Liverpool owners 'underestimated how poor squad was' when buying club in 2010...

Liverpool owners 'underestimated how poor squad was' when buying club in 2010... with Fernando Torres and Pepe Reina slammed as 'past their prime'

 


The quality of Liverpool's squad was 'poor' when FSG took over in 2010.
Owners Fenway Sports Group forced into giving evidence in legal dispute.
Mill Financial opened legal proceedings against RBS and George Gillett.
Gillett and former co-owner Tom Hicks failed to repay £280million loan.
Edward Weiss, FSG's former general counsel, was in attendance at hearing
Weiss singled out Fernando Torres and Pepe Reina as 'past their prime'.

 

Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group 'underestimated how poor' the quality of the squad was when taking over in 2010 ‒ with Fernando Torres and Pepe Reina slammed as 'beyond their prime'.
A long-running legal dispute between Mill Financial, the Royal Bank of Scotland and the club's former co-owner George Gillett has forced FSG into giving evidence.

Legal proceedings against RBS and Gillett were opened by American firm Mill Financial after the former co-owner and business partner Tom Hicks were unable to repay a £280million loan when FSG replaced them as owners in 2010.
   
Liverpool owner John W Henry (left) and chairman Tom Werner (right) watch a training session this season
   
Fenway Sports Group 'underestimated how poor' the quality of squad was when taking over the club in 2010
   
According to Edward Weiss, FSG's former general counsel, the quality of the squad was 'poor' in 2010
Current Reds owner John W Henry did not attend but Edward Weiss, FSG's former general counsel, was in attendance and he revealed the team's lack of quality on the pitch at the time of the takeover.


Speaking at the hearing in New York, Weiss said: 'Like trying to catch a knife falling off the table, you're not sure where before it's hit the ground you've caught it.

'You know, I think we underestimated how poor the playing quality of the squad was, and frankly, we underestimated how difficult it was going to be to stabilise the asset.


'We were overconfident in assuming that many of the things that we had done in Boston at Fenway would translate naturally to the Premier League and they just didn't all translate.'
At the time of their takeover, Liverpool had the likes of Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and Dirk Kuyt all starring for the Premier League giants.

However, Weiss ‒ who revealed FSG watched just one Liverpool match before buying the club ‒ also admitted that a number of their leading names were all beyond their prime and singled out Spanish pair Torres and Reina for criticism.
   
Weiss singled out criticism for former Liverpool striker Fernando Torres (pictured in September 2010)
   
Ex-goalkeeper Pepe Reina, who made a calamitous error in 1-1 draw with Arsenal in 2010, was also criticised
   
Javier Mascherano, who has gone on to star for Spanish giants Barcelona, was also discussed by Weiss
LIVERPOOL'S SQUAD FOR 2010-11 SEASON WHEN FSG BOUGHT THE CLUB

Senior squad

Brad Jones
Glen Johnson
Daniel Agger
Fabio Aurelio
Steven Gerrard
Fernando Torres
Joe Cole
Milan Jovanovic
Sotiris Kyrgiakos
Maxi Rodriguez
Dirk Kuyt
Lucas Leiva
Jamie Carragher
Pepe Reina
Jay Spearing
Stephen Darby
Martin Skrtel
Christian Poulsen
Ryan Babel
Paul Konchesky
Raul Meireles


'We obviously did some due diligence on the playing squad during this process before we closed on the transaction in the middle of October of 2010,' he added.
'What we came to know was that the playing squad was poor.
'While we had a few top players like Steven Gerrard, other players like Fernando Torres and Pepe Reina were probably beyond their primes, and Javier Mascherano was not even on the team.'
   



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F***ing hell what a sad indictment of their early time here - only saw one game - were overconfident that the approach they'd took in a sport barely 4 countries play in the world could work in the planets most popular sport - and someone somewhere who we will probably NEVER hear about or know did 'due diligence' on the squad before they took over!!

That's like me going over to their gaff and passing my eye over their rounders players.

Only saw one game and then felt they had enough knowledge to declare Torres and Reina past their best, whilst, I assume, they thought Paul Konchesky looked like a trier.

Jesus wept.

If they think the squad was bad in 2010 just wait until they decided to spend millions on Balotelli's, Luis Albertos, Fabio Borinis and Iago Aspas's of the world.

Only saw one game and then felt they had enough knowledge to declare Torres and Reina past their best, whilst, I assume, they thought Paul Konchesky looked like a trier.

Jesus wept.

If they think the squad was bad in 2010 just wait until they decided to spend millions on Balotelli's, Luis Albertos, Fabio Borinis and Iago Aspas's of the world.

To be fair JD....they nailed Torres, he was never the same after the injury.

F**k me that's incredible, they only watched us once before deciding to buy us,!
I wonder how many times DIC had us watched or whoever else were interested at that time,  and would that not come under the FA's fit & proper owners ruling (not sure I've worded that correctly?) in that they(buyers) knew very little about their investment,
I'm assuming RBS had a say in the preceedings after all it was them that was owed the money, or am I barking up the wrong tree?

Perhaps Martin Boughton decided NESV were appropriate enough irrespective of how little they knew about us?

YNWA

F**k me that's incredible, they only watched us once before deciding to buy us,!
I wonder how many times DIC had us watched or whoever else were interested at that time,  and would that not come under the FA's fit & proper owners ruling (not sure I've worded that correctly?) in that they(buyers) knew very little about their investment,
I'm assuming RBS had a say in the preceedings after all it was them that was owed the money, or am I barking up the wrong tree?

Perhaps Martin Boughton decided NESV were appropriate enough irrespective of how little they knew about us?

YNWA

Exactly Billy.

It was such an easy investment to make, £230m for a global name in the richest league in the world with a fan base the size of ours.

They didn't look at the squad they looked at the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$s.

I'd take a "past his prime" Reina, Agger, Carra etc over a lot of what we have now and what we have signed since they took over.

And so in response to inheriting a poor squad, they made it even poorer. 

Deluded fuckers, don't think they know what a quality footballer is...

Should have stuck to rounders...

I'd take a "past his prime" Reina, Agger, Carra etc over a lot of what we have now and what we have signed since they took over.

One game for Due Diligence FFS !

That was on par with Moores and Parry accepting a phone call from Rothschilds saying Hansel and Gretel were good to go.
That was their Due Dil on the buyers.

DIC were entrenched for months doing their DD with the lovely Amanda Stavely doing her stuff with Dubai .
Their bid in 2008 was for £400 million.
Moores and Parry were in a hurry.

Like Kenny has said.

If they thought the squad was poor .......... bullshit methinks to justify their low bid to RBS   ...... then stand that squad  up to today's heap of crap.
All they needed to do was meet the debt and pay £15mill on top which was probably fees etc.
They did.

Thats business.   Good business and I would prefer who we are now with , than any other purchaser sniffing around then.

And so in response to inheriting a poor squad, they made it even poorer. 

Exactamundo  5.

In 2010

Brad Jones - sh*t
Glen Johnson - Was still going alright
Daniel Agger - Injury prone but amazing on his day
Fabio Aurelio - See above
Steven Gerrard - World class
Fernando Torres - World class
Joe Cole - Meh
Milan Jovanovic - Utter utter sh*te
Sotiris Kyrgiakos - Good in the air, not elite
Maxi Rodriguez - Big game player, nothing special othewise
Dirk Kuyt - Vastly underrated, was still good
Lucas Leiva - Fantastic
Jamie Carragher - Still solid
Pepe Reina - Do this day would be the best keeper in the squad 6 years later, not over the hill in 2010
Jay Spearing - Was always a nothing player
Stephen Darby - Dud
Martin Skrtel - Solid defender
Christian Poulsen - I'm angry I've been reminded about him he was that bad
Ryan Babel - Never lived up to his potential
Paul Konchesky - sh*te
Raul Meireles - Decent

sh*t players in bold. Take what you want from it.

To be honest I don't care what they say in court so long as it makes Hicks and or Gillet suffer.

FSG seem to be very astute at underestimating, they underestimated how poor our status was after Herpes & Gonorrhoea fu**ed things up, and more recently the underestimated their customers, sorry fans when they decided to rob us in ticket prices,

Their estimation of us was let's say underestimated   


YNWA

In 2010

Fernando Torres - World class

1st match I ever watched was the 2010 derby a few days after they took over....I am not recalling Fernando Torres being world class from that time on, or at Chelsea or at Athletico

Did I miss something....

Probably came to the right conclusion the wrong way and things haven't got better since.

Hopefully Jürgen can be the figurehead for change.

I guess FSG are down playing the value of players and club knowing how f**king cheap they got us and would not like to give any indication of it...

Players were Sh*te, club was sh*te & maybe hindsight we should never have bought the club... Blah blah blah..

I guess FSG are down playing the value of players and club knowing how f**king cheap they got us and would not like to give any indication of it...

Players were Sh*te, club was sh*te & maybe hindsight we should never have bought the club... Blah blah blah..

That's my kind of take on it.

Torres may have been sh*te but we got £50million for him.

Torres may have been sh*te but we got £50million for him.

Yeah but to Chelsea, and look how he did there!

I still laugh at them chavvy bas**rds now!

Yeah but to Chelsea, and look how he did there!

I still laugh at them chavvy bas**rds now!

FSG sold Torres within 3 months of taking over. Would we feel any better at losing Torres if he had gone on to be an outstanding player for Chelsea? Does it make you feel better that we sold Suarez and he is proving just how good he is at Barca?

They got £50 million for Torres, crying now that he wasn't world class is pathetic. They got a world class fee for him.

And so in response to inheriting a poor squad, they made it even poorer. 

Nah, judge that when they leave. When they came in they had an average old squad that needed years of revitalising. They are transforming it into something better.

Nah, judge that when they leave. When they came in they had an average old squad that needed years of revitalising. They are transforming it into something better.

Almost 6 years now mate

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_pfnLybgCY

I cannot believe that FSG underestimated how poor the squad was when they bought (stole ) the club. Lets face if the squad had been first class they would of had to pay a lot more than the got it for.FSG knew they were on a cash cow the minute Twit and tw*t were in financial trouble.