After suffering four losses in their last five games, frustration is setting in among the Liverpool fan base.
Jurgen Klopp’s side appear to be out of the title race and facing a battle to qualify for the Champions League after being knocked out of both domestic cups.
As fans begin to play the blame game, some are looking to the club’s American owners for answers. This has been exacerbated following the publication of so-called ‘leaked’ emails between owner John W Henry and his fellow Fenway Sports Group executives prior to their £300million takeover of the Reds in October 2010.
The content of these emails has led to a number of angry Reds fans venting their frustration on social media, as FSG find their tenure under scrutiny.
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But what is in the ‘leaked’ emails? And what do they mean? And is the ire that Reds fans have shown on social media justified?
Where do the so-called ‘leaked’ emails come from?
Despite the terminology sweeping around social media these are not in fact ‘leaked’ emails.
They are instead court submissions from the case between Mill Financial, the US hedge fund which made a last-gasp attempt to purchase Liverpool, and George Gillett Jr, the Reds’ former co-owner.
They are freely available online after being filed at the New York County Supreme County in May 2015.
What do the communications say?
Amid the legalese, there are a number of passages that Liverpool fans have highlighted.
In August 2010 FSG (then known as New England Sports Ventures) were looking at a bid for the debt-ridden club. Henry wrote: “There is a basic precept/combination that I have learned from Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett that interests me in Red.
“That is the concept of acquiring a top global brand at a discount price and ensuring it is well managed. I am interested now in trying to ascertain if this is indeed a major opportunity that would indeed diversify and strengthen NESV.”
Henry then looked further into the prospect of purchasing the club.
“In some ways they really are in the dark ages — especially competitively. The best and brightest are not presently working on English soccer. But the English Premier League is bigger than the NFL, NASCAR, MLB and the NBA internationally. Only Formula One can begin to compare in viewership.
“This could be a steal. Every buyer believes what potential Red Sox buyers believed — you have to build a new stadium. And they believe the stadium will cost more than £350m! That’s why there are no bidders. We would probably take the same approach we took to Fenway Park. But we’d be looking to limit investment in the facility to 8 figures.
“Then how much is this worth if we recruit the best and the brightest to run the soccer operation?”
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What does it mean? James Pearce’s analysis
James Pearce of the Liverpool Echo has broken down what these communications mean . Here are his findings:
The language used is undoubtedly clumsy and unfortunate. But despite the fury in some quarters, the fact is that those private emails don’t tell us anything about FSG that we didn’t know already.
They are an American sports investment company. They weren’t drawn to Anfield by the history and the tradition, the attraction was that it was an outstanding business opportunity.
Henry was right. It was ‘a steal’. Liverpool FC was in a mess at the time and was available at a knockdown rate.
With Forbes now valuing the club at £1.16billion, it’s proved to be a shrewd investment.
It’s also true that under their stewardship over the past seven years Liverpool FC has been transformed following the dark days under Tom Hicks and Gillett.
FSG have provided stability, they have put the club on a much sounder financial footing and in getting the new Main Stand built they found the perfect solution to one of the biggest issues they inherited.
Of course there have been blunders along the way, not least last year’s planned ticket price increases which triggered an unprecedented Anfield walkout and a swift apology and U-turn.
Despite the current mood of doom and gloom, it’s also worth remembering that Henry, Tom Werner and Mike Gordon pulled off a major coup when they secured the services of Klopp.
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So what’s the problem? The current levels of vitriol stem from the belief that FSG simply haven’t invested enough cash in the pursuit of glory. That they haven’t backed the manager.
Only once during FSG’s reign have the Reds finished higher than sixth in the Premier League – that thrilling challenge of 2013-14 has been sandwiched by far too much mediocrity.
Say anything remotely positive about the owners and you risk getting shouted down as an ‘apologist’, but it’s worth remembering that from the off Henry and co warned they weren’t sugar daddies.
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Liverpool FC has had to live within its means. The stark reality is that the Premier League club with the fifth highest turnover and the fifth highest wage bill currently sits fifth in the table.
Unable to compete at the top end of the market with the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea, the Reds have pursued a transfer policy which focuses on investing in young talent and developing it rather than buying the finished article to order to reach the summit.
What does it meaning going forwards?
This season isn’t a write-off and this isn’t the time to be looking for scapegoats.
Sixteen months ago FSG and Klopp embarked on a long-term project together and that bond remains strong.
The owners believe in the manager’s ability to deliver the glory which has proved elusive during their reign to date. And Klopp’s faith that they will give him the tools he needs to make that happen remains unwavering.
Read James Pearce’s full analysis here .
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