When a team goes through a bad run of form, there is always a tendency to apply blame to someone or something.
In the case of Liverpool, their current form has led to blame being apportioned around several areas. Jurgen Klopp has received some criticism, while the current injury situation has also been used as a reason for the recent defeats.
But one factor which many supporters seem to be attributing the current situation to is the ownership, Fenway Sports Group. In particular, their lack of transfer spending over the past couple of seasons.
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FSG have never been universally popular among the Liverpool fanbase, but there has always been an appreciation with the majority for the way they’ve got the club back to the pinnacle of European football. Hiring Klopp in 2015 which led to winning the Premier League and Champions League earned the owners significant credit with supporters.
However, the past year or two in terms of transfer activity certainly hasn’t gone down well with fans. In particular, the most recent summer window was not well received with supporters.
Liverpool were in need of reinforcements in midfield this summer. Klopp knew that and identified Aurelien Tchouameni as his main target, but he moved to Real Madrid instead and no alternative was brought in, unless you count a loan deal for Arthur Melo.
The decision not to bring in a permanent midfielder did not sit well with fans. The fact that Klopp seemingly wanted a statement signing in that position and it didn’t happen arguably only enhanced those feelings - albeit the boss also has a track record of not wanting to compromise if his top targets are unavailable.
The Reds are facing the prospect of being back where they were in 2017 with potentially no European football and behind the leading clubs in the Premier League. But if history tells us anything, it shows that a change is needed if the club is to get back to where they were.
Net spend has been a stick often used to beat FSG by sections of fans. After going relatively quiet last year during the club’s quest for a quadruple, it has reemerged in recent weeks given the current form.
According to Transfermarkt, the net spend this summer works out at roughly £13million. Over the past four seasons, that figure is at around £94m.
What is more striking is if you compare the net spend compared to other clubs in the top flight in that time. Manchester City’s net spend since 2019/20 is £199.5m, Chelsea’s is £268m, Arsenal’s is £375m, Manchester United’s is £501m and Tottenham’s is £336m.
It has been no secret that Liverpool prefer to do things differently when it comes to signing players. Going for the hidden gem option rather than the finished article has worked well in previous years, but one summer was the exception.
For the 2018/19 season, Liverpool decided to make moves in the transfer market to close the gap on Man City. The arrivals of Alisson Becker, Fabinho, Naby Keita and Xherdan Shaqiri contributed towards a net spend of £127m, which is more than over the last four seasons combined.
If you factor in the arrival of Virgil van Dijk a few months earlier than that, the Reds certainly weren’t shy of splashing the cash to bring in the players to make a difference. Of course, some of that can be offset by the sale of Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona in the same January window.
Despite this, a similar approach to transfer spending is likely to be needed once again if the club are to recapture the form that got them to where they once were. The problem this time is there are more clubs putting their hand in their pocket to spend money for new players.
Man City are still setting the benchmark, but Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham and Man United will all have ideas of challenging for the title in the next year or two. And then there’s Newcastle, who under new ownership seem to be on an upward trajectory.
Liverpool, for now, are heading in the opposite direction. And as much as those at the top may not want to admit it, a change in approach when it comes to transfers is becoming more necessary with each passing match.
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