Over the past couple of weeks, as I’ve basked in the glory of Liverpool’s title win, I’ve found myself pondering whether not UEFA will consider doing anything to change the manner in which the Reds went out of the competition. I don’t mean because it’s Liverpool, but rather because the team that finished top of the group stage drawing the eventual winners in the round of 16 seemed extremely unfair. On the face of it, it is likely that the governing body will do something to make tweaks to how it all works on account of the fact that the team that finishes at the top of the group stage should really be the one that, at the very least, makes the quarter-finals. If we ignore the obvious fact that UEFA won’t care about jot about us getting knocked out because it was Paris Saint-Germain that did the knocking and they are, famously, a UEFA-favoured team thanks to the fact that their President, Nasser Al-Khelaifi sits on the organising committee, why else might they not care much about the fact that the Reds got drawn against them so early on in the competition?
The one-sided nature of that UCL Final brings into question this new format.
Anyone with eyes could see Liverpool & PSG were the two best teams in Europe this season, but for some stupid reason, they met way too early in the tournament.
And that’s down to those money grabbing idiots at UEFA. #LFC
— EssinemLFC (@essinem.bsky.social) 31 May 2025 at 22:52
The move to rebrand the Champions League with the Swiss system was largely done in order to combat the threat that had been posed by the European Super League. The entire point of that competition was to see the biggest teams go up against one another on a regular basis, earning them more money and more prestige as a result. In many ways, therefore, the Liverpool v PSG battle was one that all but played into the ESL handbook. That the French club also defeated Manchester City in the group stage and Arsenal in the semi-final will sit as proof that the rejigging of the tournament into its current guise is working wonders. Yes, our supporters might be disappointed that it wasn’t in a later stage of the competition that we ended up taking on the French side, but the reality of the matter is that if the entire point of messing with the look of the competition is to ease the concerns of the ‘big’ clubs, pitting two of them up against one another will look just fine to UEFA.
FSG Know What They’re Doing
I left Elon Musk’s hellsite for BlueSky some months ago now, but even the slightly more pleasant version of social media isn’t immune from people sending messages with #FSGOUT all over them. Whenever I read such a post, I find myself wondering what, exactly, those concerned would like the ownership to look like. In the years since they arrived at the club, essentially saving us from liquidation, they have taken us from a team that had fallen away into nothingness and created one of the best sides in Europe. Those who love to be critical of them were quick to point out that the Reds would ‘fall apart’ once Jürgen Klopp wasn’t there to ‘cover for them’, but instead we look to have grown even stronger in the absence of the German manager. Klopp was a brilliant appointment, coming in at a time when the club was at its lowest ebb and helping us to lift ourselves up and remember exactly who we’ve always been, returning us to our former glory.
Cannot quite believe the Florian Wirtz news.
All the FSG OUT cranks will be going quiet.
— smtm_LFC1975 (@smtmlfc.bsky.social) 23 May 2025 at 18:30
Yet he would be the first to point out that he wouldn’t have been able to do it without the people operating in the background. From Michael Edwards to Billy Hogan, those above Klopp are amongst the best at what they do and have helped to put the structures in place to allow us to succeed. In spite of what the anti-FSG crew might insinuate, it has never been about penny-pinching or refusing to spend money, but instead about spending the right money. Virgil van Dijk, Alisson Becker and Dominik Szoboszlai are all proof that the club will spend on the best players around, which is what it also going to happen with Florian Wirtz. If it hadn’t been for the presence of a club with 130 charges up against it, we would have been the dominant force in the Premier League over the past decade precisely because of the players Fenway Sports Group have bought and the systems put in place by the ownership to allow us to thrive and succeed.
They’ve Made Mistakes…But Learnt From Them
No one would even begin to claim that FSG are perfect, least of all the owners themselves. John Henry has had to make far too many public apologies for anyone to claim that the owners have been flawless since they arrived at Anfield. The truth, though, is that even when they have made mistakes they have learnt from them. The European Super League was an unmitigated error, as we all know, but if it had gone ahead and succeeded without Liverpool being part of it, the same people criticising them for their involvement would also have been asking why we weren’t in the conversation. With the benefit of hindsight, it is entirely possible that they regret giving Klopp quite as much power as they did. The German was a force of nature, but he became so important to the Reds that some of the decisions made over the past couple of years might have been ones that weren’t for the overall benefit of the club and that they may not have made if they had their time again.
If that Trent fee is true (£10m) that’s tremendous from Richard Hughes #LFC
— Lewis Jones (@lewisjones.bsky.social) 29 May 2025 at 23:58
I think that is why Arne Slot was announced as our new ‘head coach’ rather than manager, explicitly admitting that his role would be in tactics and training more than worrying about things behind-the-scenes. The return of Michael Edwards to the overall Fenway Sports Group structure is something that will delight everyone concerned, but it’s also worth pointing out that Richard Hughes is doing a brilliant job in identifying targets and getting them over the line. Even the appointment of Jörg Schmadtke, which was seen as something of a joke at the time, proved to be a sold one, revamping our midfield with the lads who impress there now. We have coped with the departure of Jürgen Klopp in a seamless manner, not in spite of the ownership but because of the structures that they put in place. Everyone always wants more money to be spent, but success isn’t always about throwing the cash around (see Man United for details), but throwing it where it’s needed.
