G&H will leave? Well not yet, we’ll have to wait till next week. Where another battle begins in court, and here it will be decided, if Hicks wins, then the chances are he’ll stay on for some time. If he loses, then the chances are (and we’re talking 99 per cent here, woo hoo!), the REDs will be sold to the owners of the Boston Red Sox.
In between now and the court’s date, Mr Hicks must find at least 200 million to settle the RBS repayment loan by Oct 15. Hahaha and it looks like nobody is going to lend him that much of money. Chances are, the owners of the Boston Red Sox will be the new owners of Liverpool. And so, what does this means to us?
Well, to me John W Henry looks decent, from his looks i mean(I’m looking at his picture so to speak). He does not look anywhere conniving and scheming, like the two Hicks and Gillette clowns. From where i read, John here listens to the fans, well i hope he will listen to us too. (I’m digressing here)In 2002, the Red Sox were sold by Yawkey trustee and president Harrington to New England Sports Ventures, a consortium headed by principal owner John Henry. In 2004, the Red Sox won their 1st World series(1st time since 1918) and repeat it again in 2007. Well this sounds good to us, and he would want success fast. But of course, football and baseball are two different ball games, so this will be something new to him.
Back to my question: “What does this mean to me?”
It does not mean much to me now really, because in reality even if the sale goes through next week, Roy would not have money to spend until at least January. So we will have to struggle on, and we will live and die a RED by that. It is hard to imagine that after so much turmoil any new owners would want to create more by sacking the manager immediately, so Roy will probably be given more time. But in that time he will have to demonstrate that he is offering something. He could be given until X’mas perhaps(probably the best time to see what we are fighting for), to see where the club finds itself. If they are still in the bottom three, then he’ll be tying his own noose, because a relegation scrap can never be accepted at Anfield.
Which brings me to another question: What will this mean to the players?
It means, they have to take the blame when they are under performing
It means, they are responsible to play with PRIDE and PASSION for the FANs, for the MANAGER and for the CLUB
It means, they have to earn the right to play for that shirt
It means no more excuses, the directors, the owners, the managers aren’t the ones playing, its the 11 on the pitch that is doing their job…..
What can we do together?
“To work hard and have our supporters behind us and believing until the end, you run a little bit more”…Rafa
Win, Lose or Draw YNWA… and get that LARK singing again…
A draw for me, still not the out and out cash splasher of an owner that we need to win the premier league. IMO.
YNWA
I know it’s hard and terribly sad seeing the condition our beloved football club. However, I still waiting for The Reds resurrection. I believe that we can get the trophy again! I still hope that H&G will leave Liverpool and be replaced with the new owner. We need the new era :)
You’ll Never Walk Alone!
Very well said Rudie. I must admit, I am a bit worried about the sale – but its only natural for us to worry when considering the state that the club is in. I would have liked an oil sugar daddy to be honest; somebody who wants to spend money and not make it (sure enough, New England will want a profit at some point and I don’t blame them for that at all), but if they bring us success then I am happy with them to make all the money that they could ever dream of.
If Henry’s group buys the Reds, I think it will be a good thing overall. I lived in New England for several years and saw how his group handled the Red Sox: he was determined to have a competitive team at present, but he was also determined to build for the *future* by developing young talent. If he duplicates that mentality, our Reds will be in very good shape in both the short- and long-term. Hicks, conversely, has been poison for his franchises, both in the U.S. and England. Henry’s Red Sox have been competitive in what is unquestionably the toughest division in baseball, while Hicks’s Texas Rangers were mediocre in the weakest division (until he sold the club – they win the division and are in the playoffs now). Henry understands the importance of winning and he respects the traditions of clubs. The previous Red Sox owners wanted to tear down Fenway Park, the oldest park and one of the most beloved parks in baseball; he opted to rennovate it and it’s wonderful. I wouldn’t be surprised if he revamped Anfield similarly, and that would be fine by me.
I have been trying to digest as much as possible over the course of the day on what has been happening in the board room at Anfield.
Let’s deal with the facts. The board has voted to accept an offer from the NESV of c.£300m to purchase the club. The monies will be used to repay current creditors, the largest of which is RBS.
In an effort to prevent the board coming to this decision, G&H attempted to remove Purslow and Ayre from the board. This was not successful as under the terms of Broughton coming into the club, he had the articles and memorandum of association of both Liverpool Football Club and its immediate Holding Company amended, in order that Broughton, and only Broughton would be able to sanction any change of board directors.
The Board of Directors have been advised by Slaughter and May, probably the foremost corporate lawyers in the UK. Their advice to Broughton, Purslow and Ayre, would have been that they were acting legally. Slaughter’s don’t make mistakes of this magnitude and I consider it extremely likely that the court will rule in favour that the sale is legal.
NESV is best known for its ownership of the Boston Red Sox. They are owned by 17 wealthy individual and corporate investors, the most significant of whom are John Henry (wealth cUSD800m), Tom Werner (cUSD600m) and the New York Times (16.5%). It is not known if NESV took on any bank debt to fund the purchase of the Red Sox or if they will raise debt to acquire Liverpool. However, the Board of Liverpool have sought assurances that no debt will be leveraged on the Club or that the Club will become a guarantor for any debt. This would exclude pledging the shares in Liverpool to a third party for security related to debt, but this is broadly acceptable as it will not directly result in the Club owing any money.
Since becoming owners, BRS have won the World Series twice, ending an 80 odd year streak without winning baseballs premier prize. NESV have also increased the capacity of Fenway Park from 32,000 to 40,000. They did this by listening to the fans who were opposed to a new stadium and by being very creative in the way in which the stadium was expanded. Most significantly they have brought huge commercial contracts to the club with c.90 official commercial contracts ranging from USD100,000 per annum to USD1,000,000 per annum. This includes the ‘official airline’, ‘official beer’ etc. Commercially the Red Sox sit only behind the Yankees in terms of revenue generation, despite having one of the smallest stadiums in the league. No mean achievement.
They have invested in the playing squad, brought in a top coach and salary expenditure has grown enormously in order to retain and attract top talent. They have also had a big focus on youth development and scouting in order to develop raw talent.
As a Liverpool fan, man and boy, season ticket holder, growing up in the shadow of Anfield but now working in finance in London, and connected, in a business sense, to a number of players in this saga, I feel very passionately about what has been happening to the Club.
Firstly, as fans we should be recording our admiration and thanking Purslow, Broughton and Ayre. Purslow was always going to attract negative attention from the fans. He comes across as a bit of a spiv, is a multi millionaire financier and whilst I know he feels very strongly and passionately about the club, his manner and demeanour mean he would never have been able to relate to the hardcore fans. Despite this, and even though he was facing criticism from all quarters, Purslow has acted in the best interests of the club, actively acting against the interests of the shareholders (G&H). With Ian Ayre and Martin Broughton alongside him, they have reaped far more damage on G&H in both monetary and reputational terms than any other individual or group of individuals could have done. They should be lauded for what they have achieved not only for the above, but because as company directors with fiduciary duties, they have literally put their balls on the line for the club and delivered us from evil
Once the deal is complete, the Club will have no debt. Given that without servicing debt interest, the Club is able to generate decent profits from a strong trading business, there will be more money available to invest in the squad. The new owners are also likely to give the manager an initial transfer float for January.
I am interested to hear of the possibility of redeveloping Anfield rather than just focussing on building a new stadium. I have always thought that filling in the corners, taking the Kop back another 15 rows, redeveloping the Annie Road and extending the main stand, were all feasible options. This could take capacity to 55,00 to 60,000 and be far more cost effective. If we get to stay at Anfield, then I am sure that many fans would settle for this. It is intriguing to see how Fenway Park (BRS) was developed, they even put seats on the roof of one stand to add to the capacity.
Today I feel a mild sense of relief. The clouds of gloom over the ownership have lifted and a silver lining is on the horizon. We may never compete with Man City and a sheikhs millions, but a properly run club without debt can generate profits that will enable the club to compete effectively again. Now Gillett and Hicks are about to be consigned to history, we just need to worry to focus in the short term on a certain Mr Hodgson… Spirit of Shankly are you hearing me.?
In 2002, John Henry’s group bought the Boston Red Sox in early 2002, they inherited a club that had finished seventh out of fourteen teams in the American League the prior year. The team had been largely controlled by the Yawkey family for the previous sixty-nine years, and failed to win a single World Series since 1918. With an overhaul of the roster and a new manager and general manager in place, the Sox won the World Series in Henry’s third season as owner in 2004, and then again in 2007. In Henry’s nine seasons as owner, the Sox have made the playoffs six times.
As a fan, we don’t have much to complain about. Our team has gotten better, and Henry has only been outbid on good players that the club has pursued a few times. From what we can tell, he lets the baseball people make baseball decisions. There are a few irritating aspects to Henry’s ownership, but because of the on-field results, we put up with it.
When Henry took over, there was some speculation that the near-100 year old stadium, Fenway Park, would be replaced with a new stadium. Fenway has a relatively smaller capacity than newer ballparks, and architecture of the early twentieth century was not as spectator friendly as today’s stadiums. However, Henry’s group announced that they would not tear down Fenway, a move that was popular among the fans. Instead, Henry increased the capacity of the stadium by building more seats (on top of the existing roof, closer to the actual field, and on top of the famed “Green Monster”).
Henry’s group has also created a series revenue-increasing strategies. Our tickets are the second most expensive in all of baseball. The club has held off announcing already-made decisions to postpone games to keep the concession stands open. The team has pushed multi-game packages over season ticket packages, as multi-game package owners tend to buy more souvenirs and concessions. The club created “Red Sox Nation,” a pay-for-membership fan club for the team (which seems similar to Liverpool FC’s ALL RED club). It can be irritating, but it comes with the understanding that good players are expensive, and that means that the club will have to squeeze as much revenue out of its fan base to increase the quality of on-field play.
The bottom line is that Liverpool FC fans should be excited with the new ownership. Hicks and Gillett were not able to facilitate on-field success with their other clubs, so their failed Liverpool experiment, although tough for fans to accept, probably shouldn’t have been too much of a surprise. Henry understands that the some of the most profitable clubs are the ones that win. From a Red Sox fan across the pond, expect success in the future.
this is the first time i have visited this web site and having viewed the mr.hicks video ,i have to say that i am very impressed by it and the rancor and how much people who love liverpool football club have expressed their hate of what has happened to the club during hicks and gilletes tenure.i am born and bred in the city having made my first trip to anfield during the time when we where in the second division.liverpool football club is not just a way of life for the fans of the club ,it is passion and raw energy that we all want to convey to everybody who looks on us.for the past three years we have gone from being a very attractive football side to an almost laughing joke[for them down the road and at the end of e.lancs rd.] please do not let us descend even further down the slippery slope to oblivion[remember leeds]get hicks and gillete out of the club and let us get back on an even keel to again walk through the storm.