Not so long ago I wrote a piece called "From Houlding To Hicks" pleading with fans to not give our, then, owners any more of your money. It's here should you wish to read it
http://www.lfcreds.com/reds/index.php/topic,31412.msg711677.html#msg711677. But this one isn't in that vein, more of a look of how John W Henry, Tom Werner and whoever else is involved with FSG are doing their business.
123 years ago the dream started. John Houlding would form Liverpool Football Club, a football club who would go on to become the most successful club in England, the biggest club in the world and the envy of supporters of any football fan. Not only did we have world class players and an incomparable fanbase, we also had the right people owning the club.
People who had the club's intentions right at their heart were at the helm. John Houlding passed the reigns onto his own son, William, it eventually changed hands and was run by our very first manager, Irish businessman, John McKenna. The Williams family, William McConnell who was one of the few men to be adored in and out of the House of Commons. The wonderful John Smith. Even David Moores, who cops a lot a stick on this forum, loved Liverpool Football Club. None of them would willingly put Liverpool in danger (although that assumption of Moores is questionable)
Then we had the era of Hicks and Gillett. The era that put the future of this great club in danger. Would we actually have a club tomorrow? It's a time in our history that is dark but one we can't ignore. And truth be told, shouldn't ignore. Because what it did, was bring Liverpool fans together and closer. It made the bond between fellow Reds even stronger. We can all be as one when everything is going well but when times are hard, like they were for those three and a bit years, is when you see what your fans are really made of. There were many directions fans wanted us to go in but there was one common goal, getting Tom Hicks and George Gillett away from our club. We did that.
Helped in our cause by John W Henry and FSG/NESV. They took the club over, stabilised us financially and, eventually, got the ball officially moving in terms of an increased capacity at Anfield. Some may not like them because they're not throwing billions of pounds into the transfer kitty, some may not like them because of the precieved notion that they are doing everything in their power to cut wages. Some of that may even be true. But since they took over, we've seen an increase in our fortunes.
This year, marks our third semi final under the stewardship of FSG. That could go up should we progress in the FA Cup and Europe as well. We've played the best football of the Premiership era under the stewardship of FSG. We've reverted back to the days of keeping the problems in-house. No longer are we on the backs of newspapers because of the fighting among board and staff. They also don't seem to be media craving bas**rds like some owners.
Yes FSG have got their faults and those faults ultimately lead to them having detractors. One of their biggest faults is being American, after the last pair of cowboys we had from across the Atlantic, it made some Liverpool fans uneasy towards the new yanks. And I think that initial worry still holds a strong feeling with some fans. The cost cutting of wages, the better players leaving, the lower wage signings. It all adds up to people having doubts about them. That's understandable.
But I'm of the opinion that owners are there to simply sign the cheques. If I don't see them or hear them then they're doing what I want from the owner of my football club. That's the way Liverpool Football Club should be. We were the benchmark of the game because of how well we were ran off the pitch. If I could change one thing, it'd be this "committee" idea. One man should be making the decisions on which player he wants to buy - the manager.
Aside from that, I think we've got decent owners. And there's not too many of those around nowadays.
