It’s too early to talk of a crisis at Liverpool. The club is currently in the relegation zone, but that’s after only three matches and they won’t be there at the end of the season. However, doubts are increasingly being expressed about whether they can challenge for a Champions League place despite claims from chairman Tom Werner that they have the resources to compete with anyone in football.
It’s too early to talk of a crisis at Liverpool. The club is currently in the relegation zone, but that’s after only three matches and they won’t be there at the end of the season. However, doubts are increasingly being expressed about whether they can challenge for a Champions League place despite claims from chairman Tom Werner that they have the resources to compete with anyone in football.
Manager Brendan Rogers is certainly concerned and has called for a greater focus on strengthening the squad rather than balancing the books. ‘There is no doubt the finances here had to be changed,’ said the Liverpool manager. ‘That was the reality. We lost nine players and brought in three so from the business side we have done well.’
‘What we need to do next is look after the football side and help the players here to pull through. It’s been a big learning curve for the owners as well. They have come in and invested over £100m in the club.’
‘They have made a commitment to have me here for the long-term. The owners are very honest and up front with me. I have no problem with that. We have one or two things to iron out and I don’t feel they have misled me in any way. We have had a couple of brief conversations about what might happen in January and we will reflect on that again next week.’
It would be interesting to be a fly on the wall at those conversations. Paying £6m rather than a reported (although disputed) £3m for Clint Dempsey might have been a good investment. After all, each Premier League place is worth an additional £750,000 in prize money.
Didier Drogba could become available, but the question of how much he would have to be paid.. There is also talk of bringing in Michael Owen who would not cost a fee and would accept relatively low wages to get back to the Premier League.
In an open letter to fans, Liverpool owner John Henry has defended the club’s transfer strategy and insisted that there will be no short-term quick fixes, which would seem to rule out Owen or Drogba. He also emphasised the importance of abiding by Uefa’s financial fair play rules.
Whether Liverpool should continue with their austerity measures or spend their way out of trouble reflects a wider debate in football, and indeed in the economy as a whole.