Strangely enough we were the USA and the mancs were the USSR up until the Soviet Union fell apart, us being richer than them at that time like. They never hit it big until a year after the fall of the Soviet Union when the Premier League was founded.
Timeline not important comrade, the USSR was never able to keep up. I think at one time the USSR was spending 20% of their GNP on defence while the US was way ahead spending a few %
Have same issue here, gets to Feb and March and everyone realises they have 2 weeks holiday to cram in but mat same time realise it's end of the regulatory period and busiest time so all flap around! Still surprised they haven't amended our holiday year to Jan-Dec so don't get same issue every year as people won't mind taking random holiday days in Dec compared to March. Luckily they hey don't mind us carrying a few days over each year as long as don't take the piss.
Man USSR couldn't keep up with us for 26 years from 1969 onwards despite spending more than they made during their barren years, you've got your Chicken Kiev's and your New York Hotdogs mixed up Yuri.
Might as well be bananas: he's still ****ed off without looking back. I want to play for LFC my arse. Another ****ing moneygrabbin' bastad!
The inside story of how Fenway transformed Liverpool from chaos of 2010 to record-breaking runners-up http://flip.it/g3HACS Anfield was deserted when a slender, bespectacled figure arrived at the Shankly Gates and requested a preview of his new home. John W. Henry’s team of investors had purchased Liverpool and, having taken a private tour of the club museum, the American wanted an early morning stroll around the stadium. “I came out here and walked the pitch alone,” he said, contradicting Gerry Marsden’s anthem. “I love Anfield when the place is empty and the sun is coming out.” The symbolism of Henry enjoying his new dawn back in October 2010 has aged well. There is Liverpool before Fenway Sports Group. And there is Liverpool now. There is the club purchased amid High Court rancour - the ragged aristocrat stumbling around the local tavern, searching for pennies while boring passing acquaintances with tales of old glory – and the corporate and sporting behemoth, incrementally rebuilding with impassioned dexterity. There are years of recruitment errors bringing down outstanding managers and there is the winning streak of exceptional signings facilitating Jurgen Klopp’s revival. In 2010, Liverpool had their name, one upheld by recent European success, a smattering of world-class talents, a global following and enough cup success to nourish optimism that a title win was a few more signings away. What they did not have was an infrastructure befitting that reputation. Instead, by 2010, Liverpool was the smallest of big clubs - one that had fallen off their perch more than being knocked off. Until FSG's arrival, administrative power at Liverpool was essentially focused on the chief executive, authorised by a chairman and generally supportive board members. In 1990 Liverpool had Noel White and then David Moores who would defer to the advice of a trusted lieutenant - Peter Robinson until the turn of the Millennium and then Rick Parry, the latter having helped form the Premier League in 1992 and the natural fit to lead the club into the modern age. All those charged with executive responsibility had to contend not only with the extraordinary footballing legacies of the 1960s, 70s and 80s, but a restrictive and widely supported conservatism which claimed the Liverpool way was the only way. please log in to view this image John W Henry is a popular figure at Anfield CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES Liverpool Football Club, building a sense of what had gone wrong since the last title. No Harvard academic was required to conclude that player recruitment was at the tip of the pyramid. This had been an issue ever since the decision to strengthen the title-winning side of 1990 with Millwall's Jimmy Carter and Coventry's David Speedie, and taking in mis-steps from Nigel Clough to Julian Dicks, Stan Collymore to El Hadji Diouf. please log in to view this image Klopp was happy to wait to sign Virgil van Dijk rather than change target CREDIT: REUTERS “If you break it down essentially that is right but there are many components around that you need right to compete,” says Ayre. “You have to improve the commercial revenue, the stadium, the whole infrastructure so you have the funds to build a team. Had Hicks and Gillett been what they said they were, Liverpool would be in the position they are now much sooner.” “What you have to remember about those first few years under FSG is we had debts coming out of the Hicks and Gillett regime which took time to claw our way back from,” says Ayre. “For a while you are trying to plaster over the cracks left behind. People see a player sold and think, ‘why haven’t you spent the same on someone else?’ but it is not so simple. It took time, chipping away under a few different managers. You make decisions and buy players which, with more funds, you might not have.” Rodgers almost delivered in 2014 as Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho showed how transformative clever signings could be. But rather than provide the platform for another title push, that too fell apart. Ayre admits the recruitment challenges did not got easier. “Take the example of Alexis Sanchez, who we tried to sign from Barcelona in 2014. I know for an absolute fact Arsenal did not offer more than we did. At some point the decision came down to the player and he chose Arsenal,” said Ayre. “We put in a lot of effort and did not get him. As a result of that you look around and the determination to get someone in can lead to a bad decision…” please log in to view this image Jurgen Klopp has been the missing piece in the puzzleCREDIT: GETTY IMAGES Ayre recalls another transfer deadline day when he was stuck in civil war Ukraine for Dinipro’s Yevhen Konoplyanka. “We met the clause, agreed to pay up front and on the time set, did the medical and had it all done. Then the president disappeared and we never saw him again and the deadline passed. You would not believe how much needs to go right to get a deal over the line.” After a downturn precipitated Rodgers’ exit, Klopp’s appointment in 2015 was the missing piece. “Jurgen fits the plan because he fits the club,” says Ayre. “With him you had someone who trusted and believed in it. It makes me laugh whenever I read something saying, ‘the recruitment strategy changed with Klopp’. There is no difference in the system now than there ever was. What is most important is that everyone believes in it, and he does. “Compare what happened with Sanchez to the Van Dijk situation. Where Jurgen was so strong is when that deal initially fell away he did not do what other coaches might do and ask for someone else so he could have another body in the dressing room. He was prepared to wait to get what he felt was the right player.” Over the last three years Liverpool have developed the uncanny knack of finding the right player, assisted by the swollen budget of commercial expansion and Champions League progress. “It has been about progress,” says Ayre.“At first that was getting into Europe again, then into the Champions League and then finally you want a team you know can win trophies. All the managers, whether it was Kenny, then Brendan and then Jurgen have been part of that journey to help get the club where it is today. Now they have caught up. “I honestly believe they have all the right ingredients now. The challenge is the scale and depth of that Manchester City machine. It is hard to see how or when that stops.” Henry, back at Anfield on Sunday for the season finale against Wolverhampton Wanderers, cannot bookend his journey until that title returns, but he can take another solitary and even more poignant walk around his stadium. He might wait for dawn over that new Main Stand built with a £100 million FSG loan, contemplating what has been achieved since 2010. Liverpool Football Club is not yet back on that perch. But they are not staggering around talking about the past anymore. There is no escaping the narrow failure of 2019 adds to a catalogue of agonising disappointment. The silver lining may come in Madrid on June 1. When Henry joined Sunday's lap of appreciation alongside his coach and players, he could at least be consoled by golden skies.
I backed then from the start. Remember arguing with some on here (that will remain nameless) about them too
We couldn't know at first how it would turn out, but they were obviously the right sort of people to run the club properly as a business - unlike the previous pair of shysters. Being Yanks like the previous two, they were always going to suffer from some prejudices amongst fans -but they always looked like genuine sports lovers as well as businessmen. Of course, football wasn't their game and so they made plenty of mistakes along the way - but they've obviously learned from them and built the club back into a global powerhouse again. For me, their business acumen was never in doubt - but from a fan's point of view that has to translate into success on the pitch. Finally getting the right manager - one who shares the philosophy that you need to build things to last and is not just a smash-and-grab merchant - means that that success is now within our grasp. We have to make it a club that the best players want to be part of, rather than a stepping-stone to the mega-bucks teams.
Oops...sorry Saint. In my haste to be a smart arse I didn't realise it was you. I thought it was a blue who posted...
The issue with FSG was never about investment, it was always about recruitment. I believe Liverpool with Klopp and Michael Edwards, we have the dream team. It's changed dramatically not just with purchases but with sales. They are now getting top brass for chaff. Look at Klopps only failure in the transfer market? Karius who cost a miserly £4.75 million. That is what is called a low risk chance signing. Klopp can easily collect a decent return on investment on him due to his age. A permanent fee of £7.5 million has already been agreed. Two of Klopps other chance signings have/will make a decent return on investment. Marko Grujic £5 million has a €40 million price tag. Dominic Solanke £6 million, went to Bournemouth for £19.5 million +£5.5 million in realistic bonuses. Danny Ings who has been injury ravaged and signed by Rodgers, £8 million is joining Southampton for £20 million. Those that doubt that Klopp and Edwards can offload the rest of the under contract chaff for decent amounts can think again. I reckon they have buyers for Kent, Ojo, Mignolet, Anomiyi already, plus others.
