(re-posted here from the Sturridge thread)
Liverpool are a historic club. They have genuine passionate fans, and are known globally.
But they are a fading light, and unless they do something to turn it around, the new generation of (world) fans won't know (or care) who they are.
Some on here think we are suddenly a big club again. The truth is we are not there yet. The good thing is that we have everything in place to get there. Bringing money into a club can get instant results, but that is not enough. Look at Blackburn as a good example. Being a big club involves more than one element. The first thing you need to do is win something, then keep winning. This then tends to attract a bigger fan base, that means more income. Sometimes winning isn't enough though. It is how you win that can have more of an impact. Take Chelsea last season. Won the champions league (and the FA cup), yet nobody is talking about it. All talk is about the 1-6 derby, and the last day of the season. Balotelli is another case in point. Failing to reach his potential on the pitch, but an advertising dream. He is a global product reaching people who only know who City are because of him. This in turn makes us a bigger club. (rightly or wrongly)
Because City cannot just keep pumping money in, they have to be more realistic on how we conduct our business. The new training academy will take care of that. It will produce players for us, and money from those who we sell on. Because we will be getting the pick of the bunch, we will be guaranteeing future success. At some point in time, that success will translate into us being one of the most successful (hense biggest) clubs around.
I would also suggest the biggest club is the one attracting the best players. At one time, they were beating the door down to get into Liverpool and United, not anymore. We had to pay more to get the top players here (what else did we have to offer, the weather?!!!). But that is changing, as top players can see the direction we are going. We had to offer the big wages, but now we are offering the chance of success. One thing nobody can deny to be considered a big club is Champions league success. We can batter the English league all we want, but must crack this nut pretty sharpish!
Or you could just forget all of the above, and realise that the biggest club is the one winning at that moment in time. In that case who wins this year? Chelsea won the FA cup and Champions league, we only won the Charity Shield and the Premier league. I know which club is being talked about more....!
