It might have been a real red-letter day when John Henry,the American principal owner of Liverpool, posted 835 words to the fans on theclub’s website on Monday, September 3. The purpose of Henry’s letter was tobridge an ocean of distance between running a baseball franchise in New Englandand one of the oldest football teams in dear old England. Reading between thecarefully crafted public relations lines, Henry and his investment consortiumdo seem to have grasped that essence of Liverpool.
“It has been compounded by our own mistakes,” Henry said .“It has been a harsh education but, make no mistake, the club is healthiertoday than when we took over.” Healthier in what way? On the field or in thebank balance? Henry can claim that the structures his group put into place andthe business plan they are rolling out are sounder than before. “We want towin,” he pledged. “That ambition drives every decision. It is the Liverpoolway.”
He explained thatLiverpool is making headway with regards to European football’s governing body,UEFA, which is demanding that all clubs operate within their income. Henry andhis investors are across the Atlantic, dividing their time among investing,baseball and football. We may not doubt their good intentions. Theiracquisition of the club, its assets and its debt, cost 300 million pounds inOctober 2010. They have since dispensed of two coaches, Roy Hodgson, whom thefans did not trust, and Kenny Dalglish, whom they adored, principally for whatDalglish had achieved as a player and a manager in the distant past. Dalglish,though, misspent the funding that flowed across the Atlantic. He gambled 110million on players none of whom looked comfortable in Liverpool’s shirt.
It is clear that the learning process that Henry admits to,and that his predecessors Hicks and Gillett never mastered, has some ruinousconsequences. Perhaps it was ruinous impatience by the board’s hiring andfiring the coach and not giving his chosen players time to gel. Twenty yearsago, Liverpool was the dominant team. The rush to spend more money seems to beenveloping more teams and the future does not seem to hold any good news.
