Our bird deserves unconditional love

Like any other Liverpool supporter I was disappointed with our business during the January transfer window.

It’s not a secret that I am definitely not a fan of Fenway Sports Group (FSG) but this doesn’t mean that I use every negative to attack them or to strengthen any agenda that some people may think I have. I actually don’t have an agenda by the way, I just don’t have much time for them. Nothing would make me happier to see a successful Liverpool FC under their stewardship but I’m not convinced that it’s ever going to happen.

“We have a budget, we work with it. We have a lot of things to do; the club is building a stand, this is for the long-term development of the club.”

When Jürgen Klopp made reference to the new stand when talking about his transfer budget, it made my ears prick up a little. I’m not for one minute suggesting money was held back because of that work, but it was one of those quotes that I make a note of in case I ever need to come back to it a couple of years down the line.

For example, I’ve never forgotten jotting down this classic from Tom Werner:

“I would say we certainly have the resources to compete with anybody in football.”

Then there was this one from John Henry following the summer 2012 transfer window:

” … it is unfortunate that on this occasion we were unable to conclude acceptable deals to bring those targets in. But a summer window which brought in three young, but significantly talented starters in Joe Allen, Nuri Sahin and Fabio Borini as well as two exciting young potential stars of the future – Samed Yesil and Oussama Assaidi – could hardly be deemed a failure as we build for the future.”

These are funny quotes that people like me can dig up to rub in their faces at every opportunity to knock them. However, people that follow me closely will know that I have gone on record many times defending FSG. Why? Because I feel that at times they have been mugged off by the so called football experts and advisors that are within their circle, all of which have their own agenda and only care about themselves, their careers and their investments.

Although I don’t trust FSG one bit, they have, whether you are prepared to accept it or not, invested in players and also many individuals, individuals who are supposed to help guide them. FSG know nothing about football. Their knowledge of football is like my knowledge of salads. They have placed their trust in people who have repeatedly let them down, and in my opinion, they still haven’t learnt from this.

Oh and the investing in players comment. Don’t go there. I’m fully aware of their net spend and I’m fully aware that when they oversee Philippe Coutinho’s sale that they will of course spend well again then. Think Torres. Think Suarez. Think Sterling. Sell to spend well (sometimes). I know, I know. I’m trying not to defend them but they didn’t have have to re-inject a lot of cash after those sales, money that was then wasted by a bunch of loons. The problem is, they appointed those loons and that’s FSG for you. You can defend them but if you’re honest, you can then find a reason to stick the knife into them and if you do end up knifing them, you can then find reasons to defend them. It’s like a vicious circle.

FSG don’t love football. They’re not here to “save” us. Never have I heard so much naive sh*te in all my life. If you think that, you are as deluded as Brendan was. I’d rather have gone into administration and taken the 9-point deduction. We’ve dropped more points under FSG anyway 😉 Administration wouldn’t have been the end of the world. There is no way in the world a club of our size would have gone under. It’s utter madness to try and suggest such when people try to tell us how FSG “saved” us, so please, stop embarrassing yourself if you are one of them.

John Henry once said “we will not overpay for players”. Well that wasn’t true because we’ve been mugged left, right and centre since he said that. Again, this is down to the muppets that FSG employ(ed).

We didn’t overpay for Alex Teixeira though and that’s why some fans are throwing their toys out of their prams today. I understand why they’re doing that. If we’ve overpaid for sh*t before then why not overpay for someone that your new, high-profile manager wants? After all, we have to show him that we can deliver who he wants, right? But is overpaying because you have a history of doing it, the right thing? I think not. The manager himself said Teixeira was too expensive. He asked for trust. Well he gets it from me but I won’t be trusting FSG any time soon though.

Klopp won’t toe-the-line like Brendan Rodgers did. It’s all very well speaking out like a victim after the event but Rodgers continually lied to supporters that he was pulling the shots when he wasn’t. You won’t get this from Klopp. He’s new. He has to be respectful. He will be taking in what the owners and executives are saying to him and he’ll be nodding for a while. He’ll know when they are taking the piss. At the moment, I don’t believe they are. If they take the piss, he’ll be gone within 2 years tops. It would make no sense to try it on, unless of course they were about to jump ship. Will they sell at some point? Of course they will and I believe this will be much sooner than people think but until then, they need the franchise to increase in value. Think more seats. More hospitality. What gives you that? Increased capacities. Lucrative fixtures. Good football (a top coach). It is all falling into place. Trust me, I’m a doctor!

Forget January because I believe that the manager will be fully backed in the summer. FSG need Champions League football for that stand and their flashy little brochures. I also mean permanent CL member status and not just CL qualification and then dropping out a few rounds in.

Klopp fancied Teixeira but he’s prepared to wait until a proper window comes around to do his business and it’s obvious to me that he has a couple of ‘big deals’ already stacked up, ones that will make the supporters forget the misery of signing a Championship player on loan during January. Yes we signed Marko Grujic but he was immediately loaned out so he’s not available to the manager so you can turn your caps-lock off. I see 3 or 4 substantial deals on the horizon. All I would suggest is you monitor the net spend in the summer and take into account what wasn’t spent in January. Your move FSG.

What angers Liverpool fans is that they see FSG spending well over in Boston with their beloved Red Sox. Ironically, they’ve just been accused of over paying on a huge deal: ‘Boston Red Sox sign David Price, but overpay to get their ace starter’ (ESPN, December 2015). They agreed a deal that gave 30-year-old David Price a £150m contract (personal terms) making him the highest paid pitcher in MLB history. Read up on it. Take a look. A “staggering deal” … “The Red Sox pulled out all of the stops to get their man” … “mouth-watering” and so on. However the huge debate that followed is did they overpay? Now I’m no expert at rounders. Former Liverpool owner Tom Hicks did invite me to Dallas once to watch his Texas Rangers side and I nearly fell asleep, but I do know that this is a massive investment.

Liverpool fans get to hear about what’s happening with the Red Sox. They then try and draw comparisons which I think is probably a bad idea because we don’t know the ins and outs of the finances concerning them. But we’re bright enough to know that baseball is FSG’s love just like football is ours. We are not their priority and this is the main issue I have with FSG. I don’t care about what happened with Teixeira. I really don’t. But I do care that someone who owns our beloved club will never, ever, ever, ever understand what she means to us.

If you prioritise something in your life it means it takes priority over something else. Liverpool Football Club should be someone’s priority. She should have unconditional love. She deserves more attention. You can play with her, you can keep offering up a gift here and there to keep her loved ones at a distance but at some point she’s going to wake up to your sh*t and hopefully someone else will whisk her away.

She’s been used before and it’s going to stop. She has a big family and if I was FSG I wouldn’t want to upset them. If all those brothers and sisters finally decide that she’s been exploited and they’ve been manipulated, they’ll need more than a new stand to hide behind.

But you know what. Why can’t we just have someone that cares? It’s not much to ask. I don’t need to challenge for everything year in, year out. I don’t need to see billions spent. All I want, and I know I speak for every single Liverpool fan reading this drivel, is 100% effort and commitment. Give the fans that and you become part of that special family by default. Meet us half way FFS.

Those that have little faith in FSG can be won over. Recruiting Klopp was a step in the right direction. In the summer they have an opportunity to build on that. If not, I see a break-up on the horizon.

Do you agree with me or am I talking sh*t again? Drop me a comment below or join me on our members’ website.

YNWA

Duncan Oldham
KopTalk® Editor