Liverpool owners FSG have confirmed that Mike Gordon is set to take on a much more reduced role at the club, amid rumours of a sale.
There had been some rumblings over the last week that Gordon was to step back from his role at Anfield. And now, as reported by The Telegraph, the Liverpool owners have confirmed that this will be the case.
“Mike Gordon has done an extraordinary job of leading the club for the past decade-plus. He will be taking a step back from that role and Billy Hogan will be taking on more and more,” they report Sam Kennedy, who’s a partner at FSG, as saying.
Gordon is reportedly the key link between Jurgen Klopp and the Reds board. The two are said to have become friends over recent years, with there now being ‘inevitable concern’ over their working relationship moving forward.
On the takeover front, it’s claimed that there continue to be ‘mixed messages’ from FSG about what their current intentions are.
Klopp’s main man steps back from role
This news only confirms what had been suspected for the last few days. But nevertheless, it is a little worrying.
With Gordon pulling the strings, Liverpool became one of the most efficiently run clubs in Europe. His decisions always seemed to reap rewards and from the outside looking in, he looked to have a genuine passion for the club.
The same thing couldn’t really be said of FSG president John Henry, or even chairman Tom Werner.
His relationship with Klopp is surely a key reason for that. It’s rare to find an executive and a coach who find themselves not only on the same page, but genuinely fond of each other.
Whatever the outcome of this whole business, perhaps that’s something that Liverpool will miss more than we realise.
In the meantime, it’s no bad thing that Hogan is set to take on more responsibility. The CEO has been very visible as Liverpool seek accountability for the issues surrounding this year’s Champions League final.
His passion for the club also comes across genuinely, and it would appear that with Hogan, Liverpool are in safe hands. For now, anyway.
Still, it’s easy to assume that Jurgen will be gutted by this news. The Reds boss had reportedly been given assurances when he signed his new deal that the team FSG had in place would remain. Now that changes have begun to happen, hopefully he’s able to move beyond his disappointment.
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