‘We’ve seen that before…’ – Aldridge sounds dangerous Liverpool precedent that FSG must heed
John Aldridge has warned FSG that the relationship with the Liverpool fanbase ‘could turn sour’ if they fail to deliver in the summer transfer window.He cited the toxicity between Kopites and previous owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett as a dangerous precedent to avoid if the incumbent hierarchy are to avoid the club from turning […]
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John Aldridge has warned FSG that the relationship with the Liverpool fanbase ‘could turn sour’ if they fail to deliver in the summer transfer window.
He cited the toxicity between Kopites and previous owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett as a dangerous precedent to avoid if the incumbent hierarchy are to avoid the club from turning into ‘a soap opera’.
The demise of Jurgen Klopp’s team this season from their previous highs, in tandem with numerous injuries severely testing the depth of the squad, has led to pleas for the ownership to finance a busy summer of transfer activity.
Midfield is viewed as a position of high priority, with abundant transfer links to the likes of Jude Bellingham, Mason Mount and several more.
Aldridge has urged FSG to learn from the mistakes of their predecessors at Anfield and ensure that they loosen the purse strings significantly in order to revitalise the squad.
In his latest column for the Liverpool Echo, the former Reds striker wrote: “The club is valued at between £3bn and £4bn and FSG only bought us for £300m. They have done great business up until now, but the pressure is on them to deliver in the market.
“If they don’t, it could turn sour with the fans and I wouldn’t like to see that. We’ve seen that before with Hicks and Gillett and we don’t want to go down that road.
“The owners have to dip into money they have and getting someone in as a partner to finance their spending isn’t the answer for me, we may as well sell the club as a whole if you do that. We don’t want to be turned into a soap opera like we were before they purchased us.
“In my opinion, we will have to spend at least £250million in the summer and it’s something we should be able to afford when you see Chelsea spending £600million in under than a year. You need to speculate to accumulate.”
Aldridge is correct in saying that much of the business executed under FSG since they came to the club in 2010 has been masterful, with Liverpool’s tenfold increase in valuation from the time of their acquisition a reflection of the good work they’ve done on Merseyside.
However, with Thiago still the last senior midfielder to be signed by the Reds two-and-a-half years ago (Transfermarkt), supporters’ patience with the owners could run out if another transfer window goes by without enhancement to the squad in that position.
Nobody within our fanbase wants a return to the turgid days under Hicks and Gillett, when protests were frequent and Anfield was laden down with internal friction, so John Henry and co must learn from the follies of their predecessors.
Even if we don’t splash out as much as the £250m that Aldridge is advocating, Liverpool’s current ownership must stop at nothing to ensure that Klopp’s squad is sufficiently strengthened in the summer.
Otherwise, they run the risk of LFC being left trailing in the wake of more ambitious domestic rivals in the pursuit of silverware further down the line.
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