FSG’s decision to shelve plans for a multi-club model should leave Liverpool supporters celebrating on Friday.
The Reds’ American owners have been looking at bringing a second football club under their stewardship for the best part of two years, with Michael Edwards brought back specifically to oversee the project.
However, as The Athletic report on Friday, FSG have pulled the plug after assessing 25 different clubs mainly across France, Spain and Portugal. As Liverpool fans continue to feel somewhat disengaged and alienated from their club, this news cannot be anything other than positive.
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Multi-club model goes against football’s values
As owners, FSG have usually tried to do everything in the best interest of Liverpool as a football club.
That may not be a universally agreed upon view, and they have certainly made some huge missteps, but generally John Henry and co tend to put the club first.
If they had been to take on another football club, there could have been some benefits for the Reds in terms of snapping up young talent earlier and using the second team as a stepping stone towards Liverpool. Some see this as progress within the game and something the Reds should be doing to keep up with their rivals.
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However, this is not the way football should be. Each club has their own individual identity, and while they very well could take over another team and run it in the manner, say, Chelsea do with Strasbourg, it would go against the very fabric of the game.
Ask Strasbourg fans if they are happy with the direction their club has taken since being bought by BlueCo Group. The move has stripped away their autonomy as a football club and simply made them a feeder team for Chelsea. It is not right.
Liverpool fans may have been keen on this move for sporting reasons, but you cannot take the benefits and ignore the implications. This is not, and has never been what Liverpool should be about.
Do you think FSG should buy another ‘feeder club’ for Liverpool?
The multi-club model is a controversial topic for some fans
What happens next for FSG?
Before they began their search for a second football club, FSG had briefly explored the idea of putting Liverpool up for sale.
Now that they have decided to close another avenue for revenue, it appears possible that they could revisit their idea to sell.
For some fans, this will also be welcome news. Many have never warmed to FSG and would like to see the Liverpool owners spend more freely in the transfer market. A new group in charge may do that.
In the opinion of Rousing The Kop, supporters should be careful what they wish for in that respect, but after 16 years, there is an argument that a change in ownership could be a good thing for the Reds.
Either way, having owners who are solely focused on what’s happening at Anfield is the best outcome here, and while some may mourn the lack of an alternative ‘quarry’ to mine young players for the Liverpool first-team, we rather think that this is a good day for football on the whole.
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