FSG risk 'FAN RIOT' over lack of big signings as pressure MOUNTS

Liverpool Football Club is just one of the assets owned by Fenway Sports Group.

They also own the Boston Red Sox, an American baseball franchise. Initially, things went well for the Red Sox under FSG. Things haven't been quite as fruitful over recent years though, and there are some parallels between how they run the baseball team and how they're running the Reds.

To get a better insight into this, and what Liverpool fans might be able to expect over the next few years, we spoke to the Boston Strong account. Their answers gave us an illuminating insight as to how FSG is viewed by Red Sox fans:

AW: Bill Koch once said the Red Sox have been transformed into underdogs by an owner content with a midtier payroll and a chief baseball officer who is risk averse. And that John Henry and Chaim Bloom are making this team smaller. Does this statement still hold up?

BS: I don’t agree with the full statement. Yes, JH has forced general managers to salary mandates and certain limitations but Chaim Bloom overall did a splendid job with trade acquisitions and some signings, he wasn’t perfect but he clearly made the team better and put them in their current position with youth talent.

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Just how seismic was the decision to trade Mookie Betts? And for those unaware, can you explain exactly what happened with him?

The Mookie situation is a weird one, I’m a true believer that if the Red Sox don’t trade him, he would have signed with another team in the offseason. Yes, he has said multiple times that he wanted to stay in Boston but he ended up extending with the Dodgers with something similar to what the Red Sox once offered. The return we got from Mookie is what everybody is upset about and I would agree that at the time maybe it looked good but at the end it wasn’t great. Jeter Downs was a letdown, Alex Verdugo had his moments but also was a bit of a trouble maker and Connor Wong is the one that maybe saved the trade a bit but he also has struggled plus his defense besides his arm, isn’t great. So overall, the Mookie trade was and will be a nightmare for the organization, specially with what he has done after.

No time for Shotime?

Was it disappointing to not be in the mix to sign Shohei Ohtani when he was on the move?

I mean, Ohtani was a dream for everybody but deep down we all knew that he wasn’t going to sign with us. Money talks and the Dodgers aren’t afraid of it but he was meant to be a Dodger. Love Ohtani and having him in Boston would have been amazing but at the end, some players aren’t meant to be in your team.

How have FSG handled the free agency side of things over recent years? Are they looking to leverage that market and youth prospects as opposed to investing in names?

This has been a subject that JH and FSG have handled terribly. The Red Sox do have a high payroll but they’re always very careful with that they spend unlike the good old days that spending wasn’t an issue. FSG keeps getting bigger and stronger but their investments with the Red Sox don’t. Every offseason is the same thing, we sign veterans that aren’t expensive and make one “expensive” move if you can call it that and hope for the best. We never get the big name, we are always involved and that’s why everybody calls us “the interest kings”. This offseason tho, it looks like they’re ready to spend and trade youth to get top tier players, in my opinion, they had to do it or the fans would riot. Ratings and fan attendance continue to be low so they’re feeling the pressure. Red Sox fans want to win and they want to win now, we’re tired of finishing last or close to it, we want to compete with the top teams and we need elite players in the organization plus the youth movement mixed in.

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