In comparison to that
You do wonder if the renovation of the Berenbeu is basically funded by this.
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And the debt on the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
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Yeah thatâs why I donât buy Spurs being innocent explorers in this idea.
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Obviously this fiasco was a total farce and handled really badly.
But I for one understood why FSG considered a ESL.
Theyâre dealing with covid, we are not a benefactor club, yet are competing with benefactor clubs who are now unrestrained spenders due to FFPâs demise. This isnât just the likes of PSG, Chelsea and City, other clubs like Leicester and Everton have spent way more than their operating finances support due to benefactors.
On top of that, the governing bodies are clearly self serving, inept, arguably corrupt, and allow unaccountable result influencing refereeing, which in itself can cause a club like ourselves to miss out on the CL.
Other PL clubs are equally self-serving, they showed that with the blocking of the five subs rule because they knew it would hurt top clubs with more matches to play. They did so despite the risk to player health.
Revenues we get from TV deals are not what we should make given our size and scale.
All told, LFC is both competitively disadvantaged versus benefactors, and held back by smaller clubs and inept/corrupt authorities.
Whilst I am happy to pay taxes to support people in need, in football terms all I care about is LFC prospering. I donât care if smaller clubs go bust, they mean nothing to me, and their supporters are the same sort of people who mock our city and wanted to believe the lies about Hillsborough.
I do not care about the national side, I feel nothing for England as a country, and have zero time for English football. Iâd have been happy if our players couldnât play for England.
This project would never have got anywhere given the self interest of others. Sky and their loud mouth pundits like Carra and Neville went ballistic because the ESL was a threat to their profits. Smaller clubs likewise.
Yes it would have been another step on the road away from what LFC and football originally was, fans probably would have found it harder to afford to follow the club.
But what weâre likely to see going forward, is a LFC living within its means that cannot compete with the benefactors, and facing a hostile PL, referees and smaller clubs.
There is no football family, all we saw this week was self interest from all sides.
One thing is sure, of the six PL clubs involved, going forward two will prosper due to their benefactors (City and Chelsea), one is too big to be hindered (United), Arsenal and Spurs will be no worse off.
It is LFC who will suffer most in my view.
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Iâm actually not against a European League as such in place of the existing cup competitions. However, this must include some form of promotion and relegation and a method for new teams to gain access to it.
For all the wailing, people forget that the Football League used to be a closed shop. Up until the late 80s there was no promotion and relegation with the rest of the football pyramid. the team that finished bottom of Division 4 would be be put into a ballot with the team finishing top of the Alliance Premier. The ballot would be amongst Football League chairmen and, lo and behold, they always re-elected the League team over the AP champions - unless they wanted to get shot of one of the Northern teams which is how Southport and Workington both got kicked out of the league.
I want to see reform of the whole football business as we, the fans, are the ones that ultimately pay the price of billionaire inflation. However, this needs to be based on footballing merit, not the power games of rich individuals.
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While I agree that it is a missed opportunity, I doubt that the funds were available to do it.
The redevelopment of the Main Stand was funded using borrowed money that is being repaid by the club out the revenues generated from the increased number of corporate seats.
Taking on additional debt to remodel the Anfield Road end, whilst having to finalise payments for the new training facility, but lacking the matchday revenues to service the existing debts was probably not a viable financial proposition.
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We need to be careful. Who can buy us? ÂŁ2B???
Chinese or Arab? Not racist but are we sure on human rights.
Anyone else would finance and leverage. I shudder at the term âconsortiumâ.
FSG have been good. Made mistakes for sure. Do not have deep pockets as they run that we spend what we earn. I get that.
FFP and the corrupt regimes of UEFA and FIFA need to be sorted. Football is not the romantic game it was from 50 years ago. Too many parties wanting their piece of the pie.
The next move has to be right⌠remember Hicks and Gillette.
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FSG have messed up again but trying to force them out without a good alternative already on the table is a dangerous game to play, one our fans in particular should be wary of.
Thereâs much worse out there, and sometimes itâs better the devil you know.
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Not only that but who would be able to buy us that also wouldnât have jumped at the Super League idea?
Could anyone give me a positive example of an owner from club xyz?? Someone who does everything right, without problems etc.?? Is this even possible?
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Yeah, I guess thatâs the reality of the matter. I wonder if they would entertain fan ownership, at least up to a certain percent of the club shares. Is it something that would have to be ratified by PL/FA anyway?
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The Leicester owner family seems decent. Havenât seen that kind of love for club owners at any other club.
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Any club interested in/invited to the ESL would have had to seriously consider the âopportunityâ. Buy in, or suffer. Maybe some Euro clubs (Bayern, PSG saw the light and refused to engage, but if Liverpool had refused to sign up, and had the proposals been successful how many fans would be crying about lack of ambition by FSG?
The lack of dialogue isnt easily forgiven, but the lack of leaks before announcement was quite remarkable. Maybe they were unable to seek advice on the issue?
I am not an apologist for them, in my view they have to show serious intent now, money for Klopp etc. But I suppose we have to examine all the factors involved.
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This is very interesting, cheers mate. I didnât know anything about it.
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Not that Iâm particularly keen on Bayern as a club, or find the people in charge pleasant, but one has to recognise that they have done a stellar job on all accounts. Of course, this has only been possible because of the clubâs fan-ownership system. Otherwise, the likes of Hoeness or Rumenigge would never have been appointed in the first time.
Dortmund is another good example, and there are others in Germany. Not that there are never problems, but in the whole, the 50+1 rule has produced more good than bad for the welfare and stability of clubs.
True. You can get lucky at times when a billionaire takes over. It remains to be seen whether they play the game fairly in terms of FFP. I have my doubts.
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Well, there is also a lot of stress at Bayern at the moment, Hansi Flick has already publicly stated that he is asking for his contract to be terminated, and there were several unpleasant public arguments between Flick and Salihamidzic. Players are brought in or sold without consulting the coach. Nobody here would want that either. The whole drama may not have really arrived here tbf.
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Yeah, I donât follow Bayern on a regular basis, and of course they have always their dramas. Hoeness and Rumenigge are imo extremely unpalatable people, but still, over the long term, they have achieved wonders to be fair with them.
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Yeah I hadnât thought about that, I think it would be worth the league relooking at a regional north/south mind.
I donât know how everyone here would react if the president had to go to jail because he evaded taxes, etc. So, thatâs all fine from outside (and if youâre only looking at their achievements) but internally it looks a lot different.
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Thatâs what I mean tbh, there is probably never an absolute perfect solution.
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