Before JĆ¼rgen came, we were an absolute shambles. One league cup under FSG ownership. Abysmal.
From memory they flew the king out to america and sacked him after he delivered our only trophy in ten years. Then they hired an unknown, unproven coach from little swansea to manage us. A world power club.
We sold suarez during that time, our best player, after he nearly dragged us to a league title. Theyāll argue he wanted to go but he had a 5 year deal. We didnāt have to sell. That was a time to keep the team together, add to it, and hopefully go one step further the following season. Any ambitious club would have done that. Not us.
We sold. Brendan put forward a list of names he wanted but the transfer committee, hired by FSG, stepped in and signed a load of sh*te instead. Spent the money on dross. Brendan then asked for a striker and he was told itās f**king balotelli or nothing. Bit by bit the team fell apart but brendan rodgers got absolutely shafted by these owners.
The best thing FSG have ever done is hire JĆ¼rgen Klopp, despite the unfair treatment of Brendan.
Now this is where credit DOES have to come in somewhere for FSG or whoever deals with our transfers. We sold a lot of deadwood and got great deals for them. Benteke, ibe, Solanke etc the list goes on. F**k me, we even got rid of our third choice goalie ward for 12m. Unbelievable.
That money, this time around, was smartly invested by the guidance of JĆ¼rgen. But itās easy to sit here now and say what signings they turned out to be. At the time, very few knew about mane or salah but JĆ¼rgen coached them into the best wide men in the world. Do people really believe if it hadnāt been for JĆ¼rgen that those two players would have the status they do now? No chance.
So moving on. Our league form improves and we become a regular in the champions league again. The club is once again generating big money. But weāre stuck around fourth and we need a couple of players to push on so we can challenge for the title. In particular we desperately need a goalie and a centre half.
Now history has already told us with Suarez that FSG wonāt keep the squad together and add to it, even when we have champions league football and more money is available. So what do we do? Yep, we sell our best player again in coutinho. We got mega money for him which allowed us to sign our cb and keeper.
It all turned out well in the end, but Iāve got no doubt whatsoever if any other manager was in charge then it wouldnāt have. JĆ¼rgen Klopp is a unique manager and he is honestly the best coach in world football.
So where are we now? Well we went into this season with only three senior centre halves. Piss poor after weāve just won a title and the European cup the year before. Klopp had some money to spend but opted to go for Jota and Thiago who were every bit as important as bringing in a defender. Itās only with hindsight now people can say a cb was more important. But it wasnāt. Those VVD and Gomez injuries could have happened to salah and mane and then what? We play shaqiri and f**king origi?
We knew months ago that we would be without VVD and Gomez for the season. Klopp is on record during interview expressing his frustrations at not being backed. We therefore know that he has asked for signings. Therefore, somebody should have been brought in on day one of the transfer window. Instead, we sign two unknown players from home n bargains on deadline day - despite being in a crisis.
Today we are at the point where I think most would agree we need some fresh faces and recruitments if we are going to challenge again next season. In my opinion we need a centre forward. Bobby has been great for us but I donāt think his place is justified any more just because of what heās done in the past.
So if we were going to go for haaland letās say, are the owners going to keep this squad together and add to it? After everything klopp has done? After all the prize money weāve generated? After all the tv money? After the years of low or even minus net spends??
If youāve read this far of my post then you already know that history tells us otherwise. Expect salah to be on a plane to madrid come may.
Talk about embellishing for dramatic affect 🤦āāļø
How about this version
FSG buy club with a mountain of leveraged debt and a team full of sub standard players along with multiple disinterested players - they clearly state what the model of the club will be - self sufficient
As itās their first step into football they bring in Comolli, sack Hodgson , bring back Kenny to help steer the ship until the end of season as well as sign a couple of players
Kenny does well but we end up 6th - now the choice is stick with Kenny or thank him for the job and move on - they stuck with him and backed him with some expensive signings - Downing etc - we win the league cup , great but end up 8th in the league , nowhere near good enough or what is needed to move forward so Kenny is let go - emotional a hard choice but fundamentally the correct one
They then bring in an up and coming coach to try and move us forward - he is also backed in the transfer market - we finish 7th another poor season
Our best player tries everything he can to leave - including biting a player but we refuse to sell
The owners spend more money bringing players in - we go on to have our best season for years but just miss out on the title
That summer our best player once again bites a player in the World Cup and tries to force himself out of the club - this time we sell because itās what is best
The money is then spent - in fact our biggest spending summer in history at that Ā£120mil -we once again drop down out of CL places
That summer the manager is once again backed - another Ā£80mil
But after a poor start they decided to make the change by bringing in Klopp and finish the season 8th
That summer Klopp is backed and players like Mane and Gini arrive - we finish 4th
The next summer we bring in Robbo , Ox and Klopp wanted Brandt but Edwards and the recruiting team suggested Salah - so they bring in Salah - Coutinho our best player does everything he can to force his way out so we sell up and use the money to bring the CB they wanted in the summer
We finish top 4 again but lose in the CL final
The club then have their record transfer window Ā£160mil on - Fabinho , Allison , Keita etc - we go on to have a stellar season win the CL , push City all the way to in the title - I remember āF***ing Origiā with those goals against Barcelona and Everton and in the CL final , Shaqiri with the winner against the Mancs and balls in for the Barce win
That summer itās a quiet one , couple young players and a back up GK plus Minamino in the winter - we win the league but Covid happens , the season is extended , the stadiums are empty , the league is stopped at one stage
But we win that title - it took a lot of hard work , ups and downs , money spent , a couple of managers but after 10 years they found the right balance on and off the field
So onto this summer - Covid has hit the clubs finances , many clubs arenāt really spending but we still go out and buy 3 players to cover areas we needed
No talk of rebuild needed just adding to one of the best squads in Europe
Season starts with a short pre season
We start well - clearly still the best team in the league then the Derby happens
VVD out for the season , Thiago out for months , then Gomez out for the season , Mane Covid , Salah Covid , Alisson injured , TAA injured , Keita injured , Henderson injured, Jota injured , Shaqiri injured, even Origi injured , Matip injured , Fabinho injured
We have an unprecedented level of injuries , our spin is ripped apart - we go into Jan battling away but then lose Matip for the season
Because of Covid the Jan window is not the easiest and this is where they maybe didnāt act quick enough but then who knows what is going on in the background
So now despite there being no calls for a rebuild in the summer we need one know ?!?
We donāt need a rebuild we need our spine fit
We need VVD , Gomez , Fabinho , Jota , Henderson fit , we need a proper pre season , a good rest - the squad needs to recover from the injuries , we need to hope that Covid hasnāt affected the finances of the club too much
And in the summer the club will look to bring players in and I have no doubt it will be the right players and players will not have to ve sacrificed to bring them in and when we do start winning again maybe people wonāt say a word about the work done behind the scenes