Seeing as everyone was complaining about how Brendan Rodgers got a raw deal during the transfer deadline, Liverpool owner John Henry decided to let the public and specifically Reds fans know why the team didn’t get the kind of new signings influx many expected them to, especially after letting Andy Carroll (loan) and Charlie Adam (sold) go.
Does the letter change anything? Not really. Maybe it’s just to win over fans and make them understand that this isn’t about quick fixes and expensive purchases that will leave the club in financial problems once again. Truth is, the wheeling and dealing of their first 18 months on the job left quite an impression on the American owners, spending way too much money on Andy Carroll, Stewart Downing, Jordan Henderson and Charlie Adam. For those four alone, Liverpool £85 million, getting a total of 8 league goals last season from the awesome foursome. Money well spent.
Henry goes on and on about he and the owners and the board and whoever it is that makes the decisions about signings. Not planning for the next 16 months, but ensuring a solid future, financially and professionally, for the next 16 years. The problem is Liverpool fans have been hearing these promises, about current success and future success, for over a decade, waiting for a league title since 1990.
The name, Liverpool FC, is still worth quite a lot, but in terms of what it has to show in recent years, especially over the last three seasons, it’s just the same with clubs like Sunderland and Everton. Liverpool, a club with 18 league titles and 5 Champions League trophies, a mediocre club. If it happens for a season or two, so be it. But this might be the fourth straight season for the club out of the top four, and while the American owners are mostly trying to make the club a self sustaining entity, complying with the new FIFA regulations, the club is hurting on the pitch.
The way I see it, Rodgers is replaceable for the owners. They are patient, just like American owners usually are when it comes to success – Building for the future through young talent and not expensive, older stars. It hasn’t worked well for the Red Sox going for the big money contracts over the last four seasons, it didn’t go well for Liverpool last season. A change of direction was a likely move to take. And while Rodgers may have impressed them with his style, managers in Baseball are the least important aspect of the ball club the way I see it. Why not view European football as the same?
The problem is this season might be a step backwards from even the disappointing Dalglish and Hodgson years. There’s a good lineup and a bit more for Rodgers to handle, but there’s hardly any depth to speak of, and as the season drags on, that lack of depth will become a painful thing to endure. Hang on, it’s going to be a bumpy ride towards that promised land no one has seen in over two decades.