Wednesday 6 October 2010

Are we heading towards the golden sky?

The recent dramatic developments regarding the sale of Liverpool Football Club have left most fans in a state of shock and surprise at how stunningly swift the deal was agreed and, pending a few conditions, will soon be completed.

After such a lengthy process where nothing much seemed to be happening once Chinese bidder Kenny Huang had retracted his interest, supporters were left dazed and confused.

Above all else we were frightened.

Frightened that Hicks would somehow be able to re-finance the club and claim sole ownership.

Frightened that Hicks would mortgage Anfield, Melwood and the players in order to afford to pay back any new loans he managed to secure.

Frightened that we would "do a Leeds" and plummet down the divisions whilst facing financial ruin at the hands of a Texan cowboy.

Now, after a night of U-turns, tension and drama Liverpool fans can rest assured that new owners are poised to take control of the club, stabilising our finances and providing a much needed confidence boost after a dreadful start to the season.

It all started at around 9 o'clock last night as BBC Sport revealed that two more bids had been made. Then, over the next four hours the gory details of a civil war at board room level were publicised on nearly every sports website, including the club's official site.

It emerged that the board had received two "excellent" bids that would wipe out the club's debt and allow us to return to firm financial ground whilst also investing in the development of both the new stadium and the playing squad.

A meeting had been called to discuss these matters, however Tom Hicks, realising that he was about to lose the club without making a profit, attempted to sack both Christian Purslow and Ian Ayre, replacing them with two of his puppets, namely Mack Hicks and Lori Kay McCutcheon.

Hicks attempted to do this so that he could gain majority control of the board, and therefore only sell to a buyer who was willing to pay his frankly ridiculous asking price of £800 million.

All we were told at this stage was that the matter was now subject to legal review, however that didn't stop the fans frantically spreading rumours all over forums and social networking sites.

After a restless night's sleep trying to forget the perilous situation clouding our great football club I was awoken two hours early by a text from a mate.

It read, "Boston redsocks have brought Liverpool. So they no lo(ng)er have any debt."

Despite my friend's inability to spell correctly and my sleep depraved state the sight of positive news immediately awoke me. I rushed to the laptop to check it was true, and there it was.

"Liverpool Football Club today announces that the Board has agreed the sale of the Club to New England Sports Ventures (NESV)."

I was excited and ecstatic, and couldn't return to my slumber following the news that had just made my year.

It would be like asking a kid to return to bed after waking up too early on Christmas morning!

However, this great news was later tempered as I read the brief statement more closely.

"The sale is conditional on Premier League approval, resolution of the dispute concerning Board membership and other matters."

At first, this news appears menacing. The inevitable legal battle was a source of worry to most fans as the possibility of the parasites clinging onto power seemed very real.

However, with more considered thinking this legal battle should be seen for what it is; the last act of a man desperate to claim the blood money of Liverpool FC.

The legal battle is about whether the board acted validly in drawing up the sale documents and eventually sealing the deal. The board were given the specific job, most probably by RBS, of finding an investor willing to primarily pay off the debt, but also to be a suitable custodian of the club.

This is what they have done, with the board extolling the virtues of both bids. RBS have also approved the sale of the club to either of the two bidders, clearing demonstrating that they were bids that, if accepted, would be in the best interests of the club.

Tom Hicks attempted to sack both Christian Purslow and Ian Ayre from the board for accepting a bid that he claimed devalued his stake in the club. However, Martin Broughton later revealed that Hicks has no right to change the members of the board.

When the Yanks appointed him they signed an agreement allowing only Broughton to change the members of the board, meaning that Hicks' actions have contradicted his deal with RBS.

As a result, the chances of Hicks succeeding in his legal case against the board are virtually zero. Even if he did somehow manage to win the legal case it would only delay the sale of the club.

He would still need to re-finance before 15th October otherwise the bank would take control and immediately sell to the board's recommended choice. Tom Hicks not only has to succeed in his legal challenge, but must also find someone willing to give him £300 million.

It's simply not going to happen.

So, with the parasites Hicks and Gillett almost out of the picture, are we approaching the golden sky that is so famously promised by the profound words of the club's anthem, "You'll Never Walk Alone"?

Sporting investment company New England Sports Ventures, whose bid has been accepted by the board, have a credible record of returning success to American baseball team the Boston Red Sox.

The Red Sox have a proud and prestigious history, however they experienced a barren spell where they failed to win any silverware. Since New England Sports Ventures took control they have won the World Series twice.

From my scant knowledge of baseball I'd say that is effectively like us winning the Champions League twice in quick succession soon after their arrival.

Now, I'm not saying that that is necessarily going to happen, however they have a history of developing the winning mentality needed to succeed at the highest level of the sporting world.

Moreover, they have committed to either developing Anfield into a 60,000-seater stadium or building a completely new stadium on Stanley Park. Although, this is bad news for Evertonians wishing to share a stadium with their far superior neighbours, this news will be welcomed by Reds supporters.

Not only will these stadium developments provide crucial funding with which to invest in the side, they will also allow for the possibility of staying at our historic Anfield home, something which Hicks and Gillett never took into consideration.

There will inevitably be lazy, stereotypical and vaguely xenophobic comments from members of the media and certain supporters claiming that having new American owners will only result in the same calamitous situation that ensued following the takeover of Hicks and Gillett.

These people should be ignored, as they fail to realise that their nationality was not the reason for us desiring their departure.

There is no doubt that the differences in sporting cultures shocked both us and the Americans, however they were so vehemently opposed because of their leveraged buy out, debt-laden financial structure and blatant and repeated lies to supporters.

They were certainly not detested for their nationality.

I'd like to reserve a special mention for Martin Broughton, Christian Purslow and Ian Ayre. I used to slate these people as I, alongside most other fans, saw them as Hicks' henchmen working in the interests of the lying parasites instead of the club.

I am thrilled to say that I have been proven absolutely wrong. They fought for us in our civil war. That should never be forgotten. In helping us to rid our club of Tom Hicks and George Gillett they could possibly be the catalysts of a revolution not seen since the days of the great Bill Shankly.

Writing such a positive piece about our club is extremely strange for me considering the crisis that has engulfed us for so long, however it is a very welcome and refreshing pleasure.

Nonetheless, I hasten to add that we must remain vigilant. We cannot allow someone to rape and pillage our club in such a disgusting manner once again. Yes, be positive and patient in regard to the ownership situation, but do not expect immediate success either on or off the field.

The destruction of Liverpool Football Club has been so severe that it will take time to re-build.

However, with hope in our hearts, and the likelihood of new owners in the boardroom, finally we can faintly hear the sweet silver song of the lark, and we can glimpse the edges of the golden sky up ahead.

YNWA

9 comments:

  1. To be honest this is quite a piece, I'm so in favour for finally getting rid of the yanks, who did so much damage to our beloved club. In hope our strenght it will eventually get better, looking forward to seeing the long awaited improvement both out and inside the pitch. YNWA!

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  2. Sadly today's developments have raised serious issues for LFC. If the club is not sold in the next 6 days we are heading for a 9 point deduction. That coupled with recent form spells relegation which means a mass exodus of world class talent. Bad bad times folks! In my view United are headed for a more serious version of these afairs soon!

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  3. I'd accept the nine point deduction that comes with administration as long as it meant the parasites are out of our club, which is most likely. It'll leave us on minus three points. Hardly ideal, but we can recover from there and stabilise with new owners in charge.

    And yeh, United will have something similar as soon as they stop winning trophies, which appears to be soon considering their side at the moment.

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  4. I'd like to commend Oliver on an excellent article and hopefully now that the Premier League has given its blessing Liverpool Football Club will soon be under new and better control with NESV and we can start to grow as a club

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  5. I was so excited to hear this. I live in Boston and NESV and John Henry are LOVED by the people here. They've done so much for the Red Sox and the city of Boston. I saw grown men cry in 2004 when the Red Sox won their first World Series in 84 YEARS!

    When the Red Sox failed to make the play-offs this year, NESV bought a full-page ad in the Boston Globe to apologize to the fans. They said they had let us down, and that they vowed to do better next year. They understand that our loyalty through the good times and the bad (and there are so many years of bad) are what keeps the team going. I have no doubt that NESV will be just as committed to making Liverpool a world-class team again, and that they will always keep the fans in mind.

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  6. That's great news Kaye, thanks for sharing. YNWA

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  8. I have no idea what this means. Could you put it in english for me?

    YNWA

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