New Hope Or Another Catastrophe: The Drama In The Anfield Boardroom

Last Sunday was the nadir for Liverpool FC.  Another demonstration by the Spirit of Shankly group at the club’s hated American owners was followed by another performance that lacked spirit and passion on the pitch.  The Reds dismal 2-1 defeat to Premiership new boys Blackpool at Anfield has left Roy Hodgson’s side in the bottom three, with a meagre total of six points from seven games.  Already twelve points behind leaders Chelsea, with less than a fifth of the season gone; there has even been talk of Liverpool being relegated, which is almost unthinkable.  Defeat in next Sunday’s Merseyside derby at Goodison will probably cost Hodgson his job.

However, it is the drama upstairs in the Anfield boardroom which is causing the biggest unrest of all.  The reluctance to sell from disgraced American owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks has threatened to take Liverpool to the brink of annihilation.  Debts of over £200million, failed promises over a new stadium and a lack of transfer funds to strengthen the side have paralysed the club in the last eighteen months, with the latest humiliation, being dumped out on penalties by lowly Northampton Town in the Carling Cup.

Hicks and Gillett bought Liverpool for £218million in February 2007 from former chairman, David Moores.  They made grand promises to the fans, including the creation of a new 60,000 capacity stadium on Stanley Park, which simply never looked like materialising.  Liverpool’s current debt stands at £237.4million, the sort of figure that caused the downfall of Leeds United from Champions League semi-finalists to Premiership relegation in three short years (2001-2004).  Liverpool’s main creditor, RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland) has given the club several extensions to pay off the debt, but has set a final deadline for next Friday; otherwise the club may end up with a nine point deduction from the Premier League for entering administration.  Several takeover bids have been rejected since Hicks and Gillett put the club up for sale in April this year, including strong investment bids from the Hong Kong government and the Middle East.  On Tuesday night, a deal was agreed by New Sport Ventures to buy the club for £300million, though that is well short of the overpriced £600million price that Hicks & Gillett have placed on the club.  Gillett and Hicks are thought to be considering legal options.

So, what do we know about New Sport Ventures, which is another American owned company.  Consequently, the fans reluctance can be seen well and truly.  It owns baseball team the Boston Red Sox and a high-profile NASCAR racing team.  The company was formed by John Henry in 2001 and today, is worth £943million pounds.  Henry is still on the NSV board, so he would become the new chairman.  Although he wouldn’t have the spending power to match the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City, his wealth would bring the chance to make Liverpool some form of a player in a transfer market and more importantly, it would clear the damaging debt. 

As a Liverpool fan, the whole saga has turned into a desperate mess and has left me worrying about the short-term future, never mind the long-term proposals.  This is set to run on and on, so despite the news of a new owner, the future remains well and truly a dark place on the red side of Merseyside.

2009 - The Year In Review (Part 1)

This was first posted on January 20th at http://happydude88.livejournal.com

                    

2009 was a year full of drama and tragedy, sadness and controversy, dreams fulfilled and shattered. Star icons passed on, cheating dominated sport and politics was gripped by its worst scandal ever.

January saw history made as Barack Obama became president of the United States, fulfilling a dream of Martin Luther King over 40 years ago. Over 2million flocked to California for the inauguration. After eight years of torture under the Bush administration, the US once again was seen as a country that could change the world for the better. Back home, Woolworths – one of the well-loved chains shut at the start of 2009. Entertainment chain Zaavi and clothing giant USC also went bust.

February bought some the worst snow seen in the UK in fifteen years. In typical British fashion, everything came to a standstill. The transport network shutdown and hundreds of thousands of school shut. At the Oscars, Slumdog Millionaire, directed by Brit Danny Boyle stormed the show, winning eight Oscars. Back home, former Grange Hill actor Todd Carty won thousands of fans for his skating inability on ITV’s Dancing on Ice. RBS announced their biggest loss of £24.1billion in February. Once again, the government bailed out a bank in trouble, with our money! Later, it was revealed that greedy banker and former chief executive of RBS, Sir Fred Goodwin would earn a massive pension for the rest of his life. After public pressure, he stepped down and following attacks on his home, handed most of his pension back.

As spring arrived, Jade Goody’s lengthy battle with cancer came to a brave and gusty end. The former Big Brother star, who got married infront of the cameras passed away on Mother ’s Day. March also saw the announcement of Michael Jackson’s final concerts at the 02 Arena in London in the summer. ‘This is it, it is the final curtain call’ were words that came back to hit him and us later in 2009. Tickets sold out for the July concerts in record-breaking time. Peter Mandelson was pelted with green custard by a protestor, something that was silly, but pleasing to watch! Home Secretary Jacqui Smith came under severe pressure when revelations came out that her husband had claimed on expenses for adult movies. Her husband apologised, but it failed to save Smith, who was forced to step down.

                    

April was the month the world was introduced to 47-year old Susan Boyle. Susan’s incredible ‘I Dreamed a Dream’ audition on ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent became the most popular video with over 300million hits on YouTube and turned her from a complete unknown, into an overnight global superstar. The Obamas headed for their first visit to London, with Barack stopping off for the controversial G20 summit at Docklands. Many angry protestors clashed violently with police and their strong-arm tactics were heavily called into question by the general public. Ian Tomlinson, on his way home from work was tragically a victim of the heavy-hitting police tactics. On the other side of the world, Madonna went over to Malawi in her attempts to adopt another child. Reservations were made by many people, but the singer got her way on an appeal, mainly due to donating a lot of money to a Malawian charity.

The original I’m A Celebrity lovebirds, Peter Andre and Jordan announced the end of their fairytale marriage in May. After months of speculation and insults, the pair went onto a quickie divorce. Peter has come out a winner and Jordan as a hate figure with the public, who quickly became bored with the party antics again. TV couple Richard & Judy also ended their tenure as a double act after their chatshow failure on digital TV station Watch! It was a miserable month for Mexico, as its tourist industry was wiped out by a new flu pandemic that had everyone panicking again. ‘Swine Flu’ became an immediate concern and a new fear in our everyday lives. In sport, Manchester United wrapped up another Premiership crown, equalling Liverpool’s long-standing record of 18 league titles.

The biggest political scandal in history came out in the summer as the Daily Telegraph went on a relentless campaign of naming and shaming MP’s for their Expenses. It was shameful, deceitful, very damaging and made the bankers look like gods. Several MP’s resigned and many others lost a load of creditability. Gordon Brown survived a petition by his own party, but for how much longer will he remain as our dopey Prime Minister.

In June, the world was stunned into complete shock by the tragic death of the ‘King of Pop,’ Michael Jackson. MJ was pronounced dead after a heart attack at his home in Los Angeles. The public emotion across the globe was felt everywhere. An outpouring of emotion saw many of his classic singles go back to the top of the charts and an emotional memorial in the States was watched by millions around the planet. At Wimbledon, Andy Murray lifted our spirits as we started to believe that he might go all the way at SW19. American Andy Roddick dumped him out in the semi-finals to leave British hopes dashed for the umpteenth time. Swiss star Roger Federer went on to an emotional triumph, beating Roddick in an epic five-set final to break Pete Sampras long-standing record of fifteen Grand Slam titles. This was with the great Sampras in attendance too.