Liverpool Football Club is one of the most decorated clubs in European history. It stands tall in the English premier league as the second most successful club in England. It is owned by the Boston-based, Fenway Sports Group after taking over from Tom Hicks and George Gillett in 2010.
After a near 11-year ownership run, LFC have won many accolades over this decade and have succeeded as a team. But have failed as a club.
Below are some of the things that the FSG have done to wreck Liverpool FC and its fans.
In this post you will find
Things Liverpool owners, Fenway Sports Group, have done to wreck Liverpool FC and its fans:
Raising ticket prices
After their takeover, FSG renovated the new main stand and they decided to charge extra for people to view the match from the main stand. In 2016, FSG raised the prices to £77 top-price ticket in the new main stand. It is an exorbitant amount for the average wage worker.
In protest against this raise, supporters left their game against Sunderland after 77 minutes to protest the £77 ticket price.
FSG went back on its plans and issued an apology. Henry, Werner, and President Mike Gordon said in a statement, according to the official Liverpool FC website:
“On behalf of everyone at Fenway Sports Group and Liverpool Football Club, we would like to apologize for the distress caused by our ticket pricing plan for the 2016-17 season.
“The three of us have been particularly troubled by the perception that we don’t care about our supporters, that we are greedy, and that we are attempting to extract personal profits at the club’s expense.
“Quite the opposite is true.”
Well, their actions don’t seem to be in line with their
Tried to trademark the word ‘Liverpool’
This is the best of all. The motive behind everything else the Liverpool owners, FSG, did was definitely greed, but to strip a city of its identity is another whole new level of ‘what the fuck’.
People live in this amazing city in England. People associate themselves with this name, one that was given to this place by the lords who have ruled England for many years. The name ‘Liverpool’ does not associate only with the football club, although the club is a big part of the city.
The name ‘Liverpool’ has history, the name has heritage, the name has pride, the name is for the people, and no money-minded American owner can make it his own by trademarking it.
Correctly, England government’s Intellectual Property Office rejected the request due to the “geographical significance” of the city.
Peter Moore, the club’s chief executive officer, said, according to the Guardian: “It should be stressed that our application was put forward in good faith and with the sole aim of protecting and furthering the best interests of the club and its supporters.
“Nevertheless, we accept the decision and the spirit in which it has been made.”
Stripping a city of its own name is in ‘good faith’? Stop joking. Fans had to intervene to undo this insanity.
Furloughed the club staff during COVID-19
Liverpool FC decided to furlough their club staff during the COVID-19 outbreak last year. A club of this stature and with having the money to make multiple big signings and pay players the highest wages, build new stands, build training grounds, etc, but still don’t have enough money to pay wage workers who are indeed working for that very club.
To top it all off, within a few months time, Liverpool won the English premier league, and to celebrate their success, the Liverpool owners, FSG sanctioned a plan to build a stage and many other celebratory activities for the trophy lift, worth £1 million.
LFC fans all over the world would have been happy and proud if they had canceled this or even had a subdued celebration so that the money saved could pay for their staff.
This act was a betrayal by the club to its support staff. The very people who ensure the smooth running of everyday operations at the club. The club’s fans protested against this and FSG again were forced to go back on their decision.
Attempting to join the European Super League:
Last season, football was rattled by plans for a European Super League. Liverpool formed an infamous “Big Six” with Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, and Arsenal in campaigning for the new competition.
FSG and the other owners just received their punishment: a £3.6 million fine and the prospect of a significant points deduction if the proposal resurfaces in the future.
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher said, according to Sky Sports: “This will never be forgotten.
“I think the best thing for them would be to find a new buyer. I think it will be very difficult for them to have any sort of relationship with Liverpool supporters and the club going forward.”
Liverpool owner, John Henry apologized to the fans, and he said, according to the official Liverpool website:
“I want to apologize to all the fans and supporters of Liverpool Football Club for the disruption I caused over the past 48 hours.
It goes without saying but should be said that the project put forward was never going to stand without the support of the fans. No one ever thought differently in England. Over these 48 hours, you were very clear that it would not stand.
We heard you. I heard you.”
You did not hear the fans, nor did the hierarchy you built.
The silver lining for FSG:
Goal summed what I wanted to say perfectly. Here is what they said:
“Liverpool owners, FSG have, it needs saying, done lots of good things on Merseyside. They have improved the stadium and built a new training ground, they have recruited a world-class manager and built a world-class team, one that was able to become champions of England, Europe, and the world in the space of 18 months.
But their legacy at Anfield will be tainted by their mistakes. Quite simply, there have been too many of them”
The need for a Sports DAO:
If we take Liverpool FC as an example, the owners have done so many more mistakes including their attempt to join the European Super League.
The owners of every big club have given COVID and lack of revenue as the reason for all this.
If any big club in the English premier league says they don’t have money it is all a fucking lie. Don’t believe even a word of what they say.
Let me give you a stat to prove to you how much money is in their coffers. According to the Sun, the team that finished 20th (the last place) in the English premier league got more money than the champions of Germany, Bayern Munich and the champions of Italy, Juventus in the 2018/19 season.
Ask them to show their financials, then we can talk. For example, Liverpool have won the Premier League, Champions League, and the Club World Cup in the space of two seasons. We all know the humungous prize money involved in each competition and the huge TV money as well.
The image on the left gives you the prize money at different stages of the UEFA champions league competition.
Where has all the money gone?
We as fans need to know. We demand to know.
This is where a DAO would help. It would bridge the gap between the club and the fans with the fans engaging with the club on a whole new level.
In the above example, time after time fans are the ones who have to protest and bring the owners in line after every mistake. Fans always know better because they voice the collective opinions of a group, not any one individual opinion.
Why not give the fans a say in every decision? Most clubs would not agree to this because they know they cannot make huge sums of money if they listen to fans because the fans would expect every penny earned by the club to go back into the club’s development and infrastructure.
Although the reason for buying a club is to make money, it shouldn’t be at a level where the club gets strapped for cash every year. The owners can take a percentage of the profits (that is agreeable with the fans) and let the fans help in deciding where the rest of the money goes.
The owners cannot get away with treating the supporters as customers. The fans need a platform to voice their opinion and a Decentralized Autonomous Organization solves all this.
