With the completion of the takeover of Liverpool by New England Sports Ventures (NESV), it’s the dawn of a new era at Liverpool after a very difficult three years for the club and the fans.
With the completion of the takeover of Liverpool by New England Sports Ventures (NESV), it’s the dawn of a new era at Liverpool after a very difficult three years for the club and the fans.
New owner John W Henry does not underestimate the challenges ahead. He described himself and his company as stewards for the club and emphasised his commitment to winning. Under his control, the Boston Red Sox have won the World Series twice and made the play-offs six times. When they didn’t make it this year, the club published a full page apology in the Boston Globe.
Speaking to the Liverpool club channel, Mr Henry was careful not to raise expectations but to say that he would not make promises but rather focus on delivery. The club had the nucleus of a good team on and off the pitch. The question of a new stadium remains an open one, but many fans did not want to leave Anfield anyway.
Speaking on Radio 5, a reporter from the Boston Globe drew an analogy between the rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester United and that between the Red Sox and the New York Yankees. This was a marketing rivalry as well as a sporting rivalry (indeed United have some kind of link with the Yankees). He emphasised, ‘these guys can sell gear.’ Within a year we would see shirts with ‘Red Sox’ on one side and ‘Liverpool’ on the other.
Hicks and Gillett have denounced the sale as an ‘extraordinary swindle’ and allege that it was the result of an ‘organised conspiracy’. They plan to sue for $1.6bn (£1bn) in damages. Yesterday I mistakenly thought the figure was $1bn and I did not see how even that could be justified.
Perhaps they hope to get an out-of-court settlement that would cover some of their losses. However, Royal Bank of Scotland has made it clear that it will vigorously oppose any action. Their claims got short shrift in the High Court with the judge using quite strong language in judicial terms to describe their conduct. In my view this action is unlikely to succeed.