Financial Times in Football

Looking at the newspapers this week, you'd think sport had been replaced by finance as the new section on the back of most newspapers. Suddenly your favourite sports writer has had his lack of financial knowledge tested, and has had to look up a few terms on websites he'd never normally go on. Either that or they've just replaced him with a writer from the finance section.

It's all about the culmination (?) of the saga that is the Liverpool ownership, which has come at a time when there's a gap in the domestic top flight fixtures, and just another boring England game to look forward to. Which is unfortunate for a club who has had more dirty laundry aired in recent times than mud wrestling rugby player who also has a young child, two dogs, and is a messy eater.

Re-financing, equity, franchises, nominal shares, loan debt and interest payments. Some of the terms you know and some you may be able to guess at, but what the whole thing seems to come down to is that Tom Hicks and George Gillett didn't actually have any money. They didn't buy the club with money they had. This is wrong and the fact it was allowed to happen is wrong. It's just unfortunate that a few clubs had to wither and die before the people who can do something about it, started to think that there was something wrong and maybe they should start looking into it.

It seems like some sort of revelation that Liverpool's new owners will actually buy the club with something resembling cash, pay off the debts with actual money, and then use any profits made to help improve the team! Under the current ownership, it has become evident that most of the profits made were going into ridiculously high interest payments on loans, rather than being put back into the club. It makes you wonder who actually accepted their business plan.

Bored by the finances already? It seems that as a fan of a top flight club these days, you need to be as well versed in your excess reserves, as you are in your.... well, it's likely Liverpool know all about excess reserves.

In times where Manchester United will make massive operating profits, but still make overall losses because of interest payments brought on by their own American owners, and where Manchester City might not be allowed to compete in European Competition (surely they'll be top 4 this season) because of new UEFA fair play rules, fans seem to be required to understand these things as it is a big part of their clubs futures. And after all, much of the profit their clubs make comes from their pockets. This is something that can't be solved by a diamond formation.

Still bored?

Suddenly the prospect of Kevin Davies being picked up front for England becomes more exciting.

Standard Unchartered territory for Liverpool

Amid the chaos of false statistics and dodgy opinion polls (did they ask you?) that dominate the headlines in the lead up to an election, let us cut the crap and hazard a few guesses on more important matters. Such as, what lies ahead for Liverpool FC.

Recent polls suggest that many Liverpool fans are still behind the manager, despite their poor season, which should have seen them building on last season’s title challenge but has instead seen them slip away from Sky’s favourite gimmick – The Big Four. However, many fans are also conceding that it could be time for Rafa Benitez and Liverpool FC to go their separate ways. Results of the imagined poll suggest it’s 50-50 as to whether fans want him to stay, but 100% of fans should be grateful to Rafa for what he has done for the club, whatever the outcome of the next few weeks.

In a survey taken by Hotair and Magma, who recently sponsored the Icelandic volcano, it was found that the majority of fans blame the “American capitalist scumbags”, or Tom and Jerry as we like to call them (or Mutt and Jeff), for the recent downturn in the clubs fortunes. Whilst all the blame surely can’t lie at their door, it has been decided that all the blame should lie at their door, as their door was bought using loans taken out using the club as collateral. The fans have taken the door back as it is rightly theirs, so the blame has been let in with the wind and caught Gillett and Hicks unawares as they squabbled over their one copy of NHL 2010.

On the subject of Benitez signings, fans were asked in the street by a Pole, sent out by YouGov to determine whether or not Benitez has been successful in the transfer market over the years. No reasonable conclusions were drawn as the Pole struggled to understand some of the regional accents he came across, but some snippets included, “had nothing to spend”, “yanks gave him nothing”, “Antonio Núñez”, “had to sell to buy” and “Get Brackley and Brooking back on Pro Evo”.

Having apparently just taken full control of the clubs transfer policy this season, it is difficult to cut through the mist of who was actually a Benitez signing and who was signed by the club before this time. Though the net spend is apparently not as much as some clubs around us (depending on which statistics you believe), he has still spent large amounts of money on the players in the Liverpool “Squad” this season.

Critical points:

• Liverpool should have got more in return for Arbeloa and Alonso, maybe even a player to replace Alonso; Wesley Sneijder would have been brilliant.

• The question of Benitez’s man management has been raised several times, most recently by Fernando Torres. This was also evident when Gerrard and Torres were bemused at the latter’s substitution during the Birmingham game.

• Whilst Aquilani has started to show his quality, it has taken him nearly a full season to get fully match fit and even now never seems to be a pivotal part of Rafa’s game plan, resulting in him being a substitute, or being substituted regularly.

• And you also have to question the dramatic fall in stature of Ryan Babel and Lucas Leiva, two of the most exciting prospects on their respective continents on signing for the club.

• Dirk Kuyt was a good striker.

Maybe it’s time for both manager and club to freshen things up with a change. The lack of Champions League football next season may force this anyway, as many of Liverpool’s stars may take off to other clubs, and Rafa Benitez will be wanted by other clubs looking for a fresh approach.

The important thing for the future is that Liverpool appoints a manager who spends wisely the money they will receive on player sales this summer, and a manager who can improve their overall system of play to give them a fighting chance of competing for a top four finish next season.