Liverpool not retuning on John Henry's Investments

A year ago today, with the ownership of the club just rescued from the financially crippled fingers of Gillette and Hicks, Liverpool was battling relegation with a mediocre Manager in Roy Hodgson and dispirited squad.


Fast forward to today with a new owner in John Henry, a legend in Kenny Dalglish as Manager and $120 million spent in transfer fees for new players. You will think that all is well. It is, except for a little this called ROI in business circles.


To calculate ROI, the benefit (return) of an investment is divided by the cost of the investment; the result is expressed as a percentage or a ratio.


Make no mistakes about it, running a Football club is a business and Dalglish and his players need to remember that. Lets take a quick look at the John's investments so far -

1. Luis Suarez - $22 Million. Current RO1 Projection - Positive. Verdict: Good Investment
2. Andy Carroll - $35 Million. Current ROI Projection - Negative. If he continues at the current pace, it will take 5 years to return on this investment. At that point injury and age depreciation can reverse his value to under $10 Million. If he plays more and scores more, 2-3 years on positive returns. Verdict: Too risky.
3. Stewart Downing - $20 Million. Current ROI Projection - Negative. In fairness he has played well, but he was bought at that amount to play excellent, not to play well. Verdict: Moderate Investment; could go either way 
4. Jordan Henderson - $20 Million. Current ROI Projection - Negative. Has shown promise, especially in the Man United game. In the long term he should be a good buy, but Liverpool owners and supporters are living for now.
5. Charlie Adam - $7 Million. Current ROI Projection - Neutral. His 'returns' and his cost are about even
6. Jose Enrique - $6 Million. Current RO1 Projection - Positive. Dalgish's best signing outside Suarez.
7. Criag Bellamy - FREE. Current RO1 Projection - Positive. When you don't spend money, it's always an upside. It does hurt that he scored in his first start so far
8. Sebastian Coates - $7 Million. Current ROI Projection - Negative. Due to inactivity
9. Doni (Goalkeeper) - $3-4 Million (estimated). Current ROI Projection - Negative. Due to inactivity

Overall verdict: Not good enough.

Dalglish and co. need to step up and meet the challenge of securing a top 4 finish in the league. John Henry has not been shy about pulling out the check book. Daglish and Steve Clark shouldn't be shy about rotating non-performing players to the bench.

Let's go Reds!!!