Nearing the point of no return?

Tom Hicks and George Gillett are a stain on the football club I have supported for practically my entire life, bar the first four years of my life where I was in fact far more partial to Farley’s rusks, and anyone who brushes off fears of the Americans ruin Liverpool Football Club really need to wake up from their stupor.

It has become increasingly clear that the two owners have reservations about giving Rafa more spending power and whether this is down to a lack of belief in the boss or because the club simply has no funds due to mismanagement, without backing the club will not succeed.

Some important pieces of information to take into account when considering the worthiness of this pair to effectively run the club.

Remember Tom Hicks is the man who admitted to talking to Jurgen Klinsmann about the German replacing Rafa Benitez, and remember his did so by telling the Liverpool Echo which shows and alarming lack of respect from the boss and an incredible lack of knowledge of how to run a football club, or indeed any business.

The Two Clowns have also fallen out very publicly in the past further muddying the clubs name and weakening the company as an entity.

Remember Liverpool football club paid the pair £2m to cover the travel, legal and other personal expenses of the club’s owners in the year up to April 2008. Aren’t owners supposed to put money into a club, not take it out?

At great expense the plans to build the new Stanley Park stadium have been shelved mainly because the two owners couldn’t find the money to keep the project running.

Also note that Tom Hicks was part of the consortium that bought Brazilian icons Corinthians and well and truly shat on the club. That club too was promised a new stadium but this plan was disbanded, much to the anger of the clubs supporters, Hicks jumped ship and the club who had been Brazilian national champions in 2005 were incredibly relegated to the second tier, such was the poorly run state of the club. Remember big clubs can fall just as hard as smaller ones.

Mr Hicks also ran the MLB side Texas Rangers incredibly badly and took a side who had finished 1st in the American League in back to back seasons only to follow it up with losing seasons (i.e lost more than they won) in eight out of the next nine seasons, oh and he also promised to rebuild the club and then promptly sold A-Rod, Alex Rodriguez!

James McKenna, spokesman for the Spirit of Shankly fans’ group, said: “Hicks and Gillett were the multimillionaires who promised not to do a Glazer and that work would start on the new stadium within 60 days. Yet now we find, as fans, not only are we paying for their takeover, but we are also paying for their costs of having done it, and, for coming over to visit the football club. They were supposed to bring investment to take the club forward, but it turns out we’re even paying their travel costs.” And I can’t help buy wholeheartedly agreeing with every word.

The two owe $500m to RBS and Wachovia in relation to Liverpool football club and Hicks owes a sizable sum in regard to his US sporting assets, because make no mistake that is how these clubs are treated by men such as these.

Also recall that “They borrowed £185m from the Royal Bank of Scotland to buy Liverpool in February 2007, and the club has been made responsible for paying the interest on that loan.” (Guardian)

Hell we all know that football has been running beyond its means for too long but we are looking like a club in more of a mess than most. Whether the DIC people come back in or a mysterious billionaire supporter comes out of the woodwork either way change is needed and its needed fast.

I must stress I love Liverpool Football Club with all my being and I do not make such statements lightly and sincerely hope that something can be done to rid Anfield of these parasites. Whether its as a result of protests from the supporters or off the back of a wealthy bidder, we simply must avert disaster and get these guys out.

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