Liverpool FC Forum

by **bunglemark2** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 3:11 pm

metalhead wrote:
SouthCoastShankly wrote:
stmichael wrote:encouraging reports from tony barrett in the times today that the owners are looking to spend big in the summer again.

Only you have to put the word "big" into context as come the transfer window and UEFA's financial fair play rules come into effect.

Essentially in this environment £40m will be as big as it gets.

Edit: £40m net spend I mean. Obviously if we recoup on player sales the total spend could be higher.

Looking at which players are likely to leave we could recoup around 15-16m of player sales, for example Aquilani alone is 14m

Lets hope the owners spend big

Did we actually pay out the full amount for Aquaman at the time ?

by **metalhead** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 3:14 pm

dunno, but I think the terms of Aquilani signing was installments and based on appearances.

by **Igor Zidane** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 4:23 pm

Think by the time the summer comes we will have paid 14 of the 16 million we had to pay.

by **neil** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:59 am

something of interest...

ian ayre interview

by **red till i die!!** » Wed Apr 06, 2011 10:49 am

John W Henry: I was shocked by Liverpool's weak squad
Published 23:00 05/04/11 By David Anderson

John W Henry claims he was shocked by how poor Liverpool’s squad was when he bought the club last year.

But the man at the Anfield helm has promised fans their long wait for a title will soon end - and that others will follow.

In a damning indictment of previous owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett and former boss Rafa Benitez, Henry says he was staggered by the lack of depth in such an expensive squad.

Liverpool were particularly weak up front and Dirk Kuyt and David Ngog were the only recognised back-up for Fernando Torres.

Despite this imbalance, the Reds still had one of the heftiest wage bills in the Premier League and Henry is determined to reshape the squad to deliver better value for money.

“The worst surprise was the lack of depth in the squad,” said the American. “Our biggest concern in taking on this responsibility was this issue and it was a bigger issue than we feared.

“There was a huge multi-year payroll for a squad that had very little quality depth.”

Henry began his restructuring work in January by selling the unsettled Torres and Ryan Babel and using the cash to sign Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll and he is determined to make Liverpool great again.

In a season when Manchester United are set to overtake Liverpool’s long-standing record of 18 championships, he vowed to strike back and deliver the club’s first title success since 1990.

“Our No 1 priority is to win the Premier League title,” he said. “That’s what we take with us each day to work as the force that drives us to excel.

“If we can accomplish that, we will have put ourselves in a position to be successful on all fronts, including Europe.

“Success is winning championships. It’s nothing less than that and when you win a championship - and we will - success isn’t measured or accomplished by winning once.”

Henry needs to splash out on a new centre-back and left-back to help realise that dream.

Read more: [url=http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Liverpool-owner-John-Henry-admits-he-was-shocked-by-weakness-of-depth-in-Anfield-squad-art
icle720333.html#ixzz1IjckYAfK]http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news....jckYAfK[/url]

at least he understands the task at hand and hopefully he will tackle it head on in the summer.

by **Igor Zidane** » Thu Apr 07, 2011 12:04 am

Liverpool owner John Henry admits he was shocked by lack of depth and wage bill after taking over at Anfield

Liverpool owner John Henry has admitted he was shocked by the sky-high wage bill the club was paying for a squad suffering from a chronic lack of depth and quality when his Fenway Sports Group consortium completed their takeover at Anfield in October.

The last set of accounts released by the club showed that Liverpool paid more than £100 million on salaries — at the time, the third highest in the Premier League — for the 2008/09 season. That figure is likely to have increased by the time FSG paid £300 million to buy the club last year.

But Henry has acknowledged that the biggest concern of the group was quite how little on-pitch class that outlay had secured Liverpool.

“The worst surprise was the lack of depth in the squad,” Henry told FourFourTwo magazine. “Our biggest concern in taking on this responsibility was this issue and it was a bigger issue than we feared. There was a huge multi-year pay-roll for a squad that had very little depth.”

Solving that problem is likely to be FSG’s priority in what Damien Comolli, Liverpool’s director of football, believes will be an immensely “busy” summer of transfer activity.
Though the club’s new owners will continue to recruit after making clear their intentions in January — signing Luis Suárez and Andy Carroll as Fernando Torres and Ryan Babel departed — FSG believes the wage bill has to present better value for money.

A number of first-team squad players are expected to leave the club to balance the books, with the likes of Sotirios Kyrgiakos, Fabio Aurelio, Milan Jovanovic and Joe Cole all likely to be available, as well as Alberto Aquilani, Paul Konchesky and Emiliano Insua, all currently on loan from Anfield.

How thin the squad available to Kenny Dalglish remains, despite the club’s vast wage outlay, is highlighted by the fact that the Scot is so stretched for defenders — with concerns continuing over injuries sustained by Daniel Agger and Glen Johnson in the defeat at West Bromwich Albion on Saturday — that he is considering drafting two Academy players into his squad.

Both left-back Jack Robinson, Liverpool’s youngest-ever player at 16 years and 250 days when he came on as a substitute against Hull City last May, and John Flanagan, a teenage right-back, have been involved with first-team squads this season but both may now be handed the chance to offer the club’s supporters a glimpse of the future over the coming weeks.

With Martin Kelly and Aurelio also missing, Dalglish only has four defenders — Jamie Carragher, Martin Skrtel, Kyrgiakos and Danny Wilson — fit for Monday’s visit of Manchester City.

Henry, Comolli and Dalglish are well aware that such a dearth of resources cannot be allowed to happen again if the club are to fulfil the American’s vision of a 20th league championship in the near future.

“Our number one priority is to win the Premier League title,” explained Henry. “That is what we take with us each day to work as the force that drives us to excel. If we can accomplish that we will have put ourselves in a position to be successful on all fronts including Europe. Success is winning championships. It is nothing less than that.”

[url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/liverpool/8430111/Liverpool-owner-John-Henry-admits-he-was-shocked-by-lack-of-depth-and-wage-bill-after-taki
ng-over-at-Anfield.html?]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport....d.html?[/url]

by **Greavesie** » Thu Apr 07, 2011 12:20 am

Im glad theyre acknowledging the issues at hand and saying it how it is rather than feeding us :censored:

. Hopefully he's willing to take this on in the long haul. Certainly saying the right words tho. Just got to limp to the finish line that is the end of the season

by **alwayslfc** » Thu Apr 07, 2011 8:14 am

Broughton when he was director said he accepted NESV bid rather than the other alternative bidder was because NESV convinced him that their mission was all about winning. Now they are echoing that message again and I hope they are and looks like they mean business in what they claim they will do.

So far JH sounds sincere enough in wanting to win our 19th title in the not too distant future by such encouraging words and come summer, we'll see whether he will be true to his words by investing heavily in the summer. I've said before time and time again we need at least 8 quality signings in 2 central defenders, 2 playmakers, 2 wingers and a backup striker and most likely a new goalie with Pepe leaving.

Winning the premier league, now this was something that the 2 previous conmen owners had never said.

by **Reg** » Wed Apr 13, 2011 12:55 am

New York Times takes major stake in Liverpool football club

The New York Times Company, America’s most distinguished newspaper group, has emerged as the second-largest shareholder in Liverpool FC, according to new disclosures from the club’s owner, Fenway Sports Group.

12 Apr 2011

John W Henry has revealed precious little detail about the ownership structure since he took control last October, but Premier League rules have required him to reveal that he and the Times group are the two most significant shareholders in FSG, which owns Liverpool and the Boston Red Sox.

The newspaper publisher, a publicly-listed company in the US, was known to be an investor in FSG, formerly New England Sports Ventures, but the size of its stake in the company and Liverpool was not previously clear.

When LeBron James secured a minuscule stake in FSG last week it attracted global interest, but the basketball star’s cosmetic involvement obscured this far more significant revelation.

Henry had initially declared only that he and club chairman Tom Werner shared 50 per cent of the voting rights in Liverpool, but has had to update the declaration of interest after the Premier League pointed out that it did not tally with its information.

The League requires clubs to declare all owners with more than 10 per cent, prompting a revised declaration on the club’s website. It reveals that Henry and the Times group are the only investors with more than 10 per cent of FSG, though Henry is understood to be the largest single shareholder.

The statement also says that Werner is one of “a range of investors” in FSG.

The statement reads: “The economic interest in this company is held by a range of investors, including Tom Werner. Those holding more than a 10 per cent interest are John Henry and the New York Times Company (which is quoted on the New York Stock Exchange). John Henry and Tom Werner are generally responsible for the management of Fenway Sports Group.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport....ub.html

by **Greavesie** » Wed Apr 13, 2011 12:58 am

what the hells going on? I quite want them to reveal who holds what now...I was comfortable when I thought it was 100% FSG but now I'm not so sure...

by **Reg** » Wed Apr 13, 2011 4:40 am

Agree but I think they (NYT and Lebron James) are buying into the Boston Red Sox and not LFC... lets face it they know nowt about footie, Liverpool or Kenny Dalglish. That said, the more media coverage the better.

by **The Good Yank** » Wed Apr 13, 2011 4:58 am

Greavesie wrote:what the hells going on? I quite want them to reveal who holds what now...I was comfortable when I thought it was 100% FSG but now I'm not so sure...

Nothing has changed. The New York Times company was a part of NESV back before they bought LFC. This is just being made a story because they had to reveal which companies have the largest stakes in NESV/FSG.

You can even look at the first post in this thread and see it there.

by **ethanr** » Wed Apr 13, 2011 6:11 am

Well if they still have sole power of the company, but a lot more free cash, it just means they are getting more investors. Imagine them spending $500 million. Then they sell 49% of the club for $300 million, now that it has financial backing and stability. Not only do they make a quick profit, but they have $300 million to invest elsewhere in the club. Like transfers.

by **SouthCoastShankly** » Wed Apr 13, 2011 8:34 am

Stat of the day -

World's richest man, Carlos Slim ($74Bn), owns 7% of NYT, which owns 17% of FSG, which owns LFC. Technically he has 1.2% of LFC.

by **Roger Red Hat** » Wed Apr 13, 2011 9:32 am

SouthCoastShankly wrote:Stat of the day -

World's richest man, Carlos Slim ($74Bn), owns 7% of NYT, which owns 17% of FSG, which owns LFC. Technically he has 1.2% of LFC.

well he needs to dip into his pocket and toss £50m in Kenny's direction.

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