Liverpool Transfer News: FSG Reveal Surprise at Lack of Quality in 2010 Squad

Edward Weiss, the former general counsel for Liverpool's current owners, Fenway, has revealed FSG were shocked at the lack of quality the squad contained when the Reds were acquired in 2010.

Weiss made the admission at a hearing in the ongoing legal dispute between Mill Financial, the Royal Bank of Scotland and Liverpool's former owner George Gillett. The dispute started after Gillett and former co-owner Tom Hicks were unable to repay a £280 million loan, per MailOnline's Matt Maltby.

Per Maltby, Weiss highlighted former Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina and striker Fernando Torres as "probably beyond their primes":

"

Like trying to catch a knife falling off the table, you're not sure where before it's hit the ground you've caught it.

You know, I think we underestimated how poor the playing quality of the squad was, and frankly, we underestimated how difficult it was going to be to stabilise the asset.

We were overconfident in assuming that many of the things that we had done in Boston at Fenway would translate naturally to the Premier League and they just didn't all translate.

We obviously did some due diligence on the playing squad during this process before we closed on the transaction in the middle of October of 2010.

What we came to know was that the playing squad was poor.

While we had a few top players like Steven Gerrard, other players like Fernando Torres and Pepe Reina were probably beyond their primes, and Javier Mascherano was not even on the team.

"

He also admitted FSG attended just one match before the takeover took place, describing the contest as “less than thrilling.”

Liverpool is one of the biggest names in English football, but the club's recent history has been less than stellar, with the latest domestic title coming in 1990. Apart from a few runs in the FA Cup and League Cup, fans had little to celebrate before FSG took control of the team, save the magical UEFA Champions League win in 2005.

ANDREW YATES/Getty Images

The 2010 squad included some fantastic players, including Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and Dirk Kuyt, but overall, the lack of quality was glaring. Players like Milan Jovanovic and Ryan Babel failed to live up to the lofty expectations, and manager Roy Hodgson couldn't bring the group together.

Under the ownership of FSG, Liverpool signed the likes of Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho, who all played key roles in the 2013-14 Premier League season, which saw the Reds contend for the title until late in the campaign.

FSG have done more than just add quality to the squad, however. Per Rob Harris of the Associated Press, they've been chipping away at Liverpool's debt as well, stabilising the club financially in the process:

Chief executive Ian Ayre thinks it's further proof the American owners are committed to the project for the long run, per the Liverpool Echo's John Thompson:

"

It’s another great example of the commitment that the owners make to the club.

It’s effectively writing off that debt for the club and putting us in a healthier position.

They have continued to do that throughout as everybody has seen and at the same time as doing that they have put forward the first instalment, almost £50m, of additional money in for the first phase of the stadium.

It just continues to show their commitment, making those two gestures and at the same time reinvesting all of the profit from the sale of Luis Suarez.

"

With new manager Jurgen Klopp now pulling the strings at Anfield, more silverware is expected in the future, and the German will likely add to the squad during the summer transfer window, bringing in the type of players he likes to work with.

Ayre confirmed the club's ambition is to compete with the very best in England and Europe, including on a financial level, so fans can expect more investments in the squad in the near future.

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