Brendan Rodgers has decided against a remarkable return to Liverpool for Michael Owen despite a striker shortage that prompted John W Henry, the club's principal owner, to write an open letter to supporters that appears to condemn the manager's pursuit of Clint Dempsey.

Liverpool's manager and owners are at odds over the failure to sign a replacement for Andy Carroll on transfer deadline day and Rodgers has considered the virtues of signing Owen, and other free agents, as back-up to Luis Suárez and Fabio Borini, his only first team strikers until the window reopens in January. However, it is understood Owen's age – 32 – fitness record and lack of regular football during three seasons with Manchester United have discouraged the Liverpool manager.

Rodgers would rather promote a youngster from within the club's academy as cover for the next four months, despite the risks and pressure upon himself after Liverpool's worst start to a season since 1962, than take what he considers a retrograde step in signing a player who left Anfield eight years ago.

The manager's stance coincided with Henry taking the unusual move of defending Fenway Sports Group's transfer dealings in an open letter to supporters. Henry and Liverpool's chairman, Tom Werner, have faced the most hostile criticism of their near-two year reign since failing to sign a striker on Friday. Rodgers had hoped to replace Carroll with Dempsey but FSG would not offer above £4m for the 29-year-old, who ultimately joined Tottenham Hotspur for £6m.

Fulham claim Liverpool offered only £3m for the USA attacker while a deal for Daniel Sturridge collapsed due to the striker's insistence on a permanent transfer. The Liverpool manager, who has claimed finances were a factor in Carroll's departure, wanted a loan move before committing to a permanent deal for the Chelsea striker. "Spending is not merely about buying talent," Henry wrote. "Our ambitions do not lie in cementing a mid-table place with expensive, short-term quick fixes that will only contribute for a couple of years."

That comment reflects the rift that has developed between Liverpool's owner and manager in recent days, though Henry describes Rodgers as a "talented young manager and we have valued highly his judgment about the make-up of the squad". The former Swansea City manager was granted control of all football matters upon his arrival at Anfield in June, having resisted FSG's attempts to install a sporting director such as Louis van Gaal before accepting the job, and has found his judgment undermined on Dempsey.

Having spent almost £30m on new players this summer, albeit with almost £10m recouped in sales and loan fees and with the Liverpool wage bill slashed under Rodgers, Henry defended FSG's overall work in the window. He said: "I am as disappointed as anyone connected with Liverpool Football Club that we were unable to add further to our strike force in this summer transfer window, but that was not through any lack of desire or effort on the part of all of those involved. They pushed hard in the final days of the transfer window on a number of forward targets and it is unfortunate that on this occasion we were unable to conclude acceptable deals to bring those targets in. …

"But a summer window which brought in three young, but significantly talented starters in Joe Allen, Nuri Sahin and Fabio Borini as well as two exciting young potential stars of the future – Samed Yesil and Oussama Assaidi – could hardly be deemed a failure as we build for the future. Nor should anyone minimise the importance of keeping our best players during this window. We successfully retained Daniel Agger, Martin Skrtel and Luis Suárez."

Henry reiterated claims that FSG are still dealing with the fallout from the near-ruinous Liverpool ownership of Tom Hicks and George Gillett. Joe Cole, handed a £100,000-a-week contract by the former Liverpool managing director Christian Purslow, remains on the club's books, for example. But he accepts that FSG has itself erred in the transfer market, sanctioning a £120m outlay on new players under the former manager Kenny Dalglish and the ex-director of football Damien Comolli only to sack Dalglish after one full season in charge.

"We are still in the process of reversing the errors of previous regimes," he adds. "It will not happen overnight. It has been compounded by our own mistakes in a difficult first two years of ownership. It has been a harsh education, but make no mistake, the club is healthier today than when we took over."