Tom Hicks and George Gillet Jr. are no longer owners of the English Premier League football team Liverpool, after the UK High Court ruled its decision against them. Following this, the Liverpool board decided to sell the club to the New England Sports Ventures for 300 million pounds, which according to Hicks is "undervalued". However, Liverpool fans are rejoicing, now that the disastrous 3 year reign of the Americans have ended. The reign saw the 18 time league champions, crash out of the Champions League last year in the early group stage. The club finished 7th in the league table last year and was hence, is ineligible to play in the Champions League 2010-2011. This loss lead to the sacking of then-manager Rafael Benitez.(who won 4 titles for the club in his six year reign)
Fans turned against Hicks and Gillet after they failed to fulfill their promises of building a new improved stadium(Stanley Park) for the club and invest in players and the team. The club had a 237 million pounds debt to the Royal Bank of Scotland,which was to be paid this September. The new deal will reduce the club's debts from 25 million pounds per year to 2 million pounds per year.
John Henry, principal owner of New England Sports Ventures (NESV), promised the fans to . "return the Club to greatness on and off the field for the long-term." However, whether he fulfills his promises is yet to be seen. The NESV own the US major league baseball team Boston Red Sox, After purchasing the club in 2001, they have not only invested heavily in the Red Sox stadium, but have won 2 World Series with them. NESV is known to invest a lot in players and back their technical staff, both morally and financially. After the takeover of the club, the fans want manager Roy Hodgson to be sacked. Hodgson was appointed after Benitez was sacked in order to uplift the morale of the club after failing to seal a Champions League berth. However, with 1 win in 8 games, Liverpool is now 19th in the league table(their worst start since 1956). They are now in the relagation zone along with Wolverhampton and West Ham.
However, the new owners have backed Hodgson and have decided to be patient with him and have promised sufficient funds for this January's transfer season. Even the players now are rejuvenated and are happy with the "progress".
Hicks and Gillet however, have decided to go to court against the club chairman Martin Broughton and the NESV citing the new ownership deal as "illegal". They have reportedly asked for a compensation of 1 billion pounds.
With 30 more games to be played, Liverpool must ensure they win by big margins in order to get into the top 4 this season. For this, Hodgson has to spend his funds by bringing in the right players and motivating the team positively. The NESV too have to ensure that they don't crush the expectations of the players and most importantly, the fans. Let us hope that this positive end to a much publicised and negative saga indeed does wonders for not only the Liverpool Football Club, but for the sport too. As they Scousers' proudly say- YOU WILL NEVER WALK ALONE!
