The Owners - FSG

there are no bad side effects of a $750mil cash infusion into the ownership group.

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Have you read any of the articles at all?

https://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/lebron-james-joins-liverpool-ownership-group-as-club/uwvnu5el5zm71ehq3fmlyhaai

"The new investment, sources say, will allow the club to absorb the financial pressures of the coronavirus pandemic. It is estimated that the reigning Premier League champions will lose more than Ā£120m ($165m) in revenue due to Covid-19, and the arrival of RedBird will go a long way to lowering the debt incurred by FSG during that period.

"Crucially, that means plans to expand Anfield should be able to proceed as originally planned. In December, Liverpool submitted a planning application for their new Ā£60m ($83m) Anfield Road stand, which would increase their stadiumā€™s capacity to around 61,000. The project was delayed when Covid hit 12 months ago, but should now be resumed.

"In terms of more instant returns, we should not expect to see lavish spending in the transfer market. No Kylian Mbappe or Erling Haaland, in short. FSGā€™s policy, sources say, will remain unchanged. New signings will be pursued in line with the clubā€™s well-worn market strategy ā€“ a strategy which, in fairness, had reaped rewards up until this season.

"What it does mean, though, is that the summer should be a more ā€˜regularā€™ one at Anfield, even if Jurgen Kloppā€™s side fail to qualify for the Champions League. Klopp, who retains the full backing of his owners, has been assured that funds will be available for new players, and Liverpool will as ever look to move on a number of fringe players in order to refresh and rejuvenate their squad.

"They want a centre-back and a new forward, for certain, and it would be a surprise if at least one midfielder was not recruited too. They will target players who fit the clubā€™s key criteria, in terms of age, potential, value and playing style.

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Soā€¦ what I said???

Also from the Athleticā€¦

"This investment will allow continuity and stability for a club which has been hit hard by the impact of the global pandemic. Anfield officials now estimate that COVID-19 has cost them Ā£120 million in lost revenues. The owners chose to carry those costs in the form of additional debt and borrowing against FSG rather than Liverpool specific as it made more sense financially.

A portion of the Red Bird investment will be new capital on the FSG balance sheet to reduce the debts incurred over the past 12 months running organisations such as Liverpool.

Aside from the Anfield Road plans, the additional benefit to Liverpool of the structure of this investment is that it allows for funding for player recruitment and retention in line with Liverpoolā€™s normal strategy and practices.

It wonā€™t suddenly give Jurgen Klopp a massive transfer kitty for the summer window. But it will enable Liverpool to operate as they would usually ā€” despite the unprecedented losses incurred due to the pandemic."

Thats pretty fucking huge that theyā€™ve done that to be honest, especially considering they constantly get accused of not investing in us, or even taking money out.

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No, you said possibly. Itā€™s not possibly itā€™s catagorically true.

I am hoping the outcome of this is we emerge from covid with momentum. If a ā€˜normalā€™ sort of investment in player recruitment is on the cards, plus funds for Anfield Road expansion, then against a pandemic backdrop that is significant.

Presumably there will be some good deals to be had this summer too, as clubs will be needing to sell to stay afloat? So a modest transfer kitty will give more bang for the buck than usual?

Anyway, it all feels like good newsā€¦ as for how good, letā€™s see.

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Not true till its happened.

Deletedā€¦ repeating myself.

When it was suggested he would have the backing in the market I assumed something like this would happen.

As others have said if we can act normally in the window itā€™s going be better than 95% of clubs

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Whereā€™s the RedBird money, John?

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I have a question. The Ā£120 million loss is incurred by Liverpool. Would the new investment and resulting capital gain, by FSG, wipeout the LFC loss?

If the expansion of the stand moves ahead and LFC has a transfer fund supplemented by FSG, it will be really great for our immediate and longterm future.

Well first itā€™s not Ā£120m loss itā€™s Ā£120m drop in revenue and its spread over 2 financial years.

We can still theoretically declare s break even or profitable year last year despite covid as we were running at a profit previously, did no real investment in the squad that year and clubs that ran at a loss along with also investing have declared losses as ā€œlowā€ as Ā£30-40m, less than our profit the year before.

This year is almost certainly going to show a loss but we wonā€™t know the details for about 12 months yet.

The next summer falls into the 2021/22 seasons annual accounts. There is no rule except FFP that means the losses of this season and last would need to be taken into account and even then thereā€™s huge exceptions.

The worry was always that FSG would need our revenue to recover the the previous losses before we could move on. That didnā€™t have to happen but would have significantly held us back.

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Yeah thats how I read it, my main question is based on us doing little activity really last summer and the one before does this mean weā€™ve got a pretty big kitty ready to go?

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Up till this summer we had a cash bill that was probably around Ā£100m a year two years ago then Ā£50m a year last year that should now be ended. Thatā€™s from the last two years heavy spending we did 3 and 4 years ago. If thatā€™s allowed to continue being the same level thatā€™s either Ā£150m (spread over 3 years like normal) or Ā£200m (spread over 4 years like last summer) worth of incomings before taking into account sales. This should mean we can keep our costs and expenses as they were. So hopefully it does yeah.

Perhaps we shouldnā€™t underestimate the contents of this paragraph:

According to the Boston Globe (a newspaper owned by John Henry) the implied portion that will be new capital added to FSGā€™s balance sheet will be about $150 million.

The remaining moneys, about $600 million, will be distributed to FSGā€™s (pre-existing) partners.

So while it is a substantial sum, it would fall short of covering all of Liverpoolā€™s anticipated lost revenues during the pandemic.

Maybe a case of curbing our enthusiasm until we see how things pan out?

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FSGā€™s Tom Werner lists three reasons why Liverpool have struggled this season:

ā€œI would say weā€™ve certainly not exceeded expectations this year,ā€ Werner replied to The Atheltic when asked what he thought of Liverpoolā€™s season so far.

"I would have three comments. One is that in my experience, it is extremely hard to be a repeat champion, no matter what the sport.

"You climb Mount Everest and you get to the top, and then somebody says ā€˜you have to do it again.ā€™ And so itā€™s challenging under the best of circumstances.

"Secondly, I think that, I donā€™t want to make excuses, but I do think this pandemic has affected Liverpool and the Red Sox in the way that these are very loyal and supportive fan bases, and people used to think that it would be very difficult to win a football match an Anfield, because itā€™s a fortress.

"And this year weā€™ve seen a number of matches that Liverpool has not played up to its capability, and I think a lot of that is the absence of our loyal supporters.

"So, I think the pandemic has perhaps affected us a little bit more, but I also donā€™t want to make excuses.

"Injuries are the third point. And again, thatā€™s a part of sports.

ā€œWhen the Everton goalkeeper took out Virgil van Dijk for the season, that was a blow because he was not only such a critical part of our defence, but a leader.ā€

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He should have come out and criticised the referees for the appalling decisions we have suffered all season, too.

Unlike JĆ¼rgen and the players, Werner is in a position where the authorities are powerless to silence him. He should have used that impunity to make the truth clear.

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Last time Klopp made a comment about refs we started to get bias decisions against usā€¦ last time Wener opened his mouth we delayed signing Virgil and paid a premiumā€¦

In a world where refs are precious princesses Iā€™d be wary of anything public.

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Whereā€™s the money John?

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