For those of you who are into the Twitter, here is John Henry's Twitter handle. Nothing yet about the Liverpool acquisition (probably because it isn't final yet) but this might give you some insight into how he is thinking about the team as things do go formal.
@John_W_Henry
I'm sure those who are fans of Liverpool will like the fact that he seems to combine the business acumen to accumulate enough of a fortune to purchase two iconic franchises on either side of the Atlantic as well as paying attention to wins and losses and reacting to them in the same way a fan might (granted, a very restrained fan who doesn't tend to use profanity or rip players/managers).
He's not quite Mark Cuban but at least he isn't Hicks.
Anyway, just something I thought I'd pass along while I'm watching the first game of the Phillies World Series campaign 2010 (Halladay looking AWESOME so far!).
Cheers - Neal
Showing posts with label takeover. Show all posts
Showing posts with label takeover. Show all posts
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
TheTom 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 forCiteh 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.
The Facts
The
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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)