The Red Yank Think Tank: Edition #9 – I Hate the Spring

The Red Yank Think Tank: Edition #9 – I Hate the Spring: "Hello LFC family! As I sit and “enjoy” the Scum Utd v Chelsky snooze-fest I had a revelation, an epiphany, if you will......I hate this ti..."

Edition #9 – I Hate the Spring

Hello LFC family!  As I sit and “enjoy” the Scum Utd v Chelsky snooze-fest I had a revelation, an epiphany, if you will......I hate this time of year!

The spring in Alabama can be beautiful with its constant sunshine and mildly warm temperatures.  We’ve all been in shorts and tee-shirts for weeks now.  The motorcycle has had hundreds of miles put on it already and the ladies are out in all their fine dresses and shorts and skirts and its beer-drinking weather six days a week, if one is so inclined. 

But I cannot help deny the feelings of remorse and depression for the football season is coming to an end, in so many senses.  Scum United look set to win their 19^th trophy, usurping our great club and that pains me to no end.  There is no footie to get me through the summer besides a few internationals and our “wonderful” Gold Cup on this side of the ocean.  The MLS will be in full swing soon, but the Premiership it is not. 

This off-season will be longer than so many others.  Unlike many of the previous years there is hope around the club.  The playing squad has improved drastically and is no longer a one or two “bullet” squad.  King Kenny is building a squad capable of threatening from multiple positions.  There is money to be spent and a director who has promised significant moves over the summer.  In the 16 years of my Liverpool fandom life we have been historically slow moving in the market.  Hearing that some 20+ moves are planned has me anxious to see what will transpire, especially given that we haven't moved very quickly in the past.

Adding to that anxiety is that initially the transfer news was sexy.  We were targeting all of these wonderful attacking players who could help our squad terrorize opposing defenses, but since those early rumors all of the promising players have moved further and further away from us.  Hazard is untouchable, Sanchez is bound for Real or the Scum, Gervinho has said he will only go to a Champions League bound club and Ashley Young moves closer to OT Hell every day.  What are left behind are attractive/solid defensive players; there’s nothing wrong with that but we’ve had solid defensive teams before.  I am too new of a Liverpool fan to remember the feared attacking sides of days prior to the Evans/Houllier regime.  I am READY to see an attacking side---NOW.

Then there is the ugly topic of having to wait through the summer, listening to Scum bandwagon fans talk about how we’ve been “knocked off our damn perch”.  This season of Missed Opportunities really hurts; there were so many chances for clubs like Chelsea and Arsenal to grab the title; it’s painful to watch such a sub-par side like this United side win their 19^th, knowing that we have to listen to their belligerence for months on-end.

So I’ll have to spend my summer months in the heat and sun, passing the time with okay-quality MLS games and hopefully surprising and promising news of new arrivals in our squad while ignoring the very existence of the Scum.

Ugh, I hate this time of year.

Until we meet again,

The Red Yank

The Red Yank Think Tank: Edition #8 – Europe Essential to the Brand

Here come the Reds! The Red Yank Think Tank: Edition #8 – Europe Essential to the Brand: "Liverpool has a proud history of being a “family” club. For most of our storied years we’ve prided ourselves in the fact that we had a str..."

The Red Yank Think Tank: Edition #8 – Europe Essential to the Brand

We are on the way back!!
The Red Yank Think Tank: Edition #8 – Europe Essential to the Brand: "Liverpool has a proud history of being a “family” club. For most of our storied years we’ve prided ourselves in the fact that we had a str..."

Edition #8 – Europe Essential to the Brand

Liverpool has a proud history of being a “family” club.  For most of our storied years we’ve prided ourselves in the fact that we had a stronger tie to the family aspect than most other clubs and, especially, our greatest rivals.  Not until the failed take-over by the scumbag pair of Hicks and Gillette did Liverpool have to truly face the fact that the game had changed, that family-run clubs were a thing of the past if a club meant to compete at the highest levels.  The subsequent sale of the club to FSG has reinforced that times have indeed changed and no longer can we hold onto that desire of returning to the small scale of being a family business.  It’s time to move on and grow into a commercial entity if we want to compete for Premiership glory ever again.  And that’s a fact.

Commercial success ensures financial success.  Financial success provides options to the ownership which wouldn’t otherwise be available.  Those options include player investment and, more importantly, stadium investment. 

But commercial success does not come without strategic thought.  As ugly a thought as this may be for some of my Red Brothers and Sisters, Liverpool is a product—that’s just the way of modern football in the global age.  Liverpool sits fourth in world-wide replica kit sales behind the two Spanish giants and Scum United.  This is promising.  The miracle in Istanbul further established, and even redefined the brand, some could argue.  Moments like that need to be capitalized on and, as many Reds know, we failed to do that as a club, further falling behind the Scum as a global entity.

But all is not lost, fortunately.  Liverpool is still one of the biggest clubs in the global market.  Through interests of our main sponsor we are already growing deeper roots in Asia and our presence there will likely only become stronger.  We are failing to reach other markets, namely in the Americas.  In terms of a truly dominant global brand, we fall short of the Real Madrid’s, Barcelona’s and Scum United’s of the world and we have to improve on that quickly.

The Financial Fair Play rules are coming into play.  Multiple factors will impact the relative health of the clubs and no longer will we be able to depend on the deep pockets of our owners to boost our fortunes.  The revenue created from other avenues is what will determine our financial power in the new-look game.  Critical to creating revenue streams is the product’s (in this case, the club’s) brand.  One of the simplest observations is that we simply have to have our club’s name in the spotlight.  We have to be repeatedly exposed to the customer base to remain in the forefront of their mind and we have to be there for new customers to find and be attracted to.  That means we have to be in as many competitions as possible, making this weekend’s loss by Spurs and our usurping them so vitally important.  Tell me you weren't happy to hit 5th place today?!

Even though the Europa League is shunned in some corners and mocked in others, it is a competition we simply have to be in if we fail to reach the Champions League.  It will add another six games, at a minimum, but hopefully more, to our schedule.  That equates not only to more opportunities for television coverage but it also means something much more simple—internet and newspaper game reports.  That means keeping the Liverpool name in circulation.  Repetition creates mind-share; mind-share creates a propensity for favoring the product’s ‘brandness’.  The objective then is for that capturing mind-share of as many old and new fans as possible.

Being in any European competition will help reach that objective, but taking those competitions seriously is just as critical.  With King Kenny in charge we have no concerns with that; he will take every competition seriously. 

Europe is our platform for a return to glory.  If it starts in the Europa League then so be it.  As long as we’re in front of the world’s eye we are on the right course.  With Kenny building a more attractive squad and style of play it will be easier for us to draw interest from the neutral or casual observer.  With players like Suarez and Lucas in the squad we have a doorway into South America and adding players of Asian pedigree (can you say Keisuke Honda, even if we can't spell it?) will definitely reinforce the brand image of an already-loved club in that part of the world.

We are there; right on the doorstep of returning to our historical glory and returning to the platform the likes of Scum United, Arsenal and Chelsea currently enjoy.  Then we can knock the Stupid Drunk Scott right off his damn perch!

Until we meet again,

The Red Yank