8 Reasons Why Liverpool's Sale to the Red Sox is Good For Everyone
One story we haven't had the chance to touch on is the sale of international soccer giant Liverpool to John Henry and the Boston Red Sox ownership group New England Sports Ventures. However, Liverpool's current American owners (Tom Hicks of Texas Rangers fame and George Gillett of the Montreal Canadiens) are trying to block the sale that was approved by Liverpool's board. Today the news is out that the case is going to the High Court in England to decide the fate of arguably the most famous sports franchise in the world. Before we break it down, let's look at how we got here with Liverpool FC.
Hicks and Gillett bought Liverpool FC in February 2007 for 220 million pounds. About a year later, the first trouble started to arise in the Liverpool boardroom began to emerge as stories broke that Hicks and Gillett weren't on speaking terms. The first protests against Gillett and Hicks occur as far back as early 2008! The new stadium plans were put on the backburner as Liverpool continually increased debt due to mismanagement from Gillett and Hicks. After finishing 2nd in the EPL in '08-'09, Liverpool's transfer funds dried up the following summer. They dropped to 7th in the league and out of the Champions League for the first time since '03-'04. This season, Liverpool currently sit in the relegation zone through the first 2 months of the season as the ownership drama continues.
In other words, under Hicks and Gillett, not only has Liverpool suffered in their on-field performance, but has seen the club plummet into dire financial straits with an inability to acquire the amount of quality players that Chelsea and Manchester City and perhaps even Tottenham can. You can check out a detailed timeline here.
Here's where we stand on October 11th...
*Liverpool's board is taking Liverpool's owners (Hicks & Gillett) to court to force them to sell the team to the prospective owners (Red Sox).
*Hicks and Gillett are trying to block the sale of the club in order to gain more money. They even tried to fire the chairman they appointed to sell the team.
*The sale has a deadline of October 15th, the date when H&G are to pay back their debt to the Royal Bank of Scotland. If that deadline isn't met, the club likely goes into administration and is probably penalized 9 points in the league.
*Hicks and Gillett have run one of the world's most storied franchises into the ground, given American owners a bad name worldwide, and emerge as money-hungry owners that cared more about profit than performance, and managed to fail miserably on all fronts as they stand to lose hundreds of millions of dollars.
With RBS now seeking an injunction against Hicks to block the sale it looks like the court should side in Liverpool's favor. Chairman Martin Broughton and the other 2 members of the board were brought on to sell the club and have the authority to do so from the owners and RBS to an offer that is deemed suitable. NESV's offer of 300 million pounds represents a huge loss for the hated owners, but they'll have to deal with it. All in all, this is fantastic news for everyone involved. As a tribute to my man Steven Gerrard, here's 8 reasons why Liverpool's sale to John Henry and the Red Sox is a good thing...
1) Hicks & Gillett Out - These 2 were nothing but terrible for Liverpool, the EPL, and the image of American owners worldwide. They had no clue how to run a football club, sent it into debt, and furthered the image of the American owner as greedy, mismanaging twats. Where else in the world do you see such an organized protest against owners than in Liverpool and Manchester United (also protesting massive debt piled up by American owners). Heck, if Marge Schott came back to life and bought Liverpool it would be an improvement.
2) Stability - As we mentioned, the boardroom drama has been going on for almost 3 years. No team can succeed with that kind of instability at the top of the club, and we've finally seen it affect the team hard this year.
3) NESV Knows How To Win - Anyone that can win a title with the Red Sox obviously knows what they're doing! Hicks & Gillett started out with a lot of money, but they had never won anything before with the Rangers or Canadiens. Tom Hicks was best known for signing A-Rod and still not being able to win anything!
4) John Henry Understands Liverpool FC - This is perhaps the key point. I think John Henry sees a lot of the Red Sox in Liverpool. Both are clubs with rich histories, iconic stadiums, and massive fan bases. John Henry may refurbish Anfield ala Fenway, but it's clear he will at least do something. The problem with H&G is that they knew nothing of the tradition of the club.
5) Track Record - This is something that I haven't seen yet in any stories covering the sale. Do you want to know Tom Hicks' track record in soccer ownership? Check out this article describing his time at Corinthians in Brazil. Does any of it sound familiar? New stadium promise not followed through - check. Selling key players - check. Infuriating fans - check. Having no F&%$ing clue - check! At least NESV has proven they know how to run a franchise.
6) Reparing the Red, White, & Blue - American owners are persona non grata in English soccer. The hatred flung towards H&G and Man Utd's Malcolm Glazer has given fans an entirely negative view of Americans that want to come into their country and their league, make a buck at the expense of everyone else, and basically burn through money like Sherman's march to the sea. If he can successfully build the Red Sox into a worldwide brand, I see no reason why he can't repair the situation at Anfield.
7) The Nation Meets YNWA - If the sale goes through, a relationship between one of baseball's most historic teams and one of soccer's most historic teams is fantastic. Boston and Liverpool have some of the most passionate fans in sports and the spiritual connection between them should be an instant hit. Could you imagine Liverpool coming on a yearly tour of the US including games played in Fenway Park? That would be an amazing sight.
8) It's Great For Soccer in America - Liverpool's sale to the Red Sox means a huge American team and a huge EPL team are now partners. The cross-promotional aspect both ways is a no-brainer. Even if a small fraction of Red Sox Nation gets behind Liverpool, it adds to the growing number of fans that are invested in the EPL stateside. The Liverpool brand is already popular in the States and with the right ownership and marketing, Liverpool can become a household name and team stateside.
