The OFFICIAL Liverpool FC thread - #DankeJürgen

[STREET FIGHTER]

Please stuff them Liverpool.

[ross4life]

From BBC

It is nine hours and 57 minutes since a Liverpool player last scored in the league at Chelsea - Bruno Cheyrou netting the only goal of the match in January 2004.

[Big Puff]

From BBC

It is nine hours and 57 minutes since a Liverpool player last scored in the league at Chelsea - Bruno Cheyrou netting the only goal of the match in January 2004.

xabi alonso

[Minder]

From BBC

It is nine hours and 57 minutes since a Liverpool player last scored in the league at Chelsea - Bruno Cheyrou netting the only goal of the match in January 2004.

xabi alonso

Went down as an og

[Gabriel_Hurl]

Interesting interview with JWH

On the day Fernando Torres was unveiled as a Chelsea player, Liverpool's American owner, John Henry, has criticised Chelsea for their extravagant transfer window spending, questioning Chelsea's commitment of Roman Abramovich's club to Uefa's financial fair-play rules. In an interview granted exclusively to the Guardian, Henry suggested Chelsea may be planning to "evade" the rules and called on the governing body to ensure they are strictly followed by all clubs. The fair-play rules, which require clubs to spend only the income they make and not rely on subsidies from owners, come into effect from next season to 2014.

"I was surprised Monday morning to receive an offer [from Chelsea for Fernando Torres] in that amount [£50m] at the same time they were announcing such large losses [£71m for 2009-10]," Henry said. "The big question is just how effective the financial fair-play rules are going to be. Perhaps some clubs support the concept in order to limit the spending of other clubs, while implementing activities specifically designed to evade the rules they publicly support. We can only hope that Uefa has the ability and determination to enforce what they have proposed."

Chelsea have insisted since signing Torres and David Luiz that they firmly intend to comply with financial fair play and that the £71m outlay was within overall progress towards cutting costs.

Henry, setting out his thoughts on Liverpool's direction almost four months since his Fenway Sports Group bought the club by paying off the £200m debts Tom Hicks's and George Gillett's "leveraged" takeover had loaded on to Liverpool, said he is committed to the club living within its income. "We've always spent money we've generated rather than deficit-spending and that will be the case in Liverpool," he said, referring to the group's ownership of the Boston Red Sox baseball team. "It's up to us to generate enough revenue to be successful over the long term. We have not and will not deviate from that."

That commitment to sound financial management was followed, not breached, Henry asserted, in the £35m Liverpool paid Newcastle United for Andy Carroll, a fee that astonished English football. Henry said the £35m made financial sense because Liverpool were only paying to Newcastle what they were to receive from Chelsea by selling Torres, whom they allowed to leave because he had become too evidently unhappy at Anfield.

"The fee for Torres was dependent on what Newcastle asked for Carroll," Henry said, explaining that Liverpool wanted Carroll, plus £15m, to replace Torres. Together with the £6m sale of Ryan Babel to Hoffenheim, that effectively financed Liverpool's £22.8m signing of Luis Suárez, meaning the club bought two strikers but net, spent almost nothing. "The negotiation for us was simply the difference in prices paid by Chelsea and to Newcastle," Henry said. "Those prices could have been £35m [from Chelsea for Torres] and £20m [to Newcastle for Carroll], 40 and 25 or 50 and 35. It was ultimately up to Newcastle how much this was all going to cost. They [Newcastle] made a hell of a deal. We felt the same way."

Saying Kenny Dalglish has "exceeded our expectations" as the club's caretaker manager, Henry explained that Liverpool retain ambitions to qualify for European competition this season, so insisted they had to sign a replacement striker, preferably Carroll, if Torres was to go. "We weren't going to write off Champions League and Europa League for the sake of someone's happiness," Henry said of Torres. "The striker position had to be filled, by someone who made sense for the long term. With about 24 hours remaining, the possibility of Andy, who was No1 on our list of possibilities for the summer, emerged."

Henry explained how Carroll, even at £35m, fits into FSG's philosophy, which famously learns from the strategy honed by Billy Beane, the general manager at baseball's Oakland Athletics. As described in the book Moneyball, by Michael Lewis, players are assessed from performance statistics, not solely by scouts rating how good they look. Henry, however, said this did not mean they were not prepared to spend big fees on the right players, as the group has done when turning the Red Sox into a World Series-winning baseball team again.

"The Moneyball approach is about poor decision-making in baseball, based on anecdotal evidence [about players' qualities] as opposed to hard, statistical evidence. If the Red Sox are a Moneyball team it has to be noted that we are second in spending over the last decade within Major League Baseball. We have been successful through spending and through securing and developing young players."

That, he said, will be Liverpool's two-pronged approach to rebuilding the squad, which will be financed only out of its income; he and his fellow investors in Fenway will not be pouring cash in. "We intend to get younger, deeper and play positive football. Adding two top players [Carroll and Suárez] who have just turned 22 and 24 is a good first step."

Henry lavished praise on Dalglish, although he declined to say whether Dalglish is likely to be offered the job permanently. "We didn't know Kenny well prior to him coming aboard as manager," Henry said. "But he has exceeded our expectations on all fronts. It would be inappropriate to comment publicly on what happens beyond the end of this season."

FSG is, Henry confirmed, studying the possibility of expanding Anfield rather than building the long-mooted new stadium on Stanley Park, a plan which he criticised. "It's not a coincidence that the last two ownership groups could not get a new stadium built," he argued pointedly. "What they proposed or hoped for just didn't make any economic sense or they would have been built. A lot of time and effort is being put into study and creatively looking at all options."

With his first, extraordinary, transfer window done, in which Liverpool managed to part with English football's most astonishing fee ever while spending nothing overall, Henry argued the new American owners' strategy, to refashion Liverpool as a major club, is on course. "Our goal in Liverpool is to create the kind of stability that the Red Sox enjoy," he said. "We are committed to building for the long term."

[Puckoon]

Surely if Chelsea don't break the rules and splash the cash, JWH is left with a player who doesnt want to be there and not the 35 and 22 million required to buy Carroll and Suarez respectively?

[King Kenny]

The man oozes class in my opinion.  I read on RAWK his reply to a letter from spirit of shankly and was, again, taken by his apparent passion,  sound business sense,  and the fact that he seems to 'get' the club.

I know alot of fans are very cautious of new owners given our last horrible experience.  My hunch is that, in the fullness of time,  JWH and FSG will be looked upon as saviours and legends in the clubs history.

Hope tae feck I'm not proved wrong!

[brokencrossbar1]

I read the letter to SOS too and he does get the club.  The fact too that he seems to favour renovating Anfield is making him even more popular.  I hope they are in it for the long haul, and I reckon they are, because I reckon they could be the change that the club needed more so than players/manager.

[King Kenny]

My sentiments exactly BC1.  The Gods were smiling when tha sale of the club went in their favour.

Did you not think SOS were a bit up their own holes in their letter to JWH?

[brokencrossbar1]

My sentiments exactly BC1.  The Gods were smiling when tha sale of the club went in their favour.

Did you not think SOS were a bit up their own holes in their letter to JWH?

Very much so.  While the sentiments of what they say is valid, they are after all simply a Supporters club and much of what they were asking was, in my mind, none of their business.  In may ways it was like someone who drinks Guinness every weekend asking the board of Directors for the ins and outs of their marketing and financial plans.  JWH was very good in what he said but it is clear he was pissed at them, andwho can blame him he didn't become a multi millionaire from having to justify himself to everyone.  They have the best interests of the club at heart and will be a great success.  This can only benefit the on the field matters and despite what many people think I do not think the team is as far away from success as some think.  Luck, and the breakthrough, are very important things and I actually think that long term the fact that Torres has moved on will actually help the team.  I just hope eina doesn't go too because he would be harder to replace.

[King Kenny]

Spot on again.  SOS played a valid role in the defeat of h+g,  but with that battle won,  they now find themselves demoted to a simple supporters club,  whether they like it or not.

Their letter was an attempt to reach above thier station IMO,  but I could see where they were coming from.  Henry handled it very well,  and in a nice way let them,  and all of us,  know who is boss.  I am quite happy with him at the helm.

Reina would be very hard to replace,  and I worry as the once strong Spanish influence is now completely gone and he may feel isolated.  Who knows?

Maybe Jones could step up and add to his 20 first team games in 10 years.  Where is that mans ambition?

[brokencrossbar1]

Spot on again.  SOS played a valid role in the defeat of h+g,  but with that battle won,  they now find themselves demoted to a simple supporters club,  whether they like it or not.

Their letter was an attempt to reach above thier station IMO,  but I could see where they were coming from.  Henry handled it very well,  and in a nice way let them,  and all of us,  know who is boss.  I am quite happy with him at the helm.

Reina would be very hard to replace,  and I worry as the once strong Spanish influence is now completely gone and he may feel isolated.  Who knows?
Maybe Jones could step up and add to his 20 first team games in 10 years.  Where is that mans ambition?

He would be vital to be kept simply to help along the young spaniards Suso and Dani.  I think he is a man of his word and he will honour the contract he signed.

[gawa316]

Got a link to the letter lads?

Can't be assed with rawk these days, too hard to follow (cause of the volume of posts) and a right few pricks to boot

[brokencrossbar1]

Got a link to the letter lads?

Can't be assed with rawk these days, too hard to follow (cause of the volume of posts) and a right few pricks to boot

http://www.spiritofshankly.com/news/Communication-with-John-Henry.html

there ye go ye lazy shite!!!

[King Kenny]