How do you see an LFC only investment playing out?
I know we are just speculating, but how much, and what happens to the money?
Also, do you think there’s any scope for a full sale?
I see a potential investment more in terms of what a partner can bring to the table strategically or operationally. There is talk of FSG wanting to do something similar to City Group, and get access to markets and expertise they don’t already have in house.
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Some parties they are talking to may be football only, don’t give a damn about baseball, NASCAR, hockey, etc. But the fundamental management model has appeal, so they buy into FSG without buying into FSG, so to speak.
My guess is that there is scope for a full sale. FSG aren’t in a rush, but have clearly lost faith in the various FFP regimes that were part of the conditions of their investment. If they can get out with a significant return, I think they would take it.
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I has been touted by certain people that what FSG are hoping for, after realising FFP is going to be more or less pointless, and after incorrect conceptualization of Super League, is for football to start owning its own content instead of depending on a 3rd party broadcasters like Sky or BT. Apparently that has the potential to bring in almost 10x the money that comes in now.
But we do need reforms in football before that happens, otherwise all the money will just end up in the pockets of players and their agents, with even big clubs like ours left scraping by year after year.
Right now the only way we’d make a significant profit is by player sales or by winning PL or CL. Manchester City and Pep existing in the same period as our green patch has made the later difficult unfortunately.
That is not really true. ManU has been massively profitable over the past 10 years, and have not won much. Commercial income is the real driver for the PL, and that has been an area where FSG are undoubtedly quite pleased with the overall situatuion.
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I think there can be a sale wherein FSG sells quite a bit of percentage to others but stays back and runs the club.
The other shareholders then can pump in the revenue and investment into the club.
Pretty sure there will be people who can opt for this… Invest in a playtoy without bothering to appoint people etc etc for the day to day operations
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Hopefully they decide to sell up as a whole.
Better to be run by an individual (or group) from the same organisation, than have all these jockeys who hop on board and start dictating how they want the club to be run, all of a sudden your club is being pulled in 5 different directions.
Agreed, but in case of ManU, it feels a case of them still dining on their past success. People who became fans of United in the 20 odd years after premier league started are still their fans today (despite lack of trophies). They have built a commercial juggernaut off of that, that is still letting them compete almost toe to toe with City (purely financially I mean).
Wasn’t it Van Gaal I think who said that United sometimes even tend to prioritize the commercial side more than the football side? I’m not sure that particular way is right way to go either.
I can see the benefits with FSG still running the football side of the operations. Despite the mistakes that FSG did make , they as owners get the club and the city. New shareholders giving them money to spend would only help Liverpool imo. This is with the caveat that the new owners will not involve themselves in the footballing matters of the club.
Even if they sell the club , they’ll be hoping to get more than what man utd sell for.
This is a steady biz with a renovated stadium , there’s not too much of investment needed in the infrastructure part… (As opposed to man utd who probably require the better part of 2 billion for a new stadium etc)
I think they do realise that investment is needed and it’s not just to bump up what they can get out of the club.
That feeling will be probably cutting across in Baseball too.
Their aims were always to qualify for the CL, that was achieved under Klopp the entire time but it is not evident that though the club is not far off it needs investment to remain competitive.
It’s a share + ( a commitment of providing funding every year , whether through legitimate contacts or through oil money/ shell companies etc ).
Something like that will work out.
No, I don’t think it does in baseball - not outside investment anyway. Their problem in baseball is very different, just stuck in a murderous division and they are in a predictable down cycle. The fundamental problem is that we may now be in an era where to be competitive at the top level a club may have to be willing to burn money. It is not ‘investment’ if there is no possibility of a positive return, it is just running at a loss. Citeh may play sponsorship games to disguise it but that is what they have been doing.
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An outright sale of the club would only mean oil money coming in. I’ll have to revisit my interest to the game provided that happens.
I agree , at this point… Any further investment is a sunk investment from a finance perspective.
The ruling on city and their illegal activities should be happening sooner rather than later.
I’m saying there in a period.
Financially they will wish to retain those talents they will get access to. They may be in a murderous division but with the expansion of wild card they should at least be open to competing.
They didn’t just happen to end up winning for a period due to draft, you have to be able to retain and Tampa and Toronto seem to have been better at that.
[quote=“Quicksand, post:7579, topic:116, full:true”]
City’s next manager won’t be Arteta, in an ideal world.
It will be Neil Warnock or Allardyce trying to get them out of the Championship after they’re demoted at the end of this season for being cheats.[/quote]
FIFY 
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Hate to do this.
It’s about them being relegated to league two
Well, let’s wait till 1st Sept to see who are the final signings of the window. By then, we will know FSG’s true ambitions for LFC.
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