Liverpool US tour diary - Mike Gordon returns and Andoni Iraola means business but is FSG exit near?
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It's the same every season, and I particularly enjoy when it’s 1st of September, then, oh, yeah, this is where we are. Liverpool aren't equipped to push Arsenal and Manchester City for the Premier League title next term as things stand right now.At this level, the pre-season tours of the United States are as much a commercial venture as a training exercise, however, and that arm of the operation has been flourishing Stateside, most notably the unveiling of their new Adidas away kit in Brooklyn, New York, last week.The 10-year agreement with the German firm is worth £600m to Liverpool and their partnership appears to be going from strength to strength, even if the first-team squad were unable to take part in the Skylight at the Refinery event having been left grounded in Chicago due to storms on the East Coast that night.Liverpool took the decision to remain in Chicago for the entirety of their trip and fly into New York and Nashville for their games in the same way they would a European fixture, returning to base immediately after the match has finished.It was a move designed to maximise time on the training pitch for the players and while it was a blueprint that was drawn up before Iraola's appointment in early June, the head coach made the most of the time in Illinois.Double sessions were the order of the day at the Endeavour Performance Health Centre, to the west of the city, and the familiar theme emerging from the players spoken to was the intensity of the workouts designed by Iraola and his staff, particularly De la Torre, who was a visible and audible presence at open training on Friday."I think the intensity, what we need, it's here now," Dominik Szoboszlai told a press conference on Thursday.
"What we have been missing, it's back. So now we have to put this together with the quality of the players we have.""When we play some games with three or four teams he calls it ‘consequences’ and the losing team and the team that finishes second has to run," Milos Kerkez revealed in a chat at the team's hotel in the first week."How much you have to run depends on what he decides in that moment, but there is always running for the team that loses.
He’s intense and he likes details."Comparing this summer's fitness and preparatory work to last year's trip to Asia is unfair. Liverpool, according to Forbes, are currently valued at £4.6billion, meaning a 30% stake would roughly be worth around £1.38billion to FSG.“We have always said that if there is an investment partner that is right for Liverpool then we would pursue the opportunity to help ensure the club’s long-term financial resiliency and future growth," Gordon said when Dynasty came aboard three years ago.That soundbite is perhaps as relevant as ever as FSG look to evaluate their next move where Bhatia and his team are concerned.