WITH a statement just released by Liverpool FC this morning, it looks like the last lingering traces of Hicks and Gillett are withering away into the ether, restricted to the nightmares of Reds around the world.
This, in isolation, is an absolutely magnificent piece of news; the only thing better would be to meet Dr. Emmett Brown, buy a Delorean and head back in time and have a serious chat with Mr Moores and Mr Parry.
However, such is the world that this cannot be looked upon in isolation. The wording of the statement is deliberately vague as you would expect and often see in pieces detailing what amounts to an out of court settlement.
Now we know that the legal action brought was not specifically against the football club but rather individuals connected to it, past and present. I would find it extremely unlikely that given the events of 2010 that FSG were not still involved in some capacity.
What does this mean for us?
One possibility is that, quite sensibly, there has been a hesitancy to ‘go wild’ in terms of spending on players or a stadium with this looming overhead. So with this whole sordid affair finished, the old purse strings of FSG may be loosened somewhat, leading to a rather enjoyable rest of January and summer months.
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It is clear the squad needs beefing up in size as well as some ready-made quality. As it stands we have lost Cole and gained Sturridge.
Sturridge is a good attacking addition but hasn’t improved squad numbers with Cole leaving.
Another possibility is that to avoid dragging the great name of Liverpool Football Club through the courts again, a pay-off has been agreed. Now in some respect this is good as we can move forwards, but potentially this pay-off has hampered our actions in the transfer market and taking the stadium forward. The cupboard, whilst happy the greedy morons have left, is bare.
It could all actually be completely separate and have no effect on what we can do, but these points need to be considered.
What do you think? Happy to be rid of H&G even if it means we are restricted to growing potential rather than buying ready-made? Or would you have wanted to take them through the courts?
I for one am happy that this sorry episode is complete and we can move on and concentrate on the future.
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Out of the frying pan , into the fire .
Just trading one set of scumbuckets here to screw us , with another .
FSG are a company , here for profit not for fun
I think it is harsh to compare the 2 to be honest.
I dont profess to know the intentions of FSG, but what I can say is that they are not plunging the club into heavy debt with astounding interest payments to make their money, and for me that is a good thing.
A more accurate comparison perhaps is with Randy Lerner at Villa. All well and good keeping costs and expenidture low with a commitment to youth players (see my last piece!) but you need established players to bring them through (the Sterling interview in the mirror I think, shows this)and those established players need to be of Liverpool standard and thats not necessarily cheap. I think FSG need to find the right mix and unfortunately in the short term that will cost money!
Dave, I could not agree with you more. They are only interested in the Red Sox and couldn’t give a rats about a franchise that is even bigger than baseball in general. Hope they take a leaf out of H&G book and go the same route and never step foot back at Anfield again.
Look im no fan of H&G , but at least they seemed to leave the running of the club to people who knew football .
FSG dont know football . Their decisions have been poor , their choice of managers , management and staff have been poor . Their ridiculous documentary makes us look like fools . Their long term plan for LFC has zero chance of working .
Everything FSG have done has been wrong . If they wont do the decent thing and sell , then they should at least sack that moron Ayre , go back home , and hire a decent chairman who knows how to run a english football club
I know there is a fair amount of FSG beef from people and yes some of the decisions made have been questionable and puzzling, but it is too easy to focus on the negatives.
It should never be forgotten that they did oust H&G in the first place, whether they got us on the cheap or whatever, they staved off administration and cleared the astronomical club debt. I saw Tony Barrett described H&G as dropping a nuclear bomb at the heart of LFC and FSG are still dealing with that fallout, which I can quite believe!
Off the pitch the club is coming on leaps and bounds in the whole marketing and branding stuff, and whether you like that or not it is absolutely crucial in todays game, how do you think MUFC can operate with such huge debt levels?
To repeat myself the most important thing at the club at the moment is to clear all the toxicity left by those 2 morons, whether it to make us a sellable assett for them or to establish a platform to build from.
Do we need someone ‘footballing’ in the role Ayre is in now? I think so. Should Ayre go? not at all, they need to get him doing what he does best.
Ayre is a tosser , he should be sacked immediately
No doubt in my mind , Henry & co have pulled the wool over our eyes and are here to milk the cash cow
why oyu think that about Ayre?
and again why you think that about Henry & co? surely if they were here to milk the cash cow as it were they would have cashed in on Suarez, Sterling, Suso, Skrtel and Agger whilst interest was sky high? instead they tied down to long contracts.
Tony Barrett quoted that H&G let off a nuclear bomb at the heart of LFC and the fallout is still being dealt with. A comment I truly agree with
Tim. I don’t think this whole affair has effected the amount of money FSG has choosen to spend. If that had been the case then they wouldn’t have spent 35million on Carroll, 20million on Downing and 16million on Henderson earlier on. I genuinely think FSG got scared because of that frightening waste of money rather than the Hicks/Gillet case.
thats a fair point, and rather than a definitive statement this piece was about possibilities.
Playing devils advocate somewhat though….one of the sticks used to beat FSG with is that their ‘net’ spend is very minimal therefore suggesting that the deals sanctioned under their watch is money not from their pocket, whereas any potential court fees and payouts would have had to have been if not accounted for. Therefore this could mean a pot of gold as it were, available as it is not going to the morons. On the other hand it may have already gone!
Or indeed it may have no relevance whatsoever
I do have trust in FSG Tim to bring us back up to the top. It is evident that they have the money to spend on players but after last seasons failure they aren’t prepared to spend big again, which I understand. I also understand why some fans are complaining about FSG, they are still yet to fully understand the game, club and transfers and that was made clear in the last transfer window however, they do learn from their mistakes.
I’m not sure how long they have owned the Red Sox for but they had a philosophy and it brought them 2 World Series titles after a very long drought without winning anything, and Liverpool are in a very similar situation but different game of course. That’s why I do trust in their strategy and I really hope it works.