Kenny happy with Financial backing

I think this rather sums up what we were all hoping for. I think the most interesting part of this particular interview was "A good way to judge it is that they were disappointed we didn't get more players in January. Their intention was there but we just couldn't get the players."

So FSG wanted to bring more players in in January, but how much were they willing to spend? It is interesting to see that despite them already shelling out £23m for Suarez they were ready to give Kenny more for more players.

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/media-watch/kd-happy-with-financial-backing-from-fenway

 

Yeah I heard about them being disappointed that we didn't buy more players but wasn't sure if it was true, I guess this confirms it which is good news. I think they'll provide a significant amount of cash in summer plus we could raise a decent amount by selling fringe players and Aquilani if he stays at Juventus. It's hard to tell who we're going to buy though because we've been linked with everyone from Sergio Aguero to Shane Long. I expect some quality players coming in though.

 

Same, Dalglish has already come out and said only the best will do, the owners are making all the right noises and have already proved they're ready to spend. Both of these spell a successful summer with some high quality transfers.

Also we can't forget that Dalglish knows how to use money to get the title, a la Blackburn.

 

The signs look very good indeed. It now seems there isn't a transfer budget of sorts, but Kenny would go to the owners and recommend a player and the owners would say yes or no to that player. Let's hope for a exciting summer with some top quality additions!

 

I pointed this out before and Bozz wrote an article on it,I made the point that Tom Werner was not happy when Kenny rang him to tell him that Liverpool had signed Luis Suarez.Tom Werner said ''Is that all?'.I also read something that John Henry himself spoke to Randy Lerner in an attempt to take Ashley Young in January.They also attempted to do a deal with Blackpool for Charlie Adam.
The intention was there even if it didn't come off.
The cynics suggest that Liverpool broke even on their January deals and as Kenny rightly pointed out and something that we've known for quite a while the Suarez transfer was sanctioned long before Torres spat out his dummy and these are two seperate situations.

 

When does Aquilani's loan spell actually end then? Is it this weekend/the last round of fixtures?

 

It's already ended, apparently he's training in Melwood.

 

Has it? Oh right, I thought it was this weekend. Juventus have just sacked their manager, so maybe he might not want to go back there anyway.

 

So what this means is that the owners were willing to buy Suarez and more, so £40million total is not an unreasonable estimate given that. They were willing to spend £40million in January, and presumably knew they would have to invest something in the summer, so the £50million summer kitty could quite possibly be at the lower end of estimations.

Either way this is a much better approach to transfers than what you usually hear of. If the manager is given say £20million, he will try and squeeze as much out fo that £20million as possible, and that's how you end up with the likes of Poulsen, whereas if we're simply going after the players we need in theory we're much less likely to end up with a large but substandard squad. We don't have to look for players within a budget so we're automatically less restricted.

 

I don't think the budget is '£50m', '£100m' or anything with a £ sign in front of it. I think the budget is more likely viewed in terms of '4 players' or '5 players' or however many the club are looking to bring in, whatever the cost (within reason). Once they've got their men, that'll be that. I don't think there'll be any 'oh we've got 10 million left over, let's get another one' purely for the sake of it.

 

Firstly forget about the word ''budget''Kenny said there isn't a budget.
He said he and Damiem Comolli have identified a number of potential targets and they will go to the owners and the owners will say yes or no to them.
This process started 3 months ago.The number on the list has been as Kenny said whittled down.We won't find out who is on that list until the player is unveiled.

 

There is a 'budget'. Just not in the sense of "this is what you have to spend, do what you want with it"...
When people ask what our budget is, most of them know what Kenny/DC have said about there being no actual 'budget', however there will be a maximum that the board are willing to invest. Just because KK/DC give a list of 10 super-awesome, young, world-beaters who'll all be long term investments, doesn't mean the board will say okie-dokie and splash out. In their mind, they'll have a maximum ball-park figure which they'll see as reasonable.

I would expect KK/DC would have identified their key positions which need investment and the board will in their mind have a rough figure of what it'll take to improve said area. Lets say £15million for each spot and KK/DC want a LB/CB/MC/LW/RW, that's a £75million 'ball-park' figure of what they'd consider reasonable business +/- £15million. On top of that, there's player sales which would probably go towards buying more squad based players like Adam and Marveaux (bad example since he's free :>).

It annoys me when people say, "but there is no budget!". That's silly talk, the owners are astute businessmen, they'll have their limits on what's a reasonable investment for their first real transfer window and they'll want a return on that investment (improved league position/cup success/etc) before they consider more investment.

The real question is what is the maximum the board are willing to invest, rather than what our budget is. Two slightly different questions.

 

I agree with the above comment.
However you won't see Kenny and Liverpool making ''silly signing''.You won't see Kenny signing a Yaya Toure when he already has a Gareth Barry.Both do exactly the same thing.Or you won't see him signing a James Milner when he has a David Silva.Same thing.Some managers have done it before Man City and Mancini and Hughes one of the prime examples is David O Leary at Leeds in the early 2000s.He signed Seth Johnson and Danny Mills when he had Gary Kelly.There was a need for one,not both.He did similar when he signed both Robbie Keane and Robbie Fowler.This is called wasting money.
If you are going to improve your squad,you identify areas that need improving by signing players that are completely different to what you've got.Or if you want to change your system.Kenny needs wingers because he knows thats how he will get the best out of Andy Carroll.By signing Andy Carroll,He's changed Liverpools system from one that had a strong midfield and a advanced midfielder with a striker that played on the shoulder of the last defender(Torres) to one that plays with two up top(Suarez and Carroll),What he doesn't have as of yet is the widemen to compliment this.This is an area that he feels he needs to address and has insisted that its paramount that he does.
He needs a commanding centre back,as he feels that this is a must,he needs a left back,because Konchesky is useless,Aurelio is unreliable and Jack Robinson is only a 17 year old rookie.Plus he needs a ball playing midfielder as thats a necessity when playing with widemen.Its for tempo changing.Liverpool did well in 2008/2009 with Alonso and Riera in the side,as Alonso slowed the tempo down and Riera acted as outlet.When Alonso went,Riera wasn't as effective.
So overall,I reckon there will be signings made to get the best out of the new system,and to strengthen areas that need strengthening.I firmly believe and I made this comment on this forum before that Kenny signs for positions only...and not on ''We want him so you can't have him''.

 

I think you're pretty much nailing it on the head when you talk about return on investment. Ultimately if you're going to be sustainable in the long term, i.e. meeting FFP rules and without loads of external cash a la City / Chelsea, when you buy a new player you have to ask four questions:

1. What will the transfer fee be, and can we raise that with the funds we have available, i.e. the cash from the club and either additional equity or debt
2. What will the annual cost be in terms of wages, and can we support that from our annual revenues
3. What extra financial value will the player bring to the club (extra success, better for sponsors, shirt sales etc)
4. What could you hope to sell the player for in the future if they become surplus to requirements

In other words, it's not so much a case of saying "we need a left back and have £15 million to spend", it's a case of saying "we want a left back and will spend as much as we need if we can see the value". So if, for example, you saw a left back who you knew would make the difference between finishing 4th and 5th for the next four seasons, you'd be willing to spend up to £60 million on him cos you know the CL is worth at least £15 million a year more than the EL. Obviously that's an oversimplistic example, as one player will never make that much impact and you'd still try to haggle, but I think that's what United have done in recent years, and that's what I'd expect Liverpool to be doing in this window.

 

Only spending what you earn will keep the small clubs small and the big clubs big. It only stops millionaires making a small club a big club hence keeping the status quo, although it will hinder, not stop Madrid, being supported financially by the spanish tax payer

It will make clubs more aggressive in generating revenue which in turn increases the available cash.

United to have 44 different kits this season, almost 1 for every game

 

That's a fair assessment Swarbs, but there'll still be maximums in place. Like I said, KK/DC could identify 10 such players which would all have future value, beneficial for the team and affordable wage-wise but if they'll cost £20million each, there's no way they'll spend it. Which is why I said I believe there'll be 5 positions ear-marked as high priority and rough ball-park figures implimented but with scope for adjustment on an individual basis. £15mill, for example, is a fair price for a solid LB to improve that key area of weakness but stretching to £20million if required for the 'right' player or dropping to £8-10million for another of better cost-to-benefit.

Either way, the owners are not like City and whilst there's no budget, they'll be controlling the finances quite tightly to make sure they see a return from their investment. I'm optimistic, business-smart owners who want success and KK/DC who seem to have a plan in place.

 

This is true, and is the fundamental flaw with FFP - unless a Big Four club self destructs a la Liverpool under the gruesome twosome, then the other clubs may never have a chance at the CL cos they can never generate enough revenue.

 

That's a fair assessment Swarbs, but there'll still be maximums in place. Like I said, KK/DC could identify 10 such players which would all have future value, beneficial for the team and affordable wage-wise but if they'll cost £20million each, there's no way they'll spend it. Which is why I said I believe there'll be 5 positions ear-marked as high priority and rough ball-park figures implimented but with scope for adjustment on an individual basis. £15mill, for example, is a fair price for a solid LB to improve that key area of weakness but stretching to £20million if required for the 'right' player or dropping to £8-10million for another of better cost-to-benefit.

Either way, the owners are not like City and whilst there's no budget, they'll be controlling the finances quite tightly to make sure they see a return from their investment. I'm optimistic, business-smart owners who want success and KK/DC who seem to have a plan in place.

 

They are exactly that,business smart owners.
They have almost doubled the existing kit deal that kicks in next summer from £13.5 million to £25 million.The kit deal was over £40 million over 3 years,this has risen to £75 million from 2012-2015.
They have also linked up with Lebron James,Now I don't know how exactly it works,but the only thing I can think of is something that Sony did with Erricson.
Sony had the ''wow factor'and Erricson had the technological expertise.I reckon they've done it as a publicity stunt to hit the middle east.And Lebron James will be the ''face of Fenway Sports Management'' Liverpool and the Redsox will both benefit commercially.

 

Do you really not think that Toure and Silva are not vast improvements on Barry and Milner? Besides they play different positions as well. Or am I misunderstanding something?