Special Features
FSG Vs. Liverpool Shows The Dark Side Of American Football Ownership
By Aminu Wada
“FSG Out; Glazers Out” have, over time, become famous chants that have united the divide of Liverpool and Manchester United fan base, despite the rivalry between both clubs and their fandom. However, the terms Fenway Sports Group (FSG) and Glazers have established a common ground between both fans to a certain reality facing European competitive football.
Ah! The infamous European Super League bore an uncanny resemblance to the American Super Bowl – but let’s not dive into that debacle just yet. In order to unpack the connection between FSG and Glazers, we must first explore the underlying reasons why these two terms are intertwined.
EDITOR’S PICKS
It’s a tale as old as time: both American overlords’ sides have taken the reins of renowned European football clubs. Unfortunately, these sides have since slipped from their former glory days of competing for every title and seizing victory on the grandest of stages – a decline largely attributable to their ownership.
These clubs have seen business models introduced into their sides that, realistically, as the game continues to evolve, set the team further apart from its European counterparts when it comes to challenging for top titles. These once-mighty teams find themselves relegated to mere “top sides” in name and lore, while their present-day performances pale in comparison to their erstwhile glories.
Liverpool and Manchester United have witnessed the club’s ownership make one bad decision to another, with the team suffering on the grand stage for it. Should we talk about how Cristiano Ronaldo came out in the open to slate the club’s ownership for their lack of investment in Manchester United’s facilities? Or how the Glazers prioritized image branding over the competitive side of the game?
Liverpool, on the other hand, have seen a business model introduced into the team that sees the Reds run like an average championship side that requires a model of sell to buy at the cheap in order to compete, whilst its top counterparts raid the market for top stars to continue challenging for top titles.
This season (2022/23) has been a harsh reality check, exposing the dire repercussions of an ill-advised investment policy that has left Liverpool reeling. Even the staunchest supporters never anticipated the team would fall victim to fatigue and a stale, predictable style of play. Regrettably, Fenway Sports Group’s missteps in securing key signings at the right time have left the Reds struggling to remain relevant on the grand stage.
Hence, Liverpool has become all too predictable to their adversaries, who have grown accustomed to facing the same group of players for four to five years, allowing them to effectively master the Reds’ tactics and gameplay.
The story FSG concocted was that the club was waiting for the right target, a target the world assumed was Jude Bellingham. The club waited 2 seasons without making needed reinforcements to its midfield, all in the wait for Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund.
Of course, the wait was not the problem; what became the problem was that the decision to not make any other first-team signing aside Jude Bellingham to its midfield came to haunt Liverpool badly, considering how injury prone and unreliable the team’s current crop of midfield players have become.
The shocker?
The bombshell was dropped when renowned sports journalists such as Fabrizio Romano, Paul Joyce, and David Ornstein broke the news that the once-popular Jude Bellingham chant was officially banned from Liverpool’s songbook and would never be sung again.
These and many other decisions or indecisions by American club owners have gone so far as to show how poor they understand the competitive side of the game of football, or soccer, like they would call it.
FURTHER READING
Chelsea’s new owner, American billionaire; Todd Boehly, is one to watch, and his decision to have Thomas Tuchel fired and replaced with Graham Potter and then Frank Lampard is one to watch as many have begun to question his understanding of the game.
Aminu Wada writes for Eko Hot Blog. This media platform reserves all rights to this article.
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