Avram Glazer’s decision to sell five million shares in Manchester United, as reported by The Telegraph, will secure around $100m in funds that won’t be pumped back into the club; the latest demonstration of the kind of ownership-style Red Devils supporters have had to put up with.
Liverpool fans are very familiar with the prospect of poor, virtually non-exisistent owners.
Prior to FSG, the Hicks-Gillett era was, to a similar extent, very much defined by a profit-over-performance approach at our expense, culminating in relegation form in the season of 2010/11 and fears over the side going bust.
Are we not giving FSG enough slack?
It cannot be denied that Liverpool were in dire straits toward the tail end of Hicks’ and Gillett’s ownership, which left the club saddled with debt whilst Roy Hodgson still held the reins as manager.
Eventually bringing in Jurgen Klopp, the Americans helped steer the side back to the realm of the European elite; it’s no coincidence that we’re back to competing for the biggest honours on offer.
Likewise, of course, the owners have made mistakes; most recently, FSG’s reluctance to bring in centre-halves to alleviate the pressure on our backline, following injuries to our starting options, rightly attracted the ire of Reds fans across the globe.
Having Klopp at the helm has undoubtedly softened much of the blow suffered from our extensive injury list this term, but we’re sure that our owners will have learned a valuable lesson from their ill-advised gamble.
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Both sets of owners have to navigate the long term interests of the club and the short term crises.
The link between performance on the field and the intrinsic value of the investment is undisputed.
Where it gets tricky is when performance dips. There is not a good track record for owners who throw panic money at problems.
It’s been proven more successful to stick with a good strategy and ride out the crisis.
It’s worked with LFC and the signs are with OGS, it’s beginning to bear fruit at Old Trafford.