Reds dreaming of titles again
The takeover by Fenway Sports Group (FSG) in October 2010 had rescued the club from the difficult reign of Tom Hicks and George Gillett but the new US owners had not had any time to make an impact off the field.
On it the Reds were struggling under Roy Hodgson as, having already dropped into the bottom three once, they had just 12 points from 10 matches and were 16th in the league.