Liverpool Football Club continues to dominate the financial pages with a series of measures and counter measures to decide the future ownership of the club. Later today, club chairman, Martin Broughton goes back to the high court in an attempt to overturn the ruling of a Texas court that yesterday halted the original high court ruling which effectively allowed the club to be legally sold. Apparently, the case all boiled down to a legal precedent set by some poor soul who locked himself out of his hotel room and who subsequently sued and lost his case for damages against the hotel.
This continuing farce reinforces everything that RTG has been trying to illustrate about the dangers posed by the corporate world in threatening the very future of football as a Sport. More and more of the influencing factors that affect football are discussed in the financial pages, rather than the traditional back pages. The sight of a handful of Liverpool fans emerging from the high courts as if celebrating a cup win disturbs RTG even more. What exactly are they celebrating? Are these the same supporters who welcomed Gillett and Hicks as saviours to the club just over three years ago?
These were, after all, owners who in their time have bankrolled, after Chelsea and Manchester City, the highest spending in English football history. Why exactly have these scarf waving supporters, yet again, satisfied themselves that a new set of saviours are waiting in the wings? The prospective new owners come with their PR led platitudes of humble intent and, supposedly, a commitment to a debt free future. Really?
How will a new football stadium, so prioritised as an essential step for Liverpool FC’s future development, be financed? Maybe, the prospective new owners, New England Sports Ventures (NESV), will do what they did for the Boston Red Sox, and CANCEL the development of a new stadium – despite Fenway Park, the Red Sox’s stadium, being the most antiquated ball park in Major League baseball with a paltry 37 thousand capacity. The CEO of NESV, John Henry, has a successful track record within several sports, including another baseball team, the Florida Marlins in maximising revenue streams for his ‘franchises’. He also has a reasonable track record of delivering success on the proverbial pitch (or diamond, court, rink etc). Not a dissimilar reputation, if slightly less sporting success, to a certain couple of other gentlemen of LFC’s recent acquaintance.
Until football and its powers recognise the futility of successive takeovers and the corporate machinations enveloping the game, this will just be one more bean fest for lawyers and other football hangers on, paid for by us supporters. It has to be recognised that any future prosperity of a football club has to be away from the corporate interests that are continuing to ebb away the spirit and essence of our beloved game. All those scarf wavers and “walk alone” warblers have also to realise that you cannot continue to welcome with open arms the next ‘big thing’ – just because their PR agency say they’re good blokes with tons of money. Whatever happens with the high court rulings, it is unlikely that much will change in reality for Liverpool in the next few years.
This continuing farce reinforces everything that RTG has been trying to illustrate about the dangers posed by the corporate world in threatening the very future of football as a Sport. More and more of the influencing factors that affect football are discussed in the financial pages, rather than the traditional back pages. The sight of a handful of Liverpool fans emerging from the high courts as if celebrating a cup win disturbs RTG even more. What exactly are they celebrating? Are these the same supporters who welcomed Gillett and Hicks as saviours to the club just over three years ago?
These were, after all, owners who in their time have bankrolled, after Chelsea and Manchester City, the highest spending in English football history. Why exactly have these scarf waving supporters, yet again, satisfied themselves that a new set of saviours are waiting in the wings? The prospective new owners come with their PR led platitudes of humble intent and, supposedly, a commitment to a debt free future. Really?
How will a new football stadium, so prioritised as an essential step for Liverpool FC’s future development, be financed? Maybe, the prospective new owners, New England Sports Ventures (NESV), will do what they did for the Boston Red Sox, and CANCEL the development of a new stadium – despite Fenway Park, the Red Sox’s stadium, being the most antiquated ball park in Major League baseball with a paltry 37 thousand capacity. The CEO of NESV, John Henry, has a successful track record within several sports, including another baseball team, the Florida Marlins in maximising revenue streams for his ‘franchises’. He also has a reasonable track record of delivering success on the proverbial pitch (or diamond, court, rink etc). Not a dissimilar reputation, if slightly less sporting success, to a certain couple of other gentlemen of LFC’s recent acquaintance.
Until football and its powers recognise the futility of successive takeovers and the corporate machinations enveloping the game, this will just be one more bean fest for lawyers and other football hangers on, paid for by us supporters. It has to be recognised that any future prosperity of a football club has to be away from the corporate interests that are continuing to ebb away the spirit and essence of our beloved game. All those scarf wavers and “walk alone” warblers have also to realise that you cannot continue to welcome with open arms the next ‘big thing’ – just because their PR agency say they’re good blokes with tons of money. Whatever happens with the high court rulings, it is unlikely that much will change in reality for Liverpool in the next few years.
The Keeper
.…it’s a lonely life between the posts
In those difficult and tedious afternoons in between spit roasts and training sessions, the Keeper likes nothing more than a nice relaxing round of golf. Naturally then he was delighted with Europe’s Ryder Cup victory over the US last week. One of the interesting things about this victory was that European Captain Colin Montgomerie banned all the European team from Twittering during the tournament. The Keeper couldn’t help thinking modern day football managers could learn from this. I mean who wants to be party to the trivial outpourings of disillusioned millionaire footballers. “The Gaffa’s dropped me for Saturday. He’s a c**t.” or “Think we’re going to get stuffed this weekend.” Perhaps what we’re looking for is more along the lines of, “The Gaffa’s just stuffed my mobile phone up my aaaaaaaah!”
No such treatment from within the England camp where early signs were looking good ahead of the Euro qualifiers. Apparently after Robert Green’s recall following his gaff against the USA in the World Cup, he kept a clean sheet in training despite 100 shots on goal. The not so good news was that Rob and Kevin Davies were in a one to one training session together. Looks like Kev’s vow to England fans in The Sun this week that he will comfortably fill Emile Heskey’s boots is beginning to bear fruit.
Emile, of course, will no longer feature in Fabio Capello’s plans but who knows if the next England manager may also try and persuade him out of retirement. Early indications from whoever is in charge at the FA (and the Keeper certainly doesn’t know!) are that the next manager has to be English. I mean there’s a whole crop of eager English guys out there just itching to be given the chance. Stuart Pearce and Sam Allardyce for instance… well, it certainly is probable the next England manager will possibly be English…Steve McClaren and Ian Holloway, to name a couple…I mean he doesn’t have to be English by any means, that would just be the preferred option! Harry Redknapp (assuming he’s not otherwise engaged in rough sex at Her Majesty’s pleasure)?...we’ll do whatever we have to do to get the best manager….English or otherwise!
What is in no doubt at all is that the next Olympic Games will definitely be an English affair. It seems that West Ham (not really from around there) are still favourites to pip North London rivals Spurs (definitely from nowhere around there) to taking over the stadium as their home when the Olympics is finished. Ed Warner, Chairman of UK Athletics said that the West Ham bid was more sensitive to the Olympic Legacy in that it involved retaining the running track around the stadium. Well, if the Keeper had to watch West Ham in their current form every week, he’d want to be as far away from the pitch as possible also. Not only that, the original ‘innovative’ design actually intended to make the top tier of the stadium easy to dismantle and be recycled after the games. What football fans in the 60’s and 70’s would have given for such an opportunity to be able to wreck a ground so easily!?
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