'Sleeping giant' Liverpool have awoken under Jurgen Klopp, FSG - managing director

Published on: 29 August 2018

Following Manchester City's shock draw to Wolves, Liverpool fans and the Exploding Heads get a little carried away in crowning Liverpool champions after three games. Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp said he was happy for goalkeeper Loris Karius after he completed his loan move to Besiktas and hopes he can be successful in Turkey. Steve Nicol remains impressed with Liverpool's defensive composure, in a victory where the attack wasn't firing on all cylinders.

Liverpool managing director Billy Hogan has said that he believes a "sleeping giant" has awoken with the club's recent success on and off the pitch.

Liverpool's latest accounts showed the club's overall revenue had increased by £62 million to £364m, with significant improvements in commercial, media and matchday revenue.

The team, meanwhile, secured back-to-back top-four finishes in the Premier League and an appearance in the Champions League final, while Jurgen Klopp has utilised the club's improved financial muscle with the big-money signings of Virgil van Dijk, Alisson and Naby Keita.

"It's very different six years on," Hogan, who joined the club in May 2012 initially as chief commercial officer, told the Liverpool Echo. "We have moved the club forward quite a bit in that time. Clearly, from a commercial standpoint, which has been my area of responsibility, that's grown significantly.

"But more importantly and I think what everyone is most proud of is the strategy we've had since FSG [Fenway Sports Group] took ownership -- how we built the club in a sustainable way over the long-term to be successful on the pitch. That's ultimately what this is all about -- everyone here wants to win.

"I think we're starting to see the delivery of that strategy now in terms of the reinvestment on the pitch and the success we're seeing. We've also invested heavily off the pitch with the Main Stand, the new superstore at Anfield and the new training ground which is just about to start.

"Across the whole team of staff off the pitch there's a huge desire to return the club to where we believe it belongs at the top of world football.

"We can't do that by kicking a ball but we can do that by helping to drive the business forward.

"This is about making our fans proud of the club. Sitting here today, the club is in a tremendously positive place. The football is terrific, the team is playing great and we're all excited about the future.

"If you go back to when FSG first started looking at Liverpool as an opportunity, people were referring to the club as a sleeping giant. I think that's something that's been proven to be true."

Last week, Liverpool dismissed claims FSG were open to selling the club after the cousin of Manchester City owner Sheik Mansour reportedly failed in a £2 billion takeover attempt.

Boston-based FSG, however, continue to be open to the idea of selling a minority share of Liverpool under the right circumstances.

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Source: espn.co.uk

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