07 Feb 2016 17:48:24
Lots and lots of posts regarding the ticket prices, the owners, FSG as a whole, wages etc etc etc,
Seriously?
Look, I run a business, in fact three, I know within my own field what I'm doing and how I'm doing it and I'd be happy to discuss anything music with anyone, much like someone who is a plumber would be able to professionally tell me what's happening within his own field,
The club, the finances, the owners, football semantics, ticket prices etc etc etc I have no idea about and also what I do know is before this here tinterweb nobody was interested in the slightest, players signing and transfer rumours came via the daily papers and nobody was even interested in the ongoing dilemmas of running a football club,
Now all of a sudden we have a whole host of people who in general are NOT in the business of high level sports or for that matter high level business asking the editors to explain A, B and C about how the club is working and what financial aspects of the club need changing including under achieving personnel, why is anyone interested? yes we want the club run in the correct manner and ticket prices to be fair and the right players signing but how in hell can anyone comment on the jobs of people in the background when they never ever see what it is they are doing to earn their fees?
I don't like Ian Ayre but i'm going on what I see and judging him as a character, I don't like his demeanor, but i don't know how good he is at his job, not really, How do we know the owners aren't pulling the strings and he is as held back on the transfer front as anyone else?
I know we all care and I know we all want things to change but talking about things like potential takeovers is nonsense, If it happens it happens but i'm suggesting while wishing for things we know nothing about we're just wishing our lives away,
For the record, I wasn't sure about the walk out at first but I changed my mind after some thought and I'm glad it happened, I think its clearly a subject closer to some than others but at least the people who walked out have done something positive instead of sitting back and taking something they don't agree with,
Time will tell if it changes anything,
Summer will tell us a lot about the whole caboodle in my book.
07 Feb 2016 18:22:57
I agree with you Ritchie, who knows what decisions happen between the top level in the club, I include our great Eds in this too.
07 Feb 2016 18:25:30
Unfortunately Liverpool FC is no longer a football club, like the rest of the premier it's a business. and we all know the boss or owners in all walks of life only see £ sign with no understanding about hurt the important people ( little people like us . were just a number) . But the company is only as good as it staff IMO .
{Ed002's Note - It is still a football club but it is part of what is a very large business indeed. That is perhaps the underlying issue. I appreciate many of the fans don't like it, but it is. And it is not going back - Liverpool will never be fan-owned. At the lower levels clubs may well end up community owned in the future - but at the highest level they won't - and that is where clubs like Liverpool are striving to be. Changes will come and they sure as hell won't be liked by all - but they are coming and fans need to adapt and move with the flow. Or simply step back from it.}
07 Feb 2016 18:34:51
I know very little about running a football club and the finances too but it strikes me that we are not being run efficiently.
The owners have been good for us on the whole. They have made many mistakes/ errors of judgement and they would do well to reverse the decision on ticket prices.
They must have realised by now that you cannot just buy success. Football is more subtle than that. My biggest wish is they get tough with this business. A real business does not continuously throw good money after bad.
The Owners are being let down by their advisors who may have a vested interest? They need to cut wastage, build the infrastructure and then transfer fees provide the icing on the cake.
I hope they back down, it would be a huge PR success for them. The days of John Smith and Peter Robinson have never seemed so distant.
{Ed002's Note - They could overturn the decision on the ticket prices no doubt, I am not sure why they would. How long would this "PR success" last until a bunch of the supports wants something else? They are throwing more money at it with the very, very expensive removal of Rodgers and his staff and the addition of Klipperty.
Which advisers do you think are doing badly - and what specifically has each done wrong?
07 Feb 2016 19:04:18
I don't know specifics Ed, so I can't answer your question, but the players they are throwing money at must be recommended by someone. One simple example is Balotelli.
I am grateful for the owners input. I realise they hear supporters craving new signings. My hope is they use their business acumen and ignore those calls.
The club needs to be run efficiently and our transfer/ recruitment activity is hopelessly inefficient.
That's one of the areas they've been badly advised, someone/ some people are encouraging mass player turnover and that will not lead to success.
{Ed002's Note - The scouting staff and the manager identify players - not advisers. Liverpool has made very significant changes to the scouting network over the past 15 months. It is entirely irrational to want to change it again. As for Balotelli, there were two people who saw him as a good option. It didn't work out - it doesn't always.}
07 Feb 2016 19:24:04
Ed002. Thanks for your Input on my thoughts, the other point I would add, is that even if fsg agreed to drop ticket prices they will recoup the money some other way . i. e cut the transfer budget or sell top players . this will be a long drawn out battle I feel . but I back the fans who protest 100%.
{Ed002's Note - I doesn't really work like that. Clubs are generally trying to reduce costs but they don't pick and choose where they can save small amounts - they look across the entire business. So they will spend on the academy and reserves in the hope of saving much more on transfers in the future - but the will look to the academy and reserves to be more efficient in their operations to save money.}
07 Feb 2016 19:30:35
No I'm not saying I want a scouting clear out, I just want a change in ethos.
Our turnover of players is ridiculous IMO and must be costing the club tens of millions.
I would hope if the manager/ scouts/ whoever recommend half a dozen or more players to sign then I'd hope the owners/ decision makers scrutinise those recommendations and insist on stringent justification. We just seem to operate an open chequebook/ revolving door policy and every year it makes me cringe.
I want the owners/ decision makers to insist on more efficiency.
07 Feb 2016 19:30:35
No I'm not saying I want a scouting clear out, I just want a change in ethos.
Our turnover of players is ridiculous IMO and must be costing the club tens of millions.
I would hope if the manager/ scouts/ whoever recommend half a dozen or more players to sign then I'd hope the owners/ decision makers scrutinise those recommendations and insist on stringent justification. We just seem to operate an open chequebook/ revolving door policy and every year it makes me cringe.
I want the owners/ decision makers to insist on more efficiency.
{Ed002's Note - Klipperty has arrived to work with the remit of using the existing players and working with the transfer committee over changes. The constraints will be income, expenditure on the new stand and FFP.}