Golden skies return to Anfield as a new dawn emerges - Chris Bascombe

[Sugar Ape]

Golden skies return to Anfield as a new dawn emerges

The inside story of how Fenway transformed Liverpool from chaos of 2010 to record-breaking runners-up

 

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 walked the pitch alone," he said. "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 ragged aristocrat of a club compared to the current corporate and sporting behemoth, incrementally rebuilding with impassioned dexterity.

 

There are years of recruitment errors and 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 talent, a global following and enough cup success to nourish optimism that a title win was a few signings away.

 

What they did not have was an infrastructure befitting that reputation. Instead, by 2010, Liverpool were the smallest of big clubs.

 

Until FSG's arrival, administrative power at Liverpool was essentially focused on the chief executive, authorised by a chairman and generally supportive board members. All those charged with executive responsibility had to contend with a restrictive and widely supported conservatism which claimed the Liverpool way was the only way.

 

It meant even routine changes to structure, methods or coaching personnel could be interpreted as risky, radical or ruinous, by shareholders and supporters. Graeme Souness turning an unused boot room into a press area is still chronicled by some as desecrating sacred ground.

 

"When you have been so successful, there is the temptation to stick with a formula," said Rick Parry, who took over as chief executive in 1999. "But across the Nineties, the external environment was rapidly changing - the Premier League, increased revenues, Bosman, the revamped Champions League. Perhaps we were not completely geared for it."

 

Ian Ayre was appointed managing director in 2007. A lifelong fan, his experience as an employee was common.

 

"I was shocked by how small the infrastructure was," said Ayre, who left the club in 2017. "The overall staff was around 200. Retail and hospitality was outsourced. Everyone knew what had to happen to expand, but at the same time there was a negative reaction to commercialisation. But we had to do it. We were getting left behind.

 

"You need all the components right to compete - the commercial revenue, the stadium - it creates a virtuous circle you need to have the funds to build a team. For a while the club completely lost its way."

 

Liverpool were at this time playing a never-ending game of catch-up, particularly when Chelsea took transfer expenditure to extreme levels in the early 2000s.

 

"At the end of Gerard Houllier's reign [in 2004] and the start of Rafa Benitez's time in charge, we would often talk about Chelsea. Not only did they have no weaknesses in their first XI, they had two quality players in each position," said Parry. "Having the resources to get to that position was tough."

 

Alex Miller, who was appointed to Liverpool's technical department under Houllier and served as a coach under Benitez, was also dealing with the challenges of competing with domestic rivals for the most coveted players.

"We identified a lot of top players early under Gerard and Rafa," he said. "We met Ronaldo, Pablo Aimar, Dani Alves. We knew all about Petr Cech, who was an outstanding 16-year-old playing in the Under-20 World Cup.

 

"There could be multiple reasons deals did not happen - lots of agents in the background, prices going up as soon as you showed interest. Finance did come into it. The big money was being handed out.

 

You could be offering a player £100,000 a week and you knew they would be straight on the phone to another club telling them what you had offered and trying to get more."

 

One former Liverpool coach tells the story of being out for dinner with an Arsenal scout and discussing a player of interest. The scout called Arsene Wenger and within 30 minutes David Dein was on the phone arranging a meeting with the player's representatives.

 

"I thought to myself, 'They are quick. I wish we were able to do that'," he said, ruefully.

Benitez's reign was ultimately undone by the arrival of owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks, who promised much but - off the field, at least - delivered only chaos. The club were perilously close to financial catastrophe until FSG challenged the legality of Hicks and Gillett's ownership when they defaulted on their Royal Bank of Scotland loans in the autumn of 2010.

 

The key for Anfield's new regime was - as Parry has since identified - patience. "What I admire about Fenway is they have stuck to a plan and been prepared to take a longer view," he said. "We always had that sense of expectation going into every season that it is time to win the league again. If there is one lesson I think would have stood us in better stead it would be to show more of that patience, concentrating more on quality in each transfer window and building over a longer period."

 

Ayre confirms that strength of purpose. "When you believe in what you are doing - although you can never be rigid - you go with it. They have," he said. "Even when criticism came, they did not waver from the plan. You can't run Liverpool and expect to be popular."

 

There have been problems. Damien Comolli's appointment in 2010 cost time and money, while the decision to retain Kenny Dalglish in a permanent manager's role in 2011 contradicted the promise to find a more youthful figurehead - which they eventually did in Brendan Rodgers a year later.

 

There were numerous PR catastrophes, most notably the handling of Luis Suarez's indiscretions and ticket pricing. They wasted millions on Andy Carroll, Mario Balotelli and Christian Benteke and there was a time when it seemed FSG were delivering apologies more frequently than results.

 

In the summer of 2012, when the club refused to overpay for Fulham's Clint Dempsey, principal owner Henry published an open letter to appease fans disgruntled by a lack of major signings. It read more like a manifesto.

 

"The transfer policy was not about cutting costs. It was - and will be in the future - about getting maximum value for what is spent so that we can build quality and depth," he wrote. "We must comply with Financial Fair Play guidelines that ensure spending is tied to income."

 

Following this statement, Liverpool's executive structure changed. FSG president Michael Gordon and a recruitment team led by Michael Edwards, later promoted to sporting director, assumed greater authority. Their analytical approach to recruitment oversaw a quiet revolution.

 

"Michael Edwards was initially managing the technical and analytical side as we went into deals and he is now handling more of the negotiations," said Ayre. "He keeps a low profile because he acknowledges how many others are contributing, like Dave Fallows, Barry Hunter and Ian Graham.

"Ian is the real scientist of the group who built an analytics system specifically for Liverpool, taking in all the information to give them a more rounded decision on which players they should look at.

 

"Fenway bought into that very quickly. In 2010, they knew they could not go straight in at the top end for players. It will always be just as important to be finding Andy Robertson as signing Virgil van Dijk. It's not how much you have to spend but how you spend."

 

Henry's picturesque dawn stroll in 2010 disguised the fact he was staring at ground zero. In his first few days in charge, he met supporters, journalists, players, current and former employees - anyone with an understanding of the 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.

 

"Those first few years under FSG, we had debts coming out of the Hicks and Gillett regime which took time to claw our way back from," said Ayre. "You have to improve the commercial revenue, the stadium, the whole infrastructure so you have the funds to build a team."

 

Rodgers almost delivered in 2014 as Suarez, Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho showed how transformative clever signings could be. But that, too, fell apart. Ayre admits the recruitment challenges did not get 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."

 

After a downturn precipitated Rodgers's exit, Klopp's appointment in 2015 was the missing piece. "Jurgen fits the plan because he fits the club," said Ayre. "He 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.

 

"Where Jurgen was so strong with Van Dijk is when that deal initially fell away he did not do what other coaches might 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 past 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.

 

"I honestly believe they have all the right ingredients now," said Ayre.

 

"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 Wolves, cannot bookend his journey until that title returns. Liverpool are not yet back on that perch. But they are not staggering around talking about the past any more.

 

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 next stands on his own turf and looks around, he can at least be consoled by golden skies.

[Arnaud]

Thanks for that post, interesting even though not conflicting approach .

[3 Stacks]

3 hours ago, Sugar Ape said:

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.

Most interesting part of the article for me. Settles lots of arguments that have been made in the last few years, although I'm sure not everyone will believe it. 

[El Rojo]

Interesting piece. 

 

I’d completely forgotten that Christian Benteke played for us. 

[VladimirIlyich]

8 hours ago, 3 Stacks said:

Most interesting part of the article for me. Settles lots of arguments that have been made in the last few years, although I'm sure not everyone will believe it. 

The most important thing is the change of manager from a self important egotist who refused to listen to others to an experienced and successful manager who knows he needs others to achieve success,as its impossible without that help.

[Captain Turdseye]

8 hours ago, El Rojo said:

Interesting piece. 

 

I’d completely forgotten that Christian Benteke played for us. 

 

You lucky bastard. 

[johnsusername]

10 hours ago, El Rojo said:

Interesting piece. 

 

I’d completely forgotten that Christian Benteke played for us. 

I think we bought him just to stop him scoring against us. 

[Captain Turdseye]

11 minutes ago, johnsusername said:

I think we bought him just to stop him scoring against us. 

 

We did such a good job that now he doesn’t score against anyone. 

[The Guest]

Reading between the lines on the Van Dijk thing I think Ayre maybe pointing out then Klopp was strong enough and confident enough to wait for either Van Dijk or another world class centre half whereas previous managers didn’t do that.  When we didn’t get Sanchez Rodgers was probably given a similar option to Klopp.  Rodgers has even said it himself that he was given a list of players they thought were attainable and the remaining options were Balotelli or nobody so he went with Balotelli.

 

Looking back if he had been a bit more shrewd and said nobody then a lot of the blame for the following season would have fell on the club and not him.  Because we signed Balotelli everything that followed was his fault because he’d been “backed with players he wanted” when that probably wasn’t really the case.

 

It was slightly different because Sanchez went somewhere else but I think that if Van Dijk had gone to city that summer then Klopp still wouldn’t have signed anyone else and waited for the right player.

 

Overall I think the article gives an accurate picture of FSG in charge.  The hysterical whinging from most fans every summer was grating when you could see they were trying to do the right things and generally moving us forward.  It is hard to see any other owners getting the club in the position it is in now on and off the pitch.  A massive amount of that is down to Klopp obviously but they got him when other clubs couldn’t.  Whether it was harsh on Rodgers or not he didn’t have the clout to pull players like Van Dijk and Alisson in.  It feels like we are in a great place right now and it’s down to them so they should take credit for it.  A summer of no spending will have the same complaints creeping out though I imagine.

[VladimirIlyich]

3 minutes ago, The Guest said:

Reading between the lines on the Van Dijk thing I think Ayre maybe pointing out then Klopp was strong enough and confident enough to wait for either Van Dijk or another world class centre half whereas previous managers didn’t do that.  When we didn’t get Sanchez Rodgers was probably given a similar option to Klopp.  Rodgers has even said it himself that he was given a list of players they thought were attainable and the remaining options were Balotelli or nobody so he went with Balotelli.

 

Looking back if he had been a bit more shrewd and said nobody then a lot of the blame for the following season would have fell on the club and not him.  Because we signed Balotelli everything that followed was his fault because he’d been “backed with players he wanted” when that probably wasn’t really the case.

 

It was slightly different because Sanchez went somewhere else but I think that if Van Dijk had gone to city that summer then Klopp still wouldn’t have signed anyone else and waited for the right player.

 

Overall I think the article gives an accurate picture of FSG in charge.  The hysterical whinging from most fans every summer was grating when you could see they were trying to do the right things and generally moving us forward.  It is hard to see any other owners getting the club in the position it is in now on and off the pitch.  A massive amount of that is down to Klopp obviously but they got him when other clubs couldn’t.  Whether it was harsh on Rodgers or not he didn’t have the clout to pull players like Van Dijk and Alisson in.  It feels like we are in a great place right now and it’s down to them so they should take credit for it.  A summer of no spending will have the same complaints creeping out though I imagine.

This is the first summer that we don't need to sell to buy. Hopefully this means simply offloading Sturridge,Mignolet et al and simply introducing only one or two new faces at most.

[johnsusername]

1 hour ago, Captain Turdseye said:

 

We did such a good job that now he doesn’t score against anyone. 

It was the wrong transfer for all involved. Most people knew that at the time, I would say. 

[VladimirIlyich]

51 minutes ago, johnsusername said:

It was the wrong transfer for all involved. Most people knew that at the time, I would say. 

Except for Rodgers who made a habit of signing shite like this.

[Dave D]

I remember when Benteke played for Villa in the FA Cup final 2015- pretty sure it was his last game for them before the well rumoured deal we had in place.

 

I sat and watched it with the sole intention of watching everything he did.

 

He was woeful, absolutely bossed in the air by the Arsenal centre backs and didnt get a sniff as they loss 4-0.

 

To think how far we have come since then, a relatively short space of time since the 2015/16 season  

[Pureblood]

I reckon Bascombe was pissed when he wrote that.

[The Guest]

5 hours ago, Dave D said:

I remember when Benteke played for Villa in the FA Cup final 2015- pretty sure it was his last game for them before the well rumoured deal we had in place.

 

I sat and watched it with the sole intention of watching everything he did.

 

He was woeful, absolutely bossed in the air by the Arsenal centre backs and didnt get a sniff as they loss 4-0.

 

To think how far we have come since then, a relatively short space of time since the 2015/16 season  

To be fair he was good at Villa.  He was the only reason they didn’t get relegated for about 3 years on the run.  Their team was awful and losing players every year.  They got to the final turning us over if you remember.  It felt like he terrorised us every time we played against him.  I can’t remember the final myself but obviously they got spanked but it’s a bit unfair to judge him on that.

 

I think Rodgers/the club had become a bit obsessed with combatting the park the bus teams and felt like having a big striker would help.  It was a stupid signing in hindsight because they must have had an inkling Rodgers was going.  Klopp’s disdain for him and public dressing downs had a lot people including worried but it’s pretty obvious to see the issues he had now.

[Jairzinho]

5 hours ago, TK421 said:

I reckon Bascombe was pissed when he wrote that. cuts his own hair.

 

[3 Stacks]

Benteke had that one season at Villa, may have been his first or second there I don't remember, where he was just dominant. No one could deal with him physically and he could run too.

 

If we'd bought him then, not many would have argued it, I wouldn't have, but we bought him after he could barely move anymore after he tore his Achilles. At that point, he was nothing but a streaky penalty box striker and we must have been conned by the purple patch he was having the second half of the season before we signed him. Just horrific timing. Now he doesn't even belong in the top division.

[Captain Howdy]

Interesting read but surely I can’t be the only one cringing at the “ record breaking runners - up” line