Henry breaking the bank ... in Liverpool

February 09, 2012|Eric Wilbur, Boston.com Staff, Globe Staff

We haven't heard too much about Liverpool Football Club this baseball offseason, mainly because the collapse of John Henry's stateside team didn't really seem to lend itself to relentless promotion for his football club across the pond. Even Fenway Sports Group - of all people - had to understand that.

Besides, Henry himself told us all not to worry about Liverpool draining funds from the Red Sox, because that's not how Fenway Sports Group works. Well, what a relief.

Of course, the Red Sox followed up the worst collapse in baseball history by signing Nick Punto and Friends, which has some fans in a "Steady...let's see where they're going with this" approach. Then, all of a sudden, spring training begins next week, and everyone is left just sort of scratching their heads. That was it, huh? But anyway, welcome back, Kelly Shoppach.

Which all makes Jon Heyman's post today over at CBSSports.com all the more interesting because, see, Henry hasn't been unwilling to spend money after all. He's just spending it overseas.

Heyman writes:

Boston's total outlay of cash was less than $10 million (not counting Valentine). Henry hasn't explained the sudden frugality. But here's one guess: He overpspent (sic) on soccer.
Henry's outlay of loot for his Liverpool soccer team was $179 million this year, or about 20 times what he spent on the Red Sox. Forward Andy Carroll got 35 million pounds ($54.7 million), forward Luis Suarez got 23 million pounds ($35.9 million), midfielder Stewart Downing 20 million pounds ($31.2 million), midfielder Jordan Henderson 16 million pounds ($25 million), midfielder Charlie Adam 7.5 million pounds ($11.7 million), defenseman Sebastian Coates seven million pounds ($10.9 million) and defenseman Jose Enrique got 6.3 million pounds ($9.8 million).
That's all great for Liverpoool.
Now, can any of them pitch or play shortstop?

So, when will the soccer team start affecting the bottom line in Boston, just as we feared it might over a year ago, only to be assured by Henry that such a thought was " nonsense?" You tell me.