re: Liverpool FC 2012/13 Season Long Thread

quote:

---

#steady

---

quote:

---

Read the thread

---

quote:

---

popping up after a poor result

---

quote:

---

LSUSOBEAST1

---

quote:

---

[TIMES - Who has the final say in Liverpool transfers?] - Tony Barrett....

John W. Henry, Liverpool’s principal owner, has attempted to quell anger over the club’s transfer strategy caused by the failure to sign Clint Dempsey by writing an open letter to the fans.
In the letter, which was published on the official Liverpool website yesterday, Henry expressed disappointment that Brendan Rodgers was not able to strengthen his attacking options on transfer deadline day, but insisted that he was not interested in “expensive, short-term fixes”.
The American businessman also detailed the need for Liverpool to recover from the damage done by “previous regimes” and emphasised that the transfer policy that is now in place is designed to provide value for money and to reduce the risk of damage being done to the club’s financial wellbeing.
But there were a number of issues surrounding the decision to allow Andy Carroll to join West Ham United on loan until the end of the season and subsequent failure to recruit Dempsey that Henry failed to address.
Here, The Times examines what the calamitous end to the transfer window tells us about the state of Liverpool and relationships within the club.

Why was Fenway Sports Group (FSG) not prepared to back the judgment of Rodgers on Dempsey?

In one sense, it was. Despite informing Rodgers that Dempsey, 29, was not a suitable target because of his age, it still sanctioned a swap deal that would have resulted in Jordan Henderson joining Fulham in exchange. The problem occurred when Henderson refused the move and the lengths to which FSG would back its manager’s judgment was then put to the test.
In Henry’s opinion, at a cost of about £6 million, Dempsey would have represented the kind of “expensive, short-term fix” that he no longer wants Liverpool to pursue. He did approve an offer of up to £4 million, but it was one that Fulham, who had been so angered by Liverpool’s public interest in the forward that they reported them to the FA for an alleged illegal approach, were never going to accept.
The proposed move was doomed to fail simply because the Liverpool owner did not agree with Rodgers’s valuation of a player that he had identified as a key target.

Who has the final say on transfers at Liverpool?

When Rodgers took the Liverpool manager’s job on the condition that he would not be subordinate to a director of football, it seemed that he had won a significant power battle that would give him the final say on transfers.
Appearances, though, can be deceptive and Liverpool have instead implemented a collegiate director of football model that spreads responsibility through a group of player recruitment specialists and football analysts who work with the manager in identifying targets. David Fallows and Barry Hunter, two senior scouts, have been recruited from Manchester City, although both are on gardening leave, while Michael Edwards, the club’s head of analytics, is becoming an increasingly influential figure at Anfield. The concept is that decisions over players will be made by the group as a whole, rather than by any individual, but the in-built checks and balances can slow transfers down, as was the case with the pursuit of Joe Allen, which was held up by an internal dispute over whether the midfielder was worth the £15 million valuation that Swansea City had placed upon him.

Is Ian Ayre’s position as managing director now under threat?

As the senior official handed the responsibility for negotiating the proposed transfer of Dempsey, it has been widely assumed that Ayre would carry the can for the collapse of the deal. The reality, though, was that the Liverpool-born executive had been handed an impossible task because he did not have the resources necessary to coax Fulham into doing business. All he could do was make an offer that was in keeping with the restrictions that were imposed on by him by his employers and then concede defeat when the bid was turned down.
Suggestions that Rodgers was furious with Ayre as a result are wide of the mark. The pair have a strong working relationship that has not been damaged by the Dempsey shambles. There are no indications that FSG is ready to axe the 49-year-old.

Where does this leave Rodgers’s relationship with FSG?

Strained, but not beyond repair. Rodgers feels that his judgment on Dempsey should have been backed and he is particularly disappointed that he has been left so short of attacking options. For its part, FSG is dissatisfied at what it feels was an attempt by the manager to force it into signing a player whom it had insisted did not fit in with transfer strategy. Henry’s letter was an attempt to put the situation behind them and move on.

---