New Liverpool owner John Henry & NESV to spend 'wisely'

John W Henry on the BBC iPlayer...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/9103269.stm

It's encouraging that he's taking his time and listening to supporter groups.

For those not in the UK and can not get the iPlayer here is the artical.

New Liverpool owner John Henry & NESV to spend 'wisely'

Liverpool's new owner John Henry has warned he will not throw money at the club in a bid to solve their problems.

Henry, whose NESV group sealed a £300m takeover on Friday, watched the Reds slip to 19th in the Premier League with Sunday's 2-0 defeat at Everton.

"I don't have 'Sheikh' in front of my name," said the American, referring to Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour.

"When we spend a dollar, it has to be wisely. We can't afford contracts that do not make long-term sense."

He added: "We have to be smart, bold, aggressive."

The takeover of Liverpool by Henry's New England Sports Ventures (NESV) eliminated the acquisition debt placed on the club by previous owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett.
But on-field troubles persist and the  derby loss at Goodison Park   leaves Roy Hodgson's side second-bottom of the English top flight with only six points from their opening eight games and a goal difference of minus six.

Key players such as Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres have struggled for form, while summer signings Joe Cole, Christian Poulsen, Raul Meireles and Paul Konchesky have yet to make an impact.

Off the pitch, meanwhile, funding issues have delayed the start of work on Liverpool's proposed 60,000-seater stadium in Stanley Park.

But despite the club's current plight, Henry has refused to give assurances over transfer budgets or plans for the new stadium.

"What am I thinking? How much work this is going to be. How steep the learning curve is going to be. This is not going to be easy," said the 61-year-old, whose company NESV also owns the Boston Red Sox baseball franchise.

"We realise the challenge that lies ahead if we are going to go toe-to-toe with the other big clubs. We are not asking for a long honeymoon. This is a contact sport we are in and the going can get rough sometimes. We realise that.

"We are not going to make any promises but we are going to listen and consider."
NESV, Liverpool and their major creditors Royal Bank of Scotland were accused of an "epic swindle" by Hicks, claiming the club had been severely undervalued.

Henry, whose history with the Red Sox suggests there will be significant investment to come over the coming months, denied that was the case.

And although he may not have access to the same level of funds as City's owners, the Abu Dhabi United Group , he plans to make money and not waste it on interest payments as the previous owners did.

"There were big financial issues but in the end we made a decision we really wanted to compete at this level," Henry told the Liverpool Echo.

"I know some people are saying this was a cheap price. There is no way we look at this as a cheap price for this club.

"When we arrived at the Red Sox, the New York Yankees were a juggernaut and it wasn't that much of a rivalry. I believe we turned it into a rivalry where we have gone toe-to-toe with the Yankees even though they have got a much higher revenue. They keep going up but we have gone up faster.
"When we looked at Liverpool, the first thing that struck us was there are opportunities here to really build a winner.

"The revenue potentials around the world - it is a global football club - and especially with the financial fair play rules, it is really going to be revenue that drives how good your club can be in the future.

"That is one thing that we think we are good at."

NESV is backed by 17 investors and Henry stated: "I don't think any thinking individual buys a sports franchise these days - or an English football club - to make money.

"Maybe a few, but they should have their head examined. It's about competing at the highest level in the world's largest sport for us, that's why we are here."

On Monday, Henry and fellow co-owner Tom Werner met with local MPs and supporters' groups to discuss their plans for the club.

"It was great to finally get to work," said Henry. "We met with supporters' group. No, we didn't give any assurances. We are here to listen and to learn from them and we learned a lot today.

"I think the biggest issue was a sense of disenfranchisement and their sense of not being part of their own and that is what we discussed. This was a big first step today."

Cheers for that, curse the UK only media player!!!

I LOVE that he says anyone trying to make a profit is nuts. I also love the long term approach. Buying and nurturing good youth players will make u's more competitive and successful in the long run.

These comments tell me John Henry is not going to spend big amounts in the transfer market and sadly while they can be the best owners in the world if they are not going to be spend decent amounts of money on players it will be a long long time till we win the Premiership.

 His philosophy is the same as every club in the Premiership has other than Chelsea and City so can't see how it will help us win anything, money on players is absolutely essential he wants to maximise the clubs profits.

It is top players and a extremely successful team that sell shirts and club merchandise and break the Asian markets and get the higher televison and internet deals.

So whether John Henry wants to admit it or not if he wants to achieve what he has set out he might just have to spend big money in the transfer market otherwise he will not make Liverpool successful.

Bottom line is we can't compete with Chelsea and Man City, no-one can.

I have confidence that he'll provide the right funds for the right players which makes more sense to me than throwing millions down the drain on players that could well be average.

He's also said he's not in this to make a profit either. I also have no doubt he'll raise the profile of the club overseas to astronomical levels.

He is right, maximise the revenue before the financial fair play rules come in, then we will see where
Chelsea and Man City are.

These comments tell me John Henry is not going to spend big amounts in the transfer market and sadly while they can be the best owners in the world if they are not going to be spend decent amounts of money on players it will be a long long time till we win the Premiership.

 His philosophy is the same as every club in the Premiership has other than Chelsea and City so can't see how it will help us win anything, money on players is absolutely essential he wants to maximise the clubs profits.

It is top players and a extremely successful team that sell shirts and club merchandise and break the Asian markets and get the higher televison and internet deals.

So whether John Henry wants to admit it or not if he wants to achieve what he has set out he might just have to spend big money in the transfer market otherwise he will not make Liverpool successful.

Yes but what is the point in him coming out and saying I'm going to spend lots and lots of money, it will just mean any team we do business with, will put the prices up. If you look at his history when they have needed to spend big, they have. Anyway I don't want a sugar daddy, what we need is a good ambitous young manager, who can use both the Academy and build for a long term view. That doesn't mean having to break every football transfer record.

I am quite prepared for a couple of trophy free years, if it means we improve our squad season by season, and blood our more talented youngsters. There is no glory in being like Chelsea, doing it with a cheque book.

I dont think hes a stupid guy and he knows he needs to invest. Due to it being a consortium I dont think anyone really has too much of a clue how much NESV has behind them. I think he's playing it down atm as theres no point spending rashley in Jan, nothing ever really comes out of the Jan transfer window.
Really like the point he hasnt made any decisions yet and is taking things in and trying to assess what needs to be done, appears as if he wants to do a thorough job. I think he will invest but maybe 2-3 playes a summer, nothing drastic, without having to sell "quality" to bring them in.

Yes but what is the point in him coming out and saying I'm going to spend lots and lots of money, it will just mean any team we do business with, will put the prices up. If you look at his history when they have needed to spend big, they have. Anyway I don't want a sugar daddy, what we need is a good ambitous young manager, who can use both the Academy and build for a long term view. That doesn't mean having to break every football transfer record.

I am quite prepared for a couple of trophy free years, if it means we improve our squad season by season, and blood our more talented youngsters. There is no glory in being like Chelsea, doing it with a cheque book.

Spot on sir, great post

The teams that spend the most money on players are most successful in the long run, think Paul Tomkins shows that in his article today.

If he wants Liverpool to wins things he will have to compete for the best players in the transfer market.

 I agree he wouldn't be saying how much money he is going to spend because it would drive up the price but I actually think his comments are aimed at the fans and are showing we will not be big spenders in the transfer market.

I tend to be corrected but I don't think we will see large amounts of money spent by NESV in the transfer market.

It's sensible, especially considering the new spending laws being looked at by FIFA & UEFA.  I don't want a sugar daddy, I want to win stuff on merit using money we've earned.  Debt laden clubs are going to implode at some point.  Give me a well run club any day.

Them laws are far from agreed they are a hope of Platini rather than a confirmation.

 I want an owner that is willing to spend the required money to win a Premiership, I really hope John Henry is that man.

Great to be well run but if substanial money is not invested in the playing side we will be a well run side that win nothing and I want Liverpool to win things.

Them laws are far from agreed they are a hope of Platini rather than a confirmation.

 I want an owner that is willing to spend the required money to win a Premiership, I really hope John Henry is that man.

Great to be well run but if substanial money is not invested in the playing side we will be a well run side that win nothing and I want Liverpool to win things.

Yes but you forget Corballyred, it's not just John Henry whose in this venture there is about 17 other people's wealth included too. I do not think we will be too short of money, we just won't throw it about like Chelsea that's all.

NESV are worth a reported $3.1 billion a lot of which is tied up in things like the Red Sox. I think these comments are aimed at lowering the fans expectations.

As I've said if John Henry wants to be successful he will have to spend substanial amounts of money in the transfer market, I'm not filled with confidence after reading his comments that he is willing to do that.

I'll be happy to have us actually invest in the squad.

Considering we have turned a profit in the last four transfer windows, Roughly 10 million in the last one alone, substantial investment for me would be one or two quality players. To qualify that... Actually bringing in players that are a class above what we have, rather than selling quality players and bringing in the poor man's version.

I'm prepared to wait and see.  As a few people have said, the Jan window is usually pants anyway, the summer is when the big business is done.  He isn't going to be looking at any players yet as we have a managerial situation to be resolved.  When someone comes in, they'll be able to work on a plan.

I think he's being sensible by playing down how much money is there, otherwise teams will put the price up.  Let's hope that he realises 12M for Carlton Cole is 11M too much and that he has already left a message on Manuel Garcia Quilon's answerphone 

I'd take offloading a couple of players such as Babel and Kuyt maybe get £20m for the pair.

Get three in Turan Mata and Llorente for around £45m.

I'd call that spending wisely as it gives us two wingers and a back up striker for around £25m net

NESV are worth a reported $3.1 billion a lot of which is tied up in things like the Red Sox. I think these comments are aimed at lowering the fans expectations.

As I've said if John Henry wants to be successful he will have to spend substanial amounts of money in the transfer market, I'm not filled with confidence after reading his comments that he is willing to do that.

Success doesn't mean spending millions upon millions on players immediately, it's other areas where we're really crying out for investment such as a new stadium and it'll also take time for the squad to fully develop.

They're supposedly aiming for success within 3 years so thats what, at least 4 or 5 transfer windows in which to buy players? If we carry on turning a profit each season which I think is very likely since our interest re-payments are now down to £2-3million then you should get your wish sooner rather than later.

Let's hope that he realises 12M for Carlton Cole is 11M too much and that he has already left a message on Manuel Garcia Quilon's answerphone 

Carlton Cole. Are you taking the piss mate?

I'd take offloading a couple of players such as Babel and Kuyt maybe get £20m for the pair.

Get three in Turan Mata and Llorente for around £45m.

I'd call that spending wisely as it gives us two wingers and a back up striker for around £25m net

£25m net if we are well run, I think,  is within our budget, even more so with a new stadium.

Think you'd be paying a bit more than £25 million for them three, the are talking about 17 million euros alone for Llorente. Would like them though.

Think you'd be paying a bit more than £25 million for them three, the are talking about 17 million euros alone for Llorente. Would like them though.

£12.5m is the figure touted for Turan, £15 is being touted for Mata, £17m is being touted for Llorente thats £42.5m Minus the sale of Babel and Kuyt for around £20m that leaves £22.5m.

Personally I think if that happened in January we'd look a better team all together.

£12.5m is the figure touted for Turan, £15 is being touted for Mata, £17m is being touted for Llorente thats £42.5m Minus the sale of Babel and Kuyt for around £20m that leaves £22.5m.

Personally I think if that happened in January we'd look a better team all together.

If that happens in January I may need a change of pants

Im just worried that he won't invest at the level that we need.

I don't mind if he doesn't spend Man City levels just lands a few quality players and im stoked.

If that happens in January I may need a change of pants

You do know you're  meant to do that daily any way? 

I'd be happy, nay astonished if we got two of them.

You do know you're  meant to do that daily any way? 

I'd be happy, nay astonished if we got two of them.

So would I to be honest, but we'd have two wingers that could stay and get their heels white and take their men on whilst strecthing the opposition and creating space for the midfield to play in and a support/backup striker for Torres.

I was never implying that this would happen, but making it clear you can spend wisely and still add quality if you get what I mean.

You do know you're  meant to do that daily any way? 

I'd be happy, nay astonished if we got two of them.

OOOOOOhhhhhhh..... That would explain a lot.

I should probably have clafified.

Change my pants upon hearing the news, due to over excitement.

Not much chance of it happening though

I'd take offloading a couple of players such as Babel and Kuyt maybe get £20m for the pair.

Get three in Turan Mata and Llorente for around £45m.

I'd call that spending wisely as it gives us two wingers and a back up striker for around £25m net

It'd be great, but I can't see us getting £10million for Babel or Kuyt. Nor could I see Roy selling Kuyt.

I dont think hes a stupid guy and he knows he needs to invest. Due to it being a consortium I dont think anyone really has too much of a clue how much NESV has behind them. I think he's playing it down atm as theres no point spending rashley in Jan, nothing ever really comes out of the Jan transfer window.
Really like the point he hasnt made any decisions yet and is taking things in and trying to assess what needs to be done, appears as if he wants to do a thorough job. I think he will invest but maybe 2-3 playes a summer, nothing drastic, without having to sell "quality" to bring them in.

Investing wisely....hmmm.....a few thoughts:

- might be some truth in the rumours that investment might be made in players that can bring in revenue e.g. Honda, Donovan and at least one star signing that brings Torres level excitement and shirt sales (e.g. Aguero? OK, I'm hoping, really hoping).  

- expect him to go for that group of younger 22-26 year old players who have years of service to give and whose value can rise so if we have to sell, we recoup our investment (who we havent been able to afford much in recent past - therefore buying 30 year old Poulsen types and freebies).  There is so much quality about that we havent bought (Bangea or Defour instead of Poulsen; Marko Marin or Turan for the wings; Llorente, Mata or Martinez who are already forcing themselves into the overflowing with quality Spanish national squad).  None of these bar Llorente (with his buy out clause) would break the bank but would add so much to our team

- no money for squad overhauls - THEREFORE, 60% of the current squad will need to shape up.  How?  Motivation/Tactics key.  AND THEREFORE, I do think a change of manager WILL come.  Roy's time is almost surely up.

Everyone is jumping the gun here.. He probably means he wont do a city or real and offer silly x amounts to sign a player..

or he is saying under hodgson he will spend wisely

It's important that we don't spend big and crazy. What I wanted and what everyone wants is if we need a player in the range of the 20 million pound range then we can actually try and pursue him instead of writing him off due to our debt and two c*nts refusing to do anything with their own money.

  It seems as if John Henry is telling us to wait until the new laws come in (2014) before we are going to compete with the best, this does make sense if you cant invest in players like City and Chelsea, but by the time the new rules come into effect we could be struggling to finish sixth.
 By the time the rules change Spurs could have moved into the Olympic stadium and be coming in or very near the top 4 every year
 Arsenal have the big stadium and have a strong team who challenge for trophies
 If Man u can get rid of there owners they will be in the best position of any club in 2014
  Chelsea and City will have some problems in 2014, but I am sure when you have money like Shiekh Mansour there will be a way to get round any problems, and Chelsea can always charge there supporters more money to make up for the small stadium
 If John Henry is not investing in the best players he needs to start building a new stadium straight away if we are going to stand any chance of competing in 2014

My only concern with those statements is that when he talks about spending wisely, who is going to actually pick the players? Surely he won't pick them, unless he's going to go for the ones that he feels would raise our profile and sell the most merchandise? He's not likely to be a footballing expert all of a sudden. Or will it be Woy picking the 'wise' purchases?? Would Chelski be as successful if Woy had been given the money?

The amount required for players is not necessarily hundreds of millions. The key is to buy the right players, something we have not always done well in the past.

The difference just one player made to our on field standard with Alonso was enormous.

The difference just one player made to our on field standard with Mascherano was enormous.

We have the best keeper in the world, one of the best strikers in the world, and of course Steven Gerrard.

What we need is top quality in our midfield, to replace Lucas,Poulsen, and Mereiles.  We need players who can bring the ball to Torres and Gerrard in an effective manner. When you look at the difference those above mentioned players made to our play, it becomes clear that its the quality of the players rather than the quantity of money thats spent on them.

50 million spent wisely would be far better than 200 million spent unwisely. It can be done and done in one window.

Whilst we all agree that splashing the cash a la City and Chelsea is something we cannot compete with one thing is clear...unless we invest heavily in next twelve months we are likely to lose Fernando Torres. He is quoted as saying he wants the club to invest and do we really anticipate playing Champions League football without such investment?

We need a 'quick hit' and sign some quality key playes....that will cost.

Despite what you may think of Torres he is a player we must not let go. He,Stevie and Pepe are the future and we build around them blooding the youth also.

So whilst we expect the new owners to spend wisely they also need to spend to get us out of the current mess we are in.We don't have the players currently to do it or the manager for that matter..

50 million spent wisely would be far better than 200 million spent unwisely. It can be done and done in one window.

That's my point. Who would you trust to spend the money wisely? Roy?

We have had a situation for a while now where we have had to wait for a transfer window, sell players, see what we get, then see who is left on the transfer market.

I don't want us to have huge money to waste.  If we were to be told we have £20M to spend in January and £20M in the summer then that is fine.

It means that right now we can start deciding how we use that money.  One big player, or 4 £5M players.  And if we sell anyone in January it can be added to the summer's fund.

Hicks and Gillett's policy meant that we simply couldn't afford to plan ahead. The only plans we ever made were for free transfers which Rafa unfortunately had to begin paying attention to.  That isn't the way to run a big football club.

Hicks and Gillette have really lowered our expectations. If we only spend that sum JD we will lose Torres in the Summer and there is no way we will be able to compete with even the Spurs of this world never mind about the other bigger clubs.

 That would have be okay in 2008 and to spend that money when the squad was a lot stronger but now the squad needs an overhaul and large amounts of money needs to be invested if like John Henry appears to want Liverpool to compete otherwise prepare for a couple of seasons of mediocre from Liverpooll

Alright Folks,

First time on here for me. Can anyone tell me how reliable LFC GLobe is. You probably all know that they are reporting SG and JC to have had a falling out with Nando. They are also reporting that NESV are actively looking for a knew manager http://lfcglobe.com/category/headlines/ I am guessing it is bull as the more well known sources would of picked up on it.

Great to see that they are looking to spend the money wisely. I just hope it is not Roy who gets to spend it. Got to be Kenny right now as Interim so the pressure is off a bit then Gus in January (if KD aint doing too well).

^ The times they are achanging Corbally.

The market price of players over recent years has been over-inflated due to Chelsea, Man City, Madrid, Barcelona, Man Utd all raising the prices of players.

Already 4 out of that list have essentially refused to go hell for leather on players anymore. 

I don't want Liverpool to spend beyond their means. I believe in the next few years, and especially with the UEFA rules coming in, we will see transfer fees deflate.  I would say £80M over two years would be a more than acceptable figure to spend on players, even before we have recouped on the likes of Babel, and if it comes to it Torres.

Considering we have -£9M over the past 2 years then I would imagine the figure above would be hugely fantastic without plunging us back in to the abyss of debt.

Alright Folks,

First time on here for me.

The bold letters at the top are called the topic title.

That is what we are discussing in this topic.

Keep your posts on topic, read other topics to see if your questions have already been answered, and you might make it to your second post.

The results of the last couple of years transfer spend are clear for all to see, Hicks and Gillette have managed to cripple our squad over the last 3 years. My only worry is for us to be back competing we will at least have to match the big clubs in the transfer market.

 Them new rules JD are far from being agreed if Platini has his way he will try and get them in. If we are to compete I think that is our big hope that this comes in.

 I want Liverpool to be compete Premierships only way that is going to happen is with a top class manager and a good transfer budget.

NESV are worth a reported $3.1 billion a lot of which is tied up in things like the Red Sox. I think these comments are aimed at lowering the fans expectations.

As I've said if John Henry wants to be successful he will have to spend substanial amounts of money in the transfer market, I'm not filled with confidence after reading his comments that he is willing to do that.

we need to spend big on the right players, agreed, but I would much rather be sensible and build the team. it needs to be a good balance of developing the acedemy players and stars (of which we have 3 world class ones at mo). we don't need 15 million plus players per position, that's ludicrious and unsustainable unless you have an arab billionnaire (which are thin on the ground believe it or not).

if we had one big signing per year, and 1 or two promising youngsters, I would be happy because the right manager can build with that. and as I keep saying, lfc's global branding and global reach ahs huge potential. we can can foreseebly build a model whereby our revenues can sustain a healthy transfer budget and acedemy development.

I've always said and will always say that I would not want lfc buying the title like chavski and citeh.

40m a season would be outstanding. Net spend, that is.

We could easily recoup 30m from the squad from Degen, Poulsen, Babel, Insua, Kuyt and Aquilani (i don't want him to go, but Juve have first option and really rate him) on top of that.

That's 70m to spend all up.

There is spending wisely and then there is spending stupidly.

City at present are spending stupidly, buying everything they can get their hands on just for the sake of buying.

Chelsea spent crazy, they even bought players to stop others buying them. Now they can afford to spend wisely, but only because they they have eventually managed to get a team out of all the players they have bought.

We, I think, will not be given the pleasure of buying stupidly, simply as our owners are a group and not an individual who has money to burn on a luxury. Our owners may not be looking for a profit per-say, but they will not be spending for the sake of spending.

I think, we will have a new manager soon, as the players our current manager has bought are very poor. Once we have a new manager in, then will will know as to the caliber of player we will be looking for. But the £25m we will have that has been wasted on interest payments alone will be a huge bonus.

Only time will tell. But FIRST, unfortunately we need a new Manager.

There is spending wisely and then there is spending stupidly.

City at present are spending stupidly, buying everything they can get their hands on just for the sake of buying.

Chelsea spent crazy, they even bought players to stop others buying them. Now they can afford to spend wisely, but only because they they have eventually managed to get a team out of all the players they have bought.

We, I think, will not be given the pleasure of buying stupidly, simply as our owners are a group and not an individual who has money to burn on a luxury. Our owners may not be looking for a profit per-say, but they will not be spending for the sake of spending.

I think, we will have a new manager soon, as the players our current manager has bought are very poor. Once we have a new manager in, then will will know as to the caliber of player we will be looking for. But the £25m we will have that has been wasted on interest payments alone will be a huge bonus.

Only time will tell. But FIRST, unfortunately we need a new Manager.

totally agree. Still pissed Shitty got their hands on Silva though!

£12.5m is the figure touted for Turan, £15 is being touted for Mata, £17m is being touted for Llorente thats £42.5m Minus the sale of Babel and Kuyt for around £20m that leaves £22.5m.

Personally I think if that happened in January we'd look a better team all together.

I'd love this to happen in January, but there's a snowballs chance in hell of us landing those players for that cheap.  Llorente alone will not go for less than 30 mil with the form he's been in for Bilbao and Spain!

Spend it wisely, start by offering Moratti some dosh to get our Manager In Exile back, we're in Italy this week now would be a good time, get a deal done NOW!!

Let us dream again!!

Start off with £3million and get shut of Roy that is probably the best £3million you will ever spend at Anfield.

If Mr Henry wants to invest and make this club great and profitable to him then he has to buy top flight players that can generate revenue for the club and can compete with the rest. I,m expecting someone like Keisuke Honda to come in as this would generate revenue from Asia, a masive market to tap into, plus hes also a good player who could play behind the striker plus he is also a good defencive midfielder also. We also need some good wingers. Mata and Turan have been mentioned but I think Turan would be the easiest target. A top striker is a must as well. Expect some out goings aswell. Babel, Maxi and possibly Kuyt plus Poulson (i hope )

If Mr Henry wants to invest and make this club great and profitable to him then he has to buy top flight players that can generate revenue for the club and can compete with the rest. I,m expecting someone like Keisuke Honda to come in as this would generate revenue from Asia, a masive market to tap into, plus hes also a good player who could play behind the striker plus he is also a good defencive midfielder also. We also need some good wingers. Mata and Turan have been mentioned but I think Turan would be the easiest target. A top striker is a must as well. Expect some out goings aswell. Babel, Maxi and possibly Kuyt plus Poulson (I hope )

Honda is not a bad shout. I've been a fan of Turan for a while. He can play as striker but more crucially he can play as a geniune attacking wide player we desparately need.

Roy needs to go though. OUT OUT!!

Honda would surely bring in the Japanese market for us...

Then get Banega so I can put that on my shirt. This would require him to have the number 69 though...