by Chris Tobin
VALENTINE’S DAY –The day when one shows the love of one’s life how much they really mean, using this one day of the year for a momentary glance toward romance. Clandestine we covertly direct our inner thoughts in the guise of a card, whilst exchanging gifts to show our affection. More likely a moment to question that love, to doubt it, where suspicion raises its ugly head and reservations become enhanced.
Which nicely leads me on to “The love of my life” Liverpool Football Club – Well we have fallen out quite a lot lately, I feel like she is cheating on me with some other whom I shall call “The Dollar” where once I was the most important thing in her life, it would now seem not to be the case. I feel like I am being ignored or being taken advantage of where she expects me to pay for everything.
With every passing year she costs me more, my side of the bargain seems to have been reduced, and with every passing moment she seems to want me to buy a new frock to bring my wardrobe up to date – Red ones, Black ones, White ones it is getting like Joseph’s Multi-coloured coat, it actually got that bad that she tried getting me to buy one with BLUE in – she knows me andmall my friends dislike BLUE.
She has become furtive to the point of deceit; quite the mendacious madam. The fine looking lady that I fell head over heels for has changed, unrecognisable at times to the point where I find myself wondering what it was I saw in her so long ago.
This week Liverpool supporters were once again treated to mediocrity, in a season that has seen more than enough of such run of the mill displays the natives would not rest easily. Two steps forward with gutsy performances against Arsenal and Manchester City which should have yielded more than the two points gained would be followed by a below par display against West Bromwich Albion. Knee jerk reactions would ensue.
Honest and constructive criticism of Liverpool has become complicated and complex, wary that the great institute is already the standing joke amongst its greatest rivals and those not so great, many believe to support the club then blindness in that support is a factor in remaining a supper-fan. I tend to disagree.
Liverpool’s owners FSG are slow becoming another area for the fans anger – we have to appreciate that we have been here before and we have assumed the position of “Won’t Get Fooled Again”. Honesty with a slight piece of integrity is not a lot to ask.
I was always prepared to give the owners support, the support of a football fan to those who seem not – By their deeds you will know them, well they would rather stay away from Anfield in their support of our club and their franchise, for me that is the start of my problem – The Franchise.
If the franchise appears not to be working you can bet your bottom Dollar that these guys will change things and not always in ways that Liverpool are accustomed to, but we are fast learners after last season. When it suits FSG & Ian Ayre whom I include when I critique the owners, they will quickly shout out loud – Shirt deals, sponsorship deals and anything else that they believe will appease the masses disguised as more Dollar coming the clubs way. At the moment they are asked about a new stadium or renovation of Anfield. Silence is assumed.
The problem with such owners where trust is an issue for many fans it becomes a pandemic that ravages our club. It leads to mistrust of not only the owners but also managers, the case with Roy Hodgson and now with Brendan Rodgers. The fans are quick to jump up and down stamping their feet asking for heads to roll whilst oblivious to how we are being perceived – I like Rodgers and not for a moment have I thought he should be removed from his position, moreover I believe we should stand by him for the duration of his three year contract, has he made errors? Of course but so have many more with lots more experience.
It is worth remembering where we are, where we stand at this moment in our history – Transition, not on the precipice as some would have us believe. We are not a top 4 side or squad, we lack experience and constantly seem to be lacking when it comes to consistency. When we do play with the correct intensity and attitude we are more than capable of performing with the very best sides, we are not capable of sustaining a full on assault of the top 4, Brendan Rodgers should have accepted that on all the occasions he tells the World we can finish fourth – He makes our lives & his much more difficult – One game at a time please Brendan.
My frustration is with FSG who seem reticent toward the club which in turn makes me feel like I am being sold Horse Meat!! The reality seems that they are not interested in guiding the club, other than from behind a big desk in Boston and with that the relationship has no foundation.
Please don’t expect a card this year Liverpool or John W Henry – Roses are Red…….
You can follow me on Twitter https://twitter.com/christobinsings
I have a theory, most reds dismiss it as I’m a blue but you seem to be able to see through the smokescreen being put up, and lets face it just about anything is plausible in this day and age. S read this, make a brew and ponder over it as it is VERY much possible…..
1. Take over a football club at a knockdown price, enabling the ‘saving’ to be used to keep supporters happy with transfers, contracts etc
2. Sign a kit deal with a subsidiary company that is laden with clauses dependent on CL Qual, with less for Europa and less for no Euro footy.
From the outside looking in I reckon that FSG have carried out 1 of the biggest stings in the game, and thus far are undiscovered so can carry on as intended.
To me they are happy to let you tick over, any ‘success’ being a bonus that will buy them some time. Why invest heavily in players that may not produce the goods having been paid a fortune as well. The rewards in monetary terms can be very low once you sign big name players and pay them over 100k a week, it’s investment that is entirely dependent on continuous success, which at the moment means winning the thing, and in the case of Europa you can win it and not even come close to breaking even.
So if they don’t invest then how can they expect success ? Well lets face it, winning the PL wont have exactly been a boyhood dream of theirs will it ? They won’t have seen a young Alex Ferguson set out to overhaul you and been determined to prevent it. THEY ARE IN IT FOR THE MONEY and thats where I go back to the kit deal, because THAT is where the profit lies, they have snatched it away from Adidas and for X years can sit back and do nothing apart from bring out 3 shirts a year, and lets face it some of their designs so far seem to be an exercise in proving that footy fans will just about buy anything with their clubs badge on.
So far it’s going swimmingly for them, they’ve installed a manager who has convinced you all that you are in transition and so not really to expect anything from this season, whether or not he can get away with it next year will be like a bonus for them because if they can get to a point where a new kit deal is signed (for 6 or 7 years) without being discovered then they’ll be throwing a party in Boston, before deciding that they’d liker to get their initial outlay back and selling the club to just cream off the kit money.
In buying you they werent buying a club to lead them to success, they were buying into one of the biggest merchandise operations in the game andf now they have that for themselves.
Profit from a footy club is entirely dependent on success, and so a gamble.
Profit from kits in your case isn’t, they probably read what N’castles chairman said years ago about them bringing out kits and it rang a bell, you becoming available, would’ve rang another and then at a lower price with the kit deal expiring, well if you put it to the dragons they’d all be saying “I’m in.”
It has of course given them a foothold now, a peg up from looking over the footy fence to actually clambering over and being involved in a game that thinks that ‘cleats’ was an early midfielder for the royal engineers or something.
It is of course absolutely hilarious for us to watch from across the park, especially when Comical Aldo comes out and states that “this season is all about finishing above Everton” maybe he can come and present us with The Stanley Park Sod at the end of the season ?
I would like to say Interesting theory, though it’s so much more than that – as close to a truth as you can get. The Liverpool supporters are just so unaware of the blind loyalty that they are being expected to exercise “Stand by your club & team” if not then you can get lost.
The continued hoodwinking without a moment being brought to task is most worrying – I fear the future will not be red but rather BLOODY