis summer will be bigā bullshit, deliver what the man needs.
Itās been an utterly bizarre period of reporting. The idea they were looking for an out was predicated 100% on them engaging the two big investment banks. There not only was no statement from anyone at the club indicating they were looking for an exit, but the day the news broke they reiterated the company line, that had been their public line for a couple of years, about looking for investment/partners. No one seemed to accept that their actions in engaging these banks is entirely consistent with what they were publicly saying and so supposedly serious outlets just kept running with the āfactā that we were up for sale, FSG wanted out, and the club were destabilized by it (the thing that had been happening for years already).
Direct quote from Chairman Tom Werner that the club were āexploring a saleā definitely added to the feeling that we would be sold. A few were playing it down, but there was something substantive in play to suggest we were up for sale.
Obviously now that John Henry has spoken it has all moved on since the Werner quote, and investment seems like it is on the way.
Iām sure when we know more about that we will pick over the bones of it. Hopefully it is sufficient for Klopp to finish building his next great Liverpool side.
We have a history of shopping at all levels of the market and I am hoping that continues.
I am definitely fine with FSG staying on in any capacity, including as majority owners.
I just want them to invest what is necessary to make this club consistently competitive for the biggest trophies. The stature and history of this club deserve nothing less.
I also would like to see some level of stability in the clubās hierarchy moving forward. Hiring a new Sporting Director is an important priority, and I am pleased to read that the club is moving in that direction.
I keep saying this as well, but itās totally true.
There is a number of ways Klopp could need backing. It could be with cash. It could be to trust in his methods and his ability to coach and improve what we already have.
For some people ābacking the managerā really means spend loads more money.
I mean, look at Bajcetic. The lad is fucking brilliant and only going to get better. Could be an absolute diamond. He would have not got a look in if Jurgen had bought two midfielders this summer as fans demanded.
Iād say thereās enough truth in that saying that the manager always wants a bit more than the owners can provide. And thatās a natural dynamic Iād say.
I donāt think behind the scenes that thereās a massive difference in that between Klopp and, I donāt know, someone like Mourinho or whoever is branded as someone who commands signings (I canāt describe it better).
Klopp just said recently that itās not a matter of him wanting (even used other words to say that yes, we want signings), but the ānumbersā people tell him what we can and cannot do.
Then of course, success is not only related to transfer activity. Money is big these days, but itās not all perfectly placed on league tables by net spend.
It was clear last summer that we were prepared to make Tchouameni our new transfer record. The other thing is that we didnāt want to get someone else who is not named Tchouameni or Bellingham. Up for discussion.
I donāt doubt we trust him a lot from the clubās perspective.
We changed a lot over the years, personnel, infrastructure with him being involved, ways and habits.
On Bajcetic, well, our season might have been better if we bought a midfielder or two (Iām not saying we shouldāve done it, itās up for discussion). Team success is clearly above a Stefan Bajcetic.
I donāt know who had this in mind, he was a young CB playing U18 football coming back from a serious injury. Did the staff know already that heās one of the best talents from his group? Yeah, surely. But how heād cope and how heād become needed in the middle of this season?
The rest weāll see, impossible to predict how heāll develop, etc.
We decided in the last few windows to go for Diaz, Nunez, Gakpo. All forward players. With Mane going, we certainly needed one. But all of them and exactly those? Time will tell. Maybe we did a bit too much in the forward line and left the midfield line a tad too late (and Iām saying this as someone who doesnāt think midfield is our only or main problem).
Sorry for a third post in a row, but I remember a press conferenceā¦
Not sure if it was this season or last season. I think it might have been an embargo section when Klopp can be more relaxed and go deeper into some topics.
I felt that Klopp was starting to be a bit frustrated with our ālimitationsā financially.
I think deep down heād love it if we could move the boundaries just a little bit more. Because maybe they all realize weāre now in the need to build a new team (not 11 players at once, nobody can do that in a quality way), but we donāt have anymore so many players to sell like in the first years of Klopp raising value on the pitch and Edwards in the background doing a bit of āmagicā.
And it could be exactly what the owners are trying to do now, not sell, but see if we can maximize more from how we operate, give us more buying power.
Fans have their own measures whether the manager is being backed or not. If Jude is signed, they will say that finally that Klopp has finally forced FSG to back him. If we sign Mount, they will say that FSG is screwing Klopp. They will not care whether Klopp says thats who he wants. It has been like that for some fans from day 1 as long FSG does not sign the players they think they should sign. The only way that FSG can possibly please these fans would be to go bankrupt by putting all their money into buying players, and only players, who cares about infrastructures like stadium, community, youth facilities etcā¦
On the latest news that there is no full sale, it makes sense all along. FSG operates like a sensible business. We try to be profitable as much as we can and only takes on investments for strategic purposes. We should never try to be like some of big startups of the world where they make billions in revenue and still end up making net losses, because of disregard for the longevity of the business and will just take on external investments like debts.
Nah, Iām ok. I will just look forward to FSG baulking at the price of any players between 30 million to 50 million pounds and end up getting freebies and/or extending Milnerās contract.