Hodgson to be denied big signing in January Roy Hodgson, the Liverpool manager, may have seen his side claim a much needed victory at the weekend but if he was hoping for further good news he would have been sorely disappointed yesterday. The Anfield club's new owners, New England Sports Ventures, revealed that they will not sanction any big-money signings in the January transfer window. The news will also dismay Liverpool's supporters, who would have hoped that after the end of Tom Hicks' and George Gillett's tenure, a big signing could mark the start of a new era. Having examined Liverpool's books, the American owners are believed to be concerned by what they regard as over-spending in recent seasons: Hodgson himself spent £25m in his first summer in charge. And although the purchase of the club has freed up funds for Hodgson to make signings, NESV have made clear that they expect value for money. "We have to be smart," said John W Henry, the group's principal backer, after the deal was completed. "We have to be more efficient. When we spend a dollar, it has to be wisely. We cannot afford player contracts that do not make long-term sense." The 61-year-old has made it clear already that he is not happy with the number of older players at the club who are earning big money on long contracts. Henry is expected to play a hands-on role at Anfield, assessing Hodgson's transfer targets and setting budgets for contract renegotiations. His organisation is not thought to blame the former Fulham man for Liverpool's travails this season, but they do see it as evidence that a closer eye is needed on the club's transfer business. Henry, a follower of Sabermetrics, the method of assessing players made famous by the book Moneyball, which explained how baseball's Oakland Athletics consistently overperformed in relation to their wage bill, is worried that Liverpool are failing to match where their spending suggests they should be in a league where wage bill generally mirrors league position. Liverpool have the fourth-highest wage bill in the league but are currently marooned in 18th. "At the Red Sox, we invested a lot in management and the scouting system," said NESV chairman Tom Werner. "We believe the foundation of any good sports club has to be the experience, valuation and understanding of scouting." http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/...be-denied-big-signing-in-january-2117523.html I think this is great news. Wouldn't trust the man with money anyway.
Hopefully he will invest in a decent scouting and youth system, which will allow us to develop quality younger players.
Henry saying more of the right things. Hodgson spent £25 million this summer!? I know he sold as well but still when you consider Cole was free, how did he manage to spend £25 million on Jovanovich, Meireles, Konchesky and Poulsen! Aside from Meireles, that's a huge waste of good money. We need some smart transfers in the next few windows to get us back where we belong.
Old news that. Glad he sees the folly in extending Carra's contract and buying ageing average players in Poulsen and Konchesky. They are being prudent but I can see fan resentment down the line. I don't see us seriously competing at the right end of the league for at least 2 seasons. Which suggests to me that Torres won't be here too much longer. Perhaps Reina too. Like the austerity measures we face here at the moment, I think we are going to go through some pain to get out of this hole.
Rory Smith puts a far more realistic and positive slant on it below. Despite his tabloid-esqe attention seeking headline it is clear there is money to be spent, but it has to be smart not just buying for the sake of buying and clogging the whole system up with average footballers who will not enhance the club and prevent the progress of players from the academy. Our last 2 managers did this to a bewildering degree and the purchase of Konchesky and Poulsen under this regime suggests Henry's intervention has come just at the right time No money for Hodgson as Henry tightens Reds' belt By Rory Smith Wednesday October 27 2010 Roy Hodgson will not target any trophy signings in the January transfer window as Liverpool's new owners, New England Sports Ventures (NESV), look to put a stop to the profligate spending which it believes has hampered the club's progress in recent years. NESV is believed to have been concerned by the millions of pounds haemorrhaged on transfer fees and wages by the club as it examined Liverpool's finances as part of the due diligence process carried out before the £300m purchase of the Anfield side was completed. Under former manager Rafael Benitez, Liverpool spent more than £230m in six years on fees alone -- though much of that was recouped in sales -- while the purchases of the likes of Raul Meireles, Christian Poulsen, Brad Jones and Paul Konchesky totalled £25m in Hodgson's first summer at the club. NESV's takeover freed up £36m a year of revenue -- money that had previously been used to service Liverpool's £282m debts -- to be reinvested in the club. Although its offer also made provisions for an immediate injection of funds into the playing staff, the American consortium has made it clear it expects value for money, both from fees and salaries. Efficient "We have to be smart," John W Henry, NESV's principal backer who will assume a place on Liverpool's board, said after the deal was completed. "We have to be more efficient. When we spend a dollar it has to be wisely. We cannot afford player contracts that do not make long-term sense. We have to be smart, bold, aggressive. It's a great challenge." Henry will take an active role in football matters at Anfield, assessing Hodgson's suggested transfer targets and setting budgets for contract renegotiations of players already at the club. The 61-year-old has already expressed his concern at the wages earned by older players on long-term, high-value contracts. NESV's approach -- applied with great success at the Boston Red Sox -- is likely to rule Liverpool out of the glamour signings which many fans hoped would follow the eviction of previous owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett. Instead, the club's recent scouting activity suggests they intend to follow the Arsenal model or, perhaps more pertinently, institute on an informal basis the transfer policy employed at Manchester United, where premium fees are only paid for younger players with resale potential. "At the Red Sox we invested a lot in management and the scouting system," said NESV chairman Tom Werner. "We believe the foundation of any good sports club has to be the experience, valuation and understanding of scouting." Those players assessed by Hodgson and his scouting team in recent weeks include Steven Defour, the Standard Liege captain and a long-term target for the Liverpool manager. At 22, and valued at around £12m, Defour represents minimum risk for maximum reward. Likewise Ibrahim Afellay, the PSV Eindhoven winger who Liverpool have assessed several times. Already a Dutch international at 24, Afellay would fall within Liverpool's budget. More expensive would be Eden Hazard, Defour's Belgian international team-mate, currently with Lille. The 19-year-old has attracted interest from Barcelona, Real Madrid, Arsenal, Chelsea and United, and could cost £18m. However, Liverpool believe they can tempt the player with the incentive of regular first-team football. Hodgson will not be allowed to add any players, though, without first trimming the squad. Liverpool boast the fourth-highest wage bill in the Premier League -- standing at £107m in 2009, according to football finance analysts Deloitte -- but find themselves marooned in 18th place in the table. NESV does not blame Hodgson for that poor performance so far this season, but rather interprets it as evidence that many of the squad do not warrant their reputations or their earnings. Henry's experience as a futures trader, as well as his noted obsession with sporting and financial statistics, put him in a perfect position to analyse such information. He is acutely aware that figures suggest that, with almost unerring accuracy, a club's league position is defined by their wage bill. That Liverpool's key statistics are so discordant suggests the money is not being spent wisely. He is also a devotee of Sabermetrics -- the statistical analysis of the value of baseball players, pioneered by Bill James and which led Henry to appoint Theo Epstein as general manager of the Boston Red Sox in 2002 at the age of 28. Principles Epstein applied James' principles -- which are designed to help poorer teams identify value-for-money acquisitions -- to lead the franchise to two World Series championships with a squad largely composed of bargain purchases. Initial impressions of his time at Liverpool suggest Henry retains his faith in the method. (© Daily Telegraph, London) - Rory Smith Six deals under scrutiny Liverpool business that would not have happened under John Henry and NESV: Fernando Morientes The Spanish international signed for £6.3m as a 28-year-old in January 2005, but he failed miserably at Anfield, scoring just 12 goals in 61 appearances. NESV's belief in signing young players would have precluded the deal. Robbie Keane Signed as a 28-year-old for £20.3m in 2008, the Ireland captain would also have been judged by NESV to be too old to warrant such a high fee. Alberto Aquilani Though the Italian international's age, at 26, and pedigree would have made him a legitimate target, concerns over his injury record would have ruled out a £17m move. Maxi Rodriguez The Argentina international (29) came on a free transfer boasting a fine pedigree, but his wages, believed to be around £70,000 a week until June 2013, may have discouraged NESV from such a long contract. Jamie Carragher Undoubtedly a loyal servant, but John W Henry may have been concerned by the sight of a 32-year-old being handed a lucrative two-year contract just before NESV completed its takeover. Paul Konchesky A four-year contract for a 29-year-old -- as well as a substantial £5m fee -- does not match the profile of deal NESV believes can help Liverpool develop in the long term. -
Smiths article puts a more optimistic view on it, sounds like there may only be a handful of signings in the next two tranfer windows but hopefully any signings we do make will be for dcent players who will add value to the squad in performance and monetary terms.
basically both articles are outlining what any legitimate owner would say,they just have to be careful and spend wisely however the question is will they trust roy to invest in the squad or will they adopt a Director of Football Approach
I said they will analyse all the players roy wants and if the players fit their policy they will be signed
in the long term this sounds good.in the short term we do need to put a few bob into the team to get us playing again!
Hopefully this leads to a clear out of players that are not up to scratch, of which there are a few. Getting these guys out would free up extra funds towards signings and wages of new players. Personally, I find this pleasing and I'm glad to hear that they will be assessing players abilities and value for money. It will hopefully lead to less bad signings for our club.
Aren't the comments from NESV about 2-3 weeks old and its the way i expect them to run the club . NESV knew all this before they bought the club after doing the due diligence process . And all it will take time , but still they imo will invest in the team but will want value for money from their first transfer .. Still see them spending money in Jan if the right players are available. No need to panic.... Anybody could see the club has been run by Amateurs in the past and expect NESV to run it properly and let the club stand on its own 2 feet . Arsenal will be their role model imo and hope they will also see where Arsenal have also made mistakes by not investing in experienced when it is needed ... They will know success on the pitch breeds success off it , but they will want value for every pound the spend , noting wrong there imo . We knew they would be Sugar Daddy's and im glad there not. Imo Shelvey is a prime example of buying a player who delivers on Value for transfer fee , value for wages he earns , Value in quality on the pitch , Value in age , Value if a possible sell on etc etc ....
No 35m Kaka in Januray so. Don't neccessarily agree with that method though. The fact some of our highly paid "older" players are shit should'nt be the basis for long term planning. Some players provide their "value for money" on the pitch, ie; Stevie Gerrard and Jamie Carragher. By that policy, would it mean Nando gets sold at 28 because its our last chance to cash in on his "value"? Konchesky, Poulsen, Gerrard, Aurelio, Kuyt, Cole and Jovanavic are all the around the same age and probably have similar lenght contracts, just lumping them all into the same bracket won't cut it, some are a tiny bit better than others. Football can't be made into a sum like most American games but I'm sure Henry is wise enough to understand that.
I don't think NESV would have any problems spending £35m on a player if they think it is a good investment . I don't think their policy would mean cashing in on Torres just because he is 28 ... they can see the value they got on Torres from the day we bought him and he value to the team at 28 and the value to them still . Policy will be very similar imo to Arsenal but as ive said hope they will also learn from the mistakes arsenal have made in not bringing in experienced players when needed or if needed.
ya by all accounts they spent a fortune on some baseball player a few years back just to get him.January shall be interesting!
Plus Liverpool make back more than double their outlay on Torres wages in commercial revenues. Similar story with Stevie.
i really think we will see a quite january with nesv learning about the club and the system but next summer i thin thats when they will perhaps heavily invest
The Daily Telegraph is reporting that Kenny Dalglish has been to watch Lille attacking midfielder Eden Hazard. According to the paper, the young Belgian starlet is a target for Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson and Dalglish was spotted at a match between Lille and Levski Sofia in the Europa League on Thursday night. The 19 year old has been tracked by a number of top European clubs including Barcelona, Real Madrid, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United but he could be persuaded by his agent to move to Liverpool to get guaranteed regular first team. The Telegraph believes that Hazard would cost in the region of £18million. http://live4liverpool.com/2010/10/view-from-the-kop/dalglish-watches-18m-belgian-starlet? If this is their policy .... I'm all for it.