When Fenway Sports Group (FSG) bought Liverpool back in 2010, we all thought, wow!, the end to the dark rule of Hicks and Gillett, when we really struggled in the transfer market.
In fact, Benitez in his book ‘Champions League dream’ claims that Tom Hicks and George Gillett were the main cause of the financial meltdown that shattered Liverpool’s title hopes and sent us to a long time decline. In his words “For five years I had been a football manager at Liverpool. By the start of my sixth, it was clear I had become something else entirely. I was suddenly supposed to be a bank manager. “Decisions were being made to appease the banks, not the fans. That is how serious the situation with the owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, had become. “Attempting to work in the transfer market that summer was almost impossible.”
However when FSG gained the ownership of Liverpool, we were jubilant as if we just got free from an autocratic ruler to a democracy when FSG showed they were driven by the passion of the fans.
Fast forward to when Dalglish was appointed, he was given a jackpot in transfer kitty of over a £100m and any proceeds from sales. Yes! It is our time -we thought but after the unimpressive display of players in that league season,we knew something had to be done but no one knew that was the end to any massive spending.
Dalglish out,Rodgers in and since then,we have only been seeing signings of less than £25m while our rivals keep breaking the bank and Rodgers constantly claiming we do not have the financial prowess to compete. This was very disheartening to every Liverpool fan because going by the 80s when we were banging in the trophies and we had one of the biggest wage list in Europe but now what do we see?
Furthermore, this transfer season has been no different with our spending almost at break even with proceeds but I must commend our man of steel, Brendan Rodgers, who would work with what he has, so far there is quality to take us back to our glory days. So I say to every Kopite, get behind the team and support!
LFC will never walk alone.
YNWA
Ab. Peter Olu