On The Ball | Faith in FSG evaporates as Liverpool owners face the fallout from the latest in a long line of blunders
- Liverpool’s owners again underestimate the club’s fan base and the importance of football’s traditions
- There has been a sharp increase in anti-FSG sentiment on social media
Liverpool are at a crossroads. The future direction is unclear. The only thing for certain is that the European Super League has proved a blind alley. A divisive and destabilising dead end.
It has been a fractious week and the fallout will linger for some time. John W Henry, the principal owner, released a video on Wednesday accepting responsibility for the decision to join the 12 clubs who signed up to a breakaway competition. The Boston-based head of Fenway Sports Group (FSG) apologised. The 71-year-old will have to repair relationships with the manager, the squad and the supporters. FSG alienated almost everyone around the club.
Jurgen Klopp was not warned in advance before the story broke on Sunday. The 53-year-old has repeatedly stated his objections to a Super League and was not impressed by the news. While Henry and the other plotters remained silent, Klopp and his players had to face the media’s questions before and after the 1-1 draw against Leeds United on Monday. The manager emerged from the experience “bruised,” sources inside Anfield indicated.
Klopp is FSG’s biggest asset. There has been a complete transformation in attitude and approach at the club since the German arrived on Merseyside six years ago. It is vital that the owners hold on to their title-winning talisman.
Bayern Munich, who stood firm against the idea of the Super League, are looking for a coach and are known to admire Klopp. His experience in the Bundesliga while in charge of Mainz and Borussia Dortmund left him with some antipathy towards his homeland’s dominant club but Bayern’s stance this week at least contained an element of .. He would not relish being employed by Qatari-owned Paris Saint-Germain – the other elite club that rejected the Super League’s overtures – so his pool of potential jobs is very small. Klopp has already said he will leave Anfield in three years’ time and Bayern might try to tempt him to depart earlier. FSG must do everything to stop this happening.
