Is he a semi-detached owner, asks the New York Times?
It is coming up to a year since Henry last watched a
Liverpool game in the flesh. Henry is 76, so regular transatlantic flights
are perhaps more challenging. But throughout FSG’s 16-year tenure, the pattern
has largely stayed the same, with Henry only visiting Anfield once or twice a
season.
There was a reason fans chose a picture of Henry with his
fingers in his ears to display on Saturday — his lack of engagement means chief
executive officer Billy Hogan effectively acts as his representative on earth,
a conduit between the levels of management below him and the tier of ownership
above.
Hogan has left a generally good impression on supporters who
have worked with him in the past due to his responsiveness. Senior executives
elsewhere in football have formed the view that FSG rate him extremely highly,
but it is also very clear he is there to do a job for them.
Though he is viewed as intelligent and well-mannered, he
always seems very much on duty and comfortable in the corporate world. Few can
imagine him diving into a deep conversation about football.
Yet much of Liverpool’s commercial growth since his arrival
in 2012 can be attributed to him, having signed off on partnerships that have
created stronger finances for the football department to operate in.
The challenge of running Liverpool has been harder than
Henry imagined. Privately, he has confessed to associates his deep frustrations
about the possible impact of allegedly inflated sponsorships elsewhere because
it undermines other clubs in their pursuit of true valuations, making them more
competitive.
Executives from other clubs have heard less about Henry over
the last few years. Some have seen that as his interest in Liverpool
retreating. Others believe he was so burned over the criticism he received
for Liverpool’s involvement in the European Super League (where he
ended up apologising to fans, as well as Hogan, for announcing the club’s
commitment to the failed competition to staff) that he has stopped getting
involved in the politics of football.
When FSG took over in 2010, Liverpool were trailing
Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal on and off the field, while City’s
threat to that order was clear and has since been proven to be real. Despite a
bad season for Liverpool, it would generally be accepted they are ahead of
three of their old rivals now on all sorts of levels, having won more trophies
during a decade when FSG has also settled the Anfield stadium question through
huge redevelopment and built a new training ground.
Liverpool was very cheap and, even then, he nearly walked away from the deal, having waited in a London law firm’s office for nearly four hours while the previous owners unsuccessfully attempted to try to sack the board before they could sell up. He did not have a passion for Liverpool FC or for football, but it was at a price that any decent opportunist could not miss.
That commercial instinct has remained intact but the last
week has reminded him, once again, that to their supporters, the value of
Liverpool cannot simply be measured on a spreadsheet.
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