Faith in FSG evaporates as Liverpool owners face the fallout from the latest in a long line of blunders
- Liverpool’s owners again underestimate the club’s fan base and the importance of football’s traditions
- There has been a sharp increase in anti-FSG sentiment on social media
Liverpool are at a crossroads. The future direction is unclear. The only thing for certain is that the European Super League has proved a blind alley. A divisive and destabilising dead end.
It has been a fractious week and the fallout will linger for some time. John W Henry, the principal owner, released a video on Wednesday accepting responsibility for the decision to join the 12 clubs who signed up to a breakaway competition. The Boston-based head of Fenway Sports Group (FSG) apologised. The 71-year-old will have to repair relationships with the manager, the squad and the supporters. FSG alienated almost everyone around the club.
Jurgen Klopp was not warned in advance before the story broke on Sunday. The 53-year-old has repeatedly stated his objections to a Super League and was not impressed by the news. While Henry and the other plotters remained silent, Klopp and his players had to face the media’s questions before and after the 1-1 draw against Leeds United on Monday. The manager emerged from the experience “bruised,” sources inside Anfield indicated.
Klopp is FSG’s biggest asset. There has been a complete transformation in attitude and approach at the club since the German arrived on Merseyside six years ago. It is vital that the owners hold on to their title-winning talisman.
Liverpool owner John W Henry apologises to fans over breakaway proposal
Bayern Munich, who stood firm against the idea of the Super League, are looking for a coach and are known to admire Klopp. His experience in the Bundesliga while in charge of Mainz and Borussia Dortmund left him with some antipathy towards his homeland’s dominant club but Bayern’s stance this week at least contained an element of .. He would not relish being employed by Qatari-owned Paris Saint-Germain – the other elite club that rejected the Super League’s overtures – so his pool of potential jobs is very small. Klopp has already said he will leave Anfield in three years’ time and Bayern might try to tempt him to depart earlier. FSG must do everything to stop this happening.
The players, too, have been destabilised. James Milner faced the cameras after the Elland Road draw and Jordan Henderson organised the protest on social media on Tuesday when the squad posted the same message. “We don’t like it and don’t want it to happen,” they said. “That is our collective position.”
The stark message to Boston was unequivocal. Many in the dressing-room were in the early stages of taking legal advice. Trust in FSG is at an all-time low.
The worst-case summer scenario involves a fifth-place or lower finish, an unsettled, undermanned and unhappy squad, a tight transfer budget and a manager wondering whether he wants to begin a rebuilding programme for owners he does not trust
The worst-case summer scenario involves a fifth-place or lower finish, an unsettled, undermanned and unhappy squad, a tight transfer budget and a manager wondering whether he wants to begin a rebuilding programme for owners he does not trust. Henry has a big job on his hands to stop things running out of control.
Relations with the fans have been damaged. There has already been an upsurge in “FSG out” protests across social media. The Americans cannot be forced out of Anfield. Any initiative to remove them is doomed.
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Although Henry is open to offers for the club, the price – in the region of £2.5 billion – makes a sale unfeasible. There are very few buyers. Liverpool are stuck with FSG and the owners have to live with a fan base that is seething with resentment at the notion they were considered disposable “legacy fans”.
One way for Henry to rebuild some confidence would be to give supporters’ representatives a tiny share of the club and offer them a voice in future decision-making. They gifted LeBron James, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar, a small number of shares. If they can do this for an NBA multimillionaire, then a gesture to the fans should not be beyond the realms of possibility. No one believes that anything like this will happen.
Much of Liverpool’s identity is based around the Kop and FSG have underestimated how much value the Anfield atmosphere has in projecting the image of the club across the world. Henry has never truly appreciated how much fans contribute to Liverpool’s global appeal.
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The only thing that will really smooth over the wounds opened by the ill-judged Super League adventure is success on the pitch. The team does not look equipped to achieve that goal.
FSG cannot afford another mistake. They need to back the manager, ensure he has the right players to thrive and hope the fans will come around.
Faith has been badly undermined at Anfield. Belief takes years to build but can evaporate in a moment. The path forward for Liverpool is a precarious one because the owners chose a dangerous, doomed route – one that put money ahead of history, culture and people.
