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Open letter to fans from John Henry


By Olivavu, Mon 03/09/12 at 10:13

Liverpool Football Club's principal owner John W Henry has written the following open letter to supporters:


I am as disappointed as anyone connected with Liverpool Football Club that we were unable to add further to our strike force in this summer transfer window, but that was not through any lack of desire or effort on the part of all of those involved. They pushed hard in the final days of the transfer window on a number of forward targets and it is unfortunate that on this occasion we were unable to conclude acceptable deals to bring those targets in.

But a summer window which brought in three young, but significantly talented starters in Joe Allen, Nuri Sahin and Fabio Borini as well as two exciting young potential stars of the future - Samed Yesil and Oussama Assaidi - could hardly be deemed a failure as we build for the future.  

Nor should anyone minimise the importance of keeping our best players during this window. We successfully retained Daniel Agger, Martin Skrtel and Luis Suarez. We greatly appreciate their faith and belief in the club. And we successfully negotiated new, long-term contracts with Luis and with Martin.

No one should doubt our commitment to the club. In Brendan Rodgers we have a talented young manager and we have valued highly his judgement about the make-up of the squad. This is a work in progress. It will take time for Brendan to instill his philosophy into the squad and build exactly what he needs for the long term.

The transfer policy was not about cutting costs. It was - and will be in the future - about getting maximum value for what is spent so that we can build quality and depth. We are avowed proponents of UEFA's Financial Fair Play agenda that was this week reiterated by Mr Platini - something we heartily applaud. We must comply with Financial Fair Play guidelines that ensure spending is tied to income. We have been successful in improving the commercial side of the club and the monies generated going forward will give us greater spending power in the coming years.

We are still in the process of reversing the errors of previous regimes. It will not happen overnight. It has been compounded by our own mistakes in a difficult first two years of ownership. It has been a harsh education, but make no mistake, the club is healthier today than when we took over.   

Spending is not merely about buying talent. Our ambitions do not lie in cementing a mid-table place with expensive, short-term quick fixes that will only contribute for a couple of years. Our emphasis will be on developing our own players using the skills of an increasingly impressive coaching team. Much thought and investment already have gone into developing a self-sustaining pool of youngsters imbued in the club's traditions.

That ethos is to win. We will invest to succeed. But we will not mortgage the future with risky spending.

After almost two years at Anfield, we are close to having the system we need in place. The transfer window may not have been perfect but we are not just looking at the next 16 weeks until we can buy again: we are looking at the next 16 years and beyond. These are the first steps in restoring one of the world's great clubs to its proper status.

It will not be easy, it will not be perfect, but there is a clear vision at work. 

We will build and grow from within, buy prudently and cleverly and never again waste resources on inflated transfer fees and unrealistic wages. We have no fear of spending and competing with the very best but we will not overpay for players.

We will never place this club in the precarious position that we found it in when we took over at Anfield. This club should never again run up debts that threaten its existence.

Most of all, we want to win. That ambition drives every decision. It is the Liverpool way. We can and will generate the revenues to achieve that aim. There will be short-term setbacks from time to time, but we believe we have the right people in place to bring more glory to Anfield.

Finally, I can say with authority that our ownership is not about profit. Contrary to popular opinion, owners rarely get involved in sports in order to generate cash. They generally get involved with a club in order to compete and work for the benefit of their club. It's often difficult. In our case we work every day in order to generate revenues to improve the club. We have only one driving ambition at Liverpool and that is the quest to win the Premier League playing the kind of football our supporters want to see. That will only occur if we do absolutely the right things to build the club in a way that makes sense for supporters, for us and for those who will follow us. We will deliver what every long-term supporter of Liverpool Football Club aches for.

http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/latest-news/john-henry-s-open-letter-to-fans



      


sliced-bread-no2
Mon 03/09/12 at 10:30

It's nice to see he's not hiding from recent problems. That letter is pretty frank, but what impresses me is that he's admitted that he's made mistakes.



crosbyred
Mon 03/09/12 at 10:59

Going back several months ago you had a lady posting on here by the name of "Suziredress", you ended up ganging up on her and she left your forum. You then went on to disrectfully rename her "Angrybird". I must say that is very brave of you so called men on here. You must be very proud.
Suzi is a friend of mine. She really knows her football and loves LFC. I am sure that you are aware of just how passionate she is about the future of Liverpool Footbal club.

She attempted to make the point that FSG haven't got the first clue about running a football club. She based that opinion on a number of points. The first being the fact that FSG gave Mr Dalglish a three year contract, when a one year contract would have been appropriate. Secondly she argued that FSG's refusal to interview Rafa Benitez demonstrated their incompetence and poor judgement. She based this opinion on the fact that Rafa Benitez brought LFC instant success and a long successful run in the champions league. The long running champions league success resulted in LFC topping the Uefa rankings. Rafa Benitez was fired by Hicks and Gillette within 12 months of LFC being ranked Uefa No 1. Rafa Benitez achieved all of this while also having to cope with the worst owners in LFC's history. He ended being fired because he managed to achieve "Only" 7th place in the Premiership, [even though LFC very nearly won it the year before with a points total that would have won it any other year].
People criticised Rafa Benitez for being power crazy. When you are managing LFC and Hickes and Gillette are in the process of bringing the club to its knees, what would you expect him to do.

Today we have FSG, [Henry], insulting our intelligence with that joke of a statement. You dont get rid of Andy Carroll without having a replacement. You get what you pay for. Failing to get bargain basement Dempsey says it all. FSG have lost goal scoring cover for the sake of two Million Pounds. Nevermind top four, i am worried that we might end up in a relegation battle.
We where soundly beaten yesterday by a very average Arsenal team. Yes, it still is early days, but we just dont look like scoring goals. We are also leaking goals in a manner i have never seen before. Even the match against Hearts became a real challenge when it should have been a formality.

Suzi wont be returning to this forum, she is resolute about that. However, i hope you now all understand that her concern over FSG's ability to make the right decisions for LFC was spot on. I for one have never been so concerned about the state our club is now in. I have never seen a club fall from being key players in the champions league to potential relegation strugglers in such a short time.

I feel sorry for Brendan Rodgers, he has been shafted. Then again, it is my opinion that FSG chose Brendan because he is a new manager to the Premier league and will have little or no fan power. They know that Rafa Benitez would have been screaming from the roof tops when the transfer window closed.

FSG need to learn and learn fast. They are destroying our club. We have gone way backwards in the last two years. It looks now like we will continue going backwards. FSG need to sort it out or sell our club to people who understand football and have the funds in place to take us forward. I cant tell you if such people currently exist? I would guess that the Arabs who Parry and Moores renaged on would have been the answer? Who knows?



LFC SUB
Mon 03/09/12 at 11:01

Our ambitions do not lie in cementing a mid-table place with expensive, short-term quick fixes that will only contribute for a couple of years. Our emphasis will be on developing our own players using the skills of an increasingly impressive coaching team. http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/latest-news/john-henry-s-open-letter-to-fans

emphesis, yes. dont want a short term fix, really?! i agree we should be buying for the future but what about the now.

i dont know about all that suzi stuff but i agree rafa would have been a good appointment. with the funds made available loads and loads of money has been spent dont care where it came from it has been spent largely on ineffective players. thats not fsgs fault.



Olivavu
Mon 03/09/12 at 11:07

Suzi was an offensive idiot that spouted nonsense. I am glad she is gone and would not welcome her back.



LFC SUB
Mon 03/09/12 at 11:14

sit on the fence oli.



crosbyred
Mon 03/09/12 at 11:16

Suzi was an offensive idiot that spouted nonsense. I am glad she is gone and would not welcome her back.
Which part of Suzi's concern over FSG was nonsense? Your reply gives me a greater understanding of why she left this forum. I am not here to have slanging matches with people. Inflamatory remarks such as the type you use are pointless. For that reason i will ignore your childish remarks.

emphesis, yes. dont want a short term fix, really?! i agree we should be buying for the future but what about the now.

i dont know about all that suzi stuff but i agree rafa would have been a good appointment. with the funds made available loads and loads of money has been spent dont care where it came from it has been spent largely on ineffective players. thats not fsgs fault.
I take your point. However, it was FSG's incompetence that put KK and Comolli in place to waste all of that money. KK did a great job as a short term caretaker manager. The next manager should have been Rafa Benitez. He wouldn't have wasted all of that money.



FernandoFowler9
Mon 03/09/12 at 11:23

Wasn't Suzi the one who thought everyone was having a go at her? The one who accused Oli of sexism or something?

From the above post, I can see some poignant similarities in posting style and levels of paranoia.



Olivavu
Mon 03/09/12 at 11:28

Wasn't Suzi the one who thought everyone was having a go at her? The one who accused Oli of sexism or something?

From the above post, I can see some poignant similarities in posting style and levels of paranoia.

She accused everyone of sexism and was an aggressive idiot. Good riddance.

And Ed changing her name to Angry Bird was hilarious! 


Quote
Quote
I am as disappointed as anyone connected with Liverpool Football Club that we were unable to add further to our strike force in this summer transfer window, but that was not through any lack of desire or effort on the part of all of those involved. They pushed hard in the final days of the transfer window on a number of forward targets and it is unfortunate that on this occasion we were unable to conclude acceptable deals to bring those targets in.

It is clear that the club did put effort into trying to sign a new striker - or attacker, in Clint Dempsey. That cannot be questioned.

Quote
But a summer window which brought in three young, but significantly talented starters in Joe Allen, Nuri Sahin and Fabio Borini as well as two exciting young potential stars of the future - Samed Yesil and Oussama Assaidi - could hardly be deemed a failure as we build for the future.

Joe Allen has been a revelation in our midfield. Many fans doubted the fee and the need for him, but everyone now seems to have realised why we wanted and subsequently signed the lad. He's a cracking midfielder and one of the most technically gifted players in our league. Sahin was off the pace against Arsenal, but once he settles in and regains match fitness, he could be a star for us. If he can reproduce anything like his form from his Dortmund days, we will have an excellent player. It is hard to know what to make yet of Yesil and Assaidi as we haven't seen them play, but they look promising enough from what I have seen.

Quote
Nor should anyone minimise the importance of keeping our best players during this window. We successfully retained Daniel Agger, Martin Skrtel and Luis Suarez. We greatly appreciate their faith and belief in the club. And we successfully negotiated new, long-term contracts with Luis and with Martin.

It was imperative to keep hold of the likes of Agger, Skrtel and Suarez. We have done well to keep these quality players here when other, Champions League, more affluent clubs could offer them bigger wages and a better chance of instant success.

Quote
No one should doubt our commitment to the club. In Brendan Rodgers we have a talented young manager and we have valued highly his judgement about the make-up of the squad. This is a work in progress. It will take time for Brendan to instill his philosophy into the squad and build exactly what he needs for the long term.

They put a lot of money into the team last year and got their fingers burnt with several poor signings. I am not surprised they are not willing to put that much into the transfer coffers again this year. But despite that, the signings we have made this year look better overall than last Summer.

Quote
The transfer policy was not about cutting costs. It was - and will be in the future - about getting maximum value for what is spent so that we can build quality and depth. We are avowed proponents of UEFA's Financial Fair Play agenda that was this week reiterated by Mr Platini - something we heartily applaud. We must comply with Financial Fair Play guidelines that ensure spending is tied to income. We have been successful in improving the commercial side of the club and the monies generated going forward will give us greater spending power in the coming years.

The FFP rules have been a massive reason for them buying the club in the first place. They are looking to that as a way of making us more competitive because the great name of this club can bring in more through commercial gain than the likes of City. They have done well commercially so far and it bodes well for the future.

Quote
We are still in the process of reversing the errors of previous regimes. It will not happen overnight. It has been compounded by our own mistakes in a difficult first two years of ownership. It has been a harsh education, but make no mistake, the club is healthier today than when we took over.

It is very good that they not only admit mistakes, but are learning from them as well. There is no shame in not getting everything right first time. The club is in much better hands than before and that will only benefit us going forward. 

Quote
Spending is not merely about buying talent. Our ambitions do not lie in cementing a mid-table place with expensive, short-term quick fixes that will only contribute for a couple of years. Our emphasis will be on developing our own players using the skills of an increasingly impressive coaching team. Much thought and investment already have gone into developing a self-sustaining pool of youngsters imbued in the club's traditions.

The likes of Raheem Sterling will definitely benefit from the long-term strategy at the club. It bodes well for all young talents coming into Melwood.

Quote
That ethos is to win. We will invest to succeed. But we will not mortgage the future with risky spending.

I don't want to see the club spending beyond their means. It is frustrating to see the likes of Chelsea, City and United throwing the cash around, but we simply do not have that sort of money available.

Quote
After almost two years at Anfield, we are close to having the system we need in place. The transfer window may not have been perfect but we are not just looking at the next 16 weeks until we can buy again: we are looking at the next 16 years and beyond. These are the first steps in restoring one of the world's great clubs to its proper status.

As said, this is a long-term project and success will not come overnight. We are three games into the season and some people are already writing off FSG and Rodgers. Those people are idiots. Sure things may not work out for the best, but they could - and nobody can honestly tell that right now.

Quote
It will not be easy, it will not be perfect, but there is a clear vision at work.  We will build and grow from within, buy prudently and cleverly and never again waste resources on inflated transfer fees and unrealistic wages. We have no fear of spending and competing with the very best but we will not overpay for players.

I agree that we should not overpay for players. Why should we be held to ransom and pay over the odds for the likes of Clint Dempsey? He is 29 years old and has had one good season.

Quote
We will never place this club in the precarious position that we found it in when we took over at Anfield. This club should never again run up debts that threaten its existence.

An excellent way of operating.

Quote
Most of all, we want to win. That ambition drives every decision. It is the Liverpool way. We can and will generate the revenues to achieve that aim. There will be short-term setbacks from time to time, but we believe we have the right people in place to bring more glory to Anfield.

Only time will tell.

Quote
Finally, I can say with authority that our ownership is not about profit. Contrary to popular opinion, owners rarely get involved in sports in order to generate cash. They generally get involved with a club in order to compete and work for the benefit of their club. It's often difficult. In our case we work every day in order to generate revenues to improve the club. We have only one driving ambition at Liverpool and that is the quest to win the Premier League playing the kind of football our supporters want to see. That will only occur if we do absolutely the right things to build the club in a way that makes sense for supporters, for us and for those who will follow us. We will deliver what every long-term supporter of Liverpool Football Club aches for.

Let's hope they can deliver this success to us. They've already saved us from Hicks, Gillett and administration!




crosbyred
Mon 03/09/12 at 11:31

Wasn't Suzi the one who thought everyone was having a go at her? The one who accused Oli of sexism or something?

From the above post, I can see some poignant similarities in posting style and levels of paranoia.

The only thing i share with Suzi is friendship and a concern that LFC is not in safe hands under FSG. As for paronoia it seems that it is you who is afflicted. Care to comment on the topic? FSG doing a good job then?



Olivavu
Mon 03/09/12 at 11:33

Which part of Suzi's concern over FSG was nonsense? Your reply gives me a greater understanding of why she left this forum. I am not here to have slanging matches with people. Inflamatory remarks such as the type you use are pointless. For that reason i will ignore your childish remarks.

I take your point. However, it was FSG's incompetence that put KK and Comolli in place to waste all of that money. KK did a great job as a short term caretaker manager. The next manager should have been Rafa Benitez. He wouldn't have wasted all of that money.

How on earth are you blaming FSG for the short-comings of Comolli and Kenny? Those two were meant to be the football experts - not FSG. It's not the owners fault that mediocrity like Adam, Carroll and Downing were signed.

As for Suzi, I think you should look at the posts she made on here. If you can open your eyes for one second and remove the blinkers you will see that she was an aggressive, paranoid and nasty piece of work. Nobody here was unhappy to see her go.



FernandoFowler9
Mon 03/09/12 at 11:37

How on earth are you blaming FSG for the short-comings of Comolli and Kenny? Those two were meant to be the football experts - not FSG. It's not the owners fault that mediocrity like Adam, Carroll and Downing were signed.

As for Suzi, I think you should look at the posts she made on here. If you can open your eyes for one second and remove the blinkers you will see that she was an aggressive, paranoid and nasty piece of work. Nobody here was unhappy to see her go.

But we ganged up on her despite her insulting us and accusing of us various forms of discriminatory behaviour!



Olivavu
Mon 03/09/12 at 11:43

Yes, it was all our fault.

That one person was in the right while all the rest of us were in the wrong!

It wasn't anything to do with her attitude.





theanfieldpaddy
Mon 03/09/12 at 11:46

Suzi ?? i don't remember her at all ...

As for FSG doing a good job , as they saying goes Rome wasnt built in a day .

what i do know is if they didnt come in and save us from the cowboys we would of been in big trouble





crosbyred
Mon 03/09/12 at 12:14

How on earth are you blaming FSG for the short-comings of Comolli and Kenny? Those two were meant to be the football experts - not FSG. It's not the owners fault that mediocrity like Adam, Carroll and Downing were signed.

As for Suzi, I think you should look at the posts she made on here. If you can open your eyes for one second and remove the blinkers you will see that she was an aggressive, paranoid and nasty piece of work. Nobody here was unhappy to see her go.

It was FSG who appointed Kenny and Comolli. If FSG didn't have enough knowledge of UK football, why did they buy LFC? As i said, it was FSG who hired Brendan Rodgers while the most successful we have had in years is sat at home only a few miles up the road. FSG have spent over 20 Million Paying off Hodgson, Kenny and Swansea off. [although i cant blame the Hodgson pay off on them].They dont know what they are doing. Irrespective of this they are making big decisions that has sent LFC into freefall.
I have made my point about Suzi and have no more to say on that matter. I am here now sharing my own opinions.



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