Recent figures that were published suggested that FSG’s net owner funding was the ‘second lowest in the division’ and that had led to huge criticism from many Liverpool supporters but there have now been further updates.
Writing for The Athletic, James Pearce said: ‘It’s no secret that FSG don’t put money into Liverpool — but neither do they take cash out of the club.
‘The fact Liverpool’s net-owner funding over the past five years stands at negative £37million is down to the money that’s been repaid to the owners for the low-interest loan they took out to finance the new £110million Main Stand in 2016. The most recent accounts showed that the balance now stands at £71.4million.
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‘My frustration with the debate over the ownership is that there seems to be so little middle ground, especially on social media. The idea that you’re either “FSG Out” or an “FSG apologist” is ridiculous. It is possible to believe the owners have done a lot of good things and made some mistakes along the way while questioning whether their self-sustaining business model for Liverpool can really bring more glory given the financial muscle of rivals’.
This update shows that, whilst John Henry may not be injecting large sums of money into the club, he is also not withdrawing any funds.
The negative net-owner funding of £37 million over the past five years can be attributed to the repayment of a low-interest loan taken out by the owners to finance the construction of the impressive £110 million Main Stand in 2016 – the most recent accounts show a remaining balance of £71.4 million on the loan.
The journalist has highlighted the importance of finding a middle ground in the discussions about ownership.
It is possible to acknowledge the positive contributions FSG have made to the club while also recognising their occasional missteps, we should all question whether the current self-sustaining business model can compete with the financial might of rival clubs and lead to further success on the field.
The debate surrounding ownership remains a contentious topic among supporters, especially in the realm of social media, a nuanced perspective is necessary and we should acknowledge both the achievements and the challenges faced by the Americans during their tenure.
As we all look ahead to the upcoming season and whatever new faces may arrive at Anfield, we all hope that the club can maintain its competitive edge and challenge for honours – regardless of the financial constraints.
Whilst FSG’s approach may differ from some of our counterparts, the ultimate goal remains the same — to bring glory and success to Merseyside.
In the ever-evolving landscape of football ownership, finding a balance between financial prudence and on-pitch ambitions will continue to be a challenge.
We can take solace in the fact that the main focus remains on sustaining the club’s long-term stability and nurturing its rich heritage, even if their approach may differ from those who advocate significant owner investment.
Pearce is a hypocrite. This is the same man who tweeted “where the net spend boys now?”
He’s slaughtered people online for questioning these owners.
He’s also stated that FSG have not taken money out of Liverpool. According to the highly reputable football finance blog Swiss Ramble, Fenway Sports Group have invested just £136 million into Liverpool Football Club since their takeover in 2010.
Between 2017 and 2021, £37 million was in fact extracted from the club to help repay a loan sanctioned to build the new Main Stand.
A lot of these journalists, YouTubers and podcasters who profit from exclusives with the club, all spin the FSG PR wheel. All selling their loyalties to a club they supposedly support and pushing pro FSG rubbish. Pearce wouldn’t dare interview someone opposed to this ownership yet he thinks him and the likes of them can speak for them. His reporting is dishonest and sugarcoated
FSG runs LFC as a relatively low risk business, ie, no investment since they took over for a very small fee if we compare with other comparable deals. Their investment as per their own valuation has increased by at least 20 times without any additional investment (a shareholder loan is a facility, not an investment). They are just interested with the optimal return (not highest in absolute terms but high in terms of ROI). Of course we cannot compete with teams which have lower ROI expectations. Not qualifying for CL is a result of their strategy and rightly so. They need to understand that returns will reduce without investment
But they don’t care to understand. They are share holders. They buy up shares and watch the shares grow. They have no interest in anything other than that
Spot on mate. they run this club extremely professionally, strictly from a business stand point. did all the right things, brought in a top class manager, invested the club revenue wisely, built out the facilities and world wide commercial revenues, no debate about that. Sporting wise though, they have been a poisoned chalice, their model will never ever lead to major and sustained sporting performance, we have become the Arsenal under the last Arsene years…good team, solid, ChL material maybe, but never good enough to compete against teams who are focused on success on the pitch. I dont expect the petro money type but to be outspent and outsmarted in the transfer market by the likes of Brighton, WH, Everton, etc is inexcusable and shameful. Sadly it doesnt seem that FSG even wants to cash in now and depart, they see more potential to increase their value and sell only when their model has finally ruined the club in a sporting sense.
I do not claim to understand the nuances of football finance, and my view may be blinkered, i look at FSG’s ownership like this:
Have they lumped massive debt on the club like the Glazers have on United, chasing the dream, i would say not, correct me if i am wrong, but we do not owe the banks £750m
Have they improved the infrastructure of the club, a new training ground, 2 new stands, many new corporate partners, fantastic match day experience around the stadium, i could go on.
Have they improved the team? well er shit, yes they have, remember who was here when they took over, in fact remember who was here when Klopp took over, oh yes they got Klopp in too, didn’t they.
We have been the only team to push City, we have won the league, and all the rest.
Would our fans like us to be owned by some Saudi group, with their dodgy deals aka Man City and PSG, or worse their Human rights history.
FSG are not perfect, no they have not spent oodles of cash, but look at where we are now, to where we were, under Hicks and Gillette, look back at what could have happened to us. Be careful what you wish for, we could have had the clown at Chelsea at the helm.
Absolutely we are better off!
We also comply with Financial Fair Play, something more and more clubs are agreeing with! Changes are coming and the so called rich few WILL have to fall in line!
The attitude of having rich owners putting in unlimited amounts of cash is Short-sighted! No-one has unlimited funds and spending it on a football club is one way to have a lot less quickly! Are these Selfish Fans advocating that we should just use-up an Owner till they run out of cash the get rid of them and find another one. It would not take long to run out of Candidates. The FSG model is the ONLY long term solution possible! They have bought us this far and I for one am very happy with the results, and look forward to many more years of the same! Those that aren’t won’t be missed if they decide to follow someone else!
@oldpsyco ya see you proved my point and the hypocrisy of this debate. You and people like you say that there’s very little middle ground in this debate over the ownership. Those opposed to the ownership are accused of saying you’re either FSGOUT or an Fsg apologist. Where the likes of you and Pearce are saying, it’s either Pro FSG or you’re not a liverpool fan. Nonsense
Mistakes that FSG have made:
*£77 ticket increase
*‘Liverpool’ trademark
*furlough scheme
*Super League
*FSG in cahoots with The Glaziers with Project Big Picture
Anything else?
They didn’t have any respect for the club, it’s history and our traditions when trying to form the super league.
Ya get a lot of hate online from journalists/ YouTubers and podcasters when you asked questions of these owners and were skeptical of them. The common things thrown at me;
-Support Chelsea
-Support your local team
-You’re only a plastic glory hunter
-How many times you been to Anfield.
We had James Pearce and his tweet “the net spend boys are quiet tonight” after a Liverpool win. As if any Liverpool fan wouldn’t be happy if we won. He was one of many trying to create a divide within the fanbase. How he’s changed his opinions now. Couple years late.
We talked of MoneyBall policies and again we got dog abuse. Real investment is needed in the squad now and they go selling up. Stats show the owners didn’t put their hands in the pockets the last 5 transfer windows. Owners with ambition would have built on the success Klopp brought. Instead we are back to a rebuilding process and we are still being told we have to sell to buy.
Now, we hear of this “be careful for what you wish for”… and yes that is true, but if we didn’t budge or look for change because of the fear of the unknown we would be left behind.
FSGIN FSGOUT, there was toxicity on both sides. I’d be just delighted when all that crap is over. But I think people really need to wise up and not be led and said by the self proclaimed experts, the journalists, YouTubers and podcasters that want to kiss up so they can have a chance of their exclusives. This idea that FSG came and saved Liverpool is a joke. They saw a massive club on the cheap, knowing full well they would never get it as cheap again and would make billions when they sell it.
Agreed, my only grievance with them is in not getting a midfield player in during the last window, instead they rushed to get Melo in on loan. We were extremely lucky that we had Bajetic who proved he was almost ready just not quite. The Champions league final proved that we were definitely lacking in that department when we were outclassed by two players almost ready for their pensions.
A reasoned and reasonable description of a group who knew very little about football, less about European football and came unsurprisingly with a US mentality.
They have made some mistakes and walked the worst of these back. I haven’t seen the perfect football club but the improvements at Liverpool are many, the achievements easily the best since the formation of the EPL, and if we don’t want to sell our souls to the oil barons then the investment will always be less.
My guess is FSG know more investment is needed and they need to use their imagination to structure that investment in ways the football industry never seems to have understood.
if FSG can not invest in the club for players than sell the club to buyers that can put liverpool on the next level and go and buy everton.
If you compare with H&G, of course FSG is better, I would say they are probably even better than current United owners who have just been profiteering. Without them, United would be the biggest club in the world ahead of Real Madrid, right now, City is already catching up fast with them. However, FSG are not the best owners for Liverpool to be successful, City is well ahead of us, Chelsea will be back in front of us, we will not be able to compete with United if they are acquired, Arsenal has been spending more than us regularly, Newcastle has the means to be in front of us and have a great chance to continue to finish above us in the medium term, just check the progress they made. With our owners we are destined to battle for 4th place and win something every now and then, this is not what I would call success for a team like LFC
The only way we could improve on FSG would be a State ownership or a consortium like those at Chelsea who by paying high wages with seven or eight contracts for players to get past FFP will come unstuck when they try to get rid of players. If what happened regarding FSG wanting an input of £2bn for a 10 to 15% stake is true then that had no chance of succeeding, why not request the same amount for a 40% stake, they still have control but also more capital to put into the club.
As you say FSG know investment is needed, they know they do not have the means but have a valued the company more than 20 times more than what they bought it for. If they were sensible and had the interest of the club at heart instead of their own, they could have reduced the value a bit to attract capital. They are interested to maximise their returns, that’s all
There was no reason to finance the expansion with the clubs own funds (they gave a loan to the club instead of injecting capital) except to maximise their returns. They are the ones who will benefit the most with the expansion as the value of the asset base will increase and therefore the value of the club when they sell.
sever word fucking red sox American baseball club and team style skill project issue problem trouble at LFC from fucking fsg dickhead john williams herny
Mixed bag with FSG, some good some bad. I’d love if they could fully develop Anfield, ie rebuild the Sir Kenny and the Kop, is that at all possible?
They are not developing anything, they are just shareholder not injection anything, it is the club which is developing with its own resources and loans
all these argument are stupid i put my faith in one man klopp fuck the owners hes running the show give him more control and see what he can do without the owner saying yes or no give klopp full control and we will rise
Agree with what you are saying. They probably do not know that in the long term, the value of the club (in real terms) will decrease if there is no sporting success. Global fan base grows only with on the field success. They got great success with minimal investment under Klopp, but I feel this is about to stop with Newcastle joining the top 6 band wagon and Arsenal spending like oligarchs. We have now probably 7 teams to compete for CL.
Full control on finances to the manager will never happen, doesn’t exist anywhere
we are so real very badly extreme serious sensitive deep fucking totally really powerful strongest super true direct free personality automatically pure simple fully special direct private secret squeeze dry hard this summer in July 2023 transfer window market money out of fsg dickhead john williams henry and hiself own pal pouch money to buy player but plus without use myself and ourself own LFC with etc money to show themself own money at us now today is a still good or not? and another thing of truth to true plus British Justice League ok
part 2 to 2 about part 1 is a mean to be second end final finish last another thing fsg dickhead john williams henry and pal so real very badly extreme serious sensitive deep fucking totally really powerful strongest super true direct free personality automatically pure simple fully special direct private secret can’t handly true about it from fsgout fan based
The FSG idea of the club being Self Sustainable but when competing against other clubs, that surely isn’t the point. The point should surely be to have a team that challenges on all fronts for trophies and to that end, FSG failed in their tenure by not replacing aging players over the previous two seasons. Because of that they were probably responsible for us not winning the Premier League last Season and also succumbing to Real Madrid in the Champions League Final.
I think this self sustained model will hit the club and its owners hard in the long run unless the EPL becomes serious about making it less dependent on money. City is being investigated on breaches and a lot will depend on the actions that will be taken. If not then it will be more and more difficult for self sustained clubs to qualify for CL, let alone winning something and this is a vicious circle hitting the club’s value and its capacity to invest in the team
Is that English?