FSG and the Long Term Plan
ARTICLE BY MATTY
Was gonna initially put “5 Year Plan”, but that’d make me look like Stalin so it’s best I just leave the title as it is. In my last article, I detailed how we have already evolved as a team since 2019 and how we could continue to evolve as we start to reach the potential twilight of Klopp’s time as our manager. Now we look at this season itself, the way we’re playing, and why it suggests a certain plan is in motion. A plan that I think we will all enjoy. Big thanks to Jerry and Jock for inspiration on this one, helping to construct the full picture that I will try to help explain.
Firstly, let’s examine the business deals of FSG themselves to analyze how the plan came to be in the first place. Due to the pandemic, finances have been relatively tight and when you combine this with a squad that needs merely a tweak here or there, there isn’t a ton of money that needs to be spent on the squad itself. The first part of FSG’s long-term vision for the club, namely building a team capable of winning silverware and finding a manager in Klopp to bring the best out of the group, was finished by 2019 when we won the Champions League final in Madrid. It was here when the second part of FSG’s long term vision for the club went into motion: the rebuild of the club itself. Numerous renovations to Anfield, top-tier commercial deals with Nike and Expedia, as well as a brand new training center that cost as much as £50 million. Creating more opportunities to build the club’s worldwide brand, more opportunities for fans to truly enjoy the experience of home games, and giving Klopp his ideal facility to build up the team of his dreams. Significant investment into the youth academy was also done to help revitalize a dormant part of the club’s history: homegrown superstars. These developments were logical: with the squad largely settled for the next few years and entrenched as a trophy contender, use more of the money gained to build the rest of their investment’s infrastructure. Now, with most of that being completed or close to completion, perhaps we see FSG give Klopp some more money again. Which would make sense, as the squad built to win titles is starting to show some cracks (as explained in the last article).
In many ways, the squad we have now looks primed for a transition. We’ve extended many key members of the team, such as Alisson, Fabinho, Trent, Henderson, Robertson, and Virgil. Hopefully Mo Salah puts pen to paper too. But what about those that haven’t seen extensions yet? Mane, Firmino, Keita, Ox, and Milner all have their contracts expire over the course of the next two seasons. Will any of them be signed to new deals? And what will happen to them if they aren’t? The transition already started this past summer with Gini leaving for free, likely pushed out by Thiago because of the evolution of our play style. Now, I’m sure there’s a variety of reasons for this, but they all boil down to one thing for this season: it seems our top game can dismantle anybody but we can’t do it as consistently as we used to. This makes us tailor-made for winning the Champions League again, but not ideal for a long league season when we literally cannot make mistakes because of the dominance of City. So, in essence, we are sacrificing one aspect of the season itself. Why? Because of the transition currently happening at the club, we are seeing some new faces gain some experience. Konate, Jones, Elliott, Jota, even Tsimikas and Morton. The future is coming and it looks very bright if they are part of the focus. It’s also worth remembering Trent is still somehow 23. It is worth sacrificing the league for this season if it means we get to see the future of the club develop into superstars to carry the team for the long term. Because then we can win the league or come close to it for the next ten seasons. Short term loss for long term gain.
Lastly, let’s talk about why FSG are such a stickler for the long term. It can be frustrating sometimes when we, as fans, want as much as possible right this minute. But, as stories such as Barcelona, Milan, and United can teach us, you can only sell the future for the present for so long before the future of the club becomes barren. The last three seasons, we’ve gone for the title. We spent over £100 million in 2018 and came within one point of the league in 2019, won the league by a landslide in 2020, and then spent over £80 million on reinforcements, without selling anyone, in order to make a major push for last year’s title. Unfortunately, injuries got in the way of last season’s title charge, but the point still remains that we went for it until we couldn’t anymore. And this year, it seems the plan is to take a slight step back in order to better prepare us for the seasons to come. Like I’ve said for a while now, there is a possibility for major changes to the team in 2022, perfectly coinciding with a transfer market unlike any we’ve ever seen, where young superstars will likely swap teams like we’ve never seen before. I’m not talking Haaland and Mbappe here either. There are far more young talents available than just those two, of which one of whom will likely join City because the world isn’t fair. So expect, at the very least, a reshuffle when we’ll finally have the money available to do so again. All sounding like a well-made plan.
I’m…interested to see the reaction here. Do you agree that there is indeed a plan that is constantly in motion, likely made years in advance by Klopp, FSG, and management? And, if so, do you agree with that plan that I’ve tried to detail as much as I can? Or do you think FSG are just stingy owners that are ruining a golden era instead of continuing it? I choose the former, it’s likely some will choose the latter. So let’s see what happens.
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