Staying put- why FSG have made the right call

In the week that they celebrated their second anniversary of purchasing Liverpool FC, Fenway Sports Group (FSG) have seemingly finally put to bed what was one of the most pressing issues at the time of their takeover: the American owners appear to have answered the long-asked stadium question.

Thankfully, they have provided the right answer as well, opting to remain at Anfield, the club's much-loved historic home, rather than build a brand new 60,000 seater stadium on Stanley Park.

Liverpool are staying put at their spiritual home

Ever since local rivals Everton left and Liverpool arrived in 1892, Anfield has been the stage where heroes in a Red shirt have risen to fame, club legends have been made and domestic and European dreams have been fulfilled, leaving a host of happy memories in the minds of countless supporters who have visited the venerated venue, most only once, some only occasionally and a lucky few every other week. 

Now, having completed a thorough yet comparatively swift cost-benefit analysis of the two available options, namely redeveloping Anfield or building a completely new stadium, the club's owners have come to the sensible conclusion that remaining at Anfield and increasing its capacity to 60,000 makes the most financial and footballing sense, allowing thousands more future supporters to enjoy the unbeatable match-day experience the ground offers. 

The economic cost of building a new stadium from scratch simply outweighed the benefit of having 15,000 more spectators paying £40 to watch the Reds every fortnight. Add to that the emotional cost of leaving Liverpool's spiritual home and it was clear to FSG that remaining at Anfield was the right course of action. 

Critics, frustrated following ten years of incompetence from David Moores and deceit from Tom Hicks and George Gillett, may claim that FSG took too long in reaching this rather self-evident conclusion, but taking two years to make a decision that is at the heart of the club's future isn't unreasonable, and at least they've made more progress than the previous owners, who did little apart from waste ridiculous amounts of money on nothing more than pretty pictures and make ludicrous promises they could never keep. 

Was this pretty picture worth £50 million?

Fortunately, FSG have avoided those pitfalls, conducting their affairs in a professional manner throughout the process, even if that process was slightly slower than some supporters would have liked.

 

With the redevelopment of Anfield now feasible due to the local community and council's support, the considerable benefit of extra capacity can be achieved at a fraction of the cost. Moreover, regeneration of the surrounding area may finally take place, opening up much-needed employment opportunities in the locality during difficult times. 

Most importantly, this could be the evidence fans needed to confirm that FSG are committed to this project, and therefore the club, in the long term, providing stability in the boardroom that has been missing over recent years. If they invest in redeveloping Anfield, then the owners will have to wait until the financial return of an increase in the value of the club results from the raised revenue funding player purchases and ultimately improving performances on the pitch. They're not going to cut their losses and run, leaving Liverpool in the lurch, if they have £150 million tied up in the club's stadium redevelopment plans.

The owners', and the club's, task now is not just to redevelop Anfield, but to transform it into the bastion of invincibility that legendary Liverpool boss Bill Shankly famously envisaged. 

YNWA