Friday, September 09, 2011

Liverpool Fans Accept Huge Financial Figures

Liverpool fans are the most accepting of the Barclays Premier League's massive wage and transfer bills, according to statistics gathered by GiveMeFootball.com.

Around three in every four football supporters believe that the amount of money being dealt at the top flight is stifling the English game.

But this compares to just one third of Liverpool fans, who answered “yes” to the question “Are transfer fees and player wages ruining competitive football?”

Reds' manager Kenny Dalglish spent over £50 million during this year's summer transfer window, a budget afforded to them by Fenway Sports Group, Liverpool's American owners.

Fans who were most concerned about the financial stranglehold at the top supported Everton and Tottenham, who finished seventh and fifth respectively last year.

Around 90% of fans from these top flight contenders thought that spending was a problem.

Everton have failed to make a single signing this year, and have instead sold top talents such as Mikel Arteta and Yakubu to cover debts of around £45 million. Two players arrived on loan deals.

Tottenham, meanwhile, managed to hold on to Croatian international Luka Modric despite big money offers from Chelsea and their multi-billionaire owner Roman Abramovich. But Harry Redknapp only managed to purchase one player this summer, West Ham's Scott Parker, who was signed on deadline day for around £5 million.

During the January transfer window Liverpool paid out £35 million for Newcastle's Andy Carroll – a record for an English player - but before Dalglish had reached the £50 million mark this summer, he excused the Anfield club's massive expenditure, which is believed to be well over £100 million.

He said: “We acted responsibly in that the club wasn't going to go bankrupt with the money we spent.

“And we acted responsibly in that we put a value on the players that we didn't want to go past. That is responsible.

“We have acted in our best interests, meaning the interests of John (W Henry), the supporters, the players, everyone at the club - we didn't pay over the odds for anybody.

“There's a lot of money in the Premier League and if we have to spend, then we will try to spend it as responsibly as we can.”

Only Manchester City and Chelsea spent more than Liverpool, with £70 million and £77 million bills respectively, but around 80% of fans from these clubs thought that spending was ruining competitive football.

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