Gary Neville has warned Liverpool fans that they could soon be in for a scenario similar to that of their Manchester United counterparts.
Supporters of the Red Devils have long voiced their opposition to the club’s ownership over concerns about debt, a decline in on-field results and a lack of investment in infrastructure at Old Trafford, with further protests taking place over the weekend (Daily Mail).
FSG have also faced criticism from Reds fans over the manner in which they’ve run things at Anfield, and the Sky Sports pundit has suggested that Jurgen Klopp’s success with the team has protected the owners somewhat, with the situation potentially turning toxic once the German leaves.
Speaking on The Overlap [via Daily Mail], Neville said: “Klopp is protecting the owners [at Liverpool].
“Sir Alex’s genius of actually being able to compile a squad together basically off low spend, relative to the other clubs like Chelsea and City at the time when they started spending, is he is shielding the owners and basically protecting them from what’s eventually going to come.
“I think the patterns at United where the Glazer family are that ultimately they have to leave because they failed in all three of the major sporting and non-sporting objectives.
“My point is once Liverpool start to fail on the sporting objective, if Klopp doesn’t get the money or he leaves in the next year or two, you’ll start to see it unfold there in the same ways as it had done at United with the Glazers.
“Liverpool’s fanbase is equally as passionate, love their club, want to see Liverpool at the very top, they won’t accept them being sixth and seventh now after what they have seen the last few years. They had that for 30 years, they accepted it patiently then.”
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Both northwest clubs have been in the news in recent months over potential changes of ownership, but while the Glazers are currently reviewing bids from potential buyers at United, FSG don’t plan on selling Liverpool and will only accept investors coming in to take minority stakes at Anfield.
John Henry and co have been criticised by many Reds supporters over their perceived frugality (The Guardian), among previous misjudgments (The Athletic), but protests have been rather muted in comparison to what’s taken place in Manchester over the past couple of years.
Neville’s point about Klopp’s relationship with the fan base perhaps shielding FSG from stronger vitriol is a fair one, although the circumstances at the two clubs are markedly different in some aspects.
For instance, while Old Trafford has had minimal structural investment under the Glazers’ reign at United, Liverpool’s owners have overseen the reconstruction of two stands at Anfield, with the stadium’s capacity increasing by more than 25% in that time.
The Reds have also recorded massive revenues during the incumbent ownership (LFC official website), so even if there’s a sense of frustration over a lack of spending in the transfer market, the financial picture on Merseyside is a healthy one.
We simply hope and pray that things don’t deteriorate with our club’s owners to the level which has been witnessed in Manchester.
You can catch Neville’s comments in full below, via The Overlap on YouTube (from 40:10):