Liverpool FC Forum

by **sworth26** » Mon Oct 18, 2010 7:08 pm

Interesting piece from a seemingly respected souce:

http://goal.blogs.nytimes.com/2010....sox-fan

Liverpool Supporters Take Note – Advice From a Red Sox Fan

The sale of Liverpool F.C. to New England Sports Ventures, led by John Henry, represents a sort of harmonic convergence. Two waterfront cities, Boston and Liverpool, that share Irish connections, and two storied clubs, with all-time great stars, historic stadiums, rich traditions and huge payrolls are now linked through sport.

I am a long-time supporter of both teams that Henry now owns. Raised outside of Boston, the son of a Red Sox fan, it was a foregone conclusion that I would enjoy the highs and endure the lows (mostly the lows) of my beloved Sox. Sure, times as a Sox fan are better now, but the first 34 of my 39 years were tough.

My support for Liverpool came later, when I took an interest in the club during a trip to England in 1989, a few days after the Hillsborough disaster, and followed the Reds from afar. But I have always seen parallels between my two clubs.

Apparently, so has Henry.

Liverpool supporters are nervous about the takeover, and Sunday’s 2-0 loss to Everton did little to ease anxiety or fans’ skepticism. American ownership of Premiership clubs hasn’t exactly been stellar. However, this new ownership group brings a little more to the table than Messrs. Hicks and Gillett

The first eight years of Henry’s reign in Boston have shown a near-perfect combination of business acumen, public relations savvy and on-field success. Some things in which the Liverpool fans might take some solace:
The Outsiders Blend In

Michael Regan/Getty Images

John Henry, taking in his first game as owner of Liverpool, a 2-0 loss to Everton on Sunday.Henry and his group were considered foreigners to Bostonians when they arrived in 2002. The Sox were locally owned for a long time, and though Henry had been a baseball owner before – he owned the Florida Marlins from 1999 to 2001 — fans feared that the team had fallen victim to foreign occupation. Henry came in and said all the right things but, as has been made painfully clear over the past three-plus years in Liverpool, words aren’t always enough. But Henry backed up his promises with a healthy dose of follow-through by assessing the landscape, learning the culture and listening to fans. It’s worth noting that despite two World Series championships in the span of four seasons that have Red Sox Nation firmly entrenched on cloud nine, Henry and the owners still respectfully engage fans. Following the 2010 season, the owners placed a full-page ad in the Boston Globe with a letter apologizing to the fans for failing to make the playoffs. Some might call this a public relations ploy, but it’s a tangible sign that this group understands its fan base. (To the Spirit of Shankly: here’s to no longer having to say, “You’re Still Not Welcome Here.”)

For the Good of the Club
Henry said last Friday, “We’re committed to winning.” Liverpool fans must be thinking, “we haven’t won an English championship in two decades — talk is cheap.” But Henry uttered similar words in 2002 after purchasing the Red Sox, a team that hadn’t won a title in 86 years. Not only has he delivered —twice— but he and his group have done it the right way. The Red Sox spend a lot of money on players, sure, but they protect that investment by bringing in people who know the sport to oversee operations. Hicks and Gillett brought on debt to support their pronouncements at Liverpool.

To Build or Not to Build?
The stadium issue is another commonality between the two clubs. Much like the Stanley Park concept in Liverpool — build a new, bigger stadium to better compete with the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea — plans for a shiny new ballpark existed in Boston in the early 2000s. This was driven by the Red Sox’ previous owners (sound familiar?) and a lot of the fan base was dead-set against it. Nostalgia and tradition are central to the Red Sox ethos and Fenway Park is very much at its heart. Recognizing this, Henry and colleagues came in and updated and improved Fenway instead of building new and it’s been a great thing for the club and its fans. I fully expect them to use the same approach at Anfield.

Commitment Counts
Like Liverpool, the Red Sox brand has an extensive and meaningful history, with a passionate, knowledgeable and far-reaching fan base. The core fans are those with a life-long allegiance to the club, not mere pretenders who jump on the bandwagon following a championship (I’m looking at those of you who became Red Sox fans after the 2004 World Series).
While Henry and his co-owners have not turned new fans away, cultivating new customers, their strategic decisions appear to have the committed fans in mind.
N.E.S.V. owns a diverse portfolio of other sports properties, domestically and abroad, including a highly successful regional sports TV network, which provides the capital necessary to re-invest in the team. Whereas other sport owners might look to squeeze every possible cent out of a brand — often betraying the true brand identity — Henry has amassed a stable of strong complimentary brands that can all benefit from the team’s success.

Henry has not micromanaged the Red Sox brand, rather he has fashioned a winner both on and off the field. Reds fans can take heart; the stars could finally be aligning for Liverpool.

Joe Mahan is an assistant professor of sport marketing at the Sport Industry Research Center at Temple University in Philadelphia and the father of two children, who he is raising to be fans of both the Red Sox and Liverpool.

by **Reg** » Mon Oct 18, 2010 7:21 pm

Kukilon wrote:I actually think that Ingvar Kamprad is the richest guy in the world. On paper he is probably not that rich but he controls 100% in a foundation that owns the IKEA chain. He started as a poor man and started selling furniture and the rest is history. Probably the only rich man that has a clean history without "running" people over and using others. Very nice company to work for by the way if you can handle not being a fancy pance because you need to start at the floor level. Financial crisis are totally irrelevant because his company even does better results when that happens.

Shows how little you know of the man. Ask him about his nazi past and current views. :oops:

by **Ian Rush's Right foot** » Mon Oct 18, 2010 7:35 pm

bunglemark2 wrote:Errrrrrr......get a load of this link....

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news....ts.html

Uh-oh........

dont you just fúcking hate the Daily Mail!!!

by **NANNY RED** » Mon Oct 18, 2010 7:40 pm

Exclusive: Broughton To Step Down At Liverpool For New Sports Venture

Mark Kleinman October 18, 2010 7:06 PM

Martin Broughton, the man who last week secured a £300m takeover of Liverpool Football Club, is to quit his role at the club and front an investment vehicle that will plough hundreds of millions of pounds into sport-related businesses, I have learned.

Broughton will be chairman of Sports Investment Partners (SIP), a new business that will be run by his son Michael, a sports industry executive, and Nic Couchman, the founder and chairman of the specialist sports law firm Couchmans.

The fact that Broughton plans to step down as chairman of Liverpool after a short transition period (possibly of as little as several weeks) will surprise few people. However, the details of his involvement in his next major venture will be of interest to the City and beyond.

I understand that the launch of SIP has been planned since well before Broughton Sr was appointed to the chairmanship of Liverpool back in April, and was put on hold during the protracted resolution of the future of the club (which as if you need reminding was sold last week to New England Sports Ventures, owner of the Boston Red Sox).

SIP has already begun canvassing potential investors from the fund management and private equity industries, I’m told. It will raise money from co-investors as well as the firm’s own investors, for whom SIP will identify specific investment opportunities. The firm’s founders believe there is an opportunity to generate attractive returns from acquiring sport-related assets, particularly given the dearth of similar businesses focused purely on the sector.

According to figures from PriceWaterhouseCoop ers (PWC), the professional services firm, the European sports industry will be valued at $39.4bn this year, a figure that is projected to rise to $46.3bn over the next few years.

SIP aims to exploit an anticipated increase in sports-related merger activity during the next two years as well as a prospective ‘golden decade’ for sport in Britain, with Olympics, both rugby code World Cups, the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and potentially the 2018 football World Cup all being hosted here.

The new venture will focus on investments in four core areas: technology; betting and gaming; support services; and sport-related intellectual property, including events, properties and brands. It has not set a limit on the size of its investments although I understand that they are likeliest to be in the range of tens of millions of pounds.

Even before taking the Liverpool chairmanship, Broughton Sr had established a track record in the business of sport, having chaired the British Horseracing Board between 2004 and 2007. His son, Michael, has worked in senior positions in sports including Formula One, and at the sport-focused executive search firm, Nolan Partners.

Couchman founded his eponymous law firm in 2000, and has since worked with some of the world’s leading sports governing bodies as well as a string of high-profile players and athletes.

I understand that SIP’s founding trio will be backed by an advisory panel consisting of unidentified figures from the sports business sector and the City.

Broughton Sr is also chairman of British Airways and will become deputy chairman of International Airlines Group, which will be the new parent company of both BA and Iberia. There’s little doubt that Liverpool’s six-month auction ultimately enhanced his reputation (although there must have been moments during the process when he wondered whether that would be the case).

Just to recap: Liverpool has now been sold despite threats from the former owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, to sue for damages of about £1bn. As yet, there’s no detail about the timing or likelihood of any such legal action being filed.

Nobody involved in SIP could be reached for comment tonight

http://blogs.news.sky.com/kleinma....3565755

by **stmichael** » Mon Oct 18, 2010 7:44 pm

NANNY RED wrote:Exclusive: Broughton To Step Down At Liverpool For New Sports Venture

Mark Kleinman October 18, 2010 7:06 PM

Martin Broughton, the man who last week secured a £300m takeover of Liverpool Football Club, is to quit his role at the club and front an investment vehicle that will plough hundreds of millions of pounds into sport-related businesses, I have learned.

Broughton will be chairman of Sports Investment Partners (SIP), a new business that will be run by his son Michael, a sports industry executive, and Nic Couchman, the founder and chairman of the specialist sports law firm Couchmans.

The fact that Broughton plans to step down as chairman of Liverpool after a short transition period (possibly of as little as several weeks) will surprise few people. However, the details of his involvement in his next major venture will be of interest to the City and beyond.

I understand that the launch of SIP has been planned since well before Broughton Sr was appointed to the chairmanship of Liverpool back in April, and was put on hold during the protracted resolution of the future of the club (which as if you need reminding was sold last week to New England Sports Ventures, owner of the Boston Red Sox).

SIP has already begun canvassing potential investors from the fund management and private equity industries, I’m told. It will raise money from co-investors as well as the firm’s own investors, for whom SIP will identify specific investment opportunities. The firm’s founders believe there is an opportunity to generate attractive returns from acquiring sport-related assets, particularly given the dearth of similar businesses focused purely on the sector.

According to figures from PriceWaterhouseCoop ers (PWC), the professional services firm, the European sports industry will be valued at $39.4bn this year, a figure that is projected to rise to $46.3bn over the next few years.

SIP aims to exploit an anticipated increase in sports-related merger activity during the next two years as well as a prospective ‘golden decade’ for sport in Britain, with Olympics, both rugby code World Cups, the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and potentially the 2018 football World Cup all being hosted here.

The new venture will focus on investments in four core areas: technology; betting and gaming; support services; and sport-related intellectual property, including events, properties and brands. It has not set a limit on the size of its investments although I understand that they are likeliest to be in the range of tens of millions of pounds.

Even before taking the Liverpool chairmanship, Broughton Sr had established a track record in the business of sport, having chaired the British Horseracing Board between 2004 and 2007. His son, Michael, has worked in senior positions in sports including Formula One, and at the sport-focused executive search firm, Nolan Partners.

Couchman founded his eponymous law firm in 2000, and has since worked with some of the world’s leading sports governing bodies as well as a string of high-profile players and athletes.

I understand that SIP’s founding trio will be backed by an advisory panel consisting of unidentified figures from the sports business sector and the City.

Broughton Sr is also chairman of British Airways and will become deputy chairman of International Airlines Group, which will be the new parent company of both BA and Iberia. There’s little doubt that Liverpool’s six-month auction ultimately enhanced his reputation (although there must have been moments during the process when he wondered whether that would be the case).

Just to recap: Liverpool has now been sold despite threats from the former owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, to sue for damages of about £1bn. As yet, there’s no detail about the timing or likelihood of any such legal action being filed.

Nobody involved in SIP could be reached for comment tonight

http://blogs.news.sky.com/kleinma....3565755

thanks martin.

hope purslow is next :angry:

by **Reg** » Mon Oct 18, 2010 7:44 pm

For all this sentimentalism about the Red Sox stadium, its capacity over the years has gone from 33,993 (night) & 33,557 (day) (2001)
37,400 (night) & 36,984 (day) (2008) to 37,402 for night games, 36,974 for day games (2010). By 2012 then hope to be at 39,900.

They've remodelled but not needed to increase capacity by 50% like we need. Not sure we're comparing like with like here.

by **parchpea** » Mon Oct 18, 2010 7:54 pm

Its a bigger task here than the Red Sox. May be mistaken but dont they have some kind of salary or transfer cap plus they recruit lots of lads through the college system. Not like this league where money, and big money talks. Geographically its a smaller game, not worldwide, and theres no relegation or promotion. In football your competing for players and power all over the globe not in a tinpot league of bat and ball where all the players are from your own country. Baseball is nothing compared to football, on any level surely.They are going from the mini leagues into the big time now and I hope they recognise and have a plan to deal with it because if they think its just a case of doing a Red Sox then where done for.

by **Kukilon** » Mon Oct 18, 2010 8:02 pm

Reg wrote:
Kukilon wrote:I actually think that Ingvar Kamprad is the richest guy in the world. On paper he is probably not that rich but he controls 100% in a foundation that owns the IKEA chain. He started as a poor man and started selling furniture and the rest is history. Probably the only rich man that has a clean history without "running" people over and using others. Very nice company to work for by the way if you can handle not being a fancy pance because you need to start at the floor level. Financial crisis are totally irrelevant because his company even does better results when that happens.

Shows how little you know of the man. Ask him about his nazi past and current views.

Shows how little you know of the man. He attended a few meetings with a party when he was younger in Sweden "16-17 years old" that was very nationalistic/pro unions. This at a time in Swedens history when the state just had abolished their racestudies institute. He never had an active role in anything. If that is what you call dirt then I don't know what. It's not like he just quit 60-70 years later when people found out because it could hurt his bussiness. He is even accepted in Israel so what's your problem with it?

The only thing he can be slated for is his alcoholism and that he spent to little time with his children.

Sweden government pussied out of the WW2 and that is much worse.

by **Reg** » Mon Oct 18, 2010 8:23 pm

Errr.. I dont think so. However you'll have to take my word for it.

by **tubby** » Mon Oct 18, 2010 9:13 pm

Kukilon wrote:
Reg wrote:
Kukilon wrote:I actually think that Ingvar Kamprad is the richest guy in the world. On paper he is probably not that rich but he controls 100% in a foundation that owns the IKEA chain. He started as a poor man and started selling furniture and the rest is history. Probably the only rich man that has a clean history without "running" people over and using others. Very nice company to work for by the way if you can handle not being a fancy pance because you need to start at the floor level. Financial crisis are totally irrelevant because his company even does better results when that happens.

Shows how little you know of the man. Ask him about his nazi past and current views.

Shows how little you know of the man. He attended a few meetings with a party when he was younger in Sweden "16-17 years old" that was very nationalistic/pro unions. This at a time in Swedens history when the state just had abolished their racestudies institute. He never had an active role in anything. If that is what you call dirt then I don't know what. It's not like he just quit 60-70 years later when people found out because it could hurt his bussiness. He is even accepted in Israel so what's your problem with it?

The only thing he can be slated for is his alcoholism and that he spent to little time with his children.

Sweden government pussied out of the WW2 and that is much worse.

Attended a few meetings? Im sure he done more than that. Wasn't he a primary fund raiser as well as recruiter? And as for Israel he didn't even open any Ikeas in Israel at first.

Just because he is minted people give him a pass.

by **red till i die!!** » Mon Oct 18, 2010 9:24 pm

did henry meet with sos today?

by **Igor Zidane** » Mon Oct 18, 2010 9:46 pm

Meeting with NESV Representatives
Monday 18th October 2010

Spirit Of Shankly, the Liverpool Supporters Union, accepted an invitation to today meet with NESV representatives John W Henry and Tom Werner.

It was an informal meeting, to allow us to discuss with them the issues we as a Union deal with, and the issues supporters have faced in the past three years. The meeting gave us encouragement that we as supporters will be listened to, and that the new owners recognise the task ahead.

Supporters have worked tirelessly to ensure our concerns are listened to, and that our voice is heard. John W Henry himself said "If it wasn't for yourselves and supporters doing what you have, we wouldn't be here now." It is important that supporters are recognised and we hope that this is the beginning of an ongoing, positive relationship, that allows us all - supporters, players, manager, the board and the owners - to be pulling in the same direction that allows our football club to succeed and prosper on and off the pitch. We look forward to future dialogue.

To have your voice heard, join Spirit Of Shankly at http://www.spiritofshankly.com/join.html

by **Kukilon** » Mon Oct 18, 2010 11:20 pm

bavlondon wrote:
Kukilon wrote:
Reg wrote:
Kukilon wrote:I actually think that Ingvar Kamprad is the richest guy in the world. On paper he is probably not that rich but he controls 100% in a foundation that owns the IKEA chain. He started as a poor man and started selling furniture and the rest is history. Probably the only rich man that has a clean history without "running" people over and using others. Very nice company to work for by the way if you can handle not being a fancy pance because you need to start at the floor level. Financial crisis are totally irrelevant because his company even does better results when that happens.

Shows how little you know of the man. Ask him about his nazi past and current views.

Shows how little you know of the man. He attended a few meetings with a party when he was younger in Sweden "16-17 years old" that was very nationalistic/pro unions. This at a time in Swedens history when the state just had abolished their racestudies institute. He never had an active role in anything. If that is what you call dirt then I don't know what. It's not like he just quit 60-70 years later when people found out because it could hurt his bussiness. He is even accepted in Israel so what's your problem with it?

The only thing he can be slated for is his alcoholism and that he spent to little time with his children.

Sweden government pussied out of the WW2 and that is much worse.

Attended a few meetings? Im sure he done more than that. Wasn't he a primary fund raiser as well as recruiter? And as for Israel he didn't even open any Ikeas in Israel at first.

Just because he is minted people give him a pass.

There are lots of countries where they haven't opened up stores. They actually went against the "arabs" because they had earlier said that IKEA was not welcome if they opened up in Israel. Monewise it would have been much smarter to just leave opening up a new store in Israel.

Let's leave it at that. Lets talk about NESW now.

by **Rush Job** » Mon Oct 18, 2010 11:48 pm

bunglemark2 wrote:Errrrrrr......get a load of this link....

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news....ts.html

Uh-oh........

Oh lovely. If we see some of the money would the average fan care...... No
You dont get to be mega rich without dealing in the very dodgy,there probably secret society types to.
Its not right but IMO they must be judged primarily by us at what they do at the club.

by **Kukilon** » Mon Oct 18, 2010 11:58 pm

Am I the only one that actually think that a new stadium is the only way to go? We need to maximize the turnover with the new rules and one of the ways to do that is to maximize ticket sales and you can't do that at Anfield because it's simple to small and to hard to make all of the fancy pance boxes in.

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