By David Maddock
Liverpool's owners have offered a revealing insight into the challenge they face in turning the club around, claiming it is a far greater task “than any supporter could know”.
And John W Henry, the man presented with the task of making the Reds great again, summed up the size of the problem by suggesting it is like trying to turn an ocean liner around.
When principal owner Henry and business partner Tom Werner looked into the books before committing to buy the Anfield institution, they revealed they were almost ready to be put in one themselves!
“We had done due diligence and looked at the financial situation, and it began to dawn on us the extent of the issues,” he explained.
“We had a lack of depth in the squad and some really high payrolls. We also had issues with the age of the players and so forth.
"We knew it was going to be very difficult with the player contracts and the youth system.
“Tom and I went for a long walk and the further we went into it, the more sobered we were.”
Or to put it another way, according to Werner: “Then we had a stiff drink!”
The upshot was, they decided to go ahead with the purchase, despite massive reservations about the challenge they had taken on.
Only now, two years into their reign, have the owners felt comfortable enough with the direction they are now taking at Anfield, to speak so honestly about the problems they faced, and will continue to face.
New manager Brendan Rodgers has revealed some of the problems with playing staff on massive salaries that make them so difficult to shift, and a new financial reality which means there is no cash cow to keep milking for yet more transfer money.
Stay out of the red: Henry and Rodgers are having to do their sums
Yet in a revealing interview with the Mirror from their Boston base, both owners have made clear the extent of the problems to fans still skeptical after the disasters of the previous American regime at Anfield.
“We had to decide whether we really wanted to take this on because we knew this was a huge challenge, much larger than any supporter could know,” Henry explained with a trace of a wry smile.
“The perfect analogy is that the club is like an ocean liner... and you can’t turn an ocean liner around like you can a speedboat.
“You could say it was a bigger challenge than buying the Red Sox.
"When you look back from this vantage point: the rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester United - Liverpool isn’t holding up its side of the rivalry.
“That is the way it was with the Red Sox and the New York Yankees - the Yankees were just completely dominant when we arrived here 11 years ago.
"We knew we could never be on an equal footing financially with The Yankees. But we had to do everything in our power to get on a level footing with them on the playing field. That was a tremendous challenge.
"As we started to close the gap, they built a new stadium. That was a quantum leap forward.
"This is an even bigger challenge.”
While that may seem a hugely pessimistic viewpoint, at least Liverpool’s owners have a track record in turning ocean liners around, as they did with the Red Sox when they ended the Yankees’ dominance to win a first World Series since 1918.
Werner knows the same can’t happen overnight in the harsh financial reality of the Premier League, but he is quietly confident he and Henry have now learned enough after a crash course in football to deliver future success.
“I don’t know how long it will take to really compete, I just know we are behind - but we are on it,” he explained.
“Do we feel that it is possible to get on a level with those clubs? Absolutely.
"Can we close that gap and compete at the very highest level? Absolutely.
“When we came, it was a great time of instability. People have talked about this idea of virtuous circles. The stronger we are commercially, the stronger this club can be.
"I think already we have made great strides. We are very aggressive in how to raise the revenues commercially. We are working on stadium solutions because we know that match day revenues have to increase.
"This has been an evolutionary process.
“Everyone now is singing from the same hymn sheet.
"I think that we are moving in the right direction. I think that our fans see that we are on the job and, hopefully, they will see improvement this season.”
Anfield rap: Werner says all at Liverpool are singing the same tune now
There are cynics though, who say the lack of progress on a stadium solution points to a wider lack of ambition from the owners.
That has even aroused suspicion from some that they are merely addressing fundamental financial burdens to make it easier to sell should they opt to cut and run.
Yet when asked that question outright, the Americans are both adamant there will be no cutting and running from their side.
“I know there has been some speculation about us maybe selling up to make a quick profit. We read that, but we are here for the long run - absolutely,” Werner responded emphatically.
And in perhaps the most positive message to the fans as they address the task of making Liverpool great again, Henry had one final thing to say on the subject:
“We are just getting started.”
Liverpool's owners have offered a revealing insight into the challenge they face in turning the club around, claiming it is a far greater task “than any supporter could know”.
And John W Henry, the man presented with the task of making the Reds great again, summed up the size of the problem by suggesting it is like trying to turn an ocean liner around.
When principal owner Henry and business partner Tom Werner looked into the books before committing to buy the Anfield institution, they revealed they were almost ready to be put in one themselves!
“We had done due diligence and looked at the financial situation, and it began to dawn on us the extent of the issues,” he explained.
“We had a lack of depth in the squad and some really high payrolls. We also had issues with the age of the players and so forth.
"We knew it was going to be very difficult with the player contracts and the youth system.
“Tom and I went for a long walk and the further we went into it, the more sobered we were.”
Or to put it another way, according to Werner: “Then we had a stiff drink!”
The upshot was, they decided to go ahead with the purchase, despite massive reservations about the challenge they had taken on.
Only now, two years into their reign, have the owners felt comfortable enough with the direction they are now taking at Anfield, to speak so honestly about the problems they faced, and will continue to face.
New manager Brendan Rodgers has revealed some of the problems with playing staff on massive salaries that make them so difficult to shift, and a new financial reality which means there is no cash cow to keep milking for yet more transfer money.
Andrew Powell
Yet in a revealing interview with the Mirror from their Boston base, both owners have made clear the extent of the problems to fans still skeptical after the disasters of the previous American regime at Anfield.
“We had to decide whether we really wanted to take this on because we knew this was a huge challenge, much larger than any supporter could know,” Henry explained with a trace of a wry smile.
“The perfect analogy is that the club is like an ocean liner... and you can’t turn an ocean liner around like you can a speedboat.
“You could say it was a bigger challenge than buying the Red Sox.
"When you look back from this vantage point: the rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester United - Liverpool isn’t holding up its side of the rivalry.
“That is the way it was with the Red Sox and the New York Yankees - the Yankees were just completely dominant when we arrived here 11 years ago.
"We knew we could never be on an equal footing financially with The Yankees. But we had to do everything in our power to get on a level footing with them on the playing field. That was a tremendous challenge.
"As we started to close the gap, they built a new stadium. That was a quantum leap forward.
"This is an even bigger challenge.”
While that may seem a hugely pessimistic viewpoint, at least Liverpool’s owners have a track record in turning ocean liners around, as they did with the Red Sox when they ended the Yankees’ dominance to win a first World Series since 1918.
Werner knows the same can’t happen overnight in the harsh financial reality of the Premier League, but he is quietly confident he and Henry have now learned enough after a crash course in football to deliver future success.
“I don’t know how long it will take to really compete, I just know we are behind - but we are on it,” he explained.
“Do we feel that it is possible to get on a level with those clubs? Absolutely.
"Can we close that gap and compete at the very highest level? Absolutely.
“When we came, it was a great time of instability. People have talked about this idea of virtuous circles. The stronger we are commercially, the stronger this club can be.
"I think already we have made great strides. We are very aggressive in how to raise the revenues commercially. We are working on stadium solutions because we know that match day revenues have to increase.
"This has been an evolutionary process.
“Everyone now is singing from the same hymn sheet.
"I think that we are moving in the right direction. I think that our fans see that we are on the job and, hopefully, they will see improvement this season.”
John Powell
There are cynics though, who say the lack of progress on a stadium solution points to a wider lack of ambition from the owners.
That has even aroused suspicion from some that they are merely addressing fundamental financial burdens to make it easier to sell should they opt to cut and run.
Yet when asked that question outright, the Americans are both adamant there will be no cutting and running from their side.
“I know there has been some speculation about us maybe selling up to make a quick profit. We read that, but we are here for the long run - absolutely,” Werner responded emphatically.
And in perhaps the most positive message to the fans as they address the task of making Liverpool great again, Henry had one final thing to say on the subject:
“We are just getting started.”
