It was rather apt that the last week of Tom Hicks’ and George Gillett’s disastrous reign at Liverpool would end with the club in the relegation places following their worst start to a league season for 57 years.
The famous club was sold on Wednesday to New England Sports Ventures for £300m, much to the delight of Reds fans across the globe who had seen the despised pair run their club run into the ground with debts totalling £350m. Of course, the club are not home and dry yet. Hicks and Gillett are still battling the board’s decision to sell to the company which also owns the Boston Red Sox, a deal which would see the American duo lose around £140m between them.
The decision whether or not to approve the takeover will be made in the High Court next week, with the ruling expected to be upheld and also ratified by the Premier League on Friday.
Hicks and Gillett have been heavily criticised by independent chairman Martin Broughton for failing to do the honourable thing by cutting their losses and leaving the club. Instead they shamefully attempted a desperate coup of the club’s board to block the sale from going through. The co-owners effectively lost control over the sale process when they brought in Broughton to give the new owner search credibility in April, while also signing papers to say they would not attempt to block any takeover approved by Broughton, MD Christian Purslow and CD Ian Ayre.
After three-and-a-half years of broken promises, Hicks and Gillett reneged on their final assurance to the club’s fans that they would walk away if the right buyer was found. That buyer appears to be Sox owner John W.Henry and his sports investment firm NESV, who have pledged to clear the club’s debt and have also made a commitment to stadium development. This may see the club’s current ground being redeveloped or the proposed move to Stanley Park finally happen.
Henry and his company‘s reputation and experience, after restoring the fortunes of the Red Sox, was one of the reasons NESV were able to beat off competition from an unknown Asian bidder to secure control of the Reds. Red Sox fans had been waiting since 1918 for a World Series triumph when Henry took control of the club in 2002, yet within two years the club had ended their painful 86-year wait for the elusive title. Liverpool’s wait for a League title will reach 21 years this season but the tycoon’s takeover will offer hope to a club who had been under the threat of a nine point deduction and administration.
Broughton believes he has sold the club to a group that will restore the 18 time league champions winning mentality, as they have already proven with the Red Sox, he revealed:
“If you look at Boston Red Sox, they have taken a team which was a major traditional team, previously successful team, not at its peak, and resuscitated it to be a winner,” Broughton said.
“They understand that winning on the field helps them win off the field, it makes their investment more attractive. They have a track record to deliver, to prove it.”
Broughton is also positive that the group of investors will not follow Hicks and Gillett in piling the club with debt, pointing out that their business model could not be further from the way the two previous incumbents ran things. Taking away the debt and club’s high interest payments means the profits made can now be invested in the club and not eaten up in bank charges. NESV do not have the finances of Man City or Chelsea’s owners but believe with their resources they can revive the club’s flagging fortunes.
Of course, Liverpool fans have heard all this before when Hicks and Gillett arrived in a whirlwind of optimism in 2007 and will approach the new takeover with caution. However NESV are confident they can win over the club’s fans, revealing:
“Our objective is to stabilise the club and ultimately return Liverpool FC to its rightful place in English and European football, successfully competing for and winning trophies.”
Can NESV restore Liverpool’s fortunes and see them return to their former glories?
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