In the Red

I've been taking a great interest at events unfolding in the High Court in London and the shenanigans in Texas as the RBS have been fighting over the future of Liverpool Football Club with their American owners, Hicks & Gillett. How did it get this far and does it really matter? For the latter question, I would argue that: yes, it does.

Looking dispassionately at things, it's very easy to dismiss a professional football club as a business like any other; and when looking at the team it's easy enough to view them as a bunch of foreign millionaires running an entertainment business. But there is an important difference between a football club and any other multinational business: it's a matter of civic pride. A football club may become a huge international concern with global shirt sales for the likes of Real Madrid, Manchester United or Bayern Munich; but regardless of the international stretch they are intrinsically tied with the community - after all, it's in the club's name. Unlike some sports "franchises" in the USA, these clubs will always be tied in with the communities of Madrid, Manchester or Munich. If the clubs management let the side down they also let their home towns down.

Liverpool have hit the buffers at an astonishing rate. It is only 18 months ago that they were pushing for the league title and less than 3 years ago that they were at the European Cup final. The mismanagement by it's American owners is astonishing and the long term damage has only been made worse by their greed in overvaluing the club when they had the option of still selling at a profit. Now the judge has sanctioned the sale of the club, it may provide some temporary respite from the risk of a 9 point deduction for a club already fighting relegation; but many things are still uncertain. I suppose the question remains as to whether someone should be left unchallenged to run a business into the ground? Should it be possible for stakeholders; whether it is suppliers, workers, creditors or anyone else; to force inept owners out of the door before they reach the verge of bankruptcy?

I think the judgement will, at least, send a warning to other foreign owners (Manchester United's predicament is similar to Liverpool's if not quite as precarious - yet) that clubs' owners have responsibilities as well as rights. In fact the High Court judge in London gave Hicks and Gillett such a pasting I'm surprised he didn't tell them to bend over and brace themselves. The fact that Hicks and Gillett went to a Texan court to try to stop proceeding was slippery and possibly a last ditch attempt to make some money from the whole affair. It's certainly an abuse of the legal system and, unless such practices are seen as acceptable stateside, it looks like a malicious waste of court time. In fact, the judge in Dallas surmised that they had "demonstrated record of gamesmanship in these proceedings and those in England." It looks like they may have actually committed serious contempt of court in the UK so if they show their faces in England they are likely to face sanction in the form of a prison sentence - or if they show their face in Liverpool, something in the form of a Wicker Man.

Liverpool's new owners are set to be another American consortium. Is this a case of once bitten, twice shy? New England Sports Ventures do appear to have been successful in managing the Boston Red Sox and they have brought some success. I don't think any fan should delude themselves that these are sugar daddy philanthropists. They intend to run the club as a profitable enterprise but the core of any professional sports team is its fan base and if they understand this and can keep the local community on side there is no reason why this couldn't be a happy arrangement for all concerned. However, I expect to see the cost of match tickets rising and some holy cows may have to be sacrificed to stabilise the clubs finances.

Liverpool fans need to start looking to the long term future. With proper management the club's future could look rosy but, whilst I think Liverpool will avoid relegation, I suspect that things will get worse before they get better.