MUCH is known about John W Henry’s life, it’s pretty difficult to own two of the biggest sporting institutions in the world and remain anonymous, but despite this, Henry remains somewhat of an enigma.
It has been 3 years since FSG, then known as NESV, purchased Liverpool Football Club. In that time John W Henry has assumed a distant role opting only to offer his input when it seems wholly necessary. It has proved a sensible and appropriate means of contributing to Liverpool’s success.
Meddlers have never been welcome in football, at Liverpool it cannot be countenanced. Tom Hicks and George Gillett were the closest Liverpool have come to interfering owners, they were protested against and ultimately jettisoned. A repeat would be most unwelcome.
Henry is clearly a man who pays attention to such details.
His first interview following the purchase of the club was from PR 101. He raised an issue which the supporters were already worried about in discussing that the stadium was something that they were going to research before acting. He stated that he had no promises to make, except that they would work hard to make the fans proud of the team and he hoped to deliver results. In effect, he used his time to try to manage expectations while stating the obvious aim for progress on and off the pitch.
It was perhaps a demonstration in what was to follow. Henry has become an important part of Liverpool’s public and media persona opting to weigh in only to push the abort button when disaster has approached the club. The open letter to Liverpool fans at the start of last season after failing to secure a striker was clearly an exercise in bomb disposal. John Henry accepted the mistake and promised to learn from it. He also offered a rationale about their decisions. Dempsey was not a player that would make the difference to Liverpool’s season, if it was not a good deal Liverpool would now walk away.
It was an education for the fans as much as for Henry and the lesson had been learned very well. The January window was executed with perfection. Deals were done early and the signings immediately improved the team. This summer, as deadline day approached Liverpool could relax, their deals were done and new recruits were confirmed early leaving all reds to a good night’s sleep.
He was next brought to focus when brushing away Arsenal’s interest in star striker Luis Suarez with the brilliant quip ‘What do you think they’re smoking over there?’ his subsequent confirmation that Luis Suarez would not be sold brought an end to the matter and made Liverpool look strong as well as cool in both senses of the word.
Yet, his ability to choose the right time to interject as well as his decisiveness are not the only examples of the attention he pays to his investments.
The most enlightening thing to read about Henry is in how he made his money. Now trading farming produce on future markets might not be a topic which will enthral or capture you. You’re not alone in that view. What is interesting are the principles by which Henry made his moves in the market. The next sentence is one which will resonate with much that you have read about Moneyball, sabermetrics and Liverpool Football Club. Henry applied a mathematical system to remove elements of emotion in deciding what markets to trade in.
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Effectively, John W Henry let science rule the heart in deciding how he would invest his money. The result was an overwhelming success for the Illinois born businessman. No wonder he was intrigued by the application of the same rules in the field of sport, one of the most emotional businesses that exists.
There is still an element of regret, doubt and emptiness when the words sport and business are so intertwined. No longer do people see the business of sport as simply the winning of competitive fixtures. The business of sport is in developing a brand, an identity and monetising it.
The remit of FSG is to obtain competitive advantages through merchandising, sponsorships and recruiting players and staff that perform equal to or greater than their value. Their means of taking Liverpool to the top is by removing the emotion from their decisions and using a system to yield the best results.
It is a method that has proved successful with the Boston Red Sox. Having bought the team, they appointed Theo Epstein at the age of 28 as the youngest General Manager in the history of the game. 2 years later they had won the World Series then repeated the trick in 2007. What would seem like a high risk move turned out to be an ingenious calculation. The inexperienced man guided the team right to the top.
The similarity with Liverpool is obvious. After terminating club hero Kenny Dalglish’s contract, Henry assessed Andre Villas-Boas and Roberto Martinez as potential managers but finally appointed Brendan Rodgers to take charge of Liverpool FC. All three of these were young managers and seemed like risky selections but they are now all faring well at their respective clubs. Henry has made a living out of making decisions that seem high risk at face value; in reality he has scrutinised the options to make the most cost effective choice.
Yet despite all the talk about money and investment, Henry himself after purchasing Liverpool labelled those looking to make profit from sports institutions as requiring ‘their heads examined’. In the strictest sense this is true. To remain competitive, clubs need constant investment so taking profit out of a club is counter productive. However Liverpool’s current value on Forbes’ assessment in April this year was £415m. Add Champions League football, a bigger stadium and greater TV deals and Liverpool could be worth £1bn in 2-3 years time. While that may seem ludicrous to some, the same measure valued Arsenal at £846m and Man Utd at over £2bn. Were Henry to sell at that price it would represent around a 300% return on a 5-6 year investment.
However, having bested the Curse of the Bambino placed on the Red Sox, John Henry has not simply looked to cash out and walk away. Perhaps his calculations suggest that the Red Sox’s peak value is yet to arrive but this doesn’t resonate with the man who longed to be a rock ‘n’ roll star in his youth. His resurrection of the Red Sox has been a benign one and so far it has been the same with Liverpool. Perhaps being a part of a sporting success is as good for the ego as it is for the wallet.
Perhaps it is a case of realising that boyhood dream of being at the top of sport. Given the same opportunity, many of us would love to run successful sports club. We have never had the ability to compete on the field – the next best thing is to manage or own the team and oversee the recovery. I myself will never amount to a sporting giant but if I had the finances, just like Mr Henry, I could have a World Series winning ring. I could pound my chest when my team won and as owner I would be wholly entitled to say ‘I won that’. And perhaps John Henry’s ego is such that his sole aim is to shatter the mantra of ‘there is no ‘I’ in team’ so emphatically.
But when it comes down to it all, I am not John W Henry. I have no sporting prowess and I have no financial might. So what that leaves me with is a team I can dream on a team called Liverpool FC and if they win the Premier League or any trophy I will bang my chest and shout ‘we won it’ because a shared dream is worth much more than an individual one. But perhaps that is what Mr Henry is chasing anyway – just a way in which he can share dreams with so many other people through sport. To apply science over emotion for emotional gain.
You may say that I’m the dreamer but I’m not the only one.
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Nice write up. I had my doubts about Henry to be honest and while mistakes have been made I really believe his group are doing the best they can and I really appreciate their methods. He was really proven right with the whole Dempsey deal. We could be stuck with a high paid 30 year old that’s not performing right now. He also made a brilliant decision appointing Brendan. Certainly a huge risk and, again, mistakes have been made but I think Brendan is becoming a proper Liverpool manager. I have heard John Henry say that they are involved for the joy of winning and I believe that. It’s a challenge for them and they are doing well. Winning on sound principle rather than oil money is very noble. It’s also true that FSG and their investors haven’t taken anything from Liverpool FC and not given any dividends either. This is surprising but refreshing. We fans want all the decisions made based on our own emotions but it may just be healthier that they aren’t as long as long term success is within reach.
FSG have never taken a dividend from any of their teams, Roush Fenway Racing (NASCAR), Red Sox, LFC, NESN (Sports TV Network), Boston Globe (Paper)….etc, they only invest money. With 17 big investors FSG don’t need the money, Thomas R de Benedetto (FSG), owns AS Roma in Italy. They are very wealthy as a group but not Sugar Daddies like City or Chelsea’s owners, look at the £150m committed to redeveloping Anfield, not to be sniffed at!!!
Thank u fsg for restoring happiness to dis our club cos as of 2010/2011,oh I almost cried for this my dear lfc. FSG THANK U
FSG CONTNUE RESURECTN OUR BLUVD CLUB.YNWA
i have never read a better article on fsg. palms up to brenda riley. I LOVE THAT
Nice to see an article not based on crystal-ball gazing. No hype, no ridiculous claims of who’s coming or going, but an article that is far, far more important about the ethos of the owners. Would we have done better if the Dubai bunch had bought us? I doubt it; at least we have people who are committed to building a winning TEAM and not just buying a collection of very expensive prima donnas like Man C.
I think I have to admit that FSG is trying to reduce the debt caused by the previous regime. Since we are no longer in the champion League , they are trying to generate revenue through other means. I can’t wait for the day for Liverpool to be back in the Champions League.
Whoever wrote this has some seriously good writing skills.
FSG you are awesome.
Would like to read regular commentator @FSG OUT thoughts on this wonderfully accurate posting.
Congrats Brendan Reilly, really nice read.
Don’t agree with this article at all.
Fsg are here to make money. They care nothing for Liverpool FC , the city or English football. And why would they ? They have admitted to having no interest in football
Red sox are different . Henry is a fan of baseball and a fan of the red sox . They are his pride and passion. He can’t even be ars*d to come over and watch Liverpool play
Liverpool are a cash cow for FSG – if you are naive enough to think otherwise – then you are a dreamer
Well said . I agree fully , Henry &co have no interest in LFC other than monetary .
How do you make money without being successful?
If they make money and we succeed, where’s the complaint.
I’ll happily be a deluded fool in that case, and you haters can continue to be bitter.
FSG are a shower of wnkers , who are here to make dollars !!!
Deluded fools . We will never get to the top with fsg. They r clueless about football and won’t spend what is needed.wake up fools
@Ben – They will only make dollars by improving the club (both on- and off-field).
@Dennis – FSG are spending EXACTLY what is *needed*. We have 2 of the best strikers in Europe, the current England captain, one of the best attacking midfield/linkup players in Europe in Coutinho, bought all of our new players BEFORE “deadline day” (just confirmed that last 3 early in the day) and are currently second in the league, only of GOAL DIFFERENCE.
So I have to ask – What exactly is your agenda against FSG?
Or are you both just trying to stir things up by making sweeping – and unfounded – accusations, just because our owners are, once again, American.
Just because the owners are based in the US does NOT make them H&G MkII.
I would (once again) be assisting in their removal if they were, but I am finding their approach so far to be a welcome change.
They are hicks &gillett mark 2, with added smarm. Outspent by smaller clubs and unwilling to bring any top signings in
Top signing ?. Wait . Wasn’t sakho our marquee signing ? HAHAHA
You are right . We need these yankers OUT
Unbelivable comments from you two above. Dont sound LFC supporters at all. The negativity around you is not needed. You should know that a big part of your club success is du to the belive and support of the fans and the caretakers of the club. FSG has shown that they meen to stay and deliver, one step at a time and I think it´s about time somone did exatly that at LFC. Hopfully I´m right and you´ll feel more possitive and can enjoy being in the stands cheering on youre team with the rest of us. YNWA
Ur probably one of the deludes who ‘believed in h&g
And your probably one of those idiots whose opinion is worth as much as a grain of nothing.
Another dumb comment from little kid aaron
He is not .but u are you mug Aaron
What a wonderful piece. Well wrote and accurate, well done.
Isn’t it funny all of the negative comments directed towards this article have come with absolutely no substantial evidence. If you choose to engage with a written article then it would be advisable to substantiate your comments instead of heckling like a school child in the playground.
Well done Brendan a very clear and concise opinion unfortunately it does not appear that a number of people who have read the piece can understand what it means to have an opinion, nor to engage without reducing commentary to banal name calling. The internet troll lives on.
!?? Where is your evidence they care about our club ? How many games did they attend last season ? Wise up u fool . Fsg are clueless about football but good at PR. .so dopes like u believe what they r told
Thank you for making my point for me.
Brilliant
Tom Werner said we could compete with anybody then haggled over 2 or 3 million for Dempsey, leaving us with one striker for half a season. We have not made a big signing e,g, 20 million plus despite turnover increasing and the squad and wage bill decreasing.
Last seasons squad got us to 7th with Suarez on fire. I am not sure how we will improve on that. Gerrard is older and no long term replacement has been found. We didn’t even talk to the fella who ended up at Dortmund. The stadium, 3 years in, nobody has even seen a plan of the proposals for the refurb. What don’t you people understand about “Wolf in Sheep’s clothing”? Are you satisfied because Coutinho and Sturridge banged a load of goals in meaningless matches against teams who downed tools once they hit 40 points? We are in trouble with FSG.Tom Werner said we could compete with anybody then haggled over 2 or 3 million for Dempsey, leaving us with one striker for half a season. We have not made a big signing e,g, 20 million plus despite turnover increasing and the squad and wage bill decreasing.
Last seasons squad got us to 7th with Suarez on fire. I am not sure how we will improve on that. Gerrard is older and no long term replacement has been found. We didn’t even talk to the fella who ended up at Dortmund. The stadium, 3 years in, nobody has even seen a plan of the proposals for the refurb. What don’t you people understand about “Wolf in Sheep’s clothing”? Are you satisfied because Coutinho and Sturridge banged a load of goals in meaningless matches against teams who downed tools once they hit 40 points? We are in trouble with FSG.
Clint Dempsey… Lofty standards!!
Wasn’t it FSG strong stance Re Suarez that means we have one genuinely world class player with us. Doesn’t that help when the trophies are dished out, did they sanction the purchase of two players not succeeding at their respective clubs i.e DS&PC?
Re Suarez: Or should they have sold him for good profit and consumed that profit in an orgy of savagery and lust, laughing all the way to their personal banks. As some of you are going on about them.
6 years of Rapid decline = 6 years of Hicks & Henry, the problem comes first from the boardroom, as for BR, we have academy for players ; we are not a training school for managers, in 2007 we contested the champions league final, last season we were in an average position in an average league..I have been a supporter since the days of Shanks & the standing KOp, and if anyone had told me I would write against Lfc like this I would have taken their head off! .. the apathy of fans, and the lack of reaction against F S G by S.O.S (“union”) says so much about how well the commercial propaganda was sold to fans, only matched by their own ability to swallow the mainstrean media & Lfctv BS! …we will not hold players of quality who have seen Rafa stabbed in the back by Hicks & co, and Kenny stabbed in the back by Henry &co.. I could have bought 2 houses with the money i spent on supporting the REdS .. and I KNOW that we could have managed the club , even in “administration” better than it has been receently, Rafa & Kenny brought in the Kids… and I like this policy, (its realistic in the face of global financial meltdown)
but the boardroom are poisoning our club with erratic and inconsistent decisions that almost seem aimed at harm… sad that so few want to admit it.. (here at least) its a footy version of “the emperors new clothes” … so sad! we are no longer magic, Lfc is currently tragic,,..
Good intelligent comments from kemlynroadite and Chris. Fsg are not to be trusted, only a complete fool would trust them
Good to see at least some realistic fans on here . The deludes think FSG care about LFC . HAHAHA
Don’t like Henry _ the sooner he sells Liverpool to someone with ambition : the better we will all be
The net spend per window is less than 10m average. For a company turning over 200m per year and with costs of 100m on players.
Some of my fellow reds have been brain washed, all is not well at LFC.
FSG are a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
We should be more advanced in several areas e,g, stadium, quality of squad, Gerrard successor, …
Some of us are pleased that we are nearly debt free. We should be with the turnover we have and the ever reducing cost base.
These yank clowns want it on the cheap, it wont happen.
How much debt have they paid off for us?
Could any of you paid off this debt?
Only the ones with small brains are brainwashed. Good comment
There are some idiotic fans on this forum who think FSG and Brendan are doing a good job but their failed intelligence and ambition make it seem this way. There is NO progress under FSG. Shorlty before they came in the club was finishing 2nd in the Premiership. Nowadays the club is nowhere near winning any trophy and the so called “Mickey Mouse” cup cannot be won by trophy allergic Rodgers.
It’s going to be another pathetic season and is already that way being out of Europe and the League cup. LFC are NOT going to win a trophy this season and are worse now than under Kenny Dalglish where we won a trophy, got to a final and were beating the best teams in the land.
It is time for FSG to sell the club to more intelligent owners and recruit a manager who can win trophies.
They may be idiotic my friend but at least they can be called fans.
You and your fellow haters are what is known as seasonal fans, when the going is good you support, when it’s not to your liking you desert the team and everything behind it.
Glad I’m not seasonal, also glad some of my fellow ‘ deludes ‘ are not as well.
When was the last time we were still in the race, this far into the season?
Which doesn’t say much for a club of our stature but yet still ridiculed by ‘ non deluded fans ‘ I’d rather be where we are instead of where we could be if still in debt or run by previous owners.
Since G&H have we moved forward or backwards? Clowns!!!!!
Two cup finals with new owners as well, or have you forgotten!! Deluded? Yes you are.
Although any one who hated G&H are airtight in my book.
Also it was the owners before them who turned down better offers for the club tho not necessarily to their own pocket.
Also, please tell me which owners are not in it for themselves? Chelsea bought Torres for £50m and sold Sturridge for £12m, which player would you currently have? Short sighted ‘fan’!!!
You are seriously stupid aaron . You must be a small kid to be so naive and gullible ? Wake up to the real world u dope
I may have to report you to the police Liam, unless you do something about your fascinating with me being a kid.
44 if you’re asking.
Grow up mate and accept everyone has an opinion.
Spot on EF