Frugal Liverpool’s WSL toils under FSG are testing supporters’ patience | Tom Garry

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Frugal Liverpool’s WSL toils under FSG are testing supporters’ patience | Tom Garry
Author: Tom Garry
Published: Dec, 19 2024 20:00

Injuries have hit and FSG have given their women’s team plenty of thought but Matt Beard’s side need strengthening. There will be many admirers of the frugal spending philosophy of Liverpool’s owner, Fenway Sports Group, especially with the men’s team top of the Premier League. For the club’s women’s team, however, languishing 19 points behind the leaders, Chelsea, as the Women’s Super League approaches the season’s halfway stage, is it time for FSG to rethink that model and inject more money to avoid falling further behind?.

 [Matt Beard (far left) speaks to his players following the loss against Arsenal]
Image Credit: the Guardian [Matt Beard (far left) speaks to his players following the loss against Arsenal]

Admittedly, Matt Beard’s side’s 2024-25 campaign has been hindered by an extensive injury list that includes key players such as Marie Höbinger and Sophie Román Haug and an inability to convert their chances in early draws against Leicester, West Ham and Crystal Palace. But they are now on a four-game losing league run without scoring and their supporters will be frustrated to lie significantly closer to the relegation zone than the European places.

The club finished fourth last season, their best finish for seven years, amid much-deserved acclaim, but as the summer approached there was never really a sense that Liverpool intended to propel themselves to challenge for the title or Women’s Champions League places with a spending spree. It would be wrong to suggest the club did not spend significantly – they smashed their transfer record in July to sign the Canada forward Olivia Smith for a fee understood to be about £210,000 – but, despite this, their budget remains markedly lower than the WSL’s top sides.

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