It has been 5 years since FSG took over at Liverpool FC and if you were anything like me, you greeted their arrival with sheer jubilation at first as you realized that the end of the cowboy’s tenure had finally come and gone, but that jubilation in my case anyway, was very much tempered due to the near demise of our beloved football club as a result of the shenanigans of our past rogue owners, jubilation did not lead directly to trust.
There are very few areas where I speak in absolutes. I do not believe the world works that way, which means that within my own mind at least, the conflict between jubilation and lack of trust did not negate each other. This was not the type of antimatter/matter conflict that leads to absolute destruction. The world can exist among the shadows, there will always be an overlap between black and white and that overlap was there for all to see.
The parting of ways could only be celebrated, but you’d be hard pressed to find a Liverpool fan with any substance that would just jump straight in without feeling the sting of “fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.” That was not FSG’s fault, it just was.
In that sense, it could be argued that the jubilation had more to do with the fact that Hicks and Gillette had departed the building than anything to do with FSG actually becoming the owner’s. It could then also be argued that all FSG really got was a barrage of trepidation straight from the onset and therefore were always one misstep away from being hounded out of town. Was that the right way for Liverpool fans to react or feel? Probably not, but like I said, there are no absolutes here. There are no Cinderella stories that we can all just embrace wholeheartedly. There is just this quagmire of mixed emotions and conflicting points of views and when all is said and done, for some, it is the hardest thing in the world to find your way out from.
When you look at the way the last five years have panned out though, you can, if you are reasonably attuned to your inner feelings and willing to embrace arguments not with a sense of who is right or wrong, but with a genuine need for honest debate, come out of the discussion on any variety of sides. It’s the whole black/white overlap thing again.
It can be argued that FSG have not delivered what they set out to do and yet looking at the very same facts, it could be argued that FSG have delivered on more promises than not.
It is this conflict, that drives the discussion. There are no finite answers and in my case, I find it very difficult to take anyone that is so clear about their point of view seriously, without being provided with a clear, well thought out rationale for how they got to that point of view in the first place.
But can I provide you with a detailed analysis of how FSG have performed?
I am not sure I can, but that will not stop me from trying, so stay tuned, because I will hopefully be able to provide a series of posts about this topic, while we wait for the real season to kick off.
