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Weekend Football
11-13 April 2008
by Jerrad Peters

The future of Liverpool Football Club is in the hand of these four individuals.
The farcical state of affairs at Liverpool Football Club became even more preposterous, Thursday, when it was revealed that co-chairman Tom Hicks had requested the resignation of chief executive Richard Parry. The Texas businessman informed Parry of his wishes through a posted letter – although news of the correspondence was leaked to Sky Sports on Thursday afternoon while Parry was away from his office. As a result, the 53-year-old only read the note on Friday morning. He released a statement shortly thereafter.

“It is my intention to remain focused on the job of serving Liverpool Football Club to the best of my abilities,” he said. And in an interview with the Liverpool Echo, he remarked, “We need leadership at the top; and at the moment, there is a severe lack of unity.”

Parry’s defiance of Hicks would seem to indicate a growing chasm between Hicks, his son Tom Jr., and the rest of the board of directors. Co-owner George Gillett Jr. insinuated as much when he spoke with the Echo on Friday.

“Rick Parry retains our full support,” said the 69-year-old. “Any decision to remove him would need the approval of the full Liverpool board – which, it should be remembered, consists of six people: myself, Foster, David Moores, Rick himself, Tom Hicks, and Tom Jr.”

Gillett and Hicks, who finalized their 218.9M-pound purchase of the club in February, 2007, are not on speaking terms. Three weeks ago, in a conversation with The Fan 590’s Bob McCown, Gillett admitted that he had offered his shares to Dubai International Capital (DIC). Hicks, however, had threatened to block the transaction – effectively severing his relationship with his business partner. Gillett also claimed to have received death threats from Liverpool fans.

“Because of the things he (Hicks) said,” he told McCown, “the fans’ reaction has been so negative to him that, if we sold to him, it has been made untenable for us.”

Gillett also referred to his working relationship with Hicks as “unworkable” and stated that the supporters “don’t want him to have even one share of my stake in the club.”

At this point, there is little for Gillett and Parry to do other than wait for Hicks’ next move. And given that the 62-year-old Texas Rangers owner has been erratic, arrogant, and unpredictable during his 14-months at the club, his plan of attack is anyone’s guess.

What he surely failed to anticipate, however, was the galvanizing effect of his letter to Parry. In humiliating the chief executive, Hicks created an alliance between Gillett and Parry which ensures his own isolation at the boardroom table. With Foster Gillett backing his father and Moores backing Parry (Moores hired Parry in 1998), Hicks and his son Tom Jr. are effectively outvoted 4-2 at the official level. Ironically, in a complicated piece of posturing, Hicks seems to have outmaneuvered himself.

Unfortunately for Liverpool supporters, the club is likely to be gridlocked until the summer. Equally unfortunate is the difficult position of George Gillett. On his own, the Colorado-based businessman would make a fine owner of a Premier League club. The fact that he did not have the necessary financial backing to complete the transaction without a partner is an entirely separate issue. As a man, Gillett is honest, good-natured, and genuinely concerned with the future of Liverpool Football Club. A scenario which would see him acquire majority interest would be the favorable end result. But that’s not going to happen.

Which leaves Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and his DIC consortium. Had Hicks been more concerned with good business than feuding with his partner, he might have agreed the 500M-pound sale which Gillett was prepared to complete last month. The transaction would have represented close to a 130% profit in just over a year; and the deal is unlikely to become any sweeter anytime soon.

With the summer transfer period approaching, Al Maktoum will be mindful of the necessity for the Liverpool board to reach an understanding before too long. If the current stalemate extends into July, all hell could break loose on Merseyside. Imagine a situation where Rafael Benitez, desperate to upgrade his squad, was unable to sign players because of the boardroom split. It wouldn’t be long before desperate measures were taken by one side or the other – or the supporters. That, and the club’s value would plummet.

If Hicks and Gillett have any good sense at all, they will complete a deal before the end of June. Anything beyond that timeframe would spell disaster for the club. Don’t be surprised if DIC waits until the last minute to come back to the table. They are fully aware that by biding their time they are bettering their stake in a piece of business which should be inevitable. Time has almost run out on the American ownership of Liverpool Football Club. One of them just doesn’t know it yet.

Have a question about football? Email your query to jerradpeters@gmail.com.

Jerrad Peters is a football journalist based in Winnipeg, Canada. His weekly column for the Winnipeg Free Press is the largest of its kind in the country. A regular contributor to ESPN Soccernet, his work has also appeared on TheMirror.co.uk, Canadian-soccer.com, Footy247.co.uk, Foot2ball.com, and Squadinfo.com.