THERE is no club in England, maybe even in Europe, steeped in the notion of community as deeply as Liverpool. It’s in the famous slogan painted gold at the top of the Shankly Gates outside Anfield – ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone.’ This is an institution that, at least according to its unwritten constitution, looks after its own.
Evidence of this ideology was desperately lacking, however, in last week’s announcement that Liverpool would be using government support to place its non-playing staff on furlough due to the ongoing coronavirus lockdown. The decision prompted outrage from across the sport and wider society. Understandably so.
It was just two months ago that Liverpool announced pre tax profits of £42 million and increased revenue of £533 million for 2018/19. That they would seek the help of the taxpayer to pay cleaners and security staff and the rest of the low paid workforce that keep the club running away from the limelight was in direct violation of the values that supposedly underpin Liverpool as an institution.
A U-turn was made on Monday evening as the club’s owners, Fenway Sports Group, admitted a mistake had been made. But there can be no reversing what was revealed about the true nature of those in control at Anfield. The idea of Liverpool as a community club in an otherwise ruthlessly capitalist arena has lost all credibility. What’s more, that a U-turn was so quickly made all but exposes that government support was never needed in the first place.
This isn’t meant to upset or antagonise Liverpool supporters. A distinction must be made between FSG and the club itself. They may control the shares to call themselves owners, but they can never own the values and principles that were instilled in Liverpool over decades, generations even. Fans must play a role in holding their club’s owners to account, just as Liverpool’s fans did in forcing their club to overturn their original furlough decision.
Supporters could do with being a bit more savvy, though, when it comes to the way they are often manipulated. Plenty Liverpool fans, for instance, bought into the marketing campaign ran by club kit manufacturers New Balance which perpetuated the idea that to supporters of the Anfield side ‘This Means More,’ once again playing on a sense of community and idealism. Now, in light of the past week’s events, the idea has no basis. It never did.
Liverpool spent £43.8m on agents' fees between February 2018 and January 2019 – that figure would keep around 500 staff on full pay for almost 10 months. Premier League clubs using furlough is morally repugnant. UEFA have also relaxed FFP to allow clubs to survive this period.
— Chris Williams (@Chris78Williams) April 4, 2020
Fans across the country are guilty of being too easily weaponised. Some Manchester City supporters, to give another example, have been indoctrinated by the Abu Dhabi ownership group widely accused of ‘sports-washing’ to improve their global image when they should instead be scrutinising what their true intent is with their club. Manchester United fans haven’t done nearly enough to question the stewardship of the Glazers either.
At a time like this it would be comforting to see football clubs as community assets in the way they were intended, but instead this crisis has, in many cases, revealed how the modern game has changed them. How community is only a considered when it so happens to align with what benefits the bottom line.
Even in the case of those clubs who have refused to furlough staff, has such action been taken out of a sense of brotherhood or the opportunity to score an easy PR win? The commercialism of the Premier League era has seen all intentions, whether they seem good or otherwise, warped to the point that cynicism must be applied at all times.
FSG may have reversed their stance, but others have yet to follow. Tottenham Hotspur have shown no desire to do the same having utilised the government’s furlough retention scheme despite handing chairman Daniel Levy a bonus of £3 million for the construction of the club’s new stadium. Bournemouth, Brighton and Newcastle United have done similar. Rather than bringing the best out of football clubs, the current situation is bringing the worst out of many.
