Skip to main content

Caution needed in analyses of Liverpool

I am not sure I agree with this analysis of Liverpool published in The Athletic over the weekned and I am not sure many Liverpool fans will either, but it is at least worth thinking about.

An extract states: 'In the long term, perhaps football has reached a point where it is impossible for any Liverpool owner to deliver what the fans want unless there is a bottomless pit of money and the club is run on terms that some of FSG’s fiercest critics claim to despise.

To consistently compete with Manchester City, Liverpool would have to essentially become City, the only club at the moment capable of threatening the theory that the Premier League is no longer possible to dominate (four titles in 10 seasons isn’t a bad start).

By comparison, Liverpool currently operate like a deluxe Sevilla: the system only works when they sell well. Success came because of the buys of Virgil van Dijk and Alisson but the funding was only in place for those deals because of the outrageous fee involved in the sale of Philippe Coutinho, as well as the overachievement of reaching the first of their most recent Champions League finals soon after.'

My comment would be that the Premier League is very competitive at the top level and Liverpool have been beset by injuries this season.  The 'individualistic fallacy' occurs when you try to generalise from a particular sequence of events.   I wasn't convinced last year that Liverpool were about to go on a series of title runs, but there is no reason why they shouldn't be in contention next season, particularly if fans come back in numbers.

RedBird, who own Toulouse FC, have acquired a 10 per cent stake in Liverpool's parent company Fenway Sports Group: https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/redbird-capital-fsg-liverpool-mean-19928875

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Threat of financial calamity removed from Baggies

West Bromwich Albion had effectively been in decline ever since the club was sold to a Chinese consortium in August 2016, paying a figure north of £200m to buy former owner Jeremy Peace’s stake. Controlling shareholder Guochuan Lai’s ownership was fairly disastrous for the club, but his unloved tenure finally came to an end after Bilkul Football WBA, a company ultimately owned by Florida-based entrepreneur Shilen Patel and his father Dr Kiran Patel, acquired an 87.8% shareholding in West Bromwich Albion Group Limited, the parent company of West Bromwich Albion Football Club. This change in ownership was urgently required, due to the numerous financial problems facing West Brom, including growing high-interest debt and serious cash flow concerns, following years of no investment from the former owner. Indeed, West Brom’s auditors had already rung the alarm bell in the 2021/22 accounts when they cast doubt on the club’s ability to continue as a going concern without making player s

Gold standard ground boosts Tottenham's income

The gold standard in European football grounds is the Tottenham Hotspur stadium in north London, a £1bn construction project completed in 2019. Its impact on the club’s finances has become increasingly clear as the effects of the pandemic have faded. Previously, the average fan would spend less than £2 inside the ground on a typical match day, but now that figure is about £16, thanks to new facilities including the longest bar in Europe and an on-site microbrewery. Capacity has gone up from 36,000 at the club’s previous home of White Hart Lane to 62,000.  The new stadium — built on land adjacent to White Hart Lane — has opened the door to a broad range of other events that have helped to push commercial income up from €117mn in 2018 to €215mn in 2022. Last year, Tottenham hosted US singer Beyoncé for five nights on her global Renaissance tour, two NFL matches, as well as rugby games and heavyweight boxing bouts.  Money brought in from football has gone up too. Match day income is

Spurs to sell minority stake

Tottenham Hotspur is in talks to sell a minority stake in a deal that could value it at up to £3.75 billion and pave the way for Joe Lewis and his family to sever ties with the Premier League football club. Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is seeking an investment that values the club at between £3.5 billion and £3.75 billion, including debt. While the terms of any deal have not been finalised, City sources expect Spurs to sell about 10 per cent. The club is being advised by bankers from Rothschild on the sale. Tottenham wants to raise fresh capital for new player signings and to help fund the development of an academy for its women’s team, as well as a 30-storey hotel next to its north London stadium. The financier Amanda Staveley, who brokered the deal for Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to take over Newcastle United, is understood to be among the parties to have expressed an interest in Tottenham. Staveley’s fund, PCP Capital Partners, has raised about £500 million to depl