We’ve Earned It: Why Liverpool’s Transfer Spree Isn’t Like the Others

Image created with ChatGPT

Where are they getting the money! Breaking the club and British record transfer fee in one window! They’re still spending the Coutinho money! The meltdown from opposing fans has been delicious to witness.

I’ve heard it all this transfer window, and essentially the crux of their beef is that Liverpool Football Club, and Scousers, are proving themselves to be hypocrites by welcoming a spending spree of almost unseen proportions in Football League history.

Well I can’t speak for all Scousers, but this one is still very much singing from the same hymn sheet he always has.

I don’t want, never wanted, and will never want a sugar daddy to come in and gift the club with unlimited undeserved spends. It feels inherently like cheating, and completely out of the spirit of sporting fairness. I’ve no doubt FSG, being astute businessmen, could have found creative ways over the last umpteen hundred transfer windows to spend more than our books allowed for, but they didn’t.

Although with Liverpool’s illustrious and successful history, and worldwide fanbase, it would be much easier to justify and believe. And while, yes, a couple of million here and there extra for Klopp likely wouldn’t have broken the bank. I for one am more than happy at the approach they took.

It’s that sustainability part of the Profit and Sustainability rules that I appreciate so much. Unless you came to be a Liverpool fan post 2011, I doubt that you could have failed to recognise that at one point this storied club was in real danger of becoming a footnote in history.

If you thought Moshiri ran Everton badly, or the Glazers were a toxic bunch, then you’re lucky you didn’t see the shit show that was LFC in 2010. The Texas Two Hats as they were not-so-affectionately coined (by me, if no-one else) managed to split the club down the middle. The fanbase was split on the Manager. Those that knew what was happening, and those that just saw results.

Parry and Hicks on one side, Gillett and Rafa on the other. The division split the club in half.

Hicks and Gillette were eventually forced out as they tried to fight off debtors and the new potential owners, New England Sports Ventures. The club was sold for a cut-price £300m, which later became Fenway Sports Group.

Despite the narrative that FSG have been stingy, in their first couple of proper windows they backed Dalglish and Commolli with the signings of Luis Suarez, Andy Carroll, Stewart Downing, Charlie Adam, Jordan Henderson, Sebastian Coates and José Enrique.

That was the best part of £100m spent in two windows. Like a first time lover, they probably trusted too much, and got burnt. They believed they’d appointed the best they could with Commolli, and as soon as it was evident that wasn’t the case, he was shown the door.

John Henry and Tom Werner know bugger all about footy. But they know how to find the right people. Appointing best-in-class, from Billy Hogan to Michael Edwards, to Richard Hughes, Jurgen Klopp, and now Arne Slot. That philosophy of trust and delegation runs throughout the club.

This was 15 years ago, and the wounds still feel fresh. The whole point is to show the disparity between then and now.

I’ve always had time for these owners. Not because they’re perfect or infallible but because they listen, and admit their mistakes. They met with fan groups like SaveLFC (RIP Shanklyboy) and Spirit of Shankly. They set up a Fan’s Committee. They’ve always tried.

Now I’ll come to the laughable accusations of hypocrisy.

I’ve never once said I was against spending money, but I was against spending money that hadn’t been earned.

Manchester Utd becoming a PLC felt like a cheat code. Jack Walker at Blackburn didn’t bother me because he was levelling the field. Abramovich at Chelsea changed the landscape. That was cheating.

Chelsea didn’t build success, they bought a step ladder. Mourinho inherited a squad that had already finished second, already had Robben and Cech lined up, and then spent another £150m. He added Drogba, Carvalho, Ferreira and others, sure, but It’s not alchemy when you’re starting with gold.

He won the league, of course, but it would’ve been harder not to. And yet people act like it was some masterstroke. Same blueprint the following year, same result.

That’s not to say Mourinho’s not a good coach, and excellent man-manager. But at Chelsea? The deck was stacked from the moment Roman rolled in. And that’s the problem. You hand any decent manager a £300m advantage over the rest of the league, they’ll probably win something. The shock isn’t that Ranieri won the league with Leicester, the shock is that people thought Mourinho’s Chelsea wins were in the same bracket.

Same with Manchester City and their creative accounting.

Newcastle so far have done it right. Gradual building. No excessive overreach.

Look at Liverpool. Despite our history, it’s taken FSG 15 years, 5 managers, and a good wedge of cash (lawfully earned) to get here.

The club has gone from being worth £300m to almost £4 billion. We’ve suffered poaching from the likes of Barca, Real and Chelsea. We lost Torres, Suarez, Coutinho, Sterling.

But we rebuilt. We persisted. We built a strong foundation. It’s not just about money. United have spent big under the Glazers and got little return. Structure matters. Culture matters.

We’re spending big, yeah, but we’ve earned every penny. Through football. Through graft. Through doing things the right way, even when it meant waiting longer than others.

That’s not hypocrisy. That’s sustainability. That’s Liverpool. And if you can’t see the difference, maybe you never understood us in the first place.