Liverpool got it right in the end... now it's time to move on
ROBBIE FOWLER COLUMN: The Reds initially announced their intentions to furlough a number of their staff but went back on their decision following heavy criticism
Former England striker and the man Liverpool fans christened "God", Robbie is a Mirror columnist providing weekly takes into football's biggest talking points
Liverpool got to the right decision on how to treat their non-playing staff... eventually.
But, while there is merit in arguing that the Fenway Sports Group should not have put themselves into such an invidious position in the first place, it is also important to recognise that they acted swiftly to put it right.
Everyone loves to play the blame game and one-upmanship has become a way of life.
But I hope people realise that there is no handbook to turn to during this kind of crisis.
There is no one at any football club in the world able to call on experience of how to deal with an issue that affects both health, mental and economic well-being.
Liverpool should have been aware that the furlough and job retention measures were designed to help small firms come through the crisis.
They weren’t designed to enable a Premier League football club with an annual turnover of more than £500million and profits of £42m to weather a financial storm.
So I’m not going to pat my former club on the back for something that should have come naturally. But neither am I going to keep using the mistake as a stick to beat them with.
I know some will say I am bound to take this stance because I am an ex-Liverpool player.
But we all have dirt on our shoes. The key is wiping your feet before you enter the front door.
Liverpool’s owners got some mud on the carpet – but at least they have made a start in cleaning up the mess.
Blackpool's barmy offer
As pressure grows on footballers to take a pay-cut, I was reminded of when a Football League chairman made me an offer I could refuse to help him land a £100million Premier League windfall.
Blackpool’s former owner Karl Oyston asked me to accept the princely sum of £100 a week when Ian Holloway wanted me to join his promotion push in the Championship back in 2012.
So, as I contemplate the situation that players currently find themselves in after being asked to slash their wages during the coronavirus crisis, I know from my own experience that these things are never black-and-white decisions.
The PFA has every right to be suspicious about whether some clubs may be trying to use the financial fallout of the Covid-19 lockdown to save on the wage bill.
Owners and chairmen should have nothing to lose from letting the union take a look at their books.
It was just over eight years ago that I spoke to Oyston about having a swansong beside the sea.
Holloway wanted to give his squad a lift during the run-in as he plotted an instant return to the Premier League.
Mirror journalist Simon Mullock did the introductions.
I was 36, but was in pretty good nick physically. I had just ended a spell as player-manager in Thailand, and a proposed move to the Indian PLS had fallen through.
components.molecules.ReadMore: Philippe Coutinho's agent provides update on star's future amid Chelsea interestOllie told me he was looking for someone who could play a cameo role, weigh in with the odd goal and, most importantly, give the rest of his squad a lift with their experience and knowledge of the game.
I was his man.
Ollie knew exactly what he was getting on the first day I turned up for training.
Striker Gary Taylor-Fletcher, a Liverpool fan as a kid, tweeted, “Training with God”.
And Ollie himself said it was the first time he had ever asked a trialist for an autograph.
He wanted to sign me – but he also warned me that his chairman might be a bit slippery when it came to negotiating personal terms.
Ollie wasn’t wrong.
When Oyston made his opening gambit of giving me the bare minimum allowed by the players’ union, I thought it was a joke.
He tried to sweeten the deal by offering me a decent bonus – but it was only payable on a pro-rata basis.
As Ollie had told me I would be used sparingly, there was a good chance that some weeks I would only have a hundred quid in my pay packet.
I was still tempted. I wanted to play football.
But my mind was made up after I told Oyston that the basic wage on offer wouldn’t be enough to pay for my weekly petrol bill to travel to training.
“Get a smaller car,” he said.
Not a hint of humour or suggestion that he was open to negotiation.
You can guess what my answer was by the fact that I never got to wear the famous tangerine shirt.
Oyston’s pay-off came in May when Blackpool reached the 2012 play-off final at Wembley.
Mirror Football's Top Stories
Ollie’s team were the better side against West Ham – but lost in extra-time after missing a few chances that yours truly would have fancied himself to convert.
So Blackpool missed out on another £100m promotion.
And the Oyston family didn’t get another opportunity to use one of the game’s great old names as their own personal cash cow.
They were finally booted out of Bloomfield Road by a High Court judge last year.