Liverpool owner Henry writes open letter to Reds supporters
John W Henry has expressed in an open letter disappointment that his side, Liverpool, were unable to get certain deals done before the transfer deadline but has called for calm after days of unrest following those failures. Reported by Yahoo, the Reds owner has written to the fans of the club in an attempt to smooth their anger and explain why things went the way they did on Friday.
Henry wrote: “I am as disappointed as anyone connected with Liverpool Football Club that we were unable to add further to our strike force in this summer transfer window. But that was not through any lack of desire or effort on the part of all of those involved.
“They pushed hard in the final days of the transfer window on a number of forward targets and it is unfortunate that on this occasion we were unable to conclude acceptable deals to bring those targets in.”
The deals he refers to include that of Clint Dempsey who opted for a move to Tottenham following an prolonged transfer saga between Liverpool and Fulham. The standoff saw the Merseyside team fail to offer the Cottagers an acceptable deal, and the American ended up moving to Spurs for £6m.
Henry goes on to explain that his side did invest heavily in the summer with a number of young stars arriving at Anfield. He continued: “But a summer window which brought in three young, but significantly talented starters in Joe Allen, Nuri Sahin and Fabio Borini as well as two exciting young potential stars of the future – Samed Yesil and Oussama Assaidi - could hardly be deemed a failure as we build for the future.”
His comments come just days after new boss Brendan Rodgers expressed his distain at the lack of arrivals and the loss of Andy Carroll on loan with no adequate cover for the England international. Rodgers failed to reject a question linking him with a move for free agent Michael Owen that has prompted speculation that a deal is imminent.
Henry seems to squash this talk by claiming the club will be forced to panic buy and explained why Liverpool must think carefully about their finances at present, emphasizing that the club have a long term plan.
He added: “We are still in the process of reversing the errors of previous regimes. It will happen overnight. It has been compounded by our own mistakes in a difficult first two years of ownership. It has been a harsh education, but make no mistake, the club is healthier today than when we took over.
“Spending is not merely about buying talent. Our ambitions do not lie in cementing a mid-table place with expensive, short term quick fixes that will only contribute for a couple of years. Our emphasis will be on developing our own players using the skills of an increasingly impressive caching team. Much thought and investment already have gone into developing a self-sustaining pool of youngsters imbued in the clubs traditions.”
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