Year 2010 was a period of turbulence for Liverpool FC. New England Sports Ventures (NESV) acquired the club in October 2010. Two managers were sacked – Rafa Benitez in June 2010 and Roy Hodgson in January 2011.
History of Liverpool FC
Liverpool FC (a.k.a. LFC or the Reds) has won 18 League Champions, 5 European Cups, 7 FA Cups, 7 League Cups, and 3 UEFA Cups[i]. They are no doubt one of the most successful football clubs in the football history. However, they have never won the Premier League champion again since 1993. Will glory embrace the Reds again?
John Henry (Principal Owner of NESV and Liverpool FC)
Henry is visionary. When NESV acquired Red Sox, Forbes.com (Anon 2010) valued the baseball club at $426M; it was valued at $870M in 2010[ii]. Nesi (2010) reported that Red Sox could be worth $1.5B as NY Times sold 1.2% of its stake for 14M in March 2010[iii]. To strengthen growth, he committed and improved Red Sox’s stadium, Fenway Park, year by year since his ownership from 2002[iv]. He has committed the same to the Reds[v].
He is decisive. On January 31, 2011, Liverpool accepted Chelsea’s GBP 50M deal of the transfer of iconic striker Fernando Torres. Within 24 hours, Liverpool signed one of the most talented strikers, Andy Carroll, with the England domestic record of GBP 35M.
Kenny Dalglish (Manager)
Dalglish had a glorious player era in 70s. He won in total 29 champions for Celtic and Liverpool. He was awarded the PFA, FWA Footballer, and Scottish Premier Division top goal-scorer. He won 12 champions and has been awarded 4 times as the Manager of the Year. These glories portrays him a strong charismatic and heroic leadership image.
Steven Gerrard (Team Captain)
Gerrard made his Liverpool debut in 1998, and succeeding as the Reds team captain in 2003 till present. He was also appointed to be the captain of England National team in 2010. He has won 10 champions and 31 individual awards from 2001 to 2010.
Some captains shout, some do not. He is seldom a shouter on the field. The UEFA Champions League 2005 Final, AC Milan led 3 goals at the end of the first half. In second half, Gerrard threw the Reds a lifeline with a header, motivated the team, and brought the Reds alive, and finally won the game by penalty shootouts. Gerrard leads by what he does on the field and has a very strong charismatic element.
Dilemma of Creativity
There are similarities between Red Sox in 2002 and LFC in 2010 at NESV acquisition time. They have glorious histories, and some championships behind. They had a small stadium at the NESV’s takeover. Both have rivalry – NY Yankees and Manchester United.
However, baseball and football are different sports. The market is different, culture is different, and league policies are different. Indulging in the success of Red Sox may suppress creative ideas to develop Liverpool FC.
We might see this dilemma on Dalglish too. He has not managed any football team since 1998. His creativity of tactics on-field and strategy off-field are controversial to catch up contemporary football leadership.
Dilemma of Succession
It is never easy to control the Dressing Room. It is essential yet particularly crucial to maintain a common goal, synergy, and motivation in a team. This is exactly where the perceived intelligence Dalglish can contribute. However, NESV did not provide Dalglish a long-term contract yet, while he is 60 years old already. It may not be practical to expect him to lead the team for another decade. His succession is definitely a concern.
Synergy
CEO identifies a clear company vision; Directors provide a list of initiatives and strategies that direct the whole company towards the vision; Managers provide tactics and manage their resources to execute strategies. Every employee is accountable for a portion. This is an essential infrastructure to success.
As long as the dilemma of creativity and succession are being taken care of, glory would embrace the Reds again.
References
[i] Liverpool FC. (2011). Honours [online].
Available from: http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/history/honours
[Accessed: 27 March 2011].
[ii] Forbes.com. (2010). #2 Boston Red Sox. [online].
Available from: http://www.forbes.com/lists/2010/33/baseball-valuations-10_Boston-Red-Sox_330700.html
[Accessed: 27 March 2011]
[iii] Nesi, T. (2010). Report: Red Sox could be worth $1.5B. Providence Business News, [online]
Available from: http://www.pbn.com/Report-Red-Sox-could-be-worth-15B,49380
[Accessed: 27 March 2011].
[iv] MLB.com. (2007). Red Sox outline “Year VI Improvements” for Fenway Park’s 95th anniversary. [online]
[Accessed: 27 March 2011]
[v] ESPNsoccernet. (2010). Henry: Liverpool need more strength in depth. [online] Available from: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=839174&sec=england&cc=4716
[Accessed: 27 March 2011]
vi KPMG LLP. (2010). Kop Football (Holdings) Limited. Directors’ report and financial statements. Year ended 31 July 2009. [hardcopy]
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