When Is It OK To Boo?

I had an interesting interaction via Twitter with Georgina Turner who writes about the Premier League for Sports Illustrated on the topic of the booing of ones own team. The cause of the conversation was the ugly conclusion to Arsenal vs. New York Red Bull in the final match of the pre-season Emirates Cup. For those who didn't watch (or read about it), Arsenal supporters channeled their inner Philadelphian and let out a chorus of boos as, for the second straight day, catastrophic defending late in the going saw Arsenal snatch a draw from the jaws of victory against a team with significantly less talent.

Here is the "transcript" of the Twitter conversation on the topic of booing between Ms. Turner and me:

@GeorginaTurner: Why do (an increasing number of) fans boo every single (mildly) disappointing result these days? 

My MLS Bigamy Continues

I've written about my various soccer (and other sports)-related travels both here on the blog and in other forums as well.  I've also written about the dilemma that faces me as a native of Philadelphia who was living in DC when MLS started (without a Philadelphia team in the mix) and have been with DC United from the start.  Those two topics collided last weekend as I made my first trip to PPL Park in Chester, PA for my first Union home match since their home opener against DC United last season.

Nope, no telephoto lens - we were that close.

[For those who don't follow MLS or the stadium situations of the teams therein, the Union played their first ever home match and a bunch of others at Lincoln Financial Field - home of the NFL Eagles - until PPL Park was ready].

Going in, I was pretty excited for a few reasons:

Big News At Anfield

So, it would appear that the big news that Liverpool supporters everywhere have been waiting for - a buyer has been found and there seem to be only some minor formalities standing between LFC and new ownership.  So, here's a quick rundown of what we know and are reasonably able to project (keeping in mind that it really can't get worse - the question is how much better can it get and how quickly?):

The Facts
The Tom John Henry-led New England Sports Ventures (which also includes investment from the New York Times Company) owns the Boston Red Sox.

Mr. Henry's personal fortune (significantly under $1 Billion) is probably not what Liverpool fans are looking for - he's no Saudi oil heir or Internet gazillionaire.

He has had success in his ownership of running the Red Sox which went from being a much beloved but ultimately unsuccessful team over the course of 80+ years to winning two championships shortly after he took over.  

The Opinion
This is not going to be a Chelsea/Man Citeh approach where Henry/NESV is just going to throw money at every player that moves.  The rise of the Red Sox was predicated on innovation in the use of statistical analysis in evaluating players and finding relative bargains based on how other clubs were evaluating players.  I won't get into the details because if you don't know about baseball, it will all be a bit too arcane and if you are into baseball, you probably already know the "Money Ball" story and how it moved from Oakland to Boston.

What I see for Liverpool is a similar version of the same approach.  Henry will likely be very low visibility and he will likely try to find the Liverpool equivalent of Theo Epstein the "whiz kid" General Manager who is widely credited with building the Red Sox.  My sense is that Liverpool will approach success closer to the way Arsenal have under Wenger than any other model I can think of.  They are unlikely to compete for the biggest names but they'll develop their own formula for winning and look to buy undervalued players that fit that system.  From time to time, they'll compete for a big name that fits their system particularly well but they aren't going to go after every big name player and then try to figure out how to align those players once they're in place (we're looking at you Citeh).

Overall, I think this is a great outcome for Citeh Liverpool in the long term.  It may not satisfy the desire for a huge spending spree in January but I think it puts in the foundation for long term success.  I'd expect things to start looking up but a mid-table finish this season.  Next season, I'd expect a return to Europa Cup followed by a serious challenge for Champions League in two seasons and a serious run at the Premier League title within the next four or five years.