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.

Liverpool Owners Ready To Sell - Has The Self-Destruct Button Already Been Pressed?

On Friday morning, Liverpool fans got the news that they really wanted, when it was confirmed in a joint statement by the unpopular American owners, George Gillett and Tom Hicks have put the debt-ridden club for sale.  The Anfield side is currently £237million in debt, an alarming figure by anyone’s standards in this economic climate.  However, has the self-destruct button on the red side of Merseyside already been pressed?

The boss of British Airways, Martin Broughton who is a lifelong Chelsea fan and a season ticket holder at Stamford Bridge has been brought in by the owners as the new chairman, to oversee the new deal.  Already, Hicks and Gillett have claimed that there has been strong interest for the club regarding new ownership and investment.  It is believed that under-fire boss Rafa Benitez will keep his job in the new deal, despite the increase in rumours about a possible move to limping Italian giants Juventus.  It is also likely that Real Madrid will try and tempt Benitez, born in Madrid with a lucrative offer this summer. 

However, a quick sale is very unlikely, with Hicks & Gillett looking for nearly £600million pounds according to some reports.  The American giants took over the club in February 2007, from the previous chairman David Moores.  Then, they paid less than half than the offer they are looking for now and with Liverpool’s on the field struggle; I find it pretty difficult to comprehend the figure they are looking for.  For a while now, the owners have been under intense pressure to sell from the investment companies they deal with it, due to the debt increasing, almost with every passing day.  The crippling debts have also hampered any potential work on the new stadium that Liverpool had been planning to build at Stanley Park.  Plus, Benitez had given the board an ultimatum, wanting at least £80million for the summer shopping window, as he bids to get the Merseyside failures back on par with Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal.

The owners relationship with one another has been strained for certain parts of their ownership at Anfield, even coming out once saying the partnership was ‘unworkable.’  At the Reds home games, it is quite surprising to see them sit next to one another, often a full row apart in the directors’ box, which obviously highlighted tensions.  Former chief executive Rick Parry left last summer in attempts to sort the battles in the boardroom once and for all, but the difficulty has remained in their partnership, as the relationship with at times, a passive Benitez.  In October 2009, fans demonstrated outside the ground before a home Premiership win against Manchester United, they’ve never seen eye-to-eye with the owners.

On the pitch, things haven’t been much better either.  Liverpool ended up as shock casualties in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League in the autumn and then Reading humiliated them at Anfield in an FA Cup third round replay in the middle of January.  Premiership prospects have been even worse, and the club faces a mountain to climb in efforts to overhaul Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur in the scrap for 4^th place and England’s final Champions place next season.  Inconsistency from some key players and an injury-hit season for leading marksman Fernando Torres has added to these issues.  Only a run to the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League have kept any momentum in their season whatsoever.  The decision to sell Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid for £30million was a key matter and it really has highlighted Liverpool’s slump this campaign.  Alonso’s direct replacement, Alberto Aquilani has struggled all season with poor fitness levels, whilst the other key-signing, Glen Johnson has also been plagued with injury. 

For LFC fans, there has been a lot of frustration this season to endure and this is unlikely to be a quick sale either.  Hopefully, stability can now be achieved with the impending departure of the Americans, but it could well be a long and painful process.  The self-destruct button has already been pressed and limitations must be put in place for the fans to get the craving success they deserve in the short-term.