Jordan Henderson gives Liverpool and FSG verdict as deal to close’in

Jordan Henderson gives Liverpool and FSG verdict as deal to close’in

weeks’amid NASCAR hope
Former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson made headlines for the wrong reasons this week. Giving his first major interview since moving to Saudi Arabia, his responses to some challenging questions were met with huge criticism.

It’s well worth giving the excellent full interview from The Athletic a read. And while they had him, the outlet also quizzed Henderson on FSG, getting the perspective of the player who has enjoyed the longest stint at Liverpool under the Americans’ tenure.

As ever, though, FSG is juggling plenty of balls at the minute, with Liverpool only one of the considerations. The closure of the transfer window will have brought with it a modicum of relief, perhaps allowing focus to temporarily shift elsewhere.

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In NASCAR, for instance, the post-season has begun, with both drivers from FSG’s part-owned team making it into the playoffs. Incredibly, one of those is John Henry’s co-owner at RFK Racing — he and his teammate will have eyes on making it to the Championship race in eight weeks’ time.

Meanwhile, the Boston Red Sox continues to post wins and losses in almost exactly equal measure, a record that currently looks as though it will be insufficient to make the playoffs. As for the Pittsburgh Penguins, it is approaching the start of the new season — and presumably with that in mind, FSG is closing in on an interesting new deal.

Here’s everything you might have missed from the world of FSG over the past seven days.

Jordan Henderson praises FSG

It was far from the most impactful part of his interview. Even so, it’s well worth reading Henderson’s comments to The Athletic on FSG.

The Americans bought Liverpool in October 2010. Less than a year later, in its first summer transfer window, it brought Henderson to the club. So the former captain has seen far more of the FSG era than anyone else in terms of the playing staff.

No longer under contract at Liverpool, he nonetheless remained full of praise for FSG:

“Honestly, I can only have positive things to say about the ownership.

“They’ve been so good. It’s plain for everybody to see. When they came in and took the club over to where it is now and what they’ve achieved in that time — pretty much the same length of time as I’ve been there — has been remarkable, really.

“And to be honest, I always felt as though they had the best interests of the club at heart. They never take any money out of the club. They invest it all back in the club — whether that’s with the stadium, training ground, players.”

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Liverpool.com says: Henderson certainly strikes a more convincing chord here than he does on the reasons for his move to Saudi Arabia. At the very least, these remarks do not fall down under the slightest bit of scrutiny.

In fact, it is hard to argue with much of what he says. Liverpool has become champion of everything under FSG, and that’s from a pretty bleak starting point.

That being said, there are still valid questions over whether the FSG model remains fit for purpose as the footballing landscape evolves. Ideally, the solution would be altering the sport’s unsettling broader direction of travel — but as Henderson’s own move to Saudi Arabia helps to demonstrate, that ship may already have sailed.

John Henry’s co-owner still in NASCAR running

FSG is majority owner at Liverpool, the Boston Red Sox and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Its stake in Roush-Fenway-Keselowski (RFK) Racing is slightly smaller, so it sometimes gets overlooked, but it is still a significant part of the FSG portfolio.

It’s also a pretty interesting one. As in other sports, FSG’s team has shown no fear of innovating, with Brad Keselowski joining as a driver as well as a co-owner. Unlike John Henry, he boasts significant pedigree in the sport, having previously won the NASCAR Cup.

So far this season, he’s actually been somewhat outshone by co-driver Chris Buescher. But both have done well, with FSG successfully guiding both of its cars to the playoffs.

The field will now be cut from 16 to four, in increments of four. After one postseason race, both FSG drivers remain above the next cut-off — with Buescher currently on track to make the Championship race. Interestingly, Keselowski is the only remaining driver in the top 12 with no race wins to his name this season.

Liverpool.com says: Things were looking a little rocky across the board at FSG for a while. Liverpool had a horrible time of it last season, missing out on the Champions League, while the Red Sox and Penguins both missed the playoffs.

But this NASCAR success comes straight out of the classic FSG playbook. With only two drivers, RFK Racing is not one of the biggest sides, but it has used its resources wisely to compete at the top end. The hope will be at least one of Buescher and Keselowski can make the Championship race in early November.

FSG to close deal ‘within weeks’

On top of its portfolio of sports teams, FSG also has media interests. Significantly, it owns 80 per cent of the New England Sports Network (NESN), where it provides coverage and broadcasts of Red Sox games.

Seeking a similar arrangement with the Pittsburgh Penguins, FSG is now expected to take over AT&T SportsNet. That’s per the Sports Business Journal (via CBS).

The channel is responsible for broadcasting Penguins games, while it also shows the Pittsburgh Pirates’ MLB games. A deal is expected to close ‘in the next several weeks’, although it’s ‘unclear’ what will happen to Pirates coverage — at NESN, the owners of the Boston Bruins own the other 20 per cent of the network.

Liverpool.com says: This deal makes plenty of sense. It’s also bound to inspire some envy in UK-based Liverpool fans.

Due to the nature of Premier League broadcast rights, as well as the 3PM ‘blackout’ rule, the UK draws the short straw, as one of the only markets where supporters cannot watch every match their team plays. If FSG completes the deal for AT&T SportsNet, it will be able to show all Penguins games, as it does already with the Red Sox — quite frankly a much better setup.

This would also mark another acquisition for FSG. The organization has recently declared it remains in ‘growth mode’.