Liverpool Spending Big Off The Field As Well As On It

Liverpool Spending Big Off The Field As Well As On It
14:23, 02 Aug 2018

Eyebrows have raised, jokes have been made. For years, Liverpool supporters have had to endure rival fans suggesting they’ve been ‘shopping at Tescos while others browse Harrods’—yet now, after a year of heavy investment, the Reds are suddenly ‘buying’ their way to success.

The argument cuts deeper on account of Jurgen Klopp’s old comments about not wanting to spend his way to a title, but it still only tells half the story. Sport-wide inflation of transfer fees, massive income from a few key sales and, simply put, the ability to spend more because of Premier League income have all contributed to the Reds’ upturn in expenditure.

And, just as vitally and arguably more impressively, so too has the club’s spending on its own infrastructure as the Anfield side bids to compete as one of the country’s biggest sides once more.

Main Stand No longer do Liverpool match reports come with a 44,000 suffix as the attendance note. Having been a real issue of contention for over a decade—new stadium or expansion, owner after owner, promise after promise—FSG finally got that fabled “spade in the ground” and reworked home soil on the Anfield Main Stand.

An additional 8,500 seats in the stand were just part of the eventual solution, with increased corporate seating, a new concourse and coach entrance and a radical redevelopment of the entire landscape on that side of the stadium incorporated. Now standing at around 54,000 capacity in total, the Reds are reaping the rewards with increased matchday revenue and every match proving possible to still sell out.

The success of the Main Stand means the possibility remains of redeveloping the Anfield Road end, potentially taking the overall capacity past the 61,000 mark.

Commercial You might not think Liverpool FC particularly need an ‘Official Online Forex and Binary Options Trading Partner in Asia and the Commonwealth of Independent States,’ but you’d be wrong.

Not necessarily on the need for that particular commercial partner, but for the need for them at all: frequently arranged, ever-expanding, always intriguing. The global reach of the club, indeed of all clubs, means the battle for slight advantages and to be associated with as many partners as possible in all corners of the world extends to boardrooms and corporate events just as often as to market stalls and TV screens.

Those commercial deals often provide the unseen hundreds of thousands, or at times millions, of pounds which go into key investments right throughout the club.

And, of course, it sees potential new eyes see the importance of the brand, and perhaps reminds old eyes that it’s again a club worth watching out for, supporting...buying from.

Kirkby redevelopment For some fans, those which are team-focused and care little for boardroom antics, this is the most eagerly anticipated and vital of all.

At long last, the first team and Academy players of Liverpool will be merged onto the same site, full time, with a £50 million redevelopment of the existing Academy complex. Melwood, for all its storied history, will be no more.

To put this expenditure into on-pitch terms, it’s roughly the same cost as Naby Keita, the third-most expensive player in club history and a midfielder who should contribute hugely to the Liverpool first team across the next five years or more.

The training complex, however, could and should offer benefits for 10 times as long.

It’s a massive statement of intent, for the planning and protection of future teams in Red, as well as an opportunity to further showcase the strategic and financial muscle of the club as a whole. It’s also just one more cog in the entire machine, which is slowly, but surely, putting Liverpool back to the top of English football—thanks to on and off-pitch spending.

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